Replacing a Mazda 6 tail light (on car body)

Sometimes, you back up towards a wall a bit too fast, and you hear a crunching sound. This is a *bad* sound; the kind that makes you grit your teeth a bit and hunch your shoulders.

In this case, the crunching sound was cover of my left tail light cracking. Unfortunately, it seems that upon investigation, not only does Mazda not sell the cover of the tail light (It only comes in one piece) it is also nearly 200 dollars.

At least it was easy to replace.

Step 1 Open the trunk and remove the bed cover

Open the trunk. There will be a felt-ish cover over everything. Pull it back to reveal the bolts for the tail light assembly.

Comments

[sdsouza]

Thanks for this post, its really informative. Mazda5 Reviews are all about the vehicle performance, features and capabilities.

[Dr.Paj]

You are lucky it only damaged a light, what if you were going a little faster when you hit the wall? It would have cost quite a bit more.

[longveiw]

Thanks for the quick walk through!!! Any chance you have a part number or link to order this piece? I'd rather do it myself than pay the shop to do it. A shopping card hit me...... ;( thanks in advance!

[jeffreyf]

Unfortunately I don't. But if you go to the dealer, they can help you order the part. The whole off-trunk tail light comes as a single piece, so it's just a question of whether it's the right or the left side.

[longveiw]

thanks for getting back to me! I have a buddy who works at an Auto Fair near me so he's gonna see what he can get. If it's a good deal i'll let you guys know! How much was yours just so I know what to look for?

[jeffreyf]

I don't recall exactly, but I think it was around $180 new.

[ryanthomas]

i would love to try it on my nissan. i found a site on nissan tail lights and found it interesting. I guess i have to try it.

[jeffreyf]

Go for it! But post it on the site. One of the things I noticed in trying to find information about what would be involved in replacing various parts of my car was how little documentation there was anywhere on the web. I see no reason why it can't all be here.

[trebuchet03]

Did you check out any junk yards for the tail lights? And nice car :)

[jeffreyf]

Thank you. And no. I just didn't have time to go around searching. Moving does that to you.

[trebuchet03]

No worries :P Sometimes paying more is worth the time saved :)

[danielmilhousechun]

cool write up fyi the things in step 2 are nuts not bolts.

[jeffreyf]

And thank you!

[jeffreyf]

Totally right. I forgot they didn't come off whole. I'll amend.