DIY replace third brake light MK5 GTI

[nkresho]

So, like many others, I had my third brake light go out on me. I actually had no idea until I was trying to get inspected and I failed because of this. I did a little searching around and I found a UK site with some instructions. This is my detailed expansion of what I found.

So, number 1, the brake light is originally installed inside the spoiler and the spoiler has to be removed completely to get to the two screws. Additionally, this requires body work, as the spoiler is attached to the car permanently with glue or adhesive of some sort.

I don't really trust body shops to do this properly because they don't have the respect for my car that I do. Based on the DIY I found, I did it my way. This took a total of about 30 mins and cost me about $100 in parts. Just 1 part actually, the light assembly. My local dealership ordered it in and had it in less than 24 hours. Cost was within $5 of ECS.

Condensation in the assembly, before installation



1. double check that the new light is identical to the one on the car.



2. dremel with plastic/wood router bit



3. Start the hole. Be careful to stay steady and try not to ding your spoiler.



4. use a pick to pull out the pieces of the red reflector



5. pop out the led assembly



6. pull downward on the black inner housing. There's a clip in the middle and two screws on the sides.



7. bust the screws out of the sides and remove the black inner assembly



8. remove the bushings the screws were attached to



9. note where the rubber grommet is pressed into the spoiler. remove it with the pick



10. unplug the harness and plug in the new one



11. press the grommet back into the square hole. I used the pick and eventually a flathead screwdriver to get it back in there.



12. (out of order) I had to remove the left bushing with pliers. Right one popped right out. You just have to loosen it and push upward.



13. press fit the new housing and it will click into place. Feels solid and will very likely never pop out even under really bumpy roads.



14. not a step, but here's the tiny ding I made with my dremel. This is your warning. Use both hands and keep that thing steady. take your time.



Hope this helps. Not a really big job in my opinion. That new light is super bright too. Looks nice. Start to finish took about 30 mins.

 

[zrickety]

Nice work, thanks for posting this!

 

[Nitrorea]

Why do you have to use Dremmel? is that just to break though the plastic to out all of the inside parts?

 

[nkresho]

You can break it out, but I would be really careful not to damage the wing.

I felt a little more confident in the precision of the dremel.

 

[Ich_Will]

Just had this done at the dealership under the extended warranty. No cost to me but it took them almost 2 weeks and they had to order a new spoiler because the broke it and had to repaint part of my hatch because they scratched it.

 

[nkresho]

Sorry to hear. I've had similar experiences with body shops. That was my main intention, doing it myself.

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[Miky357]

Hey guys, I have the same issue. But because I am an electrical engineering tech I like to investigate why before I replace. So because one or two little leds dont burn out I knew it was either serious damage or a loose connection. So I did some testing and I found out what is causing this. Everybody is just replacing; that is a temp fix. This should not burn out no matter what and should be a major recall because it is safety issue. The reason the strip is burning out is because in the wiring harness that runs to it in your trunk hatch has wires where the insolation is damaged and those wires are touching and causing the short. It is also a danger to have something like that sparking in ur trunk where you may be transporting fuel? As soon as I get a chance I will post my fix and show the wires. Im going to call vw and see if they will give me a new harness and part free of charge because I just dont want them touching my ride...My wire insolation on all wires is not covering the copper. The copper is visible about 1.5-2inches where the wires are touching. I assume this damage was caused by wire machine that they use to aid in assembly. Or a mechanical wiring template rig was made wrong and perhaps a little too short to save wire.


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[nasdaqbull]

Any update or pics on your fix? I want to do this as well but if there's a better way to protect the wires in the future I'd rather do that.

Thanks,
Amre

 

[nkresho]

If the harness was bad, a replacement light would not fix it. It'd still be shorting out.

My light had condensation in it. I believe that to be the culprit.

Swapped it and drove for approximately a year before trading the car in. No issues with the replacement.