Removing G37 Coupe Taillights
 

Hey guys,

Trying to remove my taillights (2008 G37S Coupe). Is anyone able to help me remove these clips:

Attachment 189362

Most appreciated!
-B

they appear to be holding the outer edge of the tail light in place. i've tried pinching, twisting, pushing, pulling, hitting; nothing is working.

you really got to pull (straight back) kinda hard to get the outer edges to "pop" out. but be careful about scratching the surrounding paint when it does finally give. what worked for me was to gently pry the plastic up that shrouds the tail light (from the trunk, topside looking down), then try to get your fingers on the outer edge and pull straight back with some force. its tricky, but thats how i got mine out without breaking the clips.

thanks for the help ilove! i ended up figuring out that you can just hit them with a hammer to pop them out. it took a lot more force then I thought it would. I ended up breaking one of the damed clips though. any idea where I can find a replacement clip?

Attachment 189361

Thats the second coat (still wet). depending on how it dries, i may leave it as is or go one more coat. after that is three coats of clear then a good polish. I can't wait to get them installed again. I just hope that broken clip doesn't mean my tail light will be loose / rattle :S

I don't advise the "hitting with a hammer" method. The bolts are just molded into the plastic lens housing and you run the risk of cracking the plastic or breaking something else (as you have). There are DIY for this in the forum. I prefer the "yank hard" method, better to pull than push.

No need for a replacement clip; its in their snug. Here's the result of my project:

Attachment 189359
Attachment 189360

^^^ is that the GTR style rail lights from ine eighty?

No. I just wet sanded then painted my tails using a product called "VHT Nite-Shades". I finished it off with a few coats of clear on top. They are still a little muddy/matte as I haven't been able to polish them yet. I picked up a buffer and a bottle of polish today so I'll have a go at them tomorrow and see what the final result is. Though I think they still look pretty awesome even without the polish.

Aye, I saw one thread on removing the tail lights. Believe me, I pulled and I pulled and I pulled on the damn thing. I had my neighbour give 'er a go too; they simply wouldn't come out. The hammer was only a last resort (and for good reason lol) after what was probably 2 hours of failed attempts. The logic of using clips like these as opposed to sticking with nuts/bolts is beyond me. Way to make things difficult Nissan lol; you've just gotttt to be different.

I just purchased some back up lights from Diode Dynamics and attempted to install them today. What a PITA. Removed the 3 nuts, unplugged the electrical connector and pulled and pulled without any success. Buttoned it back up, will give it another try next week. Next time, I'll remove the top covers to see if that helps. I never saw such a difficult removal for such an easy replacement in my life.