Getting ready to take off my rear bumper cover to paint it and I've been reading a lot of horror stories about removing the tail lights. Is it really that hard to get them to come off the alignment pegs/grommets after unbolting them? Any tips for taking them off? I watched a video from one guy that took pliers and twisted off the grommets so he could get the tail lights to come off. That doesn't make sense as the grommets are there to prevent leakage.

 

I can only say from my experience ('08 Coupe]: I had to remove the tail lights in order to swap out the reverse bulbs for LED's, and, yes- they were a pain to remove from the clips. Mainly because there really is no good place to get a grip and pull.

That said, I ended up loosening the nuts with a socket and with them still attached to the stud, I took a rubber mallet and lightly tapped the socket. It took a little "oomph" but they finally broke free.

Hope this helps some...

 

Makes sense. My coupe's an 08 also. Thanks.

 

Don't break the grommets. I used a plastic trim removal tool to get mine out. Just wrapped it in a microfiber.

 

On the grommets themselves or between the tail light housing and the body?

 

I did basically what ILM-NC G37S suggested. I can't recall if I tapped on the bolt/washer or on the actual plastic tab but it worked well. I saw the same video you mentioned and you're right, do not break those tabs off! All it needs is a bit of a tab to pop it out.

 

Does anyone have the mfg part number for the replacement grommets? I want to verify I don’t buy the wrong ones for when I do my swap next week.

i found 26557-2U001.