tail light / bulb is out 2002 Jetta

[nerdybrit]

hi, first post. I'm a complete novice. 2002 Jetta. The tail light (the one that comes on when you turn your lights on) is out on the driver side. I can't work out how to get in to replace it, and Autozone says it's all dealer only anyway (nearest is 50 miles away and a 21 day waiting list for appointment). Is it a bulb, do I need the whole housing? and what do I do? etc etc. Much appreciated. Charlie

[ctuagent117]

why are you making this so hard? just replace the bulb, you dont need to go to a dealer for that. autozone will do it for free

[nerdybrit]

well, it was AT Autozone that they looked it up on the computer and said they don't carry the bulb it's dealer only. what do i know to argue? If i can find where to get the bulb and someone can answer the way to get IN to that area of the car, I'll do it :-)

[ctuagent117]

EBAY thank him for EBAY

[ctuagent117]

then let the boys at autozone install it for you, or take it to a mechanic. im not familiar w/that model year, but if you pull the carpet off the back of the tail light (inside the trunk), just unscrew the plates covering the tail light and replace the bulb. once you unscrew the plate its all sommon sense from there.

[CaseyVR6]

There is a little door that opens up inside the trunk right in front of the tail light. Then, there is a large plastic housing that has all the bulbs in it, and it's held in by two clips. The clips are aligned across from each other so that you can reach in and pinch them together with your index finger and thumb. The bulbs are sold at Auto Zone, Kragan, Advanced, and any other store including Wal-Mart. The Auto Zone guy was taking you for a ride, or he's just a complete [insert unpleasant word here]. It will take a slight jiggle and wiggle to get the big plastic backing out of it's nest in the tail light, but you'll work it out... just don't break the bulbs because it's a pain to get the bottom out without glass to hold onto.

[nerdybrit]

you are a star Casey. The carpet is velcroed to make it look seamless. On the driver side you have to open a little compartment in the wing first (where you might stow your tire iron, for example), once that is down you can remove the carpet and access the door to the light fitting. Then its just as you said. On the Autozone computer it DOES have a big red X against the item, but once I took the old bulb in, it was about 15 seconds work to find an exact replica. Thanks again.

[Melo]

I have an 2003 Jetta and my tail lights are also out. My brake lights, head lights turn signals and hazards all work fine (I had to replace both brake lights because they were burnt out). I have checked the fuses, all are ok. Does anyone know what else it could be?
Now my car won't start I read in another forum that if the ignition fuse is removed I will have to reset it with my master key. Is this correct? All I have is the master key (because it was a repo and I bought it from a broker).

Any help would be great!!

[cwjeff]

Check The Wires Going Into The Fuse Box That Was My Problem

[chatio26]

Hi, I have the exact same problem on my '02 Jetta, I have checked and the bulb is okayfor the "lights on" lightbulb on my left side tail light. What can I do? The fuses are okay, I already checked them. I want to avoid having to go to the repair shop to spend $$$ on something I can do myself, if there is something I can do. Thanks