How do you remove taillight assembly on 05 Aveo

[electrode]

I am trying to remove the taillight assembly to change the bulb. The manual said to remove the two screws and then remove the assembly, I did that and it still won't come out. Any one figure it out. Please help

[michaelodonnell123]

you have to remove the screws and pull firmly. There are 'pegs' that hold it in place. Pull it straight out or you might break the pegs.

[mikedudley17]

haha, yeh i broke one on each taillight. i beleive there are three "pegs" all together. its a bitch, but u just gotta pull firmly.

[mjwb52]

On my 2006 AVEO, you first have to remove the two very visible screws that are on the outside. In the trunk compartment, pull back the trunk liner where it covers the tail light pocket. You will want to remove the pushpin connector by the trunk opening. You will, also need to remove a pushpin up by the top of the wheel well to get the trunk liner back far enough. There is one screw on the inside that screws into the tail light assembly.

Now you have removed (3) screws.

There is a bolt and nut on the outboard side of the tail light pocket . This is for the fascia attachment. You don't have to do anything with this bolt/nut.

However, in the area above the bolt/nut, there are two plastic pins on the outboard side of the tail light pocket. After you remove all the screws, this is what will be holding the tail light in place. Tap these out with a hammer. You may have to whack it pretty hard. Once you get them moving, the tail light will pull right out.

Don't hit the quarter panel, or you may find yourself with a little out ding.

On the inboard side of the tail light pocket, there are two other plastic "pins". These are actually where the first two screws you removed attached. You don't need to fool with these.

[Davescort97]

Welcome to the forum. Thanks for the info about the 3rd screw. I know I would have missed it and trashed part of the tail light assembly. Why in the world would they put one of the screws on the inside? I know. So you will take it to the dealer.

[sulock]

I had to change the rear brake light and turn signal bulbs on the driver's side of my Aveo. I have the '07 5 door hatchback model and it only had 2 screws as indicated in the owners manual. There is a "pin" holding the whole assembly in place though and I had to pull hard to get it out. It's a post that is held by a flexible gripper. I tried to access the pin from inside the trunk, by pulling down the liner, but It didn't help. In the end I chipped some paint off of the corner of the body of the car trying to get the assembly out. I'm really not sure how they expect people to do this without damaging their car in some way.

[sbvaldez]

Everything I've read says that all Aveo's have the same assembly. I posted a video that shows a trick to popping the tabs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pZOFESaDlQ

Hopefully it'll help someone.