Removing Is 250 3rd Brake Light Cowl

[frankmusic]

I'm one of the new guys on this forum. The stuff you can learn here is fantastic. :)

I'm thinking of having my windows tinted. Summers in Florida can be tough on the interior and even worse if you are inside baking in it. I wanted to remove the high mount (3rd Brake) light from the rear shelf just before the tint installer does his thing. I had asked him about that and he said that he usually cuts around it. Well, I'm not particularly fond of that look so ..........

Has anyone had the opportunity to (temporarily) remove the third brake light cowl on the IS250? Is it basically a lift straight up kind of thing?

Thanks in advance.

[frankmusic]

Well, I think I may have found some useful diagrams that could be helpful when undertaking this task. ;)

[frankmusic]

1. Remove Rear Seat Headrest.

a - Disconnect the cable from the negative battery terminal.

b - Remove the headrest from the center seat as well as the right and left seats.

2. Remove High Mounted Stop Lamp Set.

a - Disengage the four tabs of the high mounted stop light set as shown in the illustration, and detach it from the package tray trim. (Fig. 2-1)

b - Disconnect the connector and remove the high mounted stop light set.

[frankmusic]

3. Remove High Mounted Stop Light Unit.

a - Remove the EPT sealant from the high mounted stop light cover as shown in the illustration. (Fig. 3-1)

b - Extend the ribs of the high mounted stop light cover in the direction of the arrows as shown in the illustration, disengage the two tabs, and remove the high mounted stop light unit.

[smooth1]

If you have a tinter that's worth anything, He can tint the entire rear window and you don't have to remove the third brake light at all. I had my windows tinted and they didn't have to remove anything.