High Mounted Stoplight/breaklight

[jliem]

I've bought LS400 two years ago (1996). I need to replace the light bulb of the high mounted stoplight/breaklight. Does anyone know how do I get access to the light bulb? I cannot see any obvious access from the booot as well as from inside the car. Any information is very appreciated.

Thanks,

Josh

[dfkd]

This is for gen1 but i guess it should be same/similar:

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/upperstoplight.html

[jliem]

Thanks for the tip, but Gen II has slightly different arrangement. The Subwofer cover is seperated from the Break Light cover.

[dfkd]

Thanks for the tip, but Gen II has slightly different arrangement. The Subwofer cover is seperated from the Break Light cover.

←

Ok i found this in another post:

"Wedge a flat head screwdriver along the plastic cover panel (parallel with the seat) at each side there are two tabs that you have to push towards the back of the car and the plastic cover will pop up. Do it slowly and you should have no problem."

The person said it worked great.

[jliem]

Sorry, I am not very technical. Did you mean the break light cover or subwoofer cover?

[blake918]

All you need to do is wedge your fingers under the brake light cover, slightly lift it up, and then, pull it towards the front of the car. It should come right out.

[lexusisis]

I just did this on my 2002 LS430. No tools or prying required on this model. Just slide the plastic housing towards the passenger side, and the up and towards the front of the car.

Thanks for the help. This thread set me in the right direction and saved me a trip to the dealer.

[1990LS400]

I replaced the bulbs in the high mounted brake light on my 00 LS today for the first time. One bulb was burned out but I replaced both since the glass on both was blackened. The key to removing the high brake light housing seems to be to lift the forward edge of the housing up far enough so that the three red plastic prongs on each side of the forward edge of the light housing clear the forward edge of the hole in the rear parcel shelf. The red plastic prongs appear to be fairly fragile.

The removal procedure is certainly different than on the gen 1 LS I had where the subwoofer and brake light were in the same housing -- more difficult to reach back to the separate light housing on the 00 LS.

[lexguy2000]

I replaced the bulbs in the high mounted brake light on my 00 LS today for the first time. One bulb was burned out but I replaced both since the glass on both was blackened. The key to removing the high brake light housing seems to be to lift the forward edge of the housing up far enough so that the three red plastic prongs on each side of the forward edge of the light housing clear the forward edge of the hole in the rear parcel shelf. The red plastic prongs appear to be fairly fragile.

The removal procedure is certainly different than on the gen 1 LS I had where the subwoofer and brake light were in the same housing -- more difficult to reach back to the separate light housing on the 00 LS.

I got it. Thank you for your help.

[bill*]

I replaced the bulbs in the high mounted brake light on my 00 LS today for the first time. One bulb was burned out but I replaced both since the glass on both was blackened. The key to removing the high brake light housing seems to be to lift the forward edge of the housing up far enough so that the three red plastic prongs on each side of the forward edge of the light housing clear the forward edge of the hole in the rear parcel shelf. The red plastic prongs appear to be fairly fragile.

The removal procedure is certainly different than on the gen 1 LS I had where the subwoofer and brake light were in the same housing -- more difficult to reach back to the separate light housing on the 00 LS.

[bill*]

Very helpful post. Thank you.

Your instruction to lifting the front edge of the high mounted stop light housing was the key. More force that I felt comfortable with was needed to clear the front of the cutout but nothing broke!

Bill (married to owner of '99 LS400 with 126K miles)