My daughter backed into another car last night and cracked the tail light cover on the driver's side. I was thinking of replacing the cover myself but I'm not much of a DIY'er.

Saw this part:

http://www.sears.com/replacement-07-...1&blockType=G1

Does anyone have experience with this? Will I just be able to pop off the old cracked cover and replace it with this?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Yep. Using a credit card or small flat tipped screwdriver, pry off the ring from the inside, starting at the top. You'll hear the clips pop free...work your way around and it will come off no problem. It will look like this:


You then will see three screws (I think they are torx of some type?), and that's all holding the light in. Unplug the electrical connection from the inside (behind the access panel in the boot) and you're free.

 

Thanks! Do I need to replace the whole tail light assembly or can I just replace the plastic cover? When I search for the part it seems that no one sells just the cover which I would expect would cost very little. Instead, it always says "tail light assembly" and costs roughly $60.

 

It's the whole thing. The cover is not removable. $60 seems cheap, it's probably not an original Mini part.

edit: looks like the OEM Mini part, with white lens cover, is $120. http://www.koperformance.com/catalog...Taillight.html

It's hit and miss with non-OEM parts. It could be fine, or it could have bad fitment and leak.

 

You're right. It's not OEM. I hadn't thought about the potential problems with using non-OEM parts.

Thanks again!

 

2011/12 tail lights not same as earlier... Caution!

 

I also had problems when I was replacing my tail light for my mini. Bought the 2011 tail light because I saw that it was cheaper. Then when I am finally fitting it, I saw that It's different from the other side. lol. So be careful in purchasing yours. Mine's a replacement and so far, no leaks were detected yet.