For the tailgate issue, the latch mechanism gets out of adjustment from the slamming of the reach hatch. It is very simple to adjust, but very difficult to reach. You must pull the reach hatch interior panel away from the door while it is closed. The small arm that trips the lock is held in place by a nylon keeper and must be adjusted. This is easy to do once you get the interior trim off and the hatch opened. Do not close the hatch again after the adjustment until you have tried the handle about a few times.
Open the trunk. The light fitting is held on by 3 obvious bolts. You'll need a socket set to shift them (I think I used a 3/32" bit). The fun begins because there is also a 4th bolt, hidden behind the lower bumper. You have to disassemble the end of the bumper to get at this (take off the plastic end cover that is attached to the metal bumper bar.) This itself is held on by 3 bolts. Hmm. Undoing metal bolts that had been in place since 1993 (most likely), exposed to all weathers. Thats fun (not).
Once you have taken out the four bolts that hold the big boxy plastic light fitting in place, it should fall forward from the car easily. To replace the bulbs, gently turn the metal holders 1/3 of a turn clockwise. They should retract back through the plastic fitting, allowing you to unnscrew the old bulb, and replace it.
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Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 AT 7:09 PM
