2006 Mitsubishi Endeavor Brake Light Replacement

Brake light burned out on Mom's car, so I replaced it. The only trick was getting the light fixture loose from the body. Open the lift gate and two Phillips head screws are revealed. Removing them loosens the inside edge, but the outside edge is still firmly attached. A little wiggling and a little gentle tugging and it comes loose. There are two studs that snap into little plastic retainers in the body. The studs have grooves just below the tip that give the retainers someplace to grip. Just pull straight out and they will come loose. Take the screws out first, of course.

I realize the picture angle is a little strange. We are looking down and forward from in back of the left hand rear turn signal fixture. The bulb hanging there is the brake light/taillight. The top of the bumper is visible in the lower right corner.

• Red arrows mark the studs,
• Green arrows their sockets in the bodywork.
• Purple arrows mark the screw holes in the light fixture,
• Purple circle marks the upper screw socket in the bodywork.

I had to replace both headlamp bulbs last year. Now I am wondering how long the other brake light is going to last. My truck is seven years older than this vehicle and I haven't had to replace any light bulbs, at least not that I recall. Kind of weird. I would think a truck would be a harsher ride for light bulbs than a passenger vehicle.

Another oddity is that the headlamp bulbs on this car are the fancy new halogen bulbs with their plastic fittings, but these brake light bulbs are from like the 1950's, standard old 1157's.

Update December 2016 replaced missing picture.