I have an '02 X type. Drivers side tail light lens cover is busted. I have the replacement lens...how do you replace it?

 

In the trunk, pull back the liner in front of the light area and you will see the light assembly. There is one electric connector and three nuts. It's a snap.

 

Lanetrainman, first off, welcome to the Forums. I think you will find lots of useful information here. But, we do ask something of you though too. Please stop by the New Member Section and introduce yourself. We are a friendly bunch and we like to get to know one another. This will also give you a chance to meet the people that make this place what it is. You may even get a friendly surprise out of the deal.

As for your issue. Are you saying that you have the complete tail light housing or do you just have the red lens and you need to attach the red lens to the black plastic backing? If you have the complete tail light assembly, then as clyons mentioned, you pull back the liner of the trunk, remove the nuts holding the housing in place, disconnect the connector and the tail light will fall right out.

Now, if you only have the red lens, then this is a completely different story. The red lens is cemented in place. So, you will still end up removing the tail light from the vehicle. Next you will remove the bulb tray from the tail light assembly (3 tabs and the back part of the tail light will come off). At this point, you need to warm up the oven to about 250F (and no more!!!!!!!). You will want to get yourself 2 metal cans that you can rest the tail light assembly on such that the black plastic is touching the cans (you don't want any part of the red lens to be touching anything). Place the taillight on a cookie sheet, sitting on top of the cans, then slide it into the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes. Once the taillight has gotten warm, remove it and using a flat bladed screw driver, start prying on the seem where the red lens meets the black plastic. At first it will appear you are not going to get too much, but you are actually doing more than you think. After about a minute or so of gently prying, put the lens back into the oven to get warm again. Keep repeating till you start getting the lens to come off of the black plastic. You may need to work your way around the lens to start breaking the cement bond. After a few heating cycles, you should start to see where the lens is coming free. Just don't pry too hard as you can crack the red plastic and then you are going to have to go digging in the crack to pull out the red shards left behind. Keep warming the tail light housing until all the red plastic is removed.

At this point, you will need to stop by the auto parts store and get some "lens adhesive". This is the black cement that you were just playing with. You will want to run a bead of it in the crack of the tail light housing and then immediately push the new lens into place, ensuring that it seats firmly and deeply into the tail light backing. If you don't think you got a good seal somewhere, put a bit of the cement on your finger and push the cement into the gap between the lens and the backing. Let the cement dry (overnight) and then install the new lens into your car. Keep an eye on the lens to make sure that water is not forming inside the lens. If it is, you will need to figure out where the water is making its way in and seal the hole up. Otherwise, you are going to have big electrical issues in about a year or so due to the bulb based corroding and not making good electrical connection.