Replacing Your Own Car Brake Light
When I was picking up my kids from preschool a couple of months ago, a mom stopped me to say that one of my brake lights was out. At this point, I had already changed two different car batteries, so I felt pretty confident that I could replace the brake light myself. With the help of a friendly YouTuber of course.
What to Know Before Starting
The first thing I needed to figure out was exactly which bulb was broken. For this, I enlisted the help of my two kids. After starting up the car and leaving it in park, I pushed down on the brakes and asked them to check which light wasn't working. To be 100% sure, I wound up having them take a picture so I could look at it myself.
What I needed to know next was what kind of replacement bulb to purchase. After a quick internet search, I found the correct part on AutoZone. There were a couple of options, but I went with the Sylvania 7443. It appears to be the same bulb regardless of whether you are changing the tail light or brake light.
After that, I looked up step-by-step instructions on how to replace the brake light. There was no shortage of YouTube videos to choose from. In my case, I was working on a 2014 Subaru Impreza, and this was the video I liked best after checking out a few.
Changing the Brake Light Bulb
After I picked up the replacement bulb at AutoZone, I changed the brake light right in their parking lot. The hardest part was finding and pulling out all the plastic clips in order to access the brake light from inside the trunk, but it really wasn't all that hard. Other than that, it was pretty straightforward.
In Conclusion
Replacing the brake light myself was quick, easy, and cheap. I didn't have to find a mechanic and call them and make an appointment and wait and bring my car in somewhere. The replacement bulbs came in a 2-pack, which was less than $10. I was able to take care of the issue the same day I became aware of it and at a time that was convenient for me. In a future post, I'll share my experience changing the car batteries on both the 2014 Subaru Impreza as well as a 2009 Honda CRV.
What to Know Before Starting
The first thing I needed to figure out was exactly which bulb was broken. For this, I enlisted the help of my two kids. After starting up the car and leaving it in park, I pushed down on the brakes and asked them to check which light wasn't working. To be 100% sure, I wound up having them take a picture so I could look at it myself.
What I needed to know next was what kind of replacement bulb to purchase. After a quick internet search, I found the correct part on AutoZone. There were a couple of options, but I went with the Sylvania 7443. It appears to be the same bulb regardless of whether you are changing the tail light or brake light.
After that, I looked up step-by-step instructions on how to replace the brake light. There was no shortage of YouTube videos to choose from. In my case, I was working on a 2014 Subaru Impreza, and this was the video I liked best after checking out a few.
Changing the Brake Light Bulb
After I picked up the replacement bulb at AutoZone, I changed the brake light right in their parking lot. The hardest part was finding and pulling out all the plastic clips in order to access the brake light from inside the trunk, but it really wasn't all that hard. Other than that, it was pretty straightforward.
In Conclusion
Replacing the brake light myself was quick, easy, and cheap. I didn't have to find a mechanic and call them and make an appointment and wait and bring my car in somewhere. The replacement bulbs came in a 2-pack, which was less than $10. I was able to take care of the issue the same day I became aware of it and at a time that was convenient for me. In a future post, I'll share my experience changing the car batteries on both the 2014 Subaru Impreza as well as a 2009 Honda CRV.
Comments
Post a Comment