Wondering how i replace a burned out tail light on a 06 cts. i see the there isn't any bolts holding the assembly together from the outside. do i have to go in from the trunk? how do i take off the inside panels?

tail light assemblies are either held in with screws from the outside which hold the lens and the assembly in place or you have to remove the trim in the boot and undo small nuts on bolts to take the assembly out to the rear.

Carefully remove the two trim plugs from each tail light assembly with a small knife blade. Remove the two hex head bolts on each assembly. Insert a small paint stir stick (soft wood won't damage paint) between the fender and the tail light assembly. Gently pull the opposite (inside) side of the assembly off. The paint stick allow the assembly to pop off the ball and socket pin holding the outside part of the assembly in place. Unplug the power plug by releasing the retainer clip. Unscrew the large black plastic nuts on the back of the assembly with a very large screwdriver, if they can't be turned by hand,and remove. Replace burned out bulb/s and reassemble in reverse order. Remember the trim plugs have two prongs on them. Position them with the prongs and the direct top and bottom and press into place.

The steps to replace the brake light bulb on a 1996 Toyota Corolla:

The bulb needed is type 1157. After opening the trunk you need to remove the trunk liner on the side (right side for this example)where the brake light bulb is out. The plastic capture grommets hold the liner in place. Once the grommets are removed there is a nut (10mm) that is a bright brass-like color. This needs to be removed. Then on the outside of the trunk on the tail-light lens left side there are two nuts black in color (10mm) they need to be removed. Now the fun starts .... you needto slide the whole assembly back. You will note two black plastic posts on the rear quarter-panel, do not remove these ... these are used to hold the tail-light assembly in place since on the inside of the tail light assembly there are two rod-like protrusions that slide into these brackets. So.... remove the screws and wiggle the assembly back and it "should" slide back so that you can get at the bulb socket hat you twist to remove from the assembly. Now the bulb is visible and you reverse the order of steps to get it all back together .... a miserable design!

To remove the tail light assembly to be replaced, you need to access the fasteners from inside the trunk.

Remove the black plastic retainers holding the trunk liner in place on the side you wish to replace. Once you have removed the retainers, peel back the trunk liner in the area you will be working on. Disconnect the light bulb sockets (be careful not to break any bulbs). The tail light assembly itself is held in place by 4 - 8mm nuts on the bolts that protrude about 1/2". An 8 mm deep well socket works well, but an open-end wrench will do the same job, just slower. Some of these also hold the wiring in place, so take note of where everthing goes. To put it all back together, just reverse the process.

from the trunk, pull down the carpet and remove the nuts holding down the tail light assembly. Should be 3-4 nuts. After removing the assembly from the outside simply turn the light socket to remove it from the tail light housing. Replace the bulb and reinstall in reverse order.

You did right so far. Once you have lowered the tailgate and removed the upper and lower 10mm bolts the tail light assembly should be loose and moving a little bit. There are only 2 push-in plastic posts holding it at this point now. Then you have to pull back the assembly firmly, hit on the external side of the assembly with the palm of your hand and it will pop out. DO NOT try to pry with a screwdriver or any other tools.

Disconnect wires connections, replace burned or broken bulbs, make test. If it doesn't work check if the wiring has been affected by the accident.

Hope it will help
Dan

ok cadillac for some reason has to be difficult about these things you actually have to take the whole tail light assembly out. . .here is what youre going to need:

1. socket wrench
2. number 10 socket (gm's nut of choice)
3. patience because it is easy to drop the nut be careful

ok so you have to open the trunk then take the plastic that holds the carpet down off. you do this by unscrewing the black screw on pegs (not sure what to call these things). after you do this pull the plastic thing hard because it is being held in place by some pegs other than the ones you have already removed. then remove all the side carpeting depending on which side youre changing. ok after this look directly behind the tail light assembly for 2-3 (i forget how many) bolt like pegs (my new favorite word) these are attached to the plastic tail light assembly. then take the nuts off of these pegs and then you should be able to tug the assembly off. then you do what the others say take out the socket and replace the bulb.

like i said cadillac makes **** hard to do. if you hate this wait til you have to take the whole bumper off to replace the headlight bulbs (might want to invest in some hid lights so you wont ever have to replace them)

good luck

You have to rip it out after removing the two 10 mm nuts, the catch at the front was not designed to let go until you bang it and cause the shade to break , stupidest thing I ever saw

there are 4 bolts inside the trunk which hold the taillight housing to the back of the car.unscrew the 4 bolts and remove assembly.

Once the two screws are removed pry gently on the outside edge of lens with something that will not scratch paint