Your brake lights are one of the most important components of your vehicle that keep you safe in traffic. They turn on every time you put your foot on the brake pedal, which means they are likely to go out eventually and will need to be replaced right away in order to avoid being rear-ended or getting a ticket. The good news is that changing a brake light at home near San Marcos isn’t too tricky, so check out our guide below and contact our BMW service center if you have any questions!
Find the Correct Bulbs: The first step to take is to figure out what kind of bulbs you need. Check your owner’s manual to see the correct bulb size and voltage for your specific vehicle, or talk to our parts center and we can help you get the correct genuine BMW parts a long-lasting replacement.
Remove Tail Light Housing: Once you have the replacement bulb, you’ll need to remove the colored lens that hides the brake light bulbs, which can be done with a Phillips-head screwdriver. After the cover is out of the way, remove the bad bulb.
Replace bulb: Before you install the new brake-light bulb, apply a bit of dielectric grease to the end, which prevents corrosion and rust. It also makes it easier to remove the bulb when it’s time to change it again. Put the new bulb in place, reattach the taillight housing, and enjoy driving safely around the San Diego area once again.
Brake Light Tips
Since you can’t see the back of your car when you are driving it, it’s hard to know ahead of time that your brake lights are dead or dying. Every once in a while, grab a buddy and have them observe from a safe distance away while you press the brake pedal, and they can see if the brake lights come on.
You can also have the service technicians test your brake lights when you take your car in for routine maintenance.
A light can malfunction prematurely if moisture gets into the housing of the brake light bulb, so be careful when replacing the light that everything is airtight.
We updated this article on September 11, 2020 with two more reasons why the Service Center at BMW of Escondido is the Premiere Shop in San Diego County. Scroll down to “Our Service Center has All the Comforts of Home” and “Our Service Center is All About Your Convenience” and see how we are continuing to…
Meghan Galeli is not your typical 20-something living in San Diego. You won’t find her taking a selfie every hour or at Starbucks ordering a nonfat pumpkin spice latte with whip cream please. If she’s not doing her day job as our local Genius (What is a BMW Genius?) running between the sales and service departments…
