A few members on the forum here have swapped out their stock tail lights for LED tail lights which is what I just finished today so I figured I would post up a how to since although a relatively easy thing to do, pictures and information always help.
I have a 2009 Mazda6 I so I went on www.car-part.com and searched for tail lights and found a set of LED tail lights for $150. I picked them up today and installed them.
Start by taking out the divets in the plastic and the carpet so you can pull it back. A flat head screw driving and your finger nail works.
Once the carpet is pulled back, you should disconnect the cables to the lights so they wont be in your way. After that you will need a wrench to untighten the 3 nuts that hold the tail light assembly in place. There is the tail light cable that you squeeze on the bottom and pull to disconnect and the blinker light. You pull up on the red tab and then squeeze to release the blinker light.
Once the screws have been taken out, you can loosen then assembly up and then you will need to apply some pretty strong firm pressure on the assembly to pull it out. Apply firm pressure and pull towards you. I struggled the most since it felt as though the corner was still bolted down. There is a white circle that holds the corner of the assembly in which is tight but comes out when you pull hard enough on the assembly.
*NOTE* it will probably not sound pretty.
You do NOT have to pop the white clip out that is circled. That is the white clip on the inside of the trunk. The other side of the white clip is a circle that pulls out when you remove the assembly.
The correct way is to pull the assembly but I accidentally poped the white clip out since I didn't know.
If anyone would like to comment with tips on an easier way to get the assembly out, feel free as that was my most difficult part.
Once the assembly is out, replace it with the LED housing, hook up the wires and test to make sure that the tail light works before you replace the carpet and divets into the plastic.
Repeat on the other side and you will now have LED tail lights.
The easiest way to take the assembly out is to grab it by the black plastic sides, on the part facing the inside side of the trunk. You kind of just grab it like a handle and pull, it will make a horrible noise and then the housing comes right off. Good writeup!
The website you posted wasn't available. Can you also show me where to cut and/or rewire the tail lights. I'm thinking about purchasing some. It would be greatly appreciated! ^_^
There is no cutting or splicing required to swap the tail lights. Just follow the guide above and it is plug and play but anyone here will be glad to answer any questions you may have.
Occording to my Mazda dealer, I called them one day to see if I had HID hookups and he looked up my VIN number and mine was one of the first in production and they didn't come standard, at first. LEDs are starting to be popular with all electronics only recently (the last 2 yrs.) so that's understandable.
I assume you have all the other stuff for the interior like leather, auto climate control, moonroof, bsm, etc. Weird...just out of curiousity, do you have HIDs then?
I assume you have all the other stuff for the interior like leather, auto climate control, moonroof, bsm, etc. Weird...just out of curiousity, do you have HIDs then?
I would question the dealer whether it's really a GT model. I remember all the promo material and website talked about LED taillights. That was one of the selling points for me.
I'd still like to get LEDs for my 09 but you scour the net and it comes up mostly for 2008 and earlier. I even tried several salvage yards for parts. Is the HID conversion just a lamp conversion?
Have you checked with Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market yet? I just did a quick search and a bunch of LED tail lights came up. I'm not sure if there are any near your location but I'm sure some places will ship them to you.
Thanks Novak! I found some 2011 LED tail lights for about $135 each on another site. Should they work with an 09? Also, I found a couple side view mirrors with all the features(heat/bsm) plus integrated turn signals. Will they work with my 09?
Double check with the place selling the tail lights that they will work with your 09 but I see no reason why they wouldn't work. As far as the mirrors go, I don't believe those are going to work since your car needs the computer for it or something. I think you also need the rear view mirror as well for it to work.
Tail lights should be good, I wouldn't bank on the bsm and heat working though but I could be wrong.
MY 09 outside mirrors already have BSM, and approach lighting so the only add would be the turn signal. So I wonder if it would still work. Not sure if the wiring for the signals is hidden in there or woould have to be created
I'm looking into replacing the "normal" filament headlight bulbs (H11) with the newer LED types (see photo) have any of you tried them.
I have been told that at the moment this type of bulb is not legal due to the light output or that they have not yet been certified, most car accessory shops...
I finally worked up the courage to tackle a custom tail light modification, which involved dremel cutting, bondo, painting, trial and error, and a ton of patience. I have a 2012 GT and have two different directions I could go with (see pics). If anyone would like tips or a how-to let me know!
Looking to upgrade my headlights on my 2012 6. The ones I have are terrible and really hard to see at night. What would be y’alls recomended go to headlights? I need something bright and not sure if I want to install HIDs. Thanks in advance.
