Center Brake Light

There is little plastic hatch that you need to remove from underneath. Be VERY careful popping it out, as it apparently breaks easily. Burnt-out bulbs in the third brake light are far too common. I know several folks who's dealers replaced it under warranty even.

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-= Darell =-
2001 Civic EX - currently the BIG car.
1997 EV1 - "This is NOT your father's golf cart"

the "hatch" is actually part of the red lens to the right side. Do be careful removing it because the tab that holds it in will break easily. Once it is removed, you will see a screw that has to be removed. The light assembly will then come out. It is is like mine, the bulb got hot and distorted so I had to break it to get it out through the hole in the assembly.

My center light is out too. The old bulb won't come out. Did your new bulb fit through the hole, even though you had to break the old one to get it out? Thanks for any help you can provide.

Man, 26k miles and the bulb burns out? Cheap bulb? It's interesting that the bulb distorts. The wiring harness had some burn marks. They need a part with more metal so it won't heat up as much. Of course, that costs money for the manufacturer.

Yes, the new bulb fits fine, and mine has lasted over 12,000 miles. I understand that this third brake light is covered by a special federal warranty requirement that requires manufacturers to fix it under warranty far beyond the normal vehicle warranty. However, in my case, it was much easier to do it myself as long as the problem does not keep recurring too frequently.

I had a similar problem with my '00 LX - went through 3 bulbs in a year. Turns out it was related to a known problem with the rear spoiler in the '00. Had mine replaced under warranty. I recommend that you ask the dealer to replace it.

I was wondering, since the Ody has a "brake lamp" indicator to warn that a brake light is out, why do I keep seeing Ody's with burned out brake bulbs driving around? Do people just not notice these things on their dash?

DTKWOK said:

I was wondering, since the Ody has a "brake lamp" indicator to warn that a brake light is out, why do I keep seeing Ody's with burned out brake bulbs driving around? Do people just not notice these things on their dash?

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Ours was out on our'01 (bought last August) and I asked the service advisor the same question. We had not seen a light in the dash indicating it. He said that applies to the bulbs in the taillights only.

Just passed the 36K miles barrier (60,000Km). The bulb just died out last week, not too bad after over 2 years.

My old bulb came out easily with no problems, BTW the bulb number is 921.

Best regards from Montreal, Canada

RobertC

lowmancd said:

My center light is out too. The old bulb won't come out. Did your new bulb fit through the hole, even though you had to break the old one to get it out? Thanks for any help you can provide.

Man, 26k miles and the bulb burns out? Cheap bulb? It's interesting that the bulb distorts. The wiring harness had some burn marks. They need a part with more metal so it won't heat up as much. Of course, that costs money for the manufacturer.

Click to expand...

Just posted Tips and Tricks for Center Brake Light

at:

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31979

HTH