Interior rear boot light assembly

[mohxinn]

Hi,

I need to replace the bulb on the trunk interior light on the roof. But I foolishly removed the entire light assembly rather than removing the plastic cover. Now I cannot figure out how to put it back
.
There seems to be 2 metal clips which are wider than the hole in the liner on the roof.

The metal clips are larger than the cutout on the roof and I cannot get them to fit

Has anyone experience or know how to fix? Please don't tell me I have to either remove the liner or go to the dealer

Thanks in advance!

 

[DaveL59]

Can you not ease the roof liner down around the tailgate to get some access to the other side?

That way you'd be able to place the metal brackets back onto the plastic housing and apply what pressure is needed for them to lock back together.

Just don't bend the roof liner too far so it folds/creases.

 

[Phev2016]

I had the same thing happen with the one above rear seats. The dealer fixed it when it was in for a service at no cost. The guy at the desk said they didn't take down the roof lining and he thought they put the metal clips in position and held in place with cord around the legs that they pulled down when they pushed up the plastic housing. I wasn't convinced and can't imagine how that's done, and you'd probably need 3 people.

 

[mellobob]

I had the same thing happen with the one above rear seats. The dealer fixed it when it was in for a service at no cost. The guy at the desk said they didn't take down the roof lining and he thought they put the metal clips in position and held in place with cord around the legs that they pulled down when they pushed up the plastic housing. I wasn't convinced and can't imagine how that's done, and you'd probably need 3 people.

I had the same thing with the ones on the roof. The service guy nodded and we walked out to the car. He jumped in to the car and less than 30 seconds later he jumped out ... and it was all done. I asked him the secret and he just smiled. I don't think he used any cords or tools.

 

[DaveL59]

I had the same thing with the ones on the roof. The service guy nodded and we walked out to the car. He jumped in to the car and less than 30 seconds later he jumped out ... and it was all done. I asked him the secret and he just smiled. I don't think he used any cords or tools.

Well I'd guess one way to do it, once you have the metal aligned with the plastic housing is to just shove, hard. After all the liner flexes a lot and eventually the metal backing plate will contact the actual roof. Of course it could then scrape the paint in the hidden space above but perhaps not too much.

 

[mohxinn]

Can you not ease the roof liner down around the tailgate to get some access to the other side?

That way you'd be able to place the metal brackets back onto the plastic housing and apply what pressure is needed for them to lock back together.

Just don't bend the roof liner too far so it folds/creases

Can you not ease the roof liner down around the tailgate to get some access to the other side?

That way you'd be able to place the metal brackets back onto the plastic housing and apply what pressure is needed for them to lock back together.

Just don't bend the roof liner too far so it folds/creases.

Not so confident doing that. I fear I might break the clips or damage something else

 

[mohxinn]

The metal brackets seem to click in place to the plastic housing but then I cannot get them through the cut out in the liner. They seem to be wider than the cutout (the foot of the metal brackets)

 

[DaveL59]

I expect the idea is you slip the bracket above the liner before fitting the plastic housing to it. Once clicked together that holds it all in place, the metal tabs behind the liner meaning it can't drop out or move about.

 

[greendwarf]

Yes, the user manual is full of rib tickling jokes from the Marketing Department of the Sirius Cybernetics Corp - who were first up against the wall when the Revolution came (according to my future copy of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy which came through a wormhole in space back in time to the present)