How to replace the high mount brake light on a 2003 Honda Civic coupe

The 2003 Honda Civic coupe has three brake lights - one located on either side of the trunk and one located above the trunk.  If the brake light above the trunk (called the high mount brake light) ever goes out, replacing it is an easy task.  You can get a new bulb (21 watts, part #7440) from almost any auto parts store for about $5 or $10.  Amazon sells a pair of long-life 7440 bulbs for $6.99.  The high mount brake light bulb used in the Civic is the same as the one found in many other Honda vehicles (for example, the 2001 Accord).

Once you have the new bulb, open the trunk to get at the brake light.  If you have a lot of boxes or other large items in the trunk, you may want to remove them to give yourself easier access to the brake light.  You can see where the brake light is from outside the car -- to access the bulb, locate the underside of this light on the interior ceiling of the trunk.  You'll be able to see the red cover of the light, as well as a gray housing assembly and a power connector that leads to the assembly.

Remove the brake light assembly by grasping the gray plastic piece with your hand and turning it counter-clockwise (as you're looking up at it).  You may have to apply a lot of force to turn the assembly, but once you've turned it about a quarter of a turn it should pop out of its housing.  If it's extremely difficult to remove the bulb assembly, you can use a pair of slip-joint pliers, but be careful not to nick or cut the wires.  Once you've twisted the assembly and it is free from its housing, remove it carefully to avoid hitting the bulb on anything.

With the assembly out, you can disconnect it from the wires by pushing in the tab on the bottom of the connector (away from the bulb) and then pulling the connector out of the assembly.  You should now be holding just the bulb in its plastic case.

Remove the bulb by grasping it firmly just above where it meets the plastic case (below the bulbous portion of the bulb) and pulling it out of the case.  It won't pull out easily, but be careful not to squeeze the bulb as you pull on it so that it doesn't get damaged or broken.

Now you can insert the new bulb.  Push it straight into the case until it is firmly in place, then reattach the power connector to the other end.  Then put the bulb assembly back into its housing beneath the red brake light cover and turn it clockwise until it locks into place.

Once you have everything reassembled, test the brake light to be sure the new bulb works.  If you have another person available, one of you can apply the brakes (with the car on) and the other can stand behind the car to see if the high mount brake light comes on.  If it's dark outside, you can perform this test by yourself.  If there's not another person nearby, place a piece of white or light-colored paper loosely over the brake light, resting on the trunk, and then apply the brakes.  You should be able to see through your rear view mirror whether the brake light comes on by the red reflection on the paper.

If the light doesn't come on, check your connections.  Make sure the power connector is firmly seated in the assembly -- remove it and reattach it to be sure -- and if the light still won't come on, take the bulb out and reseat that as well.  If the light still doesn't work, you probably either have a defective bulb or a wiring problem.

(Originally posted on Helium.com, December 2011)