Finally !!! thank you ! after seeing all the top youtube video that are useless fake guides because they "forget " to say how to remove those ultra annoying screws, which is the only difficulty, I finally see what kind of tool I need, I tried pliers which just crushed everything and a No6 screwdriver it's wasn't big enough
I love the care you put into your work, and videos. I also like being told to be careful..a lot of times in these tight spaces people will let their tension take over. Nice and relaxing. Can't wait to start tackling these smaller fixes on my Focus. Thank you.
Just what I needed. Yes the video was a bit long but I'm grateful for the detail. In my case I had to take off the subwoofer first. Thank you for posting this.
Thank you very much sir, your attention to detail, even trying to help us protect the silly plastic wingnuts (that cracked a bit anyway, too tight from factory), is really awesome. Thanks again, your video was perfect.
Great video. Without this tip I'd have had to have dealer do what is really a simple lamp replacement. My focus is great, but the whole assembly is a bit wonky imho. Anyway, youtube has made all kinds of tasks possible that I wouldn't have had a clue on how to do!
This helped me save some money. Your detailed explanations and mindfulness for damage that could be done using the wrong tools are invaluable! Thank you moomoo97!
I'm pretty sure Ford uses a specific tool for this and they want customers to pay their service to change lamp bulbs, in my case I wanted to change the stock reverse light which is a bit weak and very orange
Handy tip: Recommend using a 21mm or 22mm wheel brace/wrench, it fits snuggly around wing nut giving good leverage to release from stick point then unscrew with hand. Using flat-head screwdriver with that shallow recess or even pliers against wings begins the damaging process. Initially tried this method but often slips when trying to release from its stick point.
Thanks for these pointers - helped me no end although they put the top securing wing nut in the most inaccessible place on the estate mk3 (bit of improvisation and used a coin up there to undo the wing nut)! Got there in the end and swapped the brake lights out for some LED versions.
I'm sure they need special tool in factory for that wing nut in such tight space too. We don't have the Estate Mk3 selling here, so it's hard to provide a workaround here.
Thank you very much for the video I ask you a big favor, by any chance do you know the colors of the reverse gear wires? The positive is. Negative? Why should I attach a rectro camera on the reversing cables. Thank you again
It will certainly be still in the car and not outside. But it will be a Challenge for retrieval depends on how 'deep' the wing nut has fallen into the crevice. The first thing you can do is to remove the spare tire cover and the surrounding board/tray to get close to the potential landing spot. Gently lift the side trim panel (where the wing nut is covered by it) a little and slide your hand in there to search for the wing nut by feel. If all is lost and hard to search, simply take the other wing nut out from the car to Hardware Store to find a similar style wing nut as replacement, or go to the Ford parts to order instead.
You can always go online Ford OEM parts dealer (for better price). OR you can check out eBay for used OEM tail lamps because some sellers are either part-out from the salvaged cars or they just swapped with aftermarket lamps and sell their OEMs.
Unfortunately the factory screws are so tight and they're located at an inconvenient angle (Shown in the video). Thus I still suggest to use the proper tool to unscrew them first. You can hand-tight them back later and no need to use tools for unscrewing them again in the future.
Those little scratches may be hidden, but they're a perfect place for rust to start. Touch it up with any good automotive touch-up paint -- because those scratches are hidden, you don't even have to get the matching color unless you really want to. But just get 'em painted so rust doesn't start.
Yes, those scratches have to be touched-up before re-installing the lamp. Though I think Ford didn't do a good job in controlling the clearance between parts. Most US-spec Ford Focus 5-door can find such hidden scratch by the tail lamp on the driver-side.
Thanks for all the vids. If you were a mechanic, I would have you work on my vehicle. I've now gone from Gen I to the latest and man, things on the vehicle are not as high a quality as they once were. I blame the 'Bamster.
Thanks for the kind words too. Actually the latest Gen of Ford Focus is on par including the Design & Engineering for reliability (from my views of actual ownership). Ford has got a lot of major things right like the drive-train and chassis dynamics BUT certain little things in the tactile- and quality-feel (aka craftsmanship?) still need to catch-up to match the imports standards. Good thing that the Focus is easy to work on and glad my videos help you fellow DIYers. I still plan to make more DIY videos whenever I need to do work on the car, suggestions are welcome too.
moomoo97 On par with what would you say? Gen 1? I'll havta disagree with that. I'm telling you, to help meet the cafe standards nowadays, everything is plastic and cheap. I'm liking the Corolla from a maintenance cost stand point and from 2014 on they seem nice and big inside. The newer Focus is peppy, gotta give it that. Quiet too.
hi dude! im your fan!!! jeje, this is very very helpful, do you know who type of LED bulbs we need for the number plate in the back of the focus? do you have facebook acount to make more questions? greetings y big helows
LOL Not exactly trying to sound like Elmer but because my videos never have background music (and probably never will), I purposely make a funny voice just to keep you guys less bored. The steps to take things apart are all genuine though....
removed my tail lamps it was really hard, scratched the paint at the very front since I was having a hard time removing them. gonna get some touch up paint :( (1to 2 coats is good enough right? not very deep scratches) and when you remove the tail lamp..you pull it to the back left yes ? ( for left tail lamp) like 45 degrees or so. it doesn't look difficult from your video maybe you can elaborate it a little more? thanks!
Is it the driver-side tail lamp (the same side I demo in this video)? You may not have scratched that front end but it may already be there. Ford seems to have parts fitment issue and a lot of people in the community mentioned the similar small scratches exist when taking out that side of tail lamp. (Mine has scratches too if you review my video again, and I've talked about getting touch-up paint to cover it before putting back the lamp on). Yes, there's a small guide-pin at the front of the tail lamp which you'll need to pop it for the removal. You pop it up, not twist it out like 45-degree....simply slip your fingers from behind and pop the lamp pin out.
I have some arthritis in my hands, this was just impossible for me. I had a brake light out, ended up having to go to a dealer and paid over £100 to renew all my tail lamps. Why the hell do they make the simplest of jobs so damn awkward! Nice video though.
Dealers charge by the job-hour. So including bulb costs and labor time to remove both tail lamps and test afterward, the £100 is not excessive. Expensive, no doubt....but at least they're now under some warrant from the dealer.
good video however, too much talking on your part. i don't know if you're practicing your english or what not. you would've made this video half the time and made your point without too much blah-blah.
Michael Winkler The one I showed in the video is not a screwdriver, but a large slotted/flat-blade screwdriver will do the same. Or using a 12 Point, 21mm Standard 3/8-Inch Drive Socket will also work best.
+dontneedonethx This mounting design is common on most Ford/non-Ford cars these days. To Ford's credit, at least those mounting screws are easily accessible from the trunk.
+moomoo97 well at least madness has system. especially these scratches bother me alot. I stopped at my dealers place and checked the used cars. every focus has these scratches and the ones w/o never had the tail lights removed I insist..
thank you so much! as a single woman, I have to do things myself & you helped me!!
Finally !!! thank you ! after seeing all the top youtube video that are useless fake guides because they "forget " to say how to remove those ultra annoying screws, which is the only difficulty, I finally see what kind of tool I need, I tried pliers which just crushed everything and a No6 screwdriver it's wasn't big enough
Thanks for watching! Please click LIKE to this video so other viewers can search it out easier too!
Thanks so much for this great video. Changed my wife's Focus brake light in 5 minutes thanks to this video.
I love the care you put into your work, and videos. I also like being told to be careful..a lot of times in these tight spaces people will let their tension take over. Nice and relaxing. Can't wait to start tackling these smaller fixes on my Focus. Thank you.
Thank you. Thorough video for a 2 minute job
I love his accent and i thought he did a great job! thanks for the video
Extremely thorough description. Very helpful. 👍🏻
Once again moomoo you have nailed it....clear concise instructions with suggestions for tools.....perfect delivery...my grateful thanks.
Thank you for a very helpful instructional video. I completed the job successfully thanks to you.
Cool, glad it helped!! Please do LIKE this video so others can look it up easier.
Just what I needed. Yes the video was a bit long but I'm grateful for the detail. In my case I had to take off the subwoofer first. Thank you for posting this.
Thank you very much sir, your attention to detail, even trying to help us protect the silly plastic wingnuts (that cracked a bit anyway, too tight from factory), is really awesome. Thanks again, your video was perfect.
Great video. Without this tip I'd have had to have dealer do what is really a simple lamp replacement. My focus is great, but the whole assembly is a bit wonky imho.
Anyway, youtube has made all kinds of tasks possible that I wouldn't have had a clue on how to do!
This helped me save some money. Your detailed explanations and mindfulness for damage that could be done using the wrong tools are invaluable! Thank you moomoo97!
Thanks for watching and glad to know it helped you out, please do a LIKE to this video too!
Agreed great help in removing the taillight. Even eating wheaties wasn't going to help me get that wing nut off.
I'm pretty sure Ford uses a specific tool for this and they want customers to pay their service to change lamp bulbs, in my case I wanted to change the stock reverse light which is a bit weak and very orange
Handy tip: Recommend using a 21mm or 22mm wheel brace/wrench, it fits snuggly around wing nut giving good leverage to release from stick point then unscrew with hand.
Using flat-head screwdriver with that shallow recess or even pliers against wings begins the damaging process.
Initially tried this method but often slips when trying to release from its stick point.
Thank you for this video! Extremely helpful. I had mine out and replaced in10 minutes thanks to you. Keep up the helpful videos. Thanks again
Fantastic! Please do LIKE this video so other DIYers can look it up easier.
Awesome job on this video, has saved me frustration
Nice to know, thanks for watching!
Thanks! I really appreciate your detail
You are a big help
Thanks for these pointers - helped me no end although they put the top securing wing nut in the most inaccessible place on the estate mk3 (bit of improvisation and used a coin up there to undo the wing nut)! Got there in the end and swapped the brake lights out for some LED versions.
I'm sure they need special tool in factory for that wing nut in such tight space too. We don't have the Estate Mk3 selling here, so it's hard to provide a workaround here.
we need more videos . please and thanks . love this guy ... lets do rear rotar removel
Lol, do you just watch the videos for fun lol! I pretty much only watch it cuz I need to change my brake lights!
You're a great teacher! Thanks.
I managed to see it by looking at that part of the car. Had to crane my head round though! Thanks.
Thanks man! To your bulb question, our Mk3 Focus is already using LED on the number plate in the back, and it's in daylight color (White) type.
Thanks a lot, it was through and perfect, save me a trip to car services.
Thank you very much for the video I ask you a big favor, by any chance do you know the colors of the reverse gear wires? The positive is. Negative? Why should I attach a rectro camera on the reversing cables. Thank you again
Thank you for this video. It is very helpful.
Great video moomoo97! Very helpful. Thanks. May I get your advice re: retrieving the wing nut that fell within the chassis? :(
It will certainly be still in the car and not outside. But it will be a Challenge for retrieval depends on how 'deep' the wing nut has fallen into the crevice. The first thing you can do is to remove the spare tire cover and the surrounding board/tray to get close to the potential landing spot. Gently lift the side trim panel (where the wing nut is covered by it) a little and slide your hand in there to search for the wing nut by feel.
If all is lost and hard to search, simply take the other wing nut out from the car to Hardware Store to find a similar style wing nut as replacement, or go to the Ford parts to order instead.
thanks
Thank you very much for this. Very very helpful.
excellent video! very detailed, great job. Thank you
+richm41 Thank you! Please give this video a Thumb-Up Like, it'll help on search rankings.
Thanks for the video.
How to remove license plate lights?
Excellent!! Thanks
Dude! Great video. Many, Many Thanks.
You can always go online Ford OEM parts dealer (for better price). OR you can check out eBay for used OEM tail lamps because some sellers are either part-out from the salvaged cars or they just swapped with aftermarket lamps and sell their OEMs.
You got the most adorable accent. I love it!
Very good guidenlines, one remark: unscrewinig is better without any tool, it is better use your own hands with good gloves.
Unfortunately the factory screws are so tight and they're located at an inconvenient angle (Shown in the video). Thus I still suggest to use the proper tool to unscrew them first. You can hand-tight them back later and no need to use tools for unscrewing them again in the future.
Those little scratches may be hidden, but they're a perfect place for rust to start. Touch it up with any good automotive touch-up paint -- because those scratches are hidden, you don't even have to get the matching color unless you really want to. But just get 'em painted so rust doesn't start.
Yes, those scratches have to be touched-up before re-installing the lamp. Though I think Ford didn't do a good job in controlling the clearance between parts. Most US-spec Ford Focus 5-door can find such hidden scratch by the tail lamp on the driver-side.
wow thank you brother for this video😄👍
very good..!
Thanks for all the vids. If you were a mechanic, I would have you work on my vehicle. I've now gone from Gen I to the latest and man, things on the vehicle are not as high a quality as they once were. I blame the 'Bamster.
Thanks for the kind words too. Actually the latest Gen of Ford Focus is on par including the Design & Engineering for reliability (from my views of actual ownership). Ford has got a lot of major things right like the drive-train and chassis dynamics BUT certain little things in the tactile- and quality-feel (aka craftsmanship?) still need to catch-up to match the imports standards. Good thing that the Focus is easy to work on and glad my videos help you fellow DIYers. I still plan to make more DIY videos whenever I need to do work on the car, suggestions are welcome too.
Sungodv LOL Really? You blamed the baster? Or are you being sarcastic?
moomoo97 On par with what would you say? Gen 1? I'll havta disagree with that. I'm telling you, to help meet the cafe standards nowadays, everything is plastic and cheap. I'm liking the Corolla from a maintenance cost stand point and from 2014 on they seem nice and big inside. The newer Focus is peppy, gotta give it that. Quiet too.
Sungodv The Latest Gen Ford Focus is on par with everything out there to its same class, esp in the look department.
That was very clear. Thx heaps.
I would pay this guy just to say counter clock wise once a day everyday for the rest of my life
Good work! Keep it up =)
Awsome Thank you for the information...
hi dude! im your fan!!! jeje, this is very very helpful, do you know who type of LED bulbs we need for the number plate in the back of the focus? do you have facebook acount to make more questions? greetings y big helows
good direction but dodnt know what he ment by metal strap.wish he would of said clip on but it work thank you
Thanks Elmer Fudd!
Isn't the first screw(wing nut) hidden behind a plastic trim panel too?
Ford may have revised the design in later model year, but mine can be found easily show in the video.
I knew I recognized the accent. It's nearly identical to Caesar's in Monty Python's "The Life of Brian." Biggeth Dicketh.
im sorry bro... i started laughing a little when i realized you sounded somewhat like Elmer Fudd. LOL. Thanks for the info BTW
LOL Not exactly trying to sound like Elmer but because my videos never have background music (and probably never will), I purposely make a funny voice just to keep you guys less bored. The steps to take things apart are all genuine though....
Manzoor Azeez i
Please do ford kuga headlights for 2016
Thanks! Feel free to share to others looking for the same how-to.
removed my tail lamps it was really hard, scratched the paint at the very front since I was having a hard time removing them. gonna get some touch up paint :( (1to 2 coats is good enough right? not very deep scratches) and when you remove the tail lamp..you pull it to the back left yes ? ( for left tail lamp) like 45 degrees or so. it doesn't look difficult from your video maybe you can elaborate it a little more? thanks!
Is it the driver-side tail lamp (the same side I demo in this video)? You may not have scratched that front end but it may already be there. Ford seems to have parts fitment issue and a lot of people in the community mentioned the similar small scratches exist when taking out that side of tail lamp. (Mine has scratches too if you review my video again, and I've talked about getting touch-up paint to cover it before putting back the lamp on). Yes, there's a small guide-pin at the front of the tail lamp which you'll need to pop it for the removal. You pop it up, not twist it out like 45-degree....simply slip your fingers from behind and pop the lamp pin out.
where does the hole under the bottom of the tail lamp on the body go to?
What's that white dot in your taillight?
+OneTallOrder Just a remnant of an OE sticker....
But the top wing nut is NOT visible in my car. How to access it?
Where do i get new taillamps?
I have some arthritis in my hands, this was just impossible for me. I had a brake light out, ended up having to go to a dealer and paid over £100 to renew all my tail lamps. Why the hell do they make the simplest of jobs so damn awkward! Nice video though.
Dealers charge by the job-hour. So including bulb costs and labor time to remove both tail lamps and test afterward, the £100 is not excessive. Expensive, no doubt....but at least they're now under some warrant from the dealer.
My two step lights don’t work left and right
Show
Nice video, but u need a GoPro Yo put on ur head
I don't have a GoPro yet, but it seems like a good option. Thanks for the suggestion.
good video however, too much talking on your part. i don't know if you're practicing your english or what not. you would've made this video half the time and made your point without too much blah-blah.
ur cam is on shrooms
Dude that is not a screwdriver!
Michael Winkler The one I showed in the video is not a screwdriver, but a large slotted/flat-blade screwdriver will do the same. Or using a 12 Point, 21mm Standard 3/8-Inch Drive Socket will also work best.
worst tail light mounting I've ever seen.
+dontneedonethx This mounting design is common on most Ford/non-Ford cars these days. To Ford's credit, at least those mounting screws are easily accessible from the trunk.
+moomoo97 well at least madness has system. especially these scratches bother me alot. I stopped at my dealers place and checked the used cars. every focus has these scratches and the ones w/o never had the tail lights removed I insist..
+dontneedonethx It's the problem of the tail light alignment on these cars. Ford's QA still have a long way to go.....
duh wingnut