Replacing fog light / daytime running light?

[TKSJOHN]

Hey everyone (again!)

I have been spending the last hour trying to find a clear answer on this, which I turned to creating my own thread again. I was pondering the idea of getting the aftermarket fog lights / DRL that are the brighter ones many other owners on here got. My passanger light has been burned out for a few months now and I was originally planning to upgrade both lights. Since money is both tight and the more I looked at the brighter after market ones, something about the stock ones still looked better to me.

I got a used one off a 2015 (junkyard owner said his system said it works for 2010-2018) for $35 at a local junk yard and want to replace the light that is dead. Do I have to remove the entire front bumper to change the light, and even if I do, does anyone have a link to an article they can share? I was surprised that both my local Ford dealership I called today, and Ford supports chat was unable to help me find my answer. Hopefully one of you SHO guru's can shed some light for me like every other thread I create!

 

[Choppa]

Hey everyone (again!)

I have been spending the last hour trying to find a clear answer on this, which I turned to creating my own thread again. I was pondering the idea of getting the aftermarket fog lights / DRL that are the brighter ones many other owners on here got. My passanger light has been burned out for a few months now and I was originally planning to upgrade both lights. Since money is both tight and the more I looked at the brighter after market ones, something about the stock ones still looked better to me.

I got a used one off a 2015 (junkyard owner said his system said it works for 2010-2018) for $35 at a local junk yard and want to replace the light that is dead. Do I have to remove the entire front bumper to change the light, and even if I do, does anyone have a link to an article they can share? I was surprised that both my local Ford dealership I called today, and Ford supports chat was unable to help me find my answer. Hopefully one of you SHO guru's can shed some light for me like every other thread I create!

You don't need to remove the bumper, the black section has about 7 clips and pops out and then three 8mm bolts hold the lights in. I have my old lights from when I switched to Drive Brights if you want them, but I see you already bought one.

 

[TKSJOHN]

You don't need to remove the bumper, the black section has about 7 clips and pops out and then three 8mm bolts hold the lights in. I have my old lights from when I switched to Drive Brights if you want them, but I see you already bought one.

Shoot, I wonder if I can get a refund! I've never returned anything to a junkyard before, but if I can return it, I'd send you how ever much it costs for you to ship your old ones to me. Thank you for a kind offer!

Regarding the black section you mentioned, are you talking about the black plastic in front of the wheel, behind the front bumper? Then it's just 7 clips and 3 8mm and I'm golden? If so, that is a relief, as I really had no interest whatsoever in taking off my bumper, just to make a DRL work again

 

[Choppa]

Shoot, I wonder if I can get a refund! I've never returned anything to a junkyard before, but if I can return it, I'd send you how ever much it costs for you to ship your old ones to me. Thank you for a kind offer!

Regarding the black section you mentioned, are you talking about the black plastic in front of the wheel, behind the front bumper? Then it's just 7 clips and 3 8mm and I'm golden? If so, that is a relief, as I really had no interest whatsoever in taking off my bumper, just to make a DRL work again

I'm talking about the black piece on the front of the bumper that the light sits in. Pry it away from the bumper with a flathead screwdriver. Once you have the piece off there are three bolts holding the light in. You may also need to remove the three bolts on the front of the wheel well and pull the wheel well cover back to reach the plug. Just turn the wheel out of the way.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[TKSJOHN]

I'm talking about the black piece on the front of the bumper that the light sits in. Pry it away from the bumper with a flathead screwdriver. Once you have the piece off there are three bolts holding the light in. You may also need to remove the three bolts on the front of the wheel well and pull the wheel well cover back to reach the plug. Just turn the wheel out of the way.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Hmmm, I think I know the part you're talking about, but I believe it is silver on mine. The lights sit in a silver piece on my 2010. Here's a pic of my car, if you could clarify what piece I need to pry, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm far from a mechanic, so sorry about my lack of knowledge haha!

20180521_163320_1526934837485 by John, on Flickr

 

[TKSJOHN]

Also, if it is not the silver piece you mentioned in your last post, will my chin spoiler have any effect on prying the part I need to pry lol?

 

[Choppa]

Also, if it is not the silver piece you mentioned in your last post, will my chin spoiler have any effect on prying the part I need to pry lol?

It is the silver piece on your car. That part just clips into the bumper.

 

[COMpulse]

Those clips were ******* my car (2013). I couldn't get them to release from the inside of the bumper through the wheel well with my hands or a flat screwdriver. So I pried from the outside using a wide curved trim-removal tool and a thin towel between the tool and the bumper to protect the paint. They came out pretty easy once I did it that way. First one took 15 minutes. Second one took 5. But obviously be careful. Looks like you have a nice paint job. Love that chin.

And remember to put the bolts back before clipping the plastic part back on during installation. And plug the light back in before closing up the wheel well. Both are things I've overlooked in a rush and had to go back to correct right when I thought I was done.

 

[Matt M PA]

On my 2018, (and the bezel may be different) they were a bear to remove.

I wound up pushing with a stubby, wide bladed screwdriver to push the tabs out from the back. They have a "wedge" on the tabs. I also found it helpful to take a very small screwdriver, and wedge it between the back of the bumper and the vertical part of the wedge. Then, swing the screw driver down and inward to make a "ramp" for the vertical part of the wedge to slide through the bumper slot.

 

[2011TAURUSSEL]

Basically the trick is to get behind the bezel and push the clips out. You will most likely have to remove or at minimum set aside, the lower front splash shield but that is only a few bolts. I would definitely go aftermarket on the light kit. A little bit more now but well worth it in the long run. If you go with aftermarket there is a couple of more steps involving removing the drivers side tire and splash shield but not overly complicated. Pushing the bezel clips from behind reduces the chances significantly of scratching the bumper paint and the bezel. When you get to the last couple of clips I would strongly recommend either 1. Having assistant hold the bezel in a microfiber towel and catch it when the last clip gets pushed through. 2. Having a large microfiber towel on the ground with a clear are push the clip and when the bezel ends up the ground it will land on the towel again reducing the chances of getting scratched.

 

[2011TAURUSSEL]

The OEM running lights are the same for 2010+ Bezel colors might have changed but overall design is the same.

 

[bpd1151]

If it helps any further, here is an image of mine, off my 2010, removed many many years ago now, to be painted / color matched to the OEM Tri-Metallic White.

Viewed from both the front, and more importantly the rear (so you can see the tabs everyone is describing).

Finally, one suggestion I haven't seen posted by others yet, is that I would STRONGLY recommend using a hair dryer, or a heat gun (on a very low setting) to warm up all of those tabs prior to going at them for removal.

Doing so will make them more pliable and less prone to breakage.

Hope that's of some help. Good luck!

 

[TKSJOHN]

Thank you for all of the help guys. You're the best! That picture is going to help me tremendously bpd, thanks for posting!

 

[OmaHahn]

I think my aftermarket Drivebright lights actually look better than OEM - you can even get them in different colors so I got mine in Silver and it matches my car perfectly - and they are more useful than the OEM. I have no clue what the OEM lights are for, they only come on with the parking and headlights and they're very dim when on. The aftermarket ones also have amber LEDs for the turn signal. I say save up and get these.

 

[TKSJOHN]

I think my aftermarket Drivebright lights actually look better than OEM - you can even get them in different colors so I got mine in Silver and it matches my car perfectly - and they are more useful than the OEM. I have no clue what the OEM lights are for, they only come on with the parking and headlights and they're very dim when on. The aftermarket ones also have amber LEDs for the turn signal. I say save up and get these.

What I dislike about the DriveBrights, is they have the "Walmart" style LED's where you can clearly see each LED bulb. What I like about the stock ones, the LED flows all the way through like Audi and BMW LED's. Not saying whatsoever that Drivebrights look like they came from Walmart, just the way you can see each LED bulb reminds me of Walmart LED's

The colored LED's could be intriguing though. I'm not sure if they have yellow and if they do, if anyone on here has one they could share a pic of

 

[OmaHahn]

I hear what you're saying but not even close! You say Wal-Mart and that type of LED is very trashy and you can tell it's just a paper strip with very dim blue or purple looking lights you stick anywhere you please and it's obviously horrible looking!
These ones look exactly like Audi speaking of that brand, I had a 2009 S4 and the LED DRLs looked just like these ones and lots of cars had the individual LED bulb. It's just recently Audi went with the LED bar light. And I agree those are better looking especially when they have the amber sequential turn signal, sharp!!!

 

[Matt M PA]

I'll add my voice to those recommending the DriveBright kits.

While I was initially concerned about the "windows" where the LEDs are located in the DriveBright strips, I ordered the silver colored "band" that I think best mimics the original parts...and am well pleased with the appearance. (IMHO, the black versions made the windows stand out more...but your mileage may vary....)

In the end, I really like the way they work. I think they enhance the car, make it look more upscale....and also likely add a bit of safety.

 

[OmaHahn]

I'll add my voice to those recommending the DriveBright kits.

While I was initially concerned about the "windows" where the LEDs are located in the DriveBright strips, I ordered the silver colored "band" that I think best mimics the original parts...and am well pleased with the appearance. (IMHO, the black versions made the windows stand out more...but your mileage may vary....)

In the end, I really like the way they work. I think they enhance the car, make it look more upscale....and also likely add a bit of safety.

Exactly. My car is silver so I bought the silver housing and it looks like one bar. Even with the lights on they are very bright and you really can't see each individual bulb. I have a pic I'll add later.

 

[SHOLover9967]

If it helps any further, here is an image of mine, off my 2010, removed many many years ago now, to be painted / color matched to the OEM Tri-Metallic White.

Viewed from both the front, and more importantly the rear (so you can see the tabs everyone is describing).

Finally, one suggestion I haven't seen posted by others yet, is that I would STRONGLY recommend using a hair dryer, or a heat gun (on a very low setting) to warm up all of those tabs prior to going at them for removal.

Doing so will make them more pliable and less prone to breakage.

Hope that's of some help. Good luck!

What did you use to change the color of yours? I have silver ones on mine and want to get some black ones.. yet can’t find any that fit a SHO online.

 

[bpd1151]

Local body shop prepped and painted them for me.