Hi, any pointers as to how to replace rear brake lights on my 1.4TSI UK octavia. 

 

Apologies if this so covered already. I can't seem to find my manual at the moment and I had a look in the guides section on the website but couldn't find anything. 

 

Also which bulbs do I get? It seems red brake light bulb is not working. I had a look on Halford website and couldnt see one... 

Many thanks 

 

Edited 8 September, 20196 yr by xyz321

You can download a manual here..

https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Model/Octavia_5E

Hi! You will need a W5W bulb (if the rear light is not the LED version). 

First, make sure you know which of the bulbs in the stop light is out (I didn't check and changed a working bulb initially...). 

As for changing the bulb, I will speak from the estate point of view: there is a plastic cover on the inside of the stop light (there is a small hole where to insert a pin) that you need to take off. That just pops in place, there are some clips there. Then you need a torx T25 to unscrew the stop light assembly. After unscrewing it (be careful, if it is too tight you might damage the screw), you will need some soft prying tool to insert on the outside of the rear light, between the light and the panel (general direction would be towards the rear door) . That is to unclip the tabs, that the stop light fixes into. Pull gentle, just enough to squeeze your hand in there and disconnect the cable (I believe there are tabs on the left and right on the connector that you need to push). Disconnect the cable, and the stop light should be free. Change the bulb that is burnt, and do the steps in reverse (cable, tabs, screw, cover). 

One important piece of advice if you are OCD about alignment: after inserting the light back in the tabs, put the screw in but don't tighten it. Then push (hard-ish) and hold the light in the position that you want (aligned with the body line of the car), and then tighten the scew all the way so that it remains in place. 

 

If I explained something wrong, I aplogize, I tried to describe my steps from when I changed mine (2014 Octavia III Elegance Estate, 1.6TDI DSG). 

Hope it helps! 

 

Couple of links that might help: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zewmXnW-XOQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZokHgV53K5Y

 

Good luck!

Here you have a diagram of the brake light just in case.

Thanks for the descriptions and info.

 

The trickiest bit was undoing the two retaining screws. They were very tight and I too was worried about chewing them up.  Fortunately I had a quality Torx bit for my cordless drill and in the end they came out cleanly.

 

Otherwise the job was straightforward and dashboard nag has been neutralised. 

 

Many thanks. 

Edited 11 July, 20223 yr by BionicJohn