I had a 3rd Brake Light Warning on my dash for the last week or so,
tried to source a replacement but couldn't find the correct one online and some conflicting advise for the estate version.

Decided to have a look see this weekend and if needed get the part number but ran into some bother worth posting.

The tailgate trim is ok to remove - just one hex bolt on the pull shut handle,

pop the two lights off and feed back thru the holes.

some trim levers in from the sides and confidently separate with vigour,

the second trim section has two plastic rawlplug type fittings that need pulled out first,

then squeeze the sides to the centre till the fittings pop and pulldown to remove the rest.

when you then see the led it doesn't have any bolts (so nothing like the youtube octavia video)

but does have some weirdo plastic spring-loaded clips you can barely see thru tiny openings.

it would have helped if I had seen the pictures first before doing this

Eventually popped it out with the help of some patience & small long nose pliers - there is probably a much easier way.

managed to crack a corner of the otherwise pristine cover waggling it out.

the secret seems to be after freeing the 3 plastic tabs back through the holes there still remains a single plastic retainer as shown in the photos.

so after removal and testing there is nothing wrong with my actual light - excellent news.

I traced the wiring down the left hand side,

Removed the rubber boots from top and bottom of the top left and found the broken red and brown wire..

not my first time finding wires broken at the bendy bit of the loom I should have started here first and saved a load of hassle.

removing the light did mean I could pull the wire thru a bit and made the wire repair a bit easier but its still very tight.

trying to reattach the rubber wire boot to the plastic holder thing is a bit of an impossible task, after wasting considerable time with zero success

the trick seems to be just pulling the plastic bit right out (with the help of pliers), and manipulating the rubber on to it then poking it back in.

the trim goes back on ok if you take your time and a 2nd pair of hands for the bottom tailgate bit is recommended

as is remembering to poke the wee lights back through the holes before refitting,

got mine back together with only one broken fixing...

anyways if you get the 3rd brake light check the wire loom first, its honestly about a million times easier that removing all that trim and light,

there is a distinct lack of that light 3T9 945 097 on ebay etc and its easy to see why - its almost designed to self destruct on removal.

New ones are £150+ and when I looked out of stock..

K

Edited 29 September, 202529 Sep by laldie
double insert of pics

That must have been annoying, but thank you for posting your experience because it's likely to help someone out in future. I think I'm going to follow your advice and always check the loom first!

Just had a look and Skoda Parts have these as new stock for a touch over €100 (£90) delivered (https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/3t9945097-center-brake-light-skoda-18186.html)