I am having a tough time removing the stock tail lights from my 2005 XB. Can anyone help??

you mean take it off the car or taking them apart. but to take it off the car i think i had to use a 10mm or 12mm socket to remove the two nuts, pretty sure it was the 10. and you only have to remove that one main wire.

Take them off the car. I want to buy new ones to replace them. Do I have to to take off the access hatch and then unscrew the bolts from the inside? There is not alot of room to do that

yea its a tight fit but yes you have ot take of the access hatch and unplug the main wire. than get a ratchet with a 10mm and a short extension or want ever will get the two nuts off. just BECAREFUL when you get the nut out and don't drop them. it'll be the last of them because they'll fall into the body. and you won't be able to reach them.

yeah and what helped me a little, was to put a little pressure on the bumper to get the bottom i and out dont worry, the bumper wont break off

When I had to replace one of mine (thanks hit and run!) I had to really squeeze in to get to the top nut. It's a 10mm with a short extension. I found it easier to seat the socket, then attach the ratchet/extension combo. It does help to disconnect the cable first.

yea the bottom of the tail light will give you a little struggle. so do as he say, push the bumper. i forgot was it push down or in. lol :P

Use a long 1/4 inch drive extention and a depp 10mm socket with a swivel. You can work the ratchet outside the hole. The hardest part is unclipping the drivers side connector because it points in the wrong direction. Can we say YOGA???

i used jus a regualr wrench stuck my hand in there and went for it, have swapped my tails 5 times already

i like this method better because i can feel how far along the nut is and make sure it doesnt fall

Yeah, I just loosen the nut and remove it by hand. After the first couple times you can do it with your eyes closed. LOL

^^ture, lol, i just go out and do it, now
first time i was paranoid

They should have wing nuts for those things at this point. I wonder who has the most sets of those things. I have 3 including the stockers. LMAO

Heres some pics that might help you:

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=116732&highlight=

Good luck!

i'm pretty sure even 100% sure you can go to any hardware store and buy wing nuts. just take the existing nut and measure it at the store unless you already know the thread size.

i'm pretty sure even 100% sure you can go to any hardware store and buy wing nuts. just take the existing nut and measure it at the store unless you already know the thread size.Wasn't sure if they had wingnuts in metric sizes but def. worth a try. They don't get tightened very much anyways. This would eliminate the need for any tools to swap out the tails. Thanks for the idea!

why can't it just be one or the other metric and standard. they have to be hardheaded and have two. why does it have to be standard for america and metric for asia. just one for the whole world.

Why do some manufacturers still mix the 2? I thought all of them were to be metric but the aren't? My wifes Jeep has metric and standard fasteners. It's fustrating having to grab two rails of sockets each time you work on it.

yea i had encounter that too it's really annoying.