Sidelight replacement.

[vstevenson]

Hi all. Have not been on VWAF since moving on my B6 a few years ago.
I have jumped on here today to ask you guys a favour.
my youngest has an 08 Phaeton 3.0 diesel. He is in the military and is away on deployment. He has left his old dad with the simple task of putting his P&J through service and MOT that become due while he is away.
A quick perusal of the beast tells me that A) there is no fuel in it- of course- kids eh? And B) he has a bulb failure warning lamp illuminated. On walking round it turns out it is the drivers side sidelight bulb out. Easy job thinks I, pop the bonnet up reach in and change the bulb. Not so easy it seems. I did not have a lot of time so after removing air ducting, loosening and moving away some other bits and bobs to find I could still not reach the back of it I had to put it back together to tackle it another day. It seems a shame to put it in for test knowing it will fail on something as silly as a failed sidelight bulb. I would also like to perhaps avoid a big bill for him if maybe the bumper has to come off!!.
So I am asking is there an easy way to change this bulb?. On my Jag XK the headlight unit had to come out to change bulbs but this is dead easy once you know how....any similar tricks and tips you can advise me of relating to the Phaeton would be greatly appreciated👍

[Phaeton Drew]

something as simple as a bulb change becomes a bigger job on a Phaeton, its a bumper off job, make sure you remove/ refit certain bolts first or the bumper will crack. I've attached the bumper removal/ refitting instructions to the bottom of this reply.

hope they help
PD

[vstevenson]

Thanks Drew. Had no time so just had to put it in for a service with the garage I use for our 4x4s with the instruction ‘do what you need to to get it through’. Not being an MOT station he puts it in to a mate who is. The car passed, when I picked the car up the light was fixed and there was no charge on the modest bill for replacing it...did not have time to ask about it. Can’t imagine he took the bumper off but can’t be certain. I have had the bumper off a number of cars and they all seem to be very similar...fixed around the edge with a lot of fasteners of differing types. I work along the bottom edge first, then the wheel arches/sides leaving the ones along the slam panel till last to avoid the bumper having to hang forward on the bottom fixings. I’ve got this coming up on the wife’s xtype to fit the osram ledfog Drl’s.the front has to come off for failed bulb replacement on that as well. Will regard it as a practice run for when a bulb fails. So serviced and a fresh test, then the power steering sprung a leak...don’t get me started on that one��

[Phaeton Drew]

there probably is an easier way, but my hands are too big to fit in most places haha ah so it looks all good and another problem rears it's ugly head, the joys of luxury car ownership