On Saturday morning, I stopped by Barrier Volvo in Bellevue (WA), to order the lens. I was pleasantly surprised to discover they had it in stock. With my Volvo Club discount (good thing I had the card with me), the total for the lens including tax was $139 and change. Not bad, as I had expected to pay over $200.

On Saturday evening I was finally able to get started on the replacement of the lens. As you can see by the photos, I started a little too late in the evening. Darkness was falling as I was attempting to re-assemble the car.

It took more work than I had expected to replace that lower lens assembly. There is a lot of trim inside of the cargo area that must be removed in order to access the nuts that hold the lens in place. I had to remove the following (which are held in place by snap-fasteners plus the noted hardware):

-cargo area lamp
-cargo area fuse panel cover
-cargo area flooring sections
-center rear ceiling trim (one torx screw behind the cargo area lamp, then pull straight down)
-LH side ceiling trim (one torx screw near the molded-in “hook”, then pull straight down)
-LH wheelarch /window trim (one 10mm bolt in the cargo cover receiver, then pull straight out above fuse box and tip forward about bottom edge)
-LH D-pillar trim (held in behind all of the above pieces, pull away gingerly from the body of the car)

In order to remove the wheelarch/window trim, I needed to fold the rear seat forward, which required removing my daughter’s car seat. Grumble, grumble.

It was the D-pillar trim that needed to come off to access the nuts (10 mm size) which attach to the captive studs on the inside of the tail lamp. The stud length required the use of deep sockets, which I only recently (and fortunately) acquired for a project on my Saab 900. After I loosened the 3 nuts on the lower tail lamp, I couldn’t free it. It was stuck on the upper tail light lens, which must be removed to get the lower lens out. That required me to remove the D-pillar speaker assembly, which is just clipped in place. The upper lens is secured by two of the stud/nut assemblies like are used for the lower lens. The upper nut ended up falling down into the bottom of the lamp channel; fortunately my wife was able to spot and retrieve it after I was unable to do so.

When I finally got the lower lens removed, I discovered that it had a gasket on it which seals against the body of the car. The new lens assembly didn’t have a gasket. The gasket was stuck to the old lens with adhesive. I pulled it off (fortunately without damaging it) and my wife installed the gasket on the new lens.

As is often the case, “re-assembly is reverse of removal”. I installed the lower lens, then the upper lens, and re-attached the bulbs and connectors and tested functionality. (The bulb mounting with bayonets and the way the electricity is routed to them is really pretty cool in my opinion, and a must for bulb replacement without full interior disassembly). Then I re-installed all of the interior trim in reverse order of removal.

It took about 2 hours of labor, or a little more. I didn’t have any instructions about how all of those panels in the rear of the car are held in place, so I had to guess as I was going along. As I’ve taken interior parts off of other cars I’ve owned for various repairs and troubleshooting, I at least had a clue as to how they should be attached. I’d be curious to know the book-time for replacement of that lens at a body shop or dealer; labor would probably cost more than the lens!

In any case, I hope this experience can help another V70 owner who needs to replace their lens some day!

"KR in this case stands for 'King of the Road'." - Car and Driver

good thing that whatever it was only hit the light. inches from body damage.

http://www.phuzzymotorsports.com

2006 S60R 6MT, Black Sapphire/Nordkap, 18" Graphite Pegs, Sport, Premium, Climate, FMIC, 3" PhuzDP, 3" Phuzzy Exhaust
2006 S40 T5 AWD, 6MT, Electric Silver
1993 S13, 2JZGTE 12.4 @ 120mph

lol, it would have been cheaper too.

Need an organ

I thought the same thing- tire iron, jack handle, hammer, etc.

I removed it very gingerly, but firmly. Remember, you have to get all of the surrounding trim off first. Then just pull it "away" from the metal of the car, so pull down a little at the top, and straight out (toward the opposite side of the car) from the vertical part of the trim.

The plastic felt very brittle and I was certain I'd crack or break at least one piece, but it proved to be durable and to have enough flexibility to put up with being removed.

"KR in this case stands for 'King of the Road'." - Car and Driver

If you weren't my identical twin brother I'd assume you're an idiot. Or else have been reading too many 855 repair suggestions on the 850 forum...

"KR in this case stands for 'King of the Road'." - Car and Driver

My father-in-law suggested that as well. I hope it isn't the case, but even if it is, I'm thankful it didn't involve body or paint damage.

"KR in this case stands for 'King of the Road'." - Car and Driver

Thanks for turning a miserable 2Hrs. into a simple 30 minutes. I know how much fun it is to discover all those screws and clips. Your detailed walk through was great and although I had to do the right side, I was able to translate your left sider directions.

Thanks again,
John

"KR in this case stands for 'King of the Road'." - Car and Driver