what you will need
jack
bricks to get the wheels in place
i used wood to put the car down on instead of leaving the stress on the jack. (do it) you can use jack stands
flat head screwdriver
phillips head screw driver #1 and #2 just to be safe
8 9 10 mm socket with ratchet (don't remember the size)
extension for ratchet
someone else to help
installation time - about 45 minutes to drop the bumper (probably less)
first...i am not liable for what you do. that being said, you can probably do this without lifting the car up, but i did it. eh, it was ok.
put bricks in front of the front tires. lift the car up from the rear jack stand point. when you look under the car, you will see a black metal plate. place the jack there and start pumping. place the wood where you would place the stock jack as if you were changing a tire and then relieve the stress from the jack.
there are clips that you need to take off with a flat head screw driver. there are two underneath the vehicle holding on the plastic piece of the rear end. take them off.
inside of each rear wheel well, there are three screws which need to be taken off with a phillips head screw driver. probably a size #2. there are two pieces of plastic here, just move them aside so they come along with the bumper when you eventually take it off. there is a wire on the passenger side that routes to the lights in the license plate...there's not much you can do about this aside from disconnecting those lights. you don't have to disconnect the lights. remove the bumper and place it down (PLACE IT ON A TOWEL OR A THICK PIECE OF PLASTIC, protect it) you will have enough room to maneuver without disconnecting the wire.
once you remove those six screws, remove the rear lights. HAHAHA, i hated doing this part. hahaha. whatever, it's pretty simple.
open hatch. take off the cover for the jack on the left, and take off the cover on the right as if you were replacing a bulb. there are two nuts you need to remove with your socket and ratchet. this part is tricky, especially on the passenger side where there is not enough room to work the ratchet. when you remove the nuts, wiggle the the taillight assembly. there is a clip holding it in. pull out from the area where the hatch is and also from the top point of the assembly nearest the rear fender area. when you do that on both sides, unscrew the screw (one per side) and use your flat head scerwdriver for one more clip (one per side).
no more screws or clips. now we do the removal of the bumper.
i think it's easiest to start with the area near the wheel well and pull it out. there is a white plate behind the bumper that holds it on to the car. unclip the bumper from this plate. keep pulling. there are two more clips that you can see when you raise the car up. keep tugging and they will eventually come out. they pull straight out. you don't have to go underneath the car to pull on them. just pull on the bumper from outside.
i had someone help me hold the bumper while i did this. i would recommend it to you as well. my helper was a 10 year old kid. he was amazing and followed directions really well. hahahaha.
ok. once you have both sides off of the plate and both of the clips underneath pulled straight out, you should be able to place the bumper down almost in place. HAVE FUN!
if you are replacing your reflectors, please continue to read
the side reflectors can even come out before you remove the bumper by pinching the side of one of them and pulling on the other.
the reflectors that you can access from behind the bumper have a screw and possibly a clip holding them in. i don't remember. but you should be good to go.
when you remove the red ones, replace them with the ones you have and put everything back together. have your helper help you while you put the clips back in and then some screws to make sure it stays in place.
if you have any questions, let me know.
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