Brake Light Replacement: 2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0L V6

Ford Explorer Model Years - 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

How to remove a burnt out brake light bulb on a 2002 Ford Explorer

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What would you like your bulbs to do? See Clearer Upgrade To LED HID Style

Consider a premium bulb like the Silverstar Ultra with a specially designed filament, proprietary gas mixture and lamp coating for the best downroad lighting. Learn more about Silverstar Ultra.
Upgrade your fog lights to LED with a direct install option that will connect easily to your car’s existing bulb housing. Sylvania has an option with aviation grade aluminum body and a turbo cooled fan. Check out Sylvania LEDs.
Consider a bulb like the zXe with a proprietary Xenon gas mixture to match the white light of HID lights for the brightest headlight and added clarity. More information on zXe bulbs.

Author

Hans Angermeier is an ASE certified Maintenance and Light Repair Technician and has produced over 100,000 videos showing drivers how to fix things on their cars. He has broad expertise on basic repair procedures covering the majority of cars on the road. Over the past 10 years, Hans has been focused on building CarCareKiosk, which is visited by millions of drivers each month.

2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0L V6 Oil Add Oil
Top up the oil level

Many cars will burn or leak a little bit of oil. Over time, this adds up and you might need to add some - learn how to here!

2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0L V6
2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0L V6 Lights Headlight (replace bulb)
Change a burnt out headlight

Avoid tickets and accidents with both working headlights! New bulbs are much brighter too

2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0L V6
2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0L V6 Brake Fluid Check Fluid Level
Check your brake fluid

Stop! Checking your brake fluid from time to time is a great way to ensure safe stopping

2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0L V6
2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0L V6 Lights Daytime Running Light (replace bulb)
Replace a burnt out DRL

DRLs are on more than your headlights. They burn out faster and should be replaced regularly

2002 Ford Explorer XLT 4.0L V6
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Video Description

The brake lights on your 2002 Ford Explorer illuminate when you hit the brake pedal and help prevent you from being rear ended by the cars behind you. Brake light bulbs grow dimmer over time and eventually burn out. See how to change the brake lights on your 2002 Ford Explorer. The first step is to locate the brake light socket in your Explorer. Remove the brake light socket and then replace the burnt out brake light bulb. When you replace the brake light bulb on your Explorer, be careful not to touch the bulb directly with your fingers - the oil from your skin will cause the area that you touched to burn hotter than the rest of the bulb, which causes the bulb to burn out quicker.

If you are going to replace a bulb in your housing, it is a good idea to replace all of them. Not only will the lights on your Explorer be brighter, you decrease the likelihood you will need to change any of the bulbs again in the near future. A burnt out bulb in the taillight cluster of your Explorer is an excuse for a police officer to pull you over. Check your bulbs frequently and change burnt bulbs promptly.

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