2010 cl550 pre facelift w216 here but the headlights are the same. Anyone can help find the instructions on how to access the sidemarker bulbs. Shame this message came up tonight as I just replaced both low beams and the left front cornering bulbs on Friday.

 

I just did this about a month ago. Little bit of a PITA. First thing first, jack up the car and take off the front wheel. This is a must. Undo the clips holding the liner cover. You don't need to take them all off but all the ones facing the front of the car should be removed. There's also I believe 3 bolts on the bottom too. That'll allow you to peel it back. Then you'll be able to see the cap for the side market light. You'll need a very long needle nose pliers to take the cap off like 11in + and a flashlight held by your head or mouth will work. You won't be able to reach it by hand. Once you have the light out, you just pull the little bulb straight out of the socket and put the new one in. Then use the needle nose pliers to put the new one in. Putting it back in with the pliers is a bit of task, but not bad.

 

Did you have trouble getting the cornering lights to reinstall? They pop out so easily, but I had a lot of trouble getting them correctly back in. Also, I found my wiring for the corner bulbs to be badly decaying...anyone know if that can be easily replaced? I couldn't see the bottom of the wires, so not sure if it is just a connection, or ends in a larger wiring harness.

 

Yah, those side marker bulbs are really a PITA. I've got mine apart right now, and am changing out all the bulbs while the wheel liners are off. I put a needle nose pliers on the side marker bulb housing, but it seemed like I was going to break it if I applied enough pressure to turn it/remove it. Any tips on how you did this without breaking anything?

 

I ended up using a long flat head screwdriver and was able to turn it counterclockwise like a screw and they came right out, very easy

 

HOLY crap did I have a hard time getting them back in!!!! And yes! The wiring on mine was also cracking in my fingers. The problem was the cornering bulbs fit only one way but I couldn’t tell by looking at it.

 

Wow, that worked well...thanks!

 

Yes, I didn't know there was only one way for them to go back in. Upon further thought, the bulb does not fit flush on the housing. I think this is intentional, so the bulb is leaning out towards the corner it is illuminating. By chance, I put both of mine in the other way. I'm going to take them both back out and try again, orientating them lighting toward the side. I taped up my wires as well as I could. I don't know why these wires are disintegrating, but others are not. The wires were so deteriorated that I'm surprised they still work.

 

Just a followup about getting the cornering lights back in...I took my car to the dealer...the service rep could not get them back in, and then a tech walked by and worked at it for 10 minutes or so and could not get them back in. They are just really tough. Not sure if mine are properly seated or not, but they will probably not go far, and it is a pretty minor light for the car, anyway.

 

the “ears” are what hold the cornering bulbs in place, if you remove that bracket and install it the wrong way before putting the new bulbs in, it will not seat. It also doesn’t help that there’s no room for your hands or visibility lol

 

Your wires are in way better shape then mine. The coating just sort of crumbled in my hands, as I tried to get the bulb back in. I used electrical tape to temporarily fix it.