Parking, Corner, Side Marker Lights

What are parking lights and where are they located?

Parking lights or parking lamps help improve your visibility to other drivers. Mounted in the front bumper, in the grille, or to the body itself on the outside of the vehicle. Originally, parking lights were intended to be left on when parked. Approaching drivers could see the vehicle, especially on a poorly lit roadway and prevent an accident. Today, well-lit roadways are common and parking lights serve a different purposes, just as they can be located on different parts of the vehicle. 

Parking lights might flash on and off when you flash the turn signal switch, or they may come on with the headlights. In some cases, you may have a separate setting on your headlight switch to turn on your parking lights. If one of your headlights is out, the nearby parking light might still be on, which lets other drivers know you are in a car with a bad headlight, not on a motorcycle.

Parking lamps usually have an amber lens in the United States in order to distinguish them with other automotive lights. In other countries, parking lights usually have a clear lens and emit a bright, white light.

How do I know if my parking lights need to be replaced?

The most obvious reason to replace your parking lights is if they have been damaged in an accident. If you have a cracked parking light, then you’ll need to replace it. There are other reasons you might want to replace a parking light, though. The parking light lens can become chipped or scratched by various forms of road debris. It can also become hazy or cloudy from moisture. This will cause your bulbs to burn out more quickly. Any one of these problems is good reason to replace your parking lamp. Doing so will increase your visibility to other drivers and might increase your own ability to see what’s coming up. It also has the side benefit of making your vehicle look much nicer.

Can I Replace Parking Lights Myself?

The exact method of replacing a parking light assembly will vary from one model to another, but is generally pretty easy. A novice do-it-yourselfer will be able to replace a parking light. In some cases you will need to open the hood and remove fasteners and wiring harnesses from the back of the parking light. In other cases, the fasteners may be on the outside or you may be able to simply pry the light out of its cavity from the outside of the vehicle. If the parking light assembly is mounted in the fender, it may have to be replaced from underneath the car itself, not from under the hood. In a rare case, some vehicle may require the front bumper to be removed to install/remove a housing assembly.

Once the light is out, you can twist the bulb or bulbs out of it. Twist the bulbs into the new light, and reverse the removal process to install it.