New body style Cayenne clear side marker DIY
 

There's been discussion about replacing the side markers on the new Cayenne body style but I haven't seen a DIY thread. Since I was going to do it today, I thought I'd post some pics and tips about how I did it to maybe save someone some time/grief.

First, IIRC, at least one poster said that he took his car to a dealer and they just popped the light off from the outside. I experimented a bit with that but didn't have the nerve to use the force on my brand new car that seemed to be required. So I basically followed the directions in the manual. There are however a few adds to the factory instructions and a couple of tips that will make the job easier. With experimenting, lots of eyeballing, taking pictures, finding the right tools, etc. I spent over an hour doing one side. Once I got the procedure down, I did the second side in a very relaxed 15 minutes.

So, you will need a T25 Torx driver (ignore the T20 in the photo below) or bit, a small Phillips screwdriver, and a broad flat screwdriver.

Turn the wheel inward as far as it will go to give yourself some room to work. It's not necessary to take off the wheel.

The manual shows removing a couple screws that secure the wheelwell liner. I removed a couple extra as the liner is stiff and removing the extra screws made it easier to disengage it from the fender lip trim. Use the broad flat screwdriver to gently pry the liner away from the trim then peel back enough to allow access to the rear of the marker light.

Here's the key to making this operation go successfully and easily. Closely examine your new clear side markers so you'll see what your dealing with on your old yellow ones. Note that the retaining clip with the 2 catches on it has a hole at the end. This is where the small Phillips screwdriver comes in. Feel behind the side marker on the car with your finger and locate the catches and the hole. The clip will give to pressure from your finger and you can see the side marker wiggle. Now use your finger as a guide to slide the tip of the Phillips screwdriver into the hole. The hole will keep the screwdriver in place while you perform the next step.

Push on the screwdriver to free the catches and at the same time pivot the handle of the screwdriver toward the wheel. This will cause the retaining clip to release and also pop the back end of the side marker free from the housing. The front tab of the marker will likely still be engaged so you can't just pull on the back of the marker or you might break the tab. Pull or pry gently at the front and the whole thing will come out.

From here it's easy. Note the alignment of the bulb socket and pull it straight off. Replace the bulb with a yellow one and push the socket firmly into the receptacle on the clear marker. I'd advise that you test to make sure the bulb works at this point. Don't want to put it all back together and then find there's a problem. Line up the clear marker and push it straight into the housing. It should go in easily with a faint click. Replace the liner, button up the screws you removed, and you're done.

Enjoy your cool new Euro style markers!

Very nice write-up, Mike! Thanks for posting!

Excellent write up, much appreciated!

Got the clears here in the box, thanks to you I'm ready to go now. Thanks.

You're welcome! Good luck with your project.

Yo Mike. I'm really happy for you, I'm going to let you finish, but the Orange Markers are the best markers of all time.

in all seriousness, i love the orange markers, never understood the problem with them, changing them to me is like putting clear tail lights on.

Nice. I'll be adding these. May I purchase the from the dealer?

+1

At this point, there are so many people doing them, that orange markers look more original :D

And yes, I know that people like the european look, but I still always preferred the orange.

I was under the impression that you liked the "euro look".

My bad.. :D

Candidly, guys, both look great. It's a far cry from the nasty and massive orange on those first few Boxsters back in the late 90s.

Congrats on the great write-up and successful mod.

Oh, I'm all for eurotrash :jumper:

Thanks now I feel much better.. : )

Mike great write up but pls get a set of euro look screw drivers. :D

I'm waiting at JFK for my flight right now. Be in Rome tomorrow. Maybe I can find some cool hugely overpriced Italian design Euro tools! :-)

I can't say it was hard, but it's a pia. It looks great.

Correction, it takes a T25, not a T20. The directions were perfect, made the job easier.

Glad they worked out. I'm puzzled as I'm fairly sure that I used the T20 but it's not impossible that I grabbed the wrong tool when I took the pic. My CS is 6k miles away in the States so this will be a curiosity for me till I get back. ???