OEM LED 3rd Brake Light

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The LED third brake light definitely looks great, but people should know that there's another way to do this upgrade.

Many people have reported that simply swapping out the halogen bulb with an LED in the trunk isn't bright enough. This is because most LED bulbs fire backwards (towards the reflectors). With this being said, for the third brake light, the reflectors are above the bulb, so if you were to use a standard LED for this, it would simply fire downward (towards the trunk) instead of at the reflector housing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01EEI9LL2/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This bulb only costs $19.99, but it is also very bright and fires the LED outward which makes it perfect for this application. I bought this bulb and it then took me about 5 seconds to install it (simply open the trunk and the third brake light bulb is right there). Needless to say it performs great and the third brake light is perfectly bright while also having the benefits and nice look of an LED.

So if you don't want to pay $100 and then have to tear the back of your car apart, you can pay $20 and spend about 5 seconds popping an LED bulb in and get a great LED look for your third brake light. Seems like a big win to me!
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StarCreator

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I used the Sylvania ZEVO instead of the linked bulb, but I like the look of the OEM part much better. Using a bulb in the reflector housing will never be as bright or as focused.
 
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I used the Sylvania ZEVO instead of the linked bulb, but I like the look of the OEM part much better. Using a bulb in the reflector housing will never be as bright or as focused.
Yeah but you have to keep in mind that this is a $20 part with a 5 second install vs a $100 part and having to take your rear deck apart.

When I got my bulb I was nervous after hearing all of the complaints and was afraid it wasn't going to be bright enough, however I was pleasantly surprised! It's MUCH brighter than the stock bulb and looks great!

After seeing my results it made it impossible to justify going the other route.. I'm genuinely 100% satisfied with my results and I'm VERY OCD with my car lol

And just a heads up man, a lot of the reviews on the ZEVO bulb complain about it not being bright, with the linked bulb it's the complete opposite and almost every review mentions how bright the bulb is.

I usually don't post on forums but when I installed this bulb I felt like I found a solution to a problem I saw a lot of people having on here so I had to share, it's literally perfect and it was cheap and easy.

But to each his own man!
 
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I used the Sylvania ZEVO instead of the linked bulb, but I like the look of the OEM part much better. Using a bulb in the reflector housing will never be as bright or as focused.
I used the Sylvania ZEVO instead of the linked bulb, but I like the look of the OEM part much better. Using a bulb in the reflector housing will never be as bright or as focused.
Hey man I'm new to civicx and am having trouble uploading pictures, it always tells me the file is too large, do you know how to work around this? Thanks!
 

W1NTER

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The LED third brake light definitely looks great, but people should know that there's another way to do this upgrade.

Many people have reported that simply swapping out the halogen bulb with an LED in the trunk isn't bright enough. This is because most LED bulbs fire backwards (towards the reflectors). With this being said, for the third brake light, the reflectors are above the bulb, so if you were to use a standard LED for this, it would simply fire downward (towards the trunk) instead of at the reflector housing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01EEI9LL2/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This bulb only costs $19.99, but it is also very bright and fires the LED outward which makes it perfect for this application. I bought this bulb and it then took me about 5 seconds to install it (simply open the trunk and the third brake light bulb is right there). Needless to say it performs great and the third brake light is perfectly bright while also having the benefits and nice look of an LED.

So if you don't want to pay $100 and then have to tear the back of your car apart, you can pay $20 and spend about 5 seconds popping an LED bulb in and get a great LED look for your third brake light. Seems like a big win to me!
Does this actually fit the 3rd brake light of the Civic sedan? Might be too tall.

I currently have the Philips vision LED on my 3rd brake light and it's bright, but there is a dull/dim spot in the center .
 
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Ataricade

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The coupes third brake light is LED. Wonder why they didn’t do that for the Sedan
 

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Okay, I bought the exact item in the link above, it works and it mimics light pattern of the stock incandescent bulb.

Brightness wise, I think it's the same.

The only issue I have is that it doesn't go all the way in into the socket (probably because it's a universal fit, it says for 7443 also, stock is 7440).

However it does work and light up and was able to lock the socket into the assembly. I will try to push it further but afraid that it might break something.
 

W1NTER

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Unfortunately, just today I noticed that it interferes with the FM radio, when applying the brakes.

I removed the bulb and the problem went away. Contemplating to keep it, since I rarely use the FM radio.
 

xaviersayys

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Reviving a pretty old thread but I just completed this project yesterday. I'd been wanting to switch the third brake out for a while, I've always thought the sedan was gypped of this for some reason. I also thought the incandescent third didn't match the LED running lights when braked. Anyway, took me just over an hour with some help. The most difficult part was removing the plastic trim surrounding the small triangular window. But overall, satisfied with how it looks so far. I went with the cheaper 6 LED assembly. It required some trimming and double sided/duct tape.
Another reason I did this was because it was actually pretty hard to see the third brake light since I have limo tint on my rear windows.
 

W1NTER

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Reviving a pretty old thread but I just completed this project yesterday. I'd been wanting to switch the third brake out for a while, I've always thought the sedan was gypped of this for some reason. I also thought the incandescent third didn't match the LED running lights when braked. Anyway, took me just over an hour with some help. The most difficult part was removing the plastic trim surrounding the small triangular window. But overall, satisfied with how it looks so far. I went with the cheaper 6 LED assembly. It required some trimming and double sided/duct tape.
Another reason I did this was because it was actually pretty hard to see the third brake light since I have limo tint on my rear windows.
This warrants some videos, or at least pictures :)

Shame that Civic sedans in China have factory LED 3rd brakelights.
 


xaviersayys

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Ok, not the best pic since it’s hard to capture how it looks in person but here you go haha.

Honda Civic 10th gen OEM LED 3rd Brake Light 68EB8558-4319-46A1-BF20-19F0FBFCB43F
 


 


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