Replacing a few brake light bulbs may seem like a really simple thing, and on one hand it is. You go to the auto parts store, buy the bulbs you need, and replace them when you get home. But what if the auto parts store has no idea what they are talking about? That is what happened to me for this project. I didn’t intend to make this a project video, but I decided to put this info out there. Here’s the story, and you can watch the video to see how its done.

I needed to replace some burned out 3rd brake light bulbs on a 2005 Ford Escape, so I went to the parts store to get the bulbs. They kept trying to sell me a 3157 bulb. Now I know what a 3157 is and knew that isn’t what was inside this 3rd brake light. A 3157 is commonly used as a regular tail light/brake light bulb but is not used for this application in the 3rd brake light. I came home annoyed that they couldn’t help me and started looking online for this info. I came across a few different sources all suggesting the same incorrect bulb. I decided to take the light apart and see whats really in there. After some disassembly I found what looked like several 194 bulbs in the light. I went back to the auto parts store and bought some 194 bulbs and replaced them. After reinstalling the light they worked perfectly.

While putting the video together, I did some more research and finally found a source that listed a 2825 bulb as being the correct bulb for this application. Apparently, the 2825 is basically the same as a 194 but its a bit brighter but has a significantly shorter lifespan than the 194. Since this vehicle uses 5 bulbs I was totally fine using the slightly dimmer 194 bulb and not having to worry about replacing them anytime soon.

I suppose the moral of this story is that sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands and figure out what needs to be done. I think most auto parts stores do a great job of helping people get the correct parts but they often rely on their computer system to give them the correct information. If the information they are given is wrong, its not really the employees fault. They are just giving you the information they have available to them. Don’t be afraid to jump in to something and figure out what you need on your own. Sometimes that’s just what needs to be done.

Check out the replacement process below. Thanks for stopping by.

— Affiliate Links to Products Used and Mentioned —
Here’s some different bulbs that will work – https://a.co/83BDtj9

— Here are some other videos for you to enjoy —