Audi A3 number plate light bulb replacement

How to replace a number plate light bulb - Audi A3

Audi A3 Sportback Second Generation 8P (2003-2013)

Here's a quick guide on how to replace a number/registation/licence plate light bulb on an Audi A3. I couldn't find much on this elsewhere so decided to share my experience to help others.

Surely a simple job right?

Like many such jobs it never goes quite as easily as it should. Yes, on paper it's easy but in practice not so easy.

There are two lights mounted on the lip above the number plate. Each one has a plastic lens held in by a small Phillips screw.

The first thing which becomes apparent is that due to the angle of the lights, it's not possible to use a standard length screwdriver. The slight angle means you don't get enough pressure on the screw and risk damaging it. You need to use either a very small handle screwdriver or small socket ratchet screwdriver. I have a reasonable selection of basic tools, albeit cheap ones. Fortunately I had a set of  screwdriver bits with a small handle which just about worked.

This small socket screwdriver worked for me

I found I needed to remove the number plate for better access. In doing that one of the plastic number plate screws snapped off, but fortunately I had a spare one.

To remove the bulb lens I used my small handle screwdriver and had to put allot of pressure while turning to avoid stripping the screw head. The screws are poor quality soft alloy and can easily strip so you need to be very patient and apply pressure whilst holding the screwdriver straight. In hindsight I probably should have squirted a bit of WD40 in there to help.

Eventually I managed to extract the screw and replacing the bulb is easy. The bulb is held in place by some metal prongs. After putting everything back together I was dismayed to find the light was still not working on one side. It was now getting dark so I decided to leave it and wait for the weekend when I had more time.

The weekend came I had everything I needed ready. I decided to replace the existing screws as the ends were damaged from screwing out and in a few times. Fortunately I managed to find some almost identical replacement screws from my spare screw jar which were about 6mm longer. I decided to replace the bulb and lens screws on the other side at the same time. Taking out the old screws again was a real pain.

You can see from the photo below that the original alloy screws have a flat end almost like the tip has been cut off.  I wonder if they intended the original screws to be replaced each time they're removed?

Audi A3 P8 registration plate light bulb lens cover screw (sizes are approx.)

I fitted the new screws and both lights worked fine. The replacement screws I used made it easier to draw in the lens cover and achieve better contact. Finally, job done!

What should have been a 5 minute job ended up taking far longer because of those awful screws!