Plastic pry tools and patience.

 

I'm making a tutorial of such removal, i'll probably post it up tonight.

I did the exact same thing TenTwelve said, plastic tools and patience, but I figure a visual will give you insight on where to do's and don'ts.

And I have LED bulbs in all 4 map lights, definitely gives the Malibu a sharper (modern) look.

 

Thanks for the help ahead of time. I changed all the other lights to led just need the last two. And the front turn 4 turn signals.

Sent from Galaxy Note 8 running 4.2.2

 

Just be careful when changing the bulbs in the headlights. As others have experienced and pointed out, the leds can create some problems. The side markers tend to blink, hyper flashing, etc

 

Late reply! Sorry

Map Light Removal Tutorial - Applies to 2013-2014 Malibu's without sunroof (may be similar if equipped with such)

Tools:

Small flat-head screwdriver
a small rag or (in my case) Wendy's napkin
patience


Step 1. Size up and see image below to locate the clips holding up your map lights.

NOTE: Use the rag or napkin to prevent chipping the map light assembly and/or marking the headliner. Try to evenly 'pop' the sides of the map light assembly.

DO NOT PULL STRAIGHT DOWN even if all 4 tabs 'pop' ! (You'll see why)



Upon popping it off drivers side:



Passenger side (note the white connector just hanging -- more on this later)



If you noticed by now and I'm sure you will, that the map light assembly is attached towards the front, this is because the hinges of your sunglass holder act like hooks, so you'll have to gently pull down from the rear until it comes out.



NOTE: this pic shows what you'll see interfering with pulling down with red squares highlighting them, dont worry, it won't break and they bend easily:



Your map light assembly, removed!



Now for the lights, interesting layout overall (a bit much if you ask me)
These knobs are the bulb connectors themselves, a 1/8 counter-clockwise turn turns them free from the dome light piece.



Note in the following that theres almost an angle to the insert of the bulb (this is particularly important because the knob that holds the bulb itself inserts straight, but the reflector inside is slightly off center) not every LED bulb will fit, mine barely did, but with just abit of a nudge they got through.



And here's a pic of my LED bulb with lens I liked (I bought them from Lightinthebox.com , not too bad, and they've been in there for about 8 months now.)



Once you have your bulbs in , its almost too easy. Start with the front of the housing (the one facing the windshield ) and 'hook' the hinges up in their respective slots, the black piece that will interfere with your sunglasses housing will bend out of the way or with assistance from you. and simply push up. and it should pop back in!

Advice: Chances are you may have that white connector freely roaming around, wrap it around another wire or zip-tie it to another wire to prevent vibration. I experienced this when I reassembled and drove around, but was a quick fix.

Cheers, let me know if I missed something.

-Nick

 

Thanks for the pics! Great instruction

 

Great post and tutorial! Thank You!