Get the Best Priced Hyundai Sonata Tail Light

Without a working tail light, you're not only risking a traffic citation, you're actually a hazard on the road - and the possibility of a rear-end collision at night is not the worst of it. The rear counterpart to your Hyundai Sonata headlights, the tail light of today is a complex assembly that also incorporates the function of turn signal, brake light and backup lights. All of this equipment has been made mandatory by today's motor vehicle codes in most states. Even if the Hyundai Sonata tail light cover is simply broken, it needs to be repaired at the earliest opportunity. The good news is, this usually isn't very expensive, unless you decide on a high-end replacement.

A Short History of Automotive Lighting

It is interesting that while electric lighting for homes and buildings started coming into use in the 1880s, such lighting for the automobile (which was also invented in the 1880s) had to wait more than two decades. If your vehicle had been built prior to 1908, chances are that Hyundai Sonata headlight would have been burning kerosene, lamp oil, or even acetylene gas (as was the case for the early Ford Model T). There was a good reason for that, however; prior to that time, there were no dynamos (basically, a generator) small enough to fit into an automotive engine compartment. The first such dynamo generated direct current, not the alternating current that most cars employ these days. For many years, cars had only a single tail light - and turn signals didn't even exist much before World War 2. Even then, there was little consistency about color, which was only established in 1949 when an international convention on road safety established red as the proper color for a tail light.

The Automotive Tail Light Today

A few years ago, a Hyundai Sonata tail light bulb would probably have been of the old-style filament variety. Today's automotive lights use "light-emitting diodes," or LED lighting. This type is much more efficient and long-lasting than the older kind. It's likely that when your tail light isn't working, it isn't on account of your Hyundai Sonata tail light bulb burning out. You can usually trace down any problems by using a wiring diagram, which is available online or in a Chilton's manual. In most cases, you won't have to take your car into a professional repair shop and wind up paying as much as a $100 for a job you can do in the comfort of your own garage in less than an hour.

Doing It For Less

Most Hyundai tail light assemblies, which include a Hyundai Sonata tail light cover, run in the $50 range, with some being less and some being a bit more. You'll find the lowest prices on these, as well as all other auto parts and accessories, at PartsGeek.com. A mail order online store, this website offers some of the lowest prices on auto parts you are likely to find anywhere, and a number of items even come with free shipping.