i have a 2003 c230 sport coupe and recently the left brake lamp failure came up on the computer. i went to change the bulb, but it seems the housing where the bulbs are kept in seems to be stuck or i'm not doing something correct. the bottom part seems to slide out but the top part seems to be stuck somehow. any suggestions?

tiy

 

try different position

 

Yes position is everything. My 99 C280 has 2 one piece bulb holders for all the rear lights, it has a **** you lock and unlock. When I first had to change a bulb I couldn't get the unit out either. Mine hung up on the top. I wiggled it around and carefully moved it around until it came out. In my case the top bulb, stop light, gets hung up in the hole which the bulb goes into. Carefully is the key word here, as IMHO, the design of these units are poor and the material cheap, consider we drive "luxury" cars?