One of the bulbs on the side lights went out. Manual says the lens cover pops right off. Actually seems like a scary job. Any advice on how to take these suckers off?

 

They do just "pop" off. I remove the headlight to gain access to the back side of the housing, get in there with long needle-nosed pliers to depress the clip and push it out from the back.

You could try prying it out with a flathead, but you could dent the fender and/or **** up the paint.