Had to change the front headlight bulbs on my girlfriends 1998 Vauxhall Tigra. Well armed with the new bulbs (which are the strangest shaped bulbs i’ve ever seen) I went outside in the cold to change them over. Well I opened the bonnet and looked blankley at the rear of the lights working out how to try and change them ??? …
Well after some time I gave up and did what no bloke ever does and checked the manual … Well what I was about to read would astonish me !!! …
You have to undo and almost remove the front bumper to then take the lights out just to change a bulb !!! … YES you read that correct, you have to undo and pull down the front bumper … how flippin ridiculous is that ???
Has anyone else ever come across something so stupid ??? …
Yeah that’s been the user friendly design for a while. Wait 'til you try it on a Renault Espace/Scenic. I think the dealers quote about £50 to change a headlight bulb.
Welcome to the modern car most cars are like this nowdays I run my own workshop and the looks I get from some customers when i quote them on fitting a bulb.
It’s not just Hondas. I have a Volvo V70, and changing the headlight bulbs is a pig of a job. Apparently it’s the particular combination of engine (D5 diesel), model (V70), and year (2005) - the V70 had a facelift that year, and the redesigned front end combined with the big chunky engine makes it extremely difficult to get at the back of the headlights. It’s do-able - but only just, and invariably accompanied by much swearing and cutting one’s hands to shreds. The ‘official’ Volvo line is remarkably similar to the Honda one - you need to drop the entire front bumper off and remove the headlight units - but there are other ways (the driver’s side is barely achievable ‘in situ’ with nimble fingers and an inspection mirror, and to do the passenger side one you’ve got to remove the air filter box).
Apparently it’s been dealt with on later model years by the inclusion of a plastic clip holding the headlight unit in place - lift the clip and the unit slides out forwards. But that doesn’t help me, or anyone else with cars like mine …
The Nissan Micra is a bitch too. It looks easy in the manual but you can not see anything and the clips are not at 90 degrees (should I move this to the OCD thread?). You need a short flat bladed screwdriver, two bandages and 45 assorted swear words. I managed to break the plastic clip that works the beam alignment the first time I had to change one.
The best way to do a bulb change on a Micra is with a 2Lb hammer and an angle grinder.
one day i was doing a front bumper change on a rover 25 (4 ball shaped new look) wasnt really looking at the lights but after we have undone all the screws for the bumper (which some of them were almost unreachable) took off the bumper and found out the head lights screws were under the bumper and there is no way the lights can be taken out without the bumper removed]
wasnt really sure if we should change the bulb when we were changing the bumper last time and did have a think about it however it was getting late and going to rain soon so we just didnt bother going to halfords!
last week he just told me he needs a light bulb change!
oops!
Struggled so much with my daughters Citroen C3 I actually broke the headlamp in the process, fortunately she got it fixed as the car was still under warranty.
Recently fitted a headlight bulb to my other halfs Celica, was such a nightmare job that when the other side needed replacing I told her to buy the bulb in Halfords. Halfords offer to fit bulbs for £5…boy did they regret it, almost spent a day fitting it LOL.
Pants on my Corsa…had to remove air filter box cover and pipes…then can’t see how to replace retaining clip…which I bent…only took 50 mins…and my blood all over the housing…the other side looks worse…
There should be a directive from those twats in the EU to pass a proper law and to make all manufacturers make cars where even a girl with long nails can change a bulb inside 2 mins without tools…and breaking a nail…
To make the guy happier with the V70…I have one too, a 1999 model 2.5 turbo diesel (love it)…and you can change the bulbs really quick and easy (inside the 2 min period) (only changed front bulbs three times in 13 years !)
For our beloved MX5’s…MX5 parts sell a pack for about £30…is that a bargan…?.or is there somewhere else you can get them cheaper for a spare set?