Worst Car To Change Headlight Bulbs ? Volvo ?
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Originally Posted By: bsmithwins
Mazda3.
The bulbs are held in by wire bails that have to be flipped down to lock the new bulb into place.
Down the bottom of a hole that's about 2.5" wide and 4" deep. I got it done in about 2 hours, after I made a tool to flip the bail.
BSW
Mazda6
Same wire bails. Have to do it blind or take off the bumper cover and remove the headlight assembly.
Mazda3.
The bulbs are held in by wire bails that have to be flipped down to lock the new bulb into place.
Down the bottom of a hole that's about 2.5" wide and 4" deep. I got it done in about 2 hours, after I made a tool to flip the bail.
BSW
Mazda6
Same wire bails. Have to do it blind or take off the bumper cover and remove the headlight assembly.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: DemoFly
Any vehicle where you have to take the entire assembly out to change them. Dodge Dakota/Durango for instance.
My '97 Dakota (which I thought was the same as an '02) didn't require a lamp assembly removal to change the bulbs. You had to stick your hand way in there, sure, but it was doable. Your '02 requires removal of the entire housing?
Yep. The only way to change them otherwise is to take out a bunch of stuff out of the engine compartment or to take off the bumper and crossmember.
It wasn't that bad. It was only 3 fasteners for each side, but you gotta use a really slim extension and swivel socket.
However, compared to my girlfriend's Mazda 6, it seems like a job.
I'd vote Mazda 6 for BEST headlight design.
Originally Posted By: DemoFly
Any vehicle where you have to take the entire assembly out to change them. Dodge Dakota/Durango for instance.
My '97 Dakota (which I thought was the same as an '02) didn't require a lamp assembly removal to change the bulbs. You had to stick your hand way in there, sure, but it was doable. Your '02 requires removal of the entire housing?
Yep. The only way to change them otherwise is to take out a bunch of stuff out of the engine compartment or to take off the bumper and crossmember.
It wasn't that bad. It was only 3 fasteners for each side, but you gotta use a really slim extension and swivel socket.
However, compared to my girlfriend's Mazda 6, it seems like a job.
I'd vote Mazda 6 for BEST headlight design.
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: DemoFly
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: DemoFly
Any vehicle where you have to take the entire assembly out to change them. Dodge Dakota/Durango for instance.
My '97 Dakota (which I thought was the same as an '02) didn't require a lamp assembly removal to change the bulbs. You had to stick your hand way in there, sure, but it was doable. Your '02 requires removal of the entire housing?
Yep. The only way to change them otherwise is to take out a bunch of stuff out of the engine compartment or to take off the bumper and crossmember.
It wasn't that bad. It was only 3 fasteners for each side, but you gotta use a really slim extension and swivel socket.
However, compared to my girlfriend's Mazda 6, it seems like a job.
I'd vote Mazda 6 for BEST headlight design.
She must have a GenII or GenIII Mazda6.
1st generation, you can access the highbeams, city lights, and foglights easily. Low Beams are buried under the fenders. You can either see it, or put your hand in there, but you can't do both.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: DemoFly
Any vehicle where you have to take the entire assembly out to change them. Dodge Dakota/Durango for instance.
My '97 Dakota (which I thought was the same as an '02) didn't require a lamp assembly removal to change the bulbs. You had to stick your hand way in there, sure, but it was doable. Your '02 requires removal of the entire housing?
Yep. The only way to change them otherwise is to take out a bunch of stuff out of the engine compartment or to take off the bumper and crossmember.
It wasn't that bad. It was only 3 fasteners for each side, but you gotta use a really slim extension and swivel socket.
However, compared to my girlfriend's Mazda 6, it seems like a job.
I'd vote Mazda 6 for BEST headlight design.
She must have a GenII or GenIII Mazda6.
1st generation, you can access the highbeams, city lights, and foglights easily. Low Beams are buried under the fenders. You can either see it, or put your hand in there, but you can't do both.
Wife's 2013 Optima, either take off the front bumper cover, or remove the battery on the drivers side and the coolant overflow bottle on the passenger side. Haven't tried either yet!! Guess the upgraded bulbs will have to wait.
Stepdaughters 2000 300m, there is a 2inx3in hole in each front wheel well that has a rubber plug. Remove the plug and then stick a long rachet extension in towards the front of the car hoping to find the single 10mm nut. Get that off without dropping it, and then remove the pins holding the bumper cover to the upper radiator support, then peel the cover forward enough to unbolt the whole headlight assembly and remove it. Reverse that order, and blindly try to get that single 10mm nut back on bolt that holds the bumper cover on.
Stepdaughters 2000 300m, there is a 2inx3in hole in each front wheel well that has a rubber plug. Remove the plug and then stick a long rachet extension in towards the front of the car hoping to find the single 10mm nut. Get that off without dropping it, and then remove the pins holding the bumper cover to the upper radiator support, then peel the cover forward enough to unbolt the whole headlight assembly and remove it. Reverse that order, and blindly try to get that single 10mm nut back on bolt that holds the bumper cover on.
It seems like bulbs should be one of those things where the operator can change them with no tools, in a dimly lit parking lot. There's nothing quite as annoying as having to remove a wheel and fender liner in order to change a turn signal bulb.
Turn signal bulb? I thought this was about headlight bulbs. For turn signal bulbs, try one of the Devilles with the 6 hour turn signal bulb replacement. You do get to take that wheel and liner out but just so you can get a long tool in there to attack the rivets that hold the front fascia to the fender itself.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I changed headlight bulbs for several cars over 30+ years, some of them were so easy, it took less than 2 minutes to swap the burnt bulb for a new one without remove anything other than the cover.
Some cars may take 4-5 minutes but none take so much time as the Volvo V70. To change the driver side low beam bulb(it's also DRL bulb), the air box and snorkel and some other parts must be removed to gain access to bulb. I didn't try to change it yet but my guess is about 30-35 minutes for driver side and probably more than 45 minutes for passenger side.
Since low beam is also DRL so I expect the bulb life is fairly short, probably no more than 2 years.
Is your car similar to Volvo S60 as far as replacing headlight bulb is concerned?
I changed headlight bulbs for several cars over 30+ years, some of them were so easy, it took less than 2 minutes to swap the burnt bulb for a new one without remove anything other than the cover.
Some cars may take 4-5 minutes but none take so much time as the Volvo V70. To change the driver side low beam bulb(it's also DRL bulb), the air box and snorkel and some other parts must be removed to gain access to bulb. I didn't try to change it yet but my guess is about 30-35 minutes for driver side and probably more than 45 minutes for passenger side.
Since low beam is also DRL so I expect the bulb life is fairly short, probably no more than 2 years.
Is your car similar to Volvo S60 as far as replacing headlight bulb is concerned?
I replaced an H6054 once. Took about 2 hours to get it right, including trying to adjust the thing, which was adjusted with a screw attached to a spring. Every capsule bulb has been a breeze compared to that POS.
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I changed headlight bulbs for several cars over 30+ years, some of them were so easy, it took less than 2 minutes to swap the burnt bulb for a new one without remove anything other than the cover.
Some cars may take 4-5 minutes but none take so much time as the Volvo V70. To change the driver side low beam bulb(it's also DRL bulb), the air box and snorkel and some other parts must be removed to gain access to bulb. I didn't try to change it yet but my guess is about 30-35 minutes for driver side and probably more than 45 minutes for passenger side.
Since low beam is also DRL so I expect the bulb life is fairly short, probably no more than 2 years.
Is your car similar to Volvo S60 as far as replacing headlight bulb is concerned?
I'm not sure that the V70 is similar to S60 about headlight bulb replacement, the headlight style is similar so it's possible they are similar in bulb location, also both have the same base 2.4L 5-cyl engine.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I changed headlight bulbs for several cars over 30+ years, some of them were so easy, it took less than 2 minutes to swap the burnt bulb for a new one without remove anything other than the cover.
Some cars may take 4-5 minutes but none take so much time as the Volvo V70. To change the driver side low beam bulb(it's also DRL bulb), the air box and snorkel and some other parts must be removed to gain access to bulb. I didn't try to change it yet but my guess is about 30-35 minutes for driver side and probably more than 45 minutes for passenger side.
Since low beam is also DRL so I expect the bulb life is fairly short, probably no more than 2 years.
Is your car similar to Volvo S60 as far as replacing headlight bulb is concerned?
I'm not sure that the V70 is similar to S60 about headlight bulb replacement, the headlight style is similar so it's possible they are similar in bulb location, also both have the same base 2.4L 5-cyl engine.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I'm not sure that the V70 is similar to S60 about headlight bulb replacement, the headlight style is similar so it's possible they are similar in bulb location, also both have the same base 2.4L 5-cyl engine.
Since I don't have my own mancard, could send me yours now?
I'm not sure that the V70 is similar to S60 about headlight bulb replacement, the headlight style is similar so it's possible they are similar in bulb location, also both have the same base 2.4L 5-cyl engine.
Since I don't have my own mancard, could send me yours now?
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I'm not sure that the V70 is similar to S60 about headlight bulb replacement, the headlight style is similar so it's possible they are similar in bulb location, also both have the same base 2.4L 5-cyl engine.
Since I don't have my own mancard, could send me yours now?
According to this video, V70 and S60 are not the same as far as headlight design is concerned.
V70 has much less room to reach the low beam bulb, some parts are needed to be removed to make room to get to the light bulb.
What is the "mancard" ? If I have it I will send it to you.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I'm not sure that the V70 is similar to S60 about headlight bulb replacement, the headlight style is similar so it's possible they are similar in bulb location, also both have the same base 2.4L 5-cyl engine.
Since I don't have my own mancard, could send me yours now?
According to this video, V70 and S60 are not the same as far as headlight design is concerned.
V70 has much less room to reach the low beam bulb, some parts are needed to be removed to make room to get to the light bulb.
What is the "mancard" ? If I have it I will send it to you.
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: bsmithwins
Mazda3.
The bulbs are held in by wire bails that have to be flipped down to lock the new bulb into place.
Down the bottom of a hole that's about 2.5" wide and 4" deep. I got it done in about 2 hours, after I made a tool to flip the bail.
BSW
My parents are going through this with my mom's '08 3. They got the new bulbs in, but couldn't get the wire bails in place. If I wasn't 10 hours away I'd try to take care of it.
Rangers have probably the easiest bulbs to change of any vehicle. Pull up the two release tabs for the light housing, pull it forward, unscrew the bulb, put new bulb in, slide light back into place, push tabs down. Done. No tools, 5 minutes tops.
Mazda3.
The bulbs are held in by wire bails that have to be flipped down to lock the new bulb into place.
Down the bottom of a hole that's about 2.5" wide and 4" deep. I got it done in about 2 hours, after I made a tool to flip the bail.
BSW
My parents are going through this with my mom's '08 3. They got the new bulbs in, but couldn't get the wire bails in place. If I wasn't 10 hours away I'd try to take care of it.
Rangers have probably the easiest bulbs to change of any vehicle. Pull up the two release tabs for the light housing, pull it forward, unscrew the bulb, put new bulb in, slide light back into place, push tabs down. Done. No tools, 5 minutes tops.
I have a new personal worst...'08-'12 Chevy Malibu. It involves unbolting and pulling back part of the bumper cover, and a lot of fighting with the light housing to get it to line back up with the fender and bumper, among other aggravations. To get enough access you really need to take a wheel off too.
Headlights are one of those things that should be doable by the average person in the parts store or Wal-Mart parking lot. Not something that involves taking off a bunch of totally unrelated [censored] to get to it when you know it will burn out during the car's lifetime.
Headlights are one of those things that should be doable by the average person in the parts store or Wal-Mart parking lot. Not something that involves taking off a bunch of totally unrelated [censored] to get to it when you know it will burn out during the car's lifetime.
Last July we were looking at SUV's, and one of the vehicles we looked at was a Cadillac SRX. While it was a nice enough vehicle, simple things such as changing a headlight were completely stupid. It required that the entire front fascia be removed in order to change a headlight.
If something as simple as changing a headlight is that poorly engineered, I can't help but think that there are plenty of other items on that type of vehicle that are poorly engineered. It's one of the reasons why we passed on the Cadillac.
If something as simple as changing a headlight is that poorly engineered, I can't help but think that there are plenty of other items on that type of vehicle that are poorly engineered. It's one of the reasons why we passed on the Cadillac.
Worst i had was a 78 plymouth fury. Sealed beam headlights, the trim held in with torx screws that all rusted and stripped out. Nightmare.
Originally Posted By: dons459
DRL'S don't burn out faster, They are on at a reduced output.
My 97 Pontiac went over 13 years still working when I sold it.
Yes, but it still puts wear and tear albeit slower. My corolla is on a third set of low beams due to the low beams used for DRL. I like the newer toyotas using hi beams for DRL.
Fortunately, toyotas are super easy for bulb changes.
DRL'S don't burn out faster, They are on at a reduced output.
My 97 Pontiac went over 13 years still working when I sold it.
Yes, but it still puts wear and tear albeit slower. My corolla is on a third set of low beams due to the low beams used for DRL. I like the newer toyotas using hi beams for DRL.
Fortunately, toyotas are super easy for bulb changes.
Originally Posted By: TAvsGN
Stepdaughters 2000 300m, there is a 2inx3in hole in each front wheel well that has a rubber plug. Remove the plug and then stick a long rachet extension in towards the front of the car hoping to find the single 10mm nut. Get that off without dropping it, and then remove the pins holding the bumper cover to the upper radiator support, then peel the cover forward enough to unbolt the whole headlight assembly and remove it. Reverse that order, and blindly try to get that single 10mm nut back on bolt that holds the bumper cover on.
Same with the LHS of the same year. I had to put 2 extensions together to make a foot long extension to reach that nut. I've heard changing the battery is even more fun on these cars. In which you have to remove the front wheel and wheel well liner to replace it.
Stepdaughters 2000 300m, there is a 2inx3in hole in each front wheel well that has a rubber plug. Remove the plug and then stick a long rachet extension in towards the front of the car hoping to find the single 10mm nut. Get that off without dropping it, and then remove the pins holding the bumper cover to the upper radiator support, then peel the cover forward enough to unbolt the whole headlight assembly and remove it. Reverse that order, and blindly try to get that single 10mm nut back on bolt that holds the bumper cover on.
Same with the LHS of the same year. I had to put 2 extensions together to make a foot long extension to reach that nut. I've heard changing the battery is even more fun on these cars. In which you have to remove the front wheel and wheel well liner to replace it.
I was going to say the same thing. This design totally amazes me that they would approve this? My '00 Impala has 2 plastic clips and the wiring connector. Done. But on the Malibu to remove the bumper and other hardware to change a headlight bulb is just ridiculous.
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
I have a new personal worst...'08-'12 Chevy Malibu. It involves unbolting and pulling back part of the bumper cover, and a lot of fighting with the light housing to get it to line back up with the fender and bumper, among other aggravations. To get enough access you really need to take a wheel off too.
Headlights are one of those things that should be doable by the average person in the parts store or Wal-Mart parking lot. Not something that involves taking off a bunch of totally unrelated [censored] to get to it when you know it will burn out during the car's lifetime.
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
I have a new personal worst...'08-'12 Chevy Malibu. It involves unbolting and pulling back part of the bumper cover, and a lot of fighting with the light housing to get it to line back up with the fender and bumper, among other aggravations. To get enough access you really need to take a wheel off too.
Headlights are one of those things that should be doable by the average person in the parts store or Wal-Mart parking lot. Not something that involves taking off a bunch of totally unrelated [censored] to get to it when you know it will burn out during the car's lifetime.
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