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How Do I Change the Headlight Bulb?

425K views 66 replies 53 participants last post by  ron1004 
#1 ·
Hi.

As I pulled up to my house the other day I noticed that the right headlight bulb had died on me. So I thought, take out the owner's manual and follow the instructions.

Not that easy, it seems. It mentions something about turning something counter clockwise. Hell - nothing will move a millimeter so I turned to this forum.

It seems "Jesus" has put a guide on how to remove the entire front of my car. Is that really necessary? Can't I change the light bulb in a much easier way? I am thinking - had this been my mother's car she would have had no choice but pay the auto shop a visit for a "simple" light bulb change.

Any help is appreciated. :)
 
#4 ·
I have actually decided to give up on this. I would need pictures, because I can't follow the directions given here.

The instructions from the owner's manual indicates that this is supposed to be close to extremely easy and has no mention of removing any screws or bolts.

I think I will have to let the mechanic take care of replacing the light bulb, though it seems crazy that has to be necessary.
 
#5 ·
They do come out :) as the original reply stated undo the two bolts on the headlight. one on top and one to the side next to the grill. you have to pull hard away from the car but they do come out so in the end it was fairly easy. try with the drivers side first as that side was easier. Don't give up and give your hard earned money to some mechanic. you can do it. If I can you should be able to :D
 
#7 ·
Today I tried removing those two screws and started tugging the darn thing, i.e. the headlight unit. I think I also located the clip referred to in this thread, but I was not able to pull the unit out, because I was afraid of scratching my front of the car.

Since Tazteam is proposing removing the entire front, I would like to know whether this is necessary or even just a good idea in avoiding damaging the front bumper? It's starting to look like a big operation and I am still very disappointed that the manual is worthless since there is no way you can just "turn the cover counter-clockwise".

All in all, changing a freaking bulb is starting to look like a job for the mechanic and I am sure he will have to remove a whole lot of stuff too.

Really sucks.
 
#8 · (Edited)
OMG..i did'nt remove anything from my girls car...if u open the bonnet, look at either light u can see theres a rubber bung which covers the wires so they dont get wet...now pull that off ( its a tight gap to move your hand though..if u dont mind a scratch that is),now you will see the back of the bulb now theres a metal clip holding it inplace..undo that clip(it swings towards you, u'll see what i mean)you then can feel it come loose an u can remove (remember wen putting in ur new bulb..dont touch the glass on the new bulb..it should come right out with a a few tight turns..then reverse the process wen installing new bulb...10 mins it took me to do the 2 headlights...o yea, u can look in to the headlight when ur fitting back in,just to make sure its the right way up..hope that helps if not gimme a shout on here an i'll do a vid on my fone so u can watch.
 
#9 ·
You must be blessed with small hands, offsides not to bad, but my hand won't get between battery and light, so I always remove the units for the sake of 30seconds for zero struggling.
The units will unclip, they are always silly tight the first time out, good sharp tug does it.. no need to take the bumper off!
 
#10 ·
Headlamp changing woes

I've been driving around without a working headlamp for weeks now. I have tried just pulling off the rubber cover etc and found that impossible in the space. Then looking at this site, I read about and tried removing the bolts and tugging, as suggested. But I failed in the attempt.
I too will have to submit to the expense of a mechanic. This is infuriating in the extreme. Here in the UK it is illegal to drive with only one headlamp working. And therefore I feel that changing the bulb should be something one could do at the roadside. Am deeply frustrated that such a simple thing should be such a trial.
 
#50 · (Edited)
The TRIAL

I've been driving around without a working headlamp for weeks now. I have tried just pulling off the rubber cover etc and found that impossible in the space. Then looking at this site, I read about and tried removing the bolts and tugging, as suggested. But I failed in the attempt.
I too will have to submit to the expense of a mechanic. This is infuriating in the extreme. Here in the UK it is illegal to drive with only one headlamp working. And therefore I feel that changing the bulb should be something one could do at the roadside. Am deeply frustrated that such a simple thing should be such a trial.
>>> And the whole point of this "trial" is to put $$$ into the pockets of DISHONEST & GREEDY dealers/techs - but the bulb job is really very simple ONCE YOU KNOW HOW. I went to https://www.kiatechinfo.com/ and discovered how to do it quick, easy and CHEAP!
here's my '07 optima post: http://www.kia-forums.com/do-yourself/79172-repacing-headlamps.html#post427966
good luck :D
 
#13 ·
It took me a while but I did it without removing headlamp units or bumper.

I did remove the power steering reservoir one side and the battery the other, I also found that a squirt of silicon, rubber lubricant helped.

Pull off connector, pull off large rubber cover, undo wire clip, hey presto, then reverse.....but I agree, its a fiddly job you would not want to do on the side of the road in the dark and the rain.....but if you think thats tricky, look at the headlamps on a Sorento!
 
#15 ·
Me too had some trouble changing the lightbulb.
Tried to pull the headlight out as described here earlier.
Didn't work, so I gave up and put the screws back again.
Then one night when I had gone to bed it got to me like lightning.
Put one hand on the back and push the headlight out.
That worked. There are two horizontal clips on the lower part of the headlight that holds it in place. They were very tight so I took a file and removed just a little material from them.
Then it was much easier to pull them of the clips.
 
#51 ·
-This man is a genius:) I pushed on the back of the light and it came out just like butter. Those clips held on like a death grip. You have to really push with considerable effort to get the head light assembly off. Initially I was sweating bullets because I had visions of cracking a clip or something and paying huge whacks of cash to fix the whole thing instead of replacing a simple bulb. Push! It pops out, then it is all wavy gravy from there.

By the way, make sure you get the correct bulb. I went to a certain store that rhymes with Vanadian Mire and the parts dude told me "this is the bulb I need". What I removed vs. what they gave me sure did not look the same :rolleyes: Took everything back, van still in pieces, went to the dealer and got the right bulb for way less.
 
#16 ·
As it says, remove the 3 10mm bolts and look underneath the assembly. the front and back halves of the assy has a flange running around it. If, while you're looking underneath the assy, you tilt it so as to aim the assy up, you can see where the flange contacts and is kepy from moving by the bumper. lift the bottom of the assy to clear the bumper and it'll rotate right out. I just changed mine in less than3 minutes, and theres no way to pull it straight out. It must be rotated up past the bumper edge. Good Luck.
 
#17 ·
Hi,
I have just spent two hours, pulling, pushing, shaking and swearing at a Picanto headlight unit to try and remove it, to no avail. This is the first time in 35 years of driving that I have had to admit defeat in the face of what is normally a routine maintenance task; and they call this progress. Bring back the Morris Minor............
 
#18 ·
The first time I did mine I couldn't get them off either! I took the bumper off in the end. after that first time, it's easy(ish).

Under the headlamp (and mounted to it) is a rubber clip shaped rather like a C shape, with the hole of the C facing towards to engine bay. Mounted to the chassis is a bar that the clip snaps on. First time off is hard going. Let us assume you are facing the car with the (as you stand) the right headlamp before you. It has to tilt up about 10 degrees and then rotate out to the right. It doesn't feel like it will, but it will (I had to give it a thump from behind!). Tilt it up and tug it from the part nearest the grill to get it to rotate. Do the opposite for the other unit.

Trevor
 
#21 ·
Thanks for the various pieces of advice. I had one more go at removing the headlight units. I tugged / twisted that hard I thought I was going to have a cardiac arrest. Decided to admit defeat and entrust the job to my local Kia agents. They charged two hours labour to change all the bulbs in both headlight units. Total bill came out a whopping £80 - what a rip off...........
 
#26 ·
I had to change the headlight bulb for my wife's Picanto for the first time. Like the other writers in this thread I found the instructions in the owner's manual useless and the headlight impossible to change without removing the whole headlight unit first. I unscrewed the two bolts holding the unit in place but it still seemed to be sitting quite tightly in it's bay. My next thought was to remove the front bumper but fortunately I gave up on that and decided to find out if there was something about this topic on the internet. And from a finnish forum I found a link to this forum and thread. Went back to the car and started to pull the headlight unit out, I pulled it to many different directions and angles and finally the darn thing came off and then it was very easy to change the bulb.

So thanks to everybody for the good advice, saved me quite a substantial amount of money. I had nearly given up the hope of being able to change the bulb by myself. Would have cost at least 40-50 € in the local Kia dealer.
 
#41 ·
Thanks to this forum, I had another go at removing the headlamp unit - you have to pull very hard to get it out. I am adding a couple of pics in the hope that it will help others. :)
Thanks for the pics, they were really helpful. I had been scratching my head as to how to change the bulbs! But really why does something that should be so simple have to be made so hard? (apart from more money to the dealerships).
 
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