saw1

My driver side headlight is out. Is it an easy DIY project or should I take it in to the dealer?

jschrauwen

One connector and 3 hex bolts and my whole headlight slides out. In comparison to other car headlight removal, this is one of the easier ones to do.
Before removing, it's best to try and determine what has actually failed. Possible xenon bulb failure or ballast?
There's one or two youtube videos on the 3 bolt locations and removal. Two on top and one down low in the center.

saw1

Thanks, so I called the dealer today just to see how much they would charge. I was told they have to remove the bumper with 2 hours of labor plus the part, total $450. I have a hard time believing that the bumper has to be removed to replace a bulb!!

saw1

How can I determine if it is the bulb or the ballast?

jschrauwen

Typical dealership upsell.





Swap the bulb from the good side to your bad (driver's) side. If it still doesn't work, it's probably the ballast. Was the car subjected to any deep flooding water or similar just before this occurred? The reason I ask is because the ballast is mounted on the bottom of the headlight housing.






(Ballast)

jschrauwen

Show those videos to your dealership and ask them if the bumper still needs to be removed.

saw1

Thanks, I will. I have a call into the service manager, he is pretty cool so hopefully he will have a good explanation.

No flooding recently but there has been a lot of rain here in suburban Atlanta. The warning light for the lights came up the other day, and of course confirmed by looking at the lights.

From the videos it looks pretty simple to replace.