Headlamp bulb replacement
Learned the hard way before by the nightmare of having to do it by feel through the left wheel well liner as word has it that the headlamp unit can’t be removed without taking the bumper off.
WRONG!!! It’s just 4 torx, two on top, two behind the lamp and with a bit of finagling it slides right out the front! Pic for proof. Blue tape to protect the paint from the tabs on the underside of the lamp unit.
This makes bulb change SOOO much easier. Other side is “easy” once you’ve removed the air filter housing.
Anyway, in my case it wasn’t the bulb that was bad, or the igniter. It was actually the ballast that had failed. So bear that in mind when you get this error. It could be one of 3 components. The bulb, igniter, or ballast. Ballast replacement is headlamp out job anyway so that was fortunate. I was able to source a brand OEM replacement off eBay for $25, and it’s a simple unscrew/plug-n-play replacement. Once the ballast was swapped out, normal headlamp service resumed.
It’s worth noting my car is an ‘04 with the split grille, so not sure how this method translates to the later fish-mouth cars but it’s probably worth a try.







