Headlight replacement

joolsveer

I am the proud owner of a 2003 car with about 10,000 miles on the clock. I have had two headlight bulbs blow over the last year. The bulbs at the front of the car cannot easily be user replaced because the garage says that the bumper must be released first and that a main dealer is required. None of the bulb holders is accessible from under the bonnet. This results in the cost of replacing a headlight bulb being more than €70 a time. There a four headlights, two fog lights, two side lights, two indicator bulbs at the front. It is a current model from a European manufacturer. I would be pleased if someone could give me an estimate of how much I will have to spend on replacing bulbs over the three years I expect to own the car. The average cost is €60 a pop.
BTW can anyone out there guess what car I have and is the dealer taking me for a ride?

Fudger

VW Polo, why am i guessing i dont know

joolsveer

Fudger wrote:

VW Polo, why am i guessing i dont know

Sorry, not a German car.

_sheep

alfa ?

Borzoi

joolsveer wrote:

Sorry, not a German car.

I'd be very surprised if you have to remove the bumper/use main dealer just to replace a headlight bulb.

Give us the make and model and I'd bet someone here can help

joolsveer

Borzoi wrote:

I'd be very surprised if you have to remove the bumper/use main dealer just to replace a headlight bulb.

Give us the make and model and I'd bet someone here can help

Renault Megane II.

Blitzkrieger

The bumper has to be released? Wtf kind of complicated car is that?

Did you try replacing them yourself? I'm the proud owner of one of the most cramped engine bays around but I still manage to get my huge paws in there to change bulbs. It'd be surprising if there wasn't some way of getting at them.

In terms of bulbs - the worst I've heard was €25. My own car is rare enough and they cost me €14. The best thing to do is take out your car's manual to see how long they should last.

Of course the dealer is taking you for a ride - that's what they do. Most jobs like that are much easier than you think to do for yourself.

joolsveer

I previously had a Megane I and had no problem replacing any of the bulbs. Had I known of this extra cost I wouldn't have changed the car for the newer version.

Interceptor

This doesn't make sense. In France, where that car sells by the bucket-load, you are required by law to carry spare bulbs and can be fined for not having and using them. How in the name of ar5e would they be able to sell a car that required the bumper to be dropped to change bulbs.

Unless you have a faulty xenon problem, there is no reason that the bulbs are more then €6 each from a motor factors and changing them has to be possible without the use of special tools.

I'm going to stick my head under the bonnet of a Megane II to satisfy my curiosity, but there has to be an easier way....

'c

BrianD3

Look in your owners handbook. It should give a procedure for changing headlight bulbs. If it says you need to remove the bumper then you probably do, however I'd be very surprised if this is the case.

I have the Laguna II myself, and changing a bulb is a pain in the ass but is easily enough done. It involves removing covers and bits of trim under the bonnet and even then access to the bulb is tight and I usually skin my knuckles.

The procedure for changing a bulb is clearly stated in the owners handbook for my car.

BrianD3

mike65

Weird city! If the bulbs are replaced from inside the engine bay then I really cant imagine how the bumper assembly would come into play.

Need pix.

Mike.

joolsveer

The point is that the bulb holders are not accessible from under the bonnet (engine bay). That's the problem.

mike65

Your car must have ben designed by a Frenchman! So you have to what, remove the lens?

Mike.

Seth Brundle

I remember hearing this alright. I don't think there is any way around it apart from DIY and most people will avoid that!
The fact that two bulbs have gone in a short space of time is probably due to dodgy electrics (unlikely) or maybe the bulb was touched by the installers fingers

BrianD3

OK I just checked my renault workshop manual (dialogys) It's not entirely clear because the bulb replacement procedure for Megane II is different depending on engine type. For some engine types, the bulbs are accessible from the engine compartment. For other engines, the bulbs are accessible via a removable "mudguard access flap" in front of the front wheel. Front wheel will have to be removed to get at the flap, after this it looks straightforward.

And yes, for some engine types it appears that the headlight must be removed to change a bulb and removing the headlight involves removing the bumper first. The bumper is secured by several clips and bolts. It looks easy enough to remove though.

Hopefully your car is one of the engine types that has a mudguard access flap for replacing bulbs.

French cars: don't ye just love 'em

BrianD3

joolsveer

There is an access port in the wheel arch but having tried it once and failed to change the bulb I reckon you would want to be a contortionist with tiny hands to get the job done. The garage said that they do not use these panels.

BTW the car is a 1.6 automatic as was my last Megane.

Interceptor

Well slap me sideways. What next, take the seats out to fill it with petrol? I really am amazed at the stupidity of that - so then if you happen to blow both bulbs at once, you have to take the wheels and bumper off?

<Me makes sucking noise thru' teeth and shakes head from side to side...>

'c

joolsveer

Do you think that the AA would change the bulbs for me at the side of the road if I call then out next time?

parsi

Hmm.. this bears out what I was thinking after I read the manual for my 04 Scenic in which it says headlight bulbs should be replaced by the garage...

Furp

kbannon wrote:

I remember hearing this alright. I don't think there is any way around it apart from DIY and most people will avoid that!
The fact that two bulbs have gone in a short space of time is probably due to dodgy electrics (unlikely) or maybe the bulb was touched by the installers fingers

My brother in law has an megane II and the car has been in the dealer on average once a month since it was bought just over 12 months ago, mostly electrical problems, engine won't start, the keycard doesn't work, engine light comes on only after being driven away from dealer, airbags warning lights come on, engine goes into some kind of fail safe mode, lights come on when someone tries to open the door handle and then runs down the battery.

And now I get to tell him that if he needs to change the bulb it has to go back to the dealer

I've never seen a car with so much trouble anyone else have this much trouble with the new megane or did he just get a Monday morning car.

The last time it went in they kept it for two weeks and replaced the something to do with the handbrake and airbags.

joolsveer

In fairness this is the only problem I've had with the car since September 2003. There is a two year warranty but needless to say it doesn't cover consumables like bulbs. When it comes to changing the car I will be looking for the new one to be more user friendly.
Can one of you mathematicians out there estimate how much I will have to spend on bulbs if I keep the car until it has 30,000 on the clock?

Saruman

I have a Clio and im assuming its not so different to the clio. I know how to change a lightbulb because i got a renault person to do it once and i watched him. Right behind the lights on the inside, under the bonnet look for some round rubber things.. pull them off and then twist the plastic thing to release the light. Simple.... It could be very different but take a look anyway.

joolsveer

Saruman wrote:

I have a Clio and im assuming its not so different to the clio. I know how to change a lightbulb because i got a renault person to do it once and i watched him. Right behind the lights on the inside, under the bonnet look for some round rubber things.. pull them off and then twist the plastic thing to release the light. Simple.... It could be very different but take a look anyway.

I'm still no nearer to solving my problem. There must be someone out there who has some constructive advice.

Saruman the bulb holders are not accessible from under the bonnet. They were on my last Megane but not on this one.

Saruman

wow that sucks! At least scumbags cant rob them if you park your car in ballyfermot

jlang

Fudger wrote:

VW Polo, why am i guessing i dont know

Interesting that I see this post today, after spending the last twenty minutes with my head in the engine compartment of my friend's Polo trying to work out how to get the headlight bulb out. Then I look at the manual where it doesn't say anything about changing bulbs other than to get a VW dealer to do it. Do they only expect non-technical minded people to buy Polos? (being very careful to not say anything sexist) (except that) (sorry ) Or does my not reading the manual first label me as a guy? (OK that last was a bit sexist )

ToxicPaddy

Well its not the first car to be made bloody difficult to change a light bulb..
Ive a 97 Ford Mondeo and I have to take off the front grill, then take out the
whole light to change the bulb.. bit of a pain but Ive managed to get the knack
of it after spending nearly 3 hours one day trying to figure it out..

If I were you, Id invest in a haynes manual for your car, they tell you huge
amounts about the car, right down to the simpliest little procedures.

Tox

Blitzkrieger

rofl - take the wheel off to change a light buld? That's the second craziest thing I've heard today. It really, really, really should not take a main dealer to replace a light bulb. Do you have to take out the gear box to get at the oil sump too?

loyatemu

the missus had a Seat Ibiza and it said the same thing in the manual - "take it to the dealer." It was possible to access the lights from the engine bay but very fiddly - I had a go and in the end gave up and went to a dealer where they changed them for free (well, for the cost of the bulbs only). We now have a Megane mk 1 and the bulbs are relatively easy to change.

It is ridiculous that manufacturers are releasing cars where routine maintenance cannot be carried out by the owner. Letter of complaint to Renault vowing to never buy another of their cars... if enough people do this they might take notice. You could also try writing to yer man in the Irish Times motors supplement - he has managed to get useful responses from the manufacturers before.

mike65

loyatemu wrote:

It is ridiculous that manufacturers are releasing cars where routine maintenance cannot be carried out by the owner.

One day, not to far away from now cars will be built with no ready access to the engine bay. All the fliuds will be checkable and fillable from the boot but the bonnet will have a swipe card lock for authorised dealer use only.

Mike.