I have a 2004 Honda Accord. Not an uncommon car. Year ago in the middle of winter, driver’s headlight burned out, workmate noticed and told me. That night on the way home, bought a $10-15 bulb from autozone. Drove to work next morning, figuring to change the light on my lunch hour. Temperatures were about 30 degrees. Got out my user manual, opened to “how to change headlight,” and read–“first, turn your steering wheel all the way to the right!”
WTF? Why should I turn my steering wheel at all?
Then read “remove the wheelwell cover…” At below freezing, this just seemed like a rather stupid way to spend my lunch hour. Called my mechanic, he said drop it in the AM and we’ll do it. On the way home that evening, got stopped by local police. He was ready to give me a ticket, when I showed him the bulb and told him my mechanic was gonna replace in the AM. He let me go, but you could tell he was disappointed in not be able to ticket me.
I’ll wager cars with hard to change headlights are not as rare these days as some would have you believe.
Headlights and car electrical systems are better than they used to be. I remember when every time it rained you’d see dozens of cars with headlights and taillights out. It’s kind of assholish for a cop to give someone a ticket just for one light out, they might not realize it was out.
I had a 1994 Honda Accord and about ten years ago had a burned-out bulb. I bought the replacement bulb but it seemed that I would have to squeeze my hand into a tiny space behind the headlight assembly to change it. So I took the car to the dealer and asked them about it. They took care of it because I was a regular customer.
And I agree with those who mentioned that cops often give people fix-it tickets for things like this.
I got pulled over when a taillight was out and I was asked if I knew why I was stopped . I said I had no idea why and the police said my taillight was out and to get it fixed. If you do drive at night you can tell your headlight out when you turn your car on . When I have to stop for a red light behind another car I check to see if both my headlights are shining on the rear end of the car in front of me. There are ways to made sure your headlights are working . Yeah you can get a ticket fir a burned out headlight or taillight .
I have a Mazda.
Bought a new bulb at local auto parts store & pulled out the manual to see how to do it in this car. Like samclem, turn the wheel all the way away from the “out” side, remove the plastic clips/attachments from the plastic wheel well cover, then reach up thru the frame to access the back of the bulb housing. Sat down with a screwdriver to try & stopped after about 15 seconds. There was no way I was attempting this until I went to the dealer to get some replacement ones as I was pretty sure they wouldn’t all survive intact.
I kept the new lightbulb sitting on the seat in case I got pulled over but it took until the next weekend until I had enough daylight to attempt it again. Sure enough I ended up needing 3 or 4 of the new ones that I got.
So, it took two guys with reasonable mechanical skills an hour to do it. We had to take off the front bumper cover, bumper, fog lights, and air dam. Then we had to take out the headlight assemblies, which was easy on one side, but I couldn’t figure how to disconnect the other; fortunately everything was loose enough by that time to allow my hand to get into the bulb-changing area.
Then the bulb swap wearing surgical gloves, then put everything back together.
It wasn’t worth multiple hours of pro shop labor, but wasn’t trivial either. There’s a reason why I changed both at the same time
Given such a daunting task, it’s easy to see why many people would let it slide as long as possible. This job was a couple of orders of magnitude more challenging than swapping out standard bayonet-mount halogen bulbs.
I can only speak for Wisconsin but we never give cites out for the first contact. Sometimes it’s just a verbal warning but usually it’s an equipment warning ticket. For headlights you have 5 days, for other violations that may take longer to get fixed it’s 10 or 15 days. Within that time period the motorist can get the equipment repaired. He can show it to any peace officer in the state and have them sign the ticket (with their agencies ID number) and mail it to the citing agency. If the motorist doesn’t do this in the specified time, then a citation is issued (mailed).
YMMV so I’m wondering what state the OP is in.
ETA: I have LED Halo headlights on my '14 Vette. I have no idea what kind of a PIA it is to swap them out. This is the first I’ve actually thought about it.
:shrug: I check my lights often. If you don’t drive in the city you won’t be pulling up close enough to seem them shine on another car. If it’s twilight you’re not going to notice. Happened to me, got a warning, no fine.
I’ve gotten a verbal warning about this, but the police officer just pulled me over, told me I had a tail light out and I politely thanked him for the information, assured him I’d get it fixed first chance and he basically said “see that you do” and that was the extent of it. No sort of ticket was issued.
I was a passenger in a car where the driver got a ticket (not a fix-it) for having a head light out - but he was a jerk to the officer from start to finish. I always mentally chalked that ticket up as a ticket for being a dick, rather than the burned out light.
I am familiar with the town the OP lives in, and yes, the cops there are a little over-enthusiastic about giving out tickets. I’m not surprised at all. I imagine that if he wants to go to court with the proof that it is fixed, the judge will dismiss it.
I have two kids who worked eight miles from our house. Major urban areas. You had to drive on surface streets the whole way. You drove four miles in Akron Ohio, then two miles through Fairlawn OH and then two miles through Montrose(still kinda Akron). You ALWAYS got a ticket for any light out in Fairlawn, if you were young. It was a pretext to stop people looking for drug, drinking, etc. I could have driven through without a ticket. Each of my kids got one weeks apart. Profiling, pure and simple.
I generally agreed with the OP except this quoted part. I’m pretty sure a large majority of the adult population could manage replacing a headlight bulb with nothing more than the guidance of a YouTube video.
It really depends on the car. I’ve given up on doing it for a 2006 Accord because I just can’t get the angles right having to go through the wheel-well.
Not necessarily. I got a ticket for a burned out taillight. The cop suggested I fix it, enter a not guilty plea, then show proof at trial.
I showed up at the magistrates courtroom and there was a news crew there. Something was going on with a case he handled. He was in a nasty mood. Although I did everything right, and the cop agreed with me, I was found guilty. The magistrate told me that unless I could show proof I was Amish, I was guilty.
I appealed, going to the municipal(?) court. The judge there gave me a full hearing, including a recess to allow the prosecutor to run back to his office for the unabridged copy of the motor vehicle code, so I could hear exactly what the law was.
The judge felt bad for me, but as the magistrate had not made any legal errors in his ruling, he couldn’t reverse it. The cop who gave me the original ticket gave me his business card. He said he owed me one. It was an interesting experience, worth the day’s pay and fine it cost me.
I’m guessing the OP got arrested and is sitting in jail since he hasn’t returned. Poor lil’ feller. Maybe while he is being passed around as the prison bitch for cigarettes he can reflect on his actions and not be a dick to the cop next time.
Having changed both on my 2006 Accord, it’s not just you. I count on it to take thirty minutes of swearing and frustration, and a flashlight. And the wheel well cover and all of its clips will guaranteed not go back in right. Still better than paying labor rate at a shop.
