WTF! I took my car into the dealer for inspection last week. It needed tie rods, which fortunately were covered by the extended warranty.
Electrical is of course not covered. I had lights out on both the left and right rear that had to be fixed to pass inspection. No problem right? I’ve done it myself in the past. You buy a new bulb for a couple of bucks and screw it in, right? Wrong!
The lights are now one big LED unit and if there are any failures you have to replace the whole unit.
The guy in the repair shop called and told that I have to replace both units at $500 each. Fortunately he was nice enough to break the rules and send me a link to a site that sells them at half price. I had to order them and have them delivered to my address. I suppose $500 is better than $1000, but Jesus Fucking Christ on a musical pogo stick!
You might want to give the NTSB a yell. Those LED’s should not have failed yet, let alone both of them. They are safety equipment, so the Feds should be very interested in the short lifespan.
I’m worried that this is the trend in cars now. So much of the car is made up of tightly packed, integrated, and computerized components that any repair will be costly from both a parts and labor standpoint.
I had a headlight fail on my 2010 Subaru and I happened to bring it to the dealer for repair. They replaced it as a warranty item, which surprised me. To replace it you need to pull the fender liner with the front wheels turned all the way to one side and reach in from there. It’s a pain, and I’m glad they did it for me.
But I had to have a taillight assembly replaced (not under warranty) and that set me back a few $100s.
This is how one replaces low beam headlights on my Mazda. Before you even think about replacing the bulb make sure you buy a set of replacement ‘screws’ to put the wheel well liner back in as most of 'em didn’t survive coming out. (They’re something line 5¢/piece in bulk (20 pieces) on e-bay, but it’s One. More. Thing. you need before you can make would should be a simple repair.
The high beam, which is used a lot less & therefore should have a longer life?
[ul]
[li]Open hood.[/li][li]Untwist.[/li][li]Pull out housing.[/li][li]Pull out old/dead bulb.[/li][li]Replace with new bulb.[/li][li]Put housing back.[/li][li]Twist.[/li][li]Close hood.[/li][/ul]
What nincompoop make it easy to change a probably never-to-be-changed item but much harder to change a more frequently changed one? When in car design mode, just swap location of the bulbs. :smack:
Friend’s wife’s Honda Odyssey(don’t know the year but older) died. It was alternator. Her BIL is a fair shade mechanic. He spent an hour trying to remove only to find out you have to remove the radiator first? This is progress?
I just had to replace both low beams in my 2013 Subaru. What a pain in the arse that was! As you say, had pull the wheel well lining and reach in, doing everything by feel. The frustrating part was that my hand was just an inch from the engine compartment and just a slightly larger gap in the frame around the compartment would have let me access the light directly. I was a lot quicker with the other side, but still a pain.
Are you wearing latex gloves when you replace the bulbs? I didn’t the first time I replaced a brake light in my Versa, and the bulb only lasted 5 months.
For High Beam/Low Beam/Turn Signals/Running Lights
[ol]
[li]Unlock/raise hood.[/li][li]Remove 2 pins from headlamp assembly[/li][li]Pull headlamp assembly out for easy access[/li][li]Disconnect wire from defective light.[/li][li]Untwist/remove old light[/li][li]Insert/twist new light[/li][li]Reconnect wire[/li][li]Replace headlamp assembly[/li][li]Replace pins[/li][li]Close hood[/li][/ol]
You’ll barely get your fingertips dirty if you’re careful.
It’s the way of things, sadly. Many new cars no longer have a transmission dipstick. To check the trans fluid you have to get the car in the air and from underneath stick a tube into an orifice in the tranny and visually verify color and levels. Some new cars (Mercedes) don’t even have an OIL DIPSTICK!!! Wtf?
I firmly believe that manufacturers (who set the time rates for repairs for dealer service techs) and the dealers are in cahoots to ensure that the service department is more of a profit center than just a place to service your vehicle. Service advisors at many dealers hard sell “recommended” services that aren’t really necessary, like trans fluid flushes at 50k miles, etc.
Sounds like my Accord. All lights up front reachable from the inside of the engine compartment *except *the main lowbeam goes into the fender well. But then again, to reach those on the right side I have to unmount the coolant tank. Excuse me? Seems to be a popular pattern over the last 8+ years.
In the back I have to undo the retainers and pull back the trunk liner to reach for the bulb assemblies. Then afterwards I have to shove everything back under the edging weatherstripping.
