Light Bulb Replacement DIY Question!

[Sonder]

Driver side main headlight bulb replacement! Ok, do I really need to remove the rivets on the wheel shroud and then blindly remove the cap cover to install the new bulb? Is their a better way or this is the only way? Thank you, folks!

Sonder

[Alexmed2002]

The only other way would be taking the front bumper off.

[Sonder]

Lol well thank goodness I don't have to remove the engine lol.   Thank you I thought this would be the easiest lol.  I just wish I could see what I was doing.  I will take my time lol

Edited September 9, 2022 by Sonder

[Alexmed2002]

25 minutes ago, Sonder said:

Lol well thank goodness I don't have to remove the engine lol.   Thank you I thought this would be the easiest lol.  I just wish I could see what I was doing.  I will take my time lol

Yah unfortunately those are the only two ways as far as I know. I did it by myself when I had my Legacy through the wheel fenders and that was brutal. My hands and arms were all cut up from it. From now on I just have my local mechanic do the headlight bulbs since it's so hard to do on new cars lmao.

[Zee199969]

yea you can fumble around in the wheel well, or pull the bumper and be done in half the time.

[silverton]

jack the side up that you're replacing the bulb on to give you some room (literally can't be done at ride height), remove the one push pin that holds the fender liner to the bumper, bend the metal tab that's top center of the fender away slightly, now peel the fender liner towards the inside of the car and 'hook it' on the tire to hold it.  Easy access to the back of the headlight.

It is easier with a lift since you can get it to eye level, but literally takes five minutes either way.

Be sure to install the bulb correctly in the socket.  I find so many not correct it blows my mind.  I can tell when pulling a car in if the bulb isn't right cause the beam pattern BLOWS.

Edited September 10, 2022 by silverton

[Sonder]

Ok, she’s got her new eyeball! Lol

All you need a mini crow bar (my choice), or a short large flat head screw driver

Fist off thank you for all the information, folks! This was supposed to be easy, and it was but with a few issues.

Number one turn the wheel away from the work area so you can get in there.

Number two you must realize this is going to be an all feel and blind install you can’t really see anything with your mit in the working area. Pop the rivets and pull the shroud back and be careful you don’t rip your bumper when you do it. I took out four rivets to give the inner fender well liner more movement. I don’t have a jack, but good idea if you do.

Number three loosen the all-weather cap. There is a thumb lever to give you enough leverage to turn it. Its not quite a 1/2 turn but it will move slowly. There is a large diameter gasket inside that will be giving you a lot of resistance when turning.

Number four pull the electrical connection from the light bulb.

Number five release the light bulb buy releasing the retaining clip that holds the light in place. Remember how it feels when you do this because it only goes in one way. Feel the orientation of the electrical tines "prongs".

Number six out on gloves and install new light. Now, here comes the real fun. There is a raceway with a keyway that the light is supposed to set in but like Silverton stated “install the bulb correctly” or your light alignment will be off grossly. I made every attempt to made sure that I was in the raceway. I would rotate it with small 1/16" turns to see if I was in the correct position.

Number seven put retaining clip back into position.

Number eight re-attach electrical connector.

Number nine turn car on and look at light alignment. You will really need to do this at night shining onto a wall to see how bad it is or if its ok.

Number ten readjust if you think it’s off.

Number eleven reinstall weather tight cap, reinstall rivets.

Number twelve wait until evening and go find a large wall and see how your alignment looks. If its off a little close up it will be off hundreds of yards away from your light source.

So, a helpful tip is when it’s a blind installation close your eyes and envision what your trying to accomplish. I will test it tonight it looked ok in the day light, but we will see. Another helpful tip is when you take the electrical connector off remember the orientation of the power connection “the prongs for the light. Are they parallel or perpendicular to the ground.” I believe they were parallel with the deck lol but time will tell. I just hope shes not cross-eyed lol, but if she is I will do this again tommorow!

In twenty-five minutes you can be done, but go in knowing this will be a wee frustrating. lol

Edited September 10, 2022 by Sonder

[DugsSin]

That retaining clip was the worst for me  .... and it's so much easier to change the next time. 

I jack her up and remove the tire just for that extra room to work since I don't contort like my younger days. 

[Sonder]

I got what I asked for lol yea the removal of the tire would make it better. I am used to making blind connections and yes the body contortion was an issue lol kneeling pad a much needed thing! lol

[Sonder]

Lol first off I should have done this in the dark lol you cant sh!t what your trying to do anyhow! This way you can see the real alignment of your headlight faster vs daylight hours.

So, there is three keyways that need aligned see red circles on the attached photo.

Also, if straight up is zero degrees the final position for the electrical connection is 15 degrees to the right. This is shown by the yellow arrow. The electrical connections are at rest at this angle. I wish I could get a clear photo of it.

Before putting the watertight cover back on it you can inspect is from above by looking through the frame in this case behind the battery!

The hole in the frame will allow you to see if the bulb is seated correctly. She lol had a lazy eye and I fixed it in 10 minutes!

 

Edited September 11, 2022 by Sonder

[jsavrtka]

Hey, I've got a question too--who the hell designed this garbage!

I should have known better.  Any time I have to look in the manual for something as eash as how to change the headlamp bulb means something isn't right.  "Just fold back the fender liner, oh and try not to get any grease on the bulb cause a hotspot might form."  GET BENT!  After 15 minutes of struggling to get the latch to secure, I look down and in the snow I see something shiny.  Oh joy, it's a broken piece of plastic angled like a hook.  Are you f*cking kidding!

I'm not one to rant without reason.  This is the worst headlight design I've seen-by far.  I'm pretty sure it would be easier to pull the bumper cover and headlight assembly, but it's winter and I don't have a garage.  And when it's cold, plastic isn't happy (as demonstrated above).

My Volvo may not be as reliable as my Subaru, but I can remove the entire headlamp assembly in 30 seconds without any tools.  Good job, Subaru.  You need to fire whomever signed off on that design.  As the kids say, FML.

 

[Alexmed2002]

1 hour ago, jsavrtka said:

Hey, I've got a question too--who the hell designed this garbage!

I should have known better.  Any time I have to look in the manual for something as eash as how to change the headlamp bulb means something isn't right.  "Just fold back the fender liner, oh and try not to get any grease on the bulb cause a hotspot might form."  GET BENT!  After 15 minutes of struggling to get the latch to secure, I look down and in the snow I see something shiny.  Oh joy, it's a broken piece of plastic angled like a hook.  Are you f*cking kidding!

I'm not one to rant without reason.  This is the worst headlight design I've seen-by far.  I'm pretty sure it would be easier to pull the bumper cover and headlight assembly, but it's winter and I don't have a garage.  And when it's cold, plastic isn't happy (as demonstrated above).

My Volvo may not be as reliable as my Subaru, but I can remove the entire headlamp assembly in 30 seconds without any tools.  Good job, Subaru.  You need to fire whomever signed off on that design.  As the kids say, FML.

 

It's funny because in the next generation, they made the bulb super easy to change .

[Sonder]

28 minutes ago, Alexmed2002 said:

It's funny because in the next generation, they made the bulb super easy to change .

Hey thats not funny well it actually really is...

[Sonder]

On 8/18/2022 at 5:56 PM, tdelker said:

You can get a key cut for cheap to unlock the door.

The chip in the key for the immobilizer is the expensive part and if you don't have another key already programmed, you will have to pay a lock smith to program one for you. Call and ask how much. You can buy them on ebay.

It sounds like all you need though is the mechanical key cut to open the door when you get to your takeout if the key is inside the vehicle that will be used for starting the car.

You can even buy the FOB on ebay and program it to the car youself, so you have a key and fob. But it can't start the car without the immoblizer chip.

 

Watch this to get an idea of what the chip in the key is: 

 

 

30 minutes ago, Alexmed2002 said:

It's funny because in the next generation, they made the bulb super easy to change .

 

1 hour ago, jsavrtka said:

Hey, I've got a question too--who the hell designed this garbage!

I should have known better.  Any time I have to look in the manual for something as eash as how to change the headlamp bulb means something isn't right.  "Just fold back the fender liner, oh and try not to get any grease on the bulb cause a hotspot might form."  GET BENT!  After 15 minutes of struggling to get the latch to secure, I look down and in the snow I see something shiny.  Oh joy, it's a broken piece of plastic angled like a hook.  Are you f*cking kidding!

I'm not one to rant without reason.  This is the worst headlight design I've seen-by far.  I'm pretty sure it would be easier to pull the bumper cover and headlight assembly, but it's winter and I don't have a garage.  And when it's cold, plastic isn't happy (as demonstrated above).

My Volvo may not be as reliable as my Subaru, but I can remove the entire headlamp assembly in 30 seconds without any tools.  Good job, Subaru.  You need to fire whomever signed off on that design.  As the kids say, FML.

 

 Someone who never has to change his or her own light bulbs thats a fact "well my edumucated guess".

[silverton]

3rd gen, easy

4th gen, slightly more difficult

5th gen, fuck you

6th gen, we're sorry

[Sonder]

I was like at first when I was researching it ok this should not be as hateful as I think.  60 minutes later to include the realigning of the headlamp twice what a pain.  I mean who in their right mind would put not two but three key ways to aling a bulb.  The raceway the bulb sits in is super shallow and misaligned is super easy.   I see why ppl want to take off the front bumper.  

Some things in life should not be this hard lol.   

[jsavrtka]

Well if 6th gen is better, then I can find solace in the possibility that the engineer went back to doing prostate exams or whatever.  Still, why make the catch plastic?  I've always seen the traditional cheap metal piece used.  Subaru found the need to save 50 cents on a common service item?

Was anyone able to fasten the clip from the topside?  My fingers could not reach (or maybe the latch was broken at that point).  And that weather cover falling into the void--there's just nothing good about that whole design.

Guess I'm still upset. 

Weather should hopefully be warm enough in a couple weeks to remove the entire headlamp assy and see what can be done.  Certainly don't want to do a hack repair as the next sod to change that bulb is likely to be me.

[Sonder]

 

Someone needs a hug lol but yes my friend I feel your pain.  

Edited February 27, 2023 by Sonder

[silverton]

I often find these bulbs not installed right, and have only seen one where the lock tab was broken off.  It's pretty easy on a lift, take the one pin out holding the fender liner to the bumper, stuff in it and hook it on the tread of the tire.  I can't fathom doing this on the ground.

One of my cohorts claims to have done a passenger side from the top, but I don't believe him.

[Infosecdad]

I’ve done it on the ground a few times. Not fun, but in and out in 10 min or so with some donated blood. Least favorite headlight to change in my fleet. 

[Sonder]

6 minutes ago, Infosecdad said:

I’ve done it on the ground a few times. Not fun, but in and out in 10 min or so with some donated blood. Least favorite headlight to change in my fleet. 

I agree if I was not used to working with blind connections I could see this being a large pain in the asteroid for most part.  

I took a photo of the retaining clip before I removed it to understand how it worked.  This really helped because of how it releases the tension.  

I do wish I had done it at night the first time so I could catch the lamp misalignment faster.   

Edited February 28, 2023 by Sonder

[Alexmed2002]

19 hours ago, Infosecdad said:

I’ve done it on the ground a few times. Not fun, but in and out in 10 min or so with some donated blood. Least favorite headlight to change in my fleet. 

Amen to the blood part. Both my hands looked like the grim reaper's hands after changing those bulbs and adjusting them not once, but twice in two days since they were loose. After that experience I would've went to my mechanic to do it if I kept that car long enough...