I know very little about the headlights, except that the '04 TSX we have has had one of the low beam blue bulbs go out and that I need to change both. What I don't know is exactly what bulbs I need to get...the dealer wants $170 apiece which I would assume is at least 50% higher than I should pay, so I'll have my own mechanice put them in. Is there a specific make that I need to get so that I get the same quality as the originals? There looks to be a lot of choices online and most aren't blue.

 

Here's what I've found online so far...place called plasmagarage.com...has the Xenon Blue HID bulbs for $209 a pair delivered overnight. Has anyone dealt with them before? Is there a different brand I should look at instead?

 

Fortunately, TSX HID bulb replacement seems to be fairly rare (even now). There are quite a few aftermarket bulbs to chose from on Amazon (for instance), with the benefit of a fairly large number of reviews for each. They seem to run around $50 a piece, but it will probably cost you more to have them swapped out though. The bumper (and more) need to be removed to access the bulbs, so it looks to be somewhat time consuming. Check youtube if you'd like to see how it's done.

 

Simba,

I have to check the manual but I believe you only have to remove the bumper if you want to replace the headlight assembly. If you just need to remove the bulb you can do it just by opening the hood.

With the second gen TSX you have to remove the bulb from the wheel by first removing the splash guard.

 

Here are the instructions:

 

Having replaced the HID's several times as well as full headlight assembly, removing the bumper is not needed when replacing just the HID bulbs. OEM bulbs are D2S 4300K Philips, made in Germany. I've found the least expensive place to purchase them are on Ebay. Prices are $70-80 a pair.

There's a Torx security screw holding the back cover of the bulb.

**Disconnect the battery prior to DIY**

 

Thanks for the help. The dealer wants $170 each...I'm just never even going back there again. The local auto parts store has them for $99 each and I'm in a hurry so that'll have to do.

 

I stand corrected, thank you.

 

No worries. I think if you had to do that with any bulb replacement, you would be sure I wouldn't touch that car (or many others)

 

I can't disagree, though there are things about some service procedures that make me scratch my head. Having to remove the front end of the car to replace the clutch is my number 1 "WTF??". I had an Accord years ago that necessitated removing the battery to replace the right side headlight. It's odd in that some things are service friendly (TSX brakes are a breeze), where others can command the whole dictionary of swear words (I challenge anyone to change the oil filter without making at least a little mess). I was sure that I came across at least 2 separate DIY's that showed removing the bumper to replace a bulb (can't remember which side), but I must have mistook it for a headlight replacement. That said, nothing would surprise me when it comes to servicing this car.

 

My mechanic changed the bulbs.....they're Wagner bulbs and they work just as well as the originals except they don't have that blue appearance like I thought they would. He must have left the battery connected because no codes had to be re-entered to get the nav and radio working.

High beams still provide nothing though....ever since we changed the lens housings last year. They go on but they just brighten the road ahead of us a bit. They've been adjusted twice for alignment and it's good, so I don't know what the issue is there.