It kills me to ask this question. Tonight I discovered the passenger side low beam headlight was out... and that according to the manual you need to bring the car to the dealer to change it out. Is this correct?

I found that the high beam and turn signal are easily reachable but the low beam seems to be encased in large plastic housing that is quite difficult to get at. I called the dealer just before they closed and they said the passenger side bulb is much easier to get at than the drivers side (because of the battery).

Anyone out there changed a TSX low beam headlight on their own and what kind of fun am I in for here. Worth allowing the dealer to do it? Estimated cost of these babies? Worth it to change BOTH at the same time if having the dealer do it?

PS: The same headlight side has condensation INSIDE the cover... the other side has none.

Please answer ALL the questions if you can.

04 TSX 72,000 miles

 

yea i need help on this too. the manual says to use a T-20 torx screw but that isn't correct. the screw on the cover is star shaped but it's not hollow. it's got a plug in the middle it's hard to describe. can anybody tell me what number bit we should use.

thanks

 

i know there is a thread around here that explains this process if you search, not sure if there are any DIY threads with pictures which is what i would like to see

i am itching to buy either some 6000K or 6500K bulbs

 

It seems you are out of warranty due to your mileage, if not you might want the dealership to cover the bulb and the headlight under there extended warranty. If not you just got to bite the bullet. You should ask cccoltsice or lito on advice on replacing the bulb. I have changed and removed them on BMW's and they have been really easy. I will check tonight to see how tight of a fit it is in there. Hope this helps some what. BTW I have seen bulbs on ebay for as low as $50-$60 USD (Phillips 4300k).

 

That's a security bit... looks like a Torx bit but w/ a hole in it. You need a set of them, or borrow from a friend. My 200+ piece socket set came with about 4 of them in various sizes. Really good for things like license plates, etc, as most retards who are gonna jack a <useless> license plate wouldn't be carrying around these bits specifically.

 

I bought this set of bits off ebay at jtso's suggestion and its been tremendously useful. it has all the security torx bits you could need

 

You dont really need to buy a Torx set to get this screw out, but you can if you really want to. I used a small flathead like the ones used to remove screws from watches and such..worked fine.

 

Also, for the condensation issue, I found some sealant specifically made for windsheilds and healdights to keep water out. Got it from Ace Hardware, but this is only if you plan on keeping your headlight unit. You could always just buy new headlights...good reason to upgrade to JDM. Ive opened mine up a few times and no problems so I can't just throw them away and get the JDM's that ive wanted.

 

If you have condensation and a bulb out, thats pretty much grounds for a complete replacement. Which they do anyway for the condensation issue...