Turn signal bulb replacement?

[stolenmoment]

I bought the bulb (well, pkg of two) to replace my turn signal lamp, but the instructions in the owner's manual to install it makes no sense.  It says to pull the headlight assembly toward the center of the car, but it doesn't want to go that way, only a little ways out.  Does the black inner part come away from the clear outer part?  Is there some snap to pry off that I didn't see?

 

Thanks!

 

Dennis

[Lacienega]

The black inner part does not come off separately. I remember it is kind of hard to take the light out, you have to really push hard - more towards the front. And I would recommend to wear some protective cloves because you can hurt yourself while trying to remove the lamp.

 

[takingittothemax]

I still have not successfully managed to change the turn signal bulb on my C-Max. After struggling for an hour, I managed to get the headlight assembly out, but I couldn't get the bulb unit out. With the sunlight fading, I had to call it quits and tried to get the headlight unit back in. After 30 minutes more struggling with that, I managed to get it all back to square one.

 

Thankfully the car has indicators in the mirrors, otherwise I'd be mightily screwed.

[stolenmoment]

Thanks!  Sounds like the manual is indeed Just Plain Wrong. I'll give it a shot on the next warm day!

[Bill-N]

Yep, it's a pain.  But search the forum.  Iirc, someone suggested removing a fender bolt to provide a bit more wiggle room.

[jestevens]

I was able to loosen the HVAC cowl, loosen the clips by the radiator, loosen the bolts that hold the assembly and rotate the headlight assembly to get more clearance without having to actually remove it -- not really a lot of fun -- and one side has slightly more clearance than the other.

To change headlight in my '94 Cavalier took 30 seconds -- but modern cars seem to take a lot longer -- the HHR you have to remove the wheel well lining. The Prius Gen 2 -- I was able to do it, with very cramped hands, a mirror and a lot of patience. That one was a treat -- $80 per bulb for Xeon bulbs on Amazon -- Toyota wanted like $300 per headlight to change them by the book.