I hate American headlight units

[the Teuton]

I'm going on a mini-vacation in a week and my mom wanted me to change the headlights on the minivan.  She bought Silverstars and I installed them.  First, if you have a Venture, you know what I'm talking about when I mention how complicated it is, relatively speaking.  First, you have to take the corner lights off, which come off with one screw.  Then, you have to detach the whole units to change the lightbulbs in the headlights.  There are two screws on those that you have to detach.  You have to then take a ring off the the headlight and pull two cheaply-made plastic clips off the bulb in hopes that you don't break them and screw your chances of being able to secure a bulb.

After the headlight is back in, you have to slide the unit into some holes and it is basically held in by two screws at the top and a whole bunch of plastic clips that keep it in place.  When I was doing it, I broke one of them tonight and the headlights look a little off kilter.  There is this huge gap at the bottom of the lights that makes you think that you did something wrong, but really it is just meant to annoy you and prove to your friends that the new C-Class doesn't have the biggest panel gaps ever made.

It was frustrating, to be honest.  They are two little bulbs that gave me hell just because GM engineered some of the most impractical headlight units known to man.  My brother's Contour is a lot tighter in yet, which makes me give a sigh of relief when I have to change bulbs in my own car.  All of the American cars in my family are way too difficult just to change bulbs. 

I just wanted to vent a little, but I got them installed in less than an hour, so no big deal overall.

[J86]

I can do a lightbulb change in the Saab now in aobut 35 seconds...practice makes perfect

[the Teuton]

The worst part is that my mom is looking at replacing her Venture with...another Venture.

[J86]

New or used?

Do they still make them?

[The Pirate]

My mom has an '04 that's getting up there in miles; though no bulb replacements needed yet.  My dad is going to be looking at the Freestyle to replace it.

[S204STi]

The GM fullsize trucks, on the other hand, are the easiest I've ever seen.  Two pins removed and you can slide the headlight assembly out and get perfect ease of access to the bulbs.

The Venture sucks though.

[Danish]

My Corolla's are even easier.... simply twist the bulb assembly and pull it out of the socket, change bulb and reverse the steps to install

[S204STi]

My Corolla's are even easier.... simply twist the bulb assembly and pull it out of the socket, change bulb and reverse the steps to install

My old scoob was like that.  Now I have to remove a battery and air duct to get at them.

[TheIntrepid]

New or used?

Do they still make them?

Replaced in 2005 by the ugliest van known to man, the UPLANDER

[Raghavan]

In the Accord, you squeeze the tabs, and turn it and it pops out, remove the old bulb, put the new one back in, and squeeze the tabs and twist back in.

[CJ]

Same with the Camry.

[JYODER240]

In the Accord, you squeeze the tabs, and turn it and it pops out, remove the old bulb, put the new one back in, and squeeze the tabs and twist back in.

The Accords are still a pain. On one side you either have to remove the battery or remove the wheel well liner.

[93JC]

Maybe j00 guys with the headlight-changing problems are just... retarded?

My Spirit's headlights take all of ten seconds to change.

[280Z Turbo]

Maybe j00 guys with the headlight-changing problems are just... retarded?

My Spirit's headlights take all of ten seconds to change.

Plumbing an intercooler into a '76 280Z is a pain...changing headlights is something any 5 year old could do.

[Eye of the Tiger]

How many Carspinners does it take to change a lightbulb?

[VTEC_Inside]

Have to pull the battery to do the drivers side on the RSX too.

[the Teuton]

The Silverstars work like a charm.  They are bright as hell, but there's one problem:  when I drove the van tonight, they didn't shine at anything but the sky.  There's no leveler in the damn things, so there's a decent chance that they were put in initially and then by me upside down.  So I get to have at it and break some more tabs tomorrow.

[heelntoe]

did you get osram silverstars or silvania?

[the Teuton]

did you get osram silverstars or silvania?

Sylvania.  I hear Osrams are better, but honestly, they're the same company, aren't they?

[heelntoe]

i'm not sure but i think sylvania imports osrams.
osrams also tend to last longer.

[the Teuton]

For $20 on Ebay, I'm not complaining too much.  My mom wanted what was in my car, so she got the same brand that's in my car.  Other than not having a running car since December, I have never had a problem with my Sylvanias, just for reference.

[SVT_Power]

my dad just changed one for the explorer and i dont think he disconnected the battery at all or anything.

[heelntoe]

hehe, i'm feeling a bit ricey so i might go get some philips crastal vision lights for my car.
they are brighter than the stock lights and have a slight blue colour.

[Secret Chimp]

The Silverstars work like a charm.? They are bright as hell, but there's one problem:? when I drove the van tonight, they didn't shine at anything but the sky.? There's no leveler in the damn things, so there's a decent chance that they were put in initially and then by me upside down.? So I get to have at it and break some more tabs tomorrow.

Don't you get to adjust the aim of the entire headlight housing with some screws on top, or is that another GM retard-o-choice?

[Madman]

It takes about ten seconds to change the headlamp bulbs in both my old Volvos.  I also changed one in a co-workers Integra and it's a piece of cake, too.  Are GM cars really that bad?  No wonder I prefer to stay the hell away from them!


Madman of the People

[ChrisV]

try dealing with projector bulbs in a BMW. Or xenons in a Porsche. I had to replace the glass lens covers on my BMW and it took a half hour per side to do, due to what it takes to get the headlights out and then taken apart.

So, it's not just certain GM cars that are like that.

[Soup DeVille]

Sylvania.? I hear Osrams are better, but honestly, they're the same company, aren't they?

They're the same company (Osram Sylvania is a brand, Osram is a German company, Sylvania imports their silverstars from Osram); and the same exact bulb.

[the Teuton]

Don't you get to adjust the aim of the entire headlight housing with some screws on top, or is that another GM retard-o-choice?

I'll have to get some pictures up if I can find the charger for my camera's batteries.  There is a little slider that car mildly adjust the level of the lights, but honestly I think they are there because GM didn't understand the trajectory of the headlights and wanted people to mess around with it.  Seriously, you don't understand how poorly these things were designed.

It takes about ten seconds to change the headlamp bulbs in both my old Volvos.  I also changed one in a co-workers Integra and it's a piece of cake, too.  Are GM cars really that bad?  No wonder I prefer to stay the hell away from them!

They really are that bad.  I hope newer GM cars are better, but these are trash.  What's wrong with simplicity?

[Soup DeVille]

I never had a problem changing the bulbs on the '00 Grand Am, or really for any of the GM cars I've owned- of course most of those have been old sealed beam headlights anyways, but still:

I think you're unfairly broadsiding GM for an access problem you've observed on one model.

[sportyaccordy]

My Accord's a pain. It's a basic twist and screw job, but on one side you have the battery, and on the other side you have all the A/C stuff. They're made for little Japanese grandma hands.

*uses that as an excuse to get JDM headlights*