That must have been the most frustrating hour and a half of my life!


If you have a modern car and you need to change a headlight bulb, just take it to the garage where they probably have a secret mini troll with tiny hands and the dexterity of a gynaecologist who can fit inside your engine bay and actually see what he's trying to do.

The trouble really started when the spring clip that holds the bulb in place jumped off and vanished inside the housing. Thankfully, I was able to retrieve it with a magnet taped to a long tie wrap. Trying to fit the two ends of the spring back into the retaining lugs using a torch and a dentist's mirror was nearly impossible.

Never again!

I totally agree, it's not worth the frustration. My dealership is really good, they don't charge me labour for anything simple like changing a bulb. And most things on a modern car should be left to an expert. Good example is my Santa Fe. I thought I could change the sparkplugs myself until I realized that it requires removal of the exhaust manifold WTF

Yeah, no modern car is designed for even a competent home mechanic to fix any more.

Changing a bulb really shouldn't be this hard though!