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Replacing Headlight Bulbs

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Old 10-05-2010 | 12:35 AM
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Replacing Headlight Bulbs

One of my headlights just burnt out on me today. It's only been burnt out since this afternoon, and I already got pulled over by the Wisconsin State Patrol tonight. I guess I am just super lucky (sarcasm). When the cop came to my car and told me my headlight was burnt out, I told him that it just happened today and was going to get it fixed tomorrow. So he went back to his car and worked on his computer. I was pretty sure he was going to give me a Fix-it ticket. But when he came back to my car, he gave me a warning, which means I don't have to take it back to the police station to prove my headlight is working. He told me that he "trusts that I will have it taken care of," which is really nice of him, because it saves me the hassle of having to take it back to the police station. I was going to fix it anyways. I wonder if telling him that "it just happened today and I was going to have it fixed tomorrow" made a difference maybe?

Anyway, how do you change the headlight bulb? I popped the hood and looked around, but I can't seem to find anything. Is it difficult to do? How do you access the bulb? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Tyler
Old 10-05-2010 | 12:55 AM
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Start reading at post #4

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/show...adlight+change

Hope that helps..
Old 10-05-2010 | 01:08 AM
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Thanks!! It kinda sounds tricky... Ugh!!
Old 10-05-2010 | 01:24 AM
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1st time is always the hardest.. It's not so bad..
Old 10-05-2010 | 01:30 AM
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Well, I'm going to try and do it myself. I don't want to waste the money at the dealership. Hopefully I can manage!
Old 10-05-2010 | 02:04 AM
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You can do it, use some needle-nose pliers or a screwdriver to remove the push plugs.

Then make sure you don't touch the bulb glass, any oils from fingers or etc will make a short bulb life..

PS: Here's a thread on how to get the inner fender out of the way with pics.
(I know it's for a Horn), but it gives you a visual as to what to watch for..

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-tutorial-library-21/how-install-new-horn-14226/
Old 10-05-2010 | 09:48 PM
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Good idea to keep some extra push pins on hand,seems I break one everytime I pull back the inner fender
Old 10-05-2010 | 10:06 PM
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Just for grins , I asked my dealer what the cost was to change a headlight bulb. One and a half hours labor, Even he was amazed. I,ve got it down to 20 min.
Old 10-06-2010 | 12:31 AM
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Well, today I went to the local Chevy dealership to get it fixed. I was thinking about doing it, but I kinda doubted myself. I'm not exactly super handy. That was a big mistake!! One of my brights has been out for the longest time because the wire for it was accidentally cut. I lived without my brights, because it's not like I totally needed them or anything. So, I asked them if they could take care of that too. They said, yeah that shouldn't cost much extra. I was thinking maybe $50-$60 for the whole thing, which didn't seem so bad to me. When I asked what the total was, they said it was $111. Holy cow!! I never would've guessed it costs that much just to have them fix your headlight. It was $78 just in labor. It was good service and everything, and they were really nice, but the insanely high cost reminded me of why I normally avoid the dealership. Next time, I am for sure going to do it myself, no matter how hard or tricky it is. I definitely learned my lesson this time!! I just couldn't believe it was that expensive. It just blows my mind!!
Old 10-06-2010 | 12:32 AM
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Thanks for the help, guys!! I appreciate it! I'll keep all this information in mind for the next I fix my headlights!!

Thanks, Tyler



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