acercomp71

Few tips to properly replace your headlight bulb:

**ignore your car's user manual- headlight assy does NOT need to be removed to access headlight bulb, go get a bulb from a dealer and dedicate about an hour of your time and do it yourself. Toshiba bulb is discontinued and has been replaced with Philips. And by the way, newly designed bulb lasts almost twice longer. Yes, it will look slightly different, but is still a perfect fit.

**ignore FSM and leave your bumper alone. Again, headlight assy can stay in place and be accessed from behind.

**remove half moon shaped wheel well plastic liner up starting up front to approx middle, and bend the liner behind brake rotor so it does not bother you. Careful with clips- they cost money.

**twist big cup counterclockwise about 1/4 turn and pull it out to access connector, then disconnect connector and let it hang there in peace. Space is somewhat limited, be patient.

**IGNORE that arrow on circle shaped grey plastic ring that holds the bulb in place- many people look at this arrow and naturally think that the part needs to be twisted and end up breaking it. DO NOT twist! INSTEAD, using a fine tip small screwdriver, gently pry off bottom tab (mind you, upper tab is not accessible, so leave upper tab alone) and pull the ring off. Be patient and do not break the part- it costs about 15 bucks from dealer.

**when istalling new bulb, procedure is exactly reversed- DO NOT twist, do not apply excessive force, bulb eventually will find its own place and ring will snap in.

**all that HID upgrades, kits etc, are nothing but waste of money, factory halogen bulbs are bright enough and perform very well at night. Plus considering the fact of ****ty transmissions our cars have I am not spending a dime on upgrades for this car and advise you not to do so either.

THANK YOU and best of luck.

KCMAXX

iTrader: (22)

Neato...

It really doesn't take much longer to do it the right way.



Might wanna get your eyes checked too. HID's are where it's at bub.

DAlastDON

Never tried it without dropping the bumper. But if it takes you an hour your way then i would be wasting about half an hour since thats about how long it takes me to drop the bumper, remove the head light housings, have plenty of room to work, and put everything back together again.

po8pimp

takes me about 5 minutes each side. I don't have wheel wells anymore.

nterrito

Anyone have any idea on how to replace the headlights on a 7th gen?

dpeles1

iTrader: (1)

+1 on the HID's. I really want to do the fogs HID but looks to be beyond my mechanical skill.

acercomp71

whatever dude, whats right way for you maybe is pain for others. And bumper is a pain after all. Fancy for HID's and maybe $2000 high end stereo? for a mediocre vehicle (hope everyone here agrees that this gen maxima is not that maxima what used to be a maxima), it's your call. My eyes are fine just FYI, like I said, halogens perform just fine, unless you drive with lights off at night.
Have a good evening!

jsmithsole

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the info, but if you don't really like your car then why keep it?

"Plus considering the fact of ****ty transmissions our cars have I am not spending a dime on upgrades for this car and advise you not to do so either"

"for a mediocre vehicle"

Probably not the best place, or group of people to advise against modding your car either!

Lovemycar

+1 He most be on the wrong site

morteljc

isn't it that this forum is "the home for maxima ENTHUSIASTS"

acercomp71

What i was trying to point out that 6th gen maxima and, for example, 4th gen maxima are day and night difference in workmanship quality and reliability of a vehicle. I never said that I hate my car, but yes, not in deep love either. I have owned 4th gen before, and traded it in with 305K on the clock. With 2004 that I have now, I will probably be lucky if 5AT lasts for 150K. I have exactly same problems everyone has- shimmy steering, plastic parts rattle, late gear engagements especially when trans is cold, delay from 2nd to 3rd. So here is the question- why putting HID's or modding a non-reliable vehicle with poorly engineered automatic transmission?

And by the way, here an eye opener for "enthusiasts", go ahead and read all 23 pages HERE

thanks for reading and have a good evening.

Redstone

I agree it should take under an hour to do with dropping the bumper and there is much more space to work with too. FYI those plastic retaining clips will break even if you are gentle with them.

smittybizzle

Man if you want to talk so bad about the car just go sell it point blank period . I love my car she has never let me down not once and I love it cheers .

Flash20

i went to a mechanic to fix my bulb, cost me like $120 which is crazy. Some other guy tried to charge like $900 to fix cuz of labor etc...he must not have been the smartest lol

AscendantMax

iTrader: (7)

Takes me roughly 30 mins to take bumper off, swap bulbs, and reinstall everything...plus there is quite a bit of space to work with as well. Yes I had the halogens, but hands down the HIDs simply out-performs them.

joker07x

if you got a hid kit and ur bulbs go out can i just put back the halogen bulbs without taking the kit out..???

KCMAXX

iTrader: (22)

... NO

joker07x

lol...

hmr1979

As much as everyone is hating on his comments, the fact of the matter is, the headlight assembly could have been designed better from the back end for an easy removal process. Hate or love the 6th gen, I really think it could have been designed better...maybe like 80 percent of other sedans where you can just pop the hood and replace the bulb from inside the hood.

And I love how everyone is saying "simply get rid of your car and get another one" like it was some worn out pair of jeans.

po8pimp

why get rid of worn out pairs of jeans. You go to the store and 99% of the jeans are designed to look worn out and ripped. I say keep those worn out jeans and save a few bucks. Just get good detergent and take care of them.

morteljc

well, no matter what car you get or buy, there will always be a hurdle especially when you try to do it yourself.... additional enhancements such as HIDs, FSTBs, etc. are to the discretion of the owner and the satisfaction of the results vary depending on the level of contentness of the individual....

what im trying to point out is that this forum is for enthusiasts... which is defined as a fan, devotee, or fanatic.... not someone who bashes at how its made, constructed, built, or whatever it is that does not satisfy YOU...

KCMAXX

iTrader: (22)

They're actually designed the way they are to prevent theft.

There were so many headlights stolen in previous generation maximas that Nissan took it upon themselves to make them harder to steal. It doesnt mean they cant be stolen, because they still are, check ebaY and you'll see the broken or "professionally repaired" tabs.

po8pimp

I definitly agree, however, some people are enthusiasts who get fed up. I mean you can be happy and love something a lot and still can come up with things to complain about. Nothing is perfect. I love this car, but have complaints about things that can potentially put me or my family in harms way due to lack of testing or a push to get something produced and put out to the market. The transmission, Brakes, and Engine are very important in the safety and reliability of a vehicle. Yet this cars 5speed transmission is $hit regardless how you drive it. The ABS has many issues, along with Warped rotors. The engine burns oil like crazy and the timing chain is a pile of a$$. Those are not easy to digest problems. Even with those issues, I still love my car. Things can be fixed as long as you find them before they become serious problems. This vehicle was not cheap to buy. You can find way more reliable cars for a lot less. You can be an enthusiast even with all these problems. Some call it a money pit. I call it improving on something that is already amazing. As for headlights. Both halogen and HID are great in this car. The only reason I am doing a conversion kit on my lights is because of the color. The 9012 bulbs are amazing for halogens. The kit I am getting will probably not be as bright as the 9012s.

hmr1979

Really? lol
man if someone has the time/knowledge/and capability of breaking into the hood, I really hope they're not dumb enough to steal bulbs; there are 1,000 other things inside a hood that costs way more than bulbs. That's crazy that people steal light halogen light bulbs that costs 30 bucks to replace.

hmr1979

You are right, and that is my biggest issue with this car; it's a great engine, yes. But this is also a flagship sedan, which, no matter how you cut it, (if you look at flagship segment of most other companies) you do not see these problems...you just wouldn't expect that. I think that is where most of the frustrations come from, for most people (for me at least).

I am going to do a 90k write up on my 6th gen versus my 2006 hyundai sonata. Both 4drs, same year, same mileage, same maintenance, same driving habits, same conditions that I drive them in......TOTALLY different class segment (one costs 7 grand less) yet, their reliability story thus far is night and day.....sadly, for the flaship Nissan.

hmr1979

To me, there is a thin line between being a fan, and being blindingly un-objective about things. I just notice that every time someone points out an obvious issue with the 6th gen maxima (such as transmission, workmanship, fit and finish, rattle, etc etc ect) people always say "then ditch the car" yadi yada....
it's a $30K+ car, you can't just go to wal mart and replace it as if it were a pair of jeans, that was my point about the worn out jeans.

Though this site is a for enthusiasts, I kinda don't understand why some can't admit that it's an unreliable car for many reasons. After all, this is a forum, not a late night infomercial testimonial about the 6th gen...right?

po8pimp

The lights were stolen from the 5th gen maximas, because they were easy to take. You didn't have to open the hood or drop the bumper. That is why they designed the 6th gen lights this way. You have to open the hood and drop the bumper to get them out. Kind of an extreme reaction to a problem from an earlier model.

hmr1979

Oh ok gotcha
Not that I am a designer or engineer by any means, but there seems to be plenty of room on the top of the wheel to make it where you just pop the hood and unclip it from inside the hood.

DMAXI06

Now in comparison to everybody else my car has seemed to have less issues (although as I'm typing this my Maxima is IN the shop and has been for 2 and a half weeks) but nevertheless the Maxima should not have so many problems. Hyundai was a piece of **** in the 90s and Nissan was throwing out the most reliable cars off the assembly line. FORD stood for Found on Road Dead and Honda's cars built in that time are still running on the road. Today, the 21st century Nissan cars are running into issues, Toyota had that famous recall for an acceleration flaw. Also what I have noticed is that Ford has turned their stuff around. What I am trying to say is I think Japanese and American dominance are shifting again. Back in the 70s American cars were the most reliable and popular cars on the road, but the American manufacturers got too cocky and started making ****, which gave Japan the opportunity to show themselves with great machines. But now Japanese cars are the ones running into issues and Ford is making a huge comeback, not to mention Government Motors is starting to make a name for itself (soon enough we will call it General Motors again). I know people may disagree with me but who knows, maybe American cars will dominate the market in this new decade.

DMAXI06

yes and I do know Hyundai is Korean not American, before someone tries to catch me on that

acercomp71

Get real, people, and just quit this useless "chat" comparing domestic and foreign product, this thread started with a damn headlight buld, remember?
But if you are still desperate to know, all modern vehicles are crap, be it japanese, korean, american or german manufacturer. If in doubt, ask any professional auto mechanic who has been in field for 15- 20 years and has seen things, so to speak. Body shops will point out the same, vehicles are made like toy cars not only inside, but outside also. Okay, "enthusiasts", you better beleive this, so loving a maxima or not loving it is entirely your choice after all. Fact remains a fact, maximas are maybe good looking cars, but quality simply does not match the sticker (30+ brand new).

MaxedOwt

Why would i go through all that trouble and risk of messing something up when it only takes like 15 minutes to drop the bumper and do it the right way? A few push pins and 4 10mm bolts drops the bumper, 5 10mm bolts removes the light. It takes me 30 minutes 45 max to switch out the bulbs and put everything back together. Im not into breaking things that arent broken then spending money on parts thats why i do things the way they are meant to be done. Keeps you safe. Leave the experimenting to the noobs!