I'm the original owner of a 2005 Maxima. Up until last summer, the fog light bulbs were the original ones; since then I have had to replace one or the other nearly every time I have the car serviced. The last time this happened, the service manager at the dealership recommended that I replace both bulbs, which I did, and they lasted a little longer than the previous replacements. But now the passenger side is not working and I presume the bulb has burned out. Is such a short life normal for replacement bulbs? Tim

 

It's funny, I've been going through the same. Everytime I take it to service one of the fog lights is burnt out, stealer want $90.00 to change the bulb, I am starting to think they mess with the bulb just to make money.

 

The fogs in our cars (04-06 at least) are notorious for blowing out frequently. Mine were blown when I bought the car. I ignored it for a couple years, then bought some sylvania h3's from autozone. They worked for about 8-10 months, and the driver's side recently blew out. I haven't bothered replacing it yet, I've just been driving with it turned off.

Some people do a HID conversion for the fogs, which seem to have better longevity.

 

yeah me too, i gave up trying to constantly replace them. smh

 

When pulling out the old lamps did you look at them? One thing I am wondering is if they were contaminated by being touched when they were installed? Any halogen lamp should not be touched with the naked hand. Oils on the skin will contaminate the glass and cause premature failure of the bulb. Always use clean gloves or a paper towel...etc. This is true of halogen head lights and projector bulbs of any design. I just bought an 04 Maxima from my daughter and both are out. I have ordered Hella bulbs from Amazon and will be changing them this weekend. I hope I am right about why these are failing so fast.

 

Hey guys, I bought my 04 Maxima SE last year November, and one of the fog lights was burned out. Instead of going to the dealership, I found useful videos on YouTube that explain how to replace the bulbs.

 

Yep, pretty sure we're aware of the no-touch procedure when changing bulbs. I Used gloves when replacing, didn't touch the glass. Same result, blown within a few months. Whether it's a heat issue or what, I have no idea. It sure is annoying though.

 

Replaced many bulbs. Does not matter if you use oem, PIAA (what I used), or others. something is just not right. Finally converted to HID and running much longer.

Such a pain to reach in there every so months to change a bulb. A decent HID kit and install is way worth the savings in bulbs, time, and cut up hands with stock.

 

Does anyone thibk that it might have to do something with a weak ground?

 

I just don't use my fogs.
DTRL bulbs burn all the time also, so I use hids all the time during the day.

 

Have seen with other makes, once the bulb is changed starting to go thru bulbs like crazy, look at the connection. You push them in at a slight angle, these mini pins tweak slightly and cause a poor connection. Too much resistance, bulbs start burning out like crazy. Got to replace the connector.

 

lets face it, the fogs suck anyway, they are just aesthetic, turn em off and forget.... I don't even use them in fog cause I don't see better

 

My yellow stock bulbs made a big difference. My yellow HID make a huge difference.

white HID headlights are useless in fog and bad weather.

 

Bulb life has shortened dramatically when they started making them in China. I have been driving since 66 and have never seen so many late model vehicles with broken tail lights. Just bought some Sylvania H11 made in Germany, hopefully they will last longer.

 

OEM fogs suck.
I have tried 3000K yellow hids, still suck.

What is the point of having the road all light up 5 foot in front of the car anyway.

AND, I have tried it many times, it's usually worse with fogs on in bad weather, fog, snow, etc.

I have just converted my lights back to OEM connectors and halogens, and I just never turn them on because it's useless anyway.

Just turn them off and forget about it, they will not burn anymore and will work when you sell the car.... thats what I did.

Spend your money on a good HID retrofit on your main lights instead. Forget the fogs.

 

Add me to the list. Very rarely use my fog lights, usually just turn them on when it gets inspected and that's it. Pretty much every year when it's time to get an inspection one or both of them is out again. Those are the only bulbs I've ever replaced on the car and I've had it over 4 years and it's got 114,000 miles.

 

fogs and DRL burn all the time.

So I keep fogs off, and drive with my hids on all the time so I never burn my DRLS.
They have not burned in 5 years, because they are never used.
I just turn the light switch to on every time I get in the car, and turn it off when I leave. Just a habbit, been doing it since day 1 to drive with hids.

Pimp life.

 

Newer years have DRL I guess? My 05 doesn't have any.

 

canadian models always have drl.


And I still dont understand why its not mandatory in the us.

 

Same problem with my 2005. The fogs burn out almost before I can get home from the shop after they are replaced. In reality it is the wife's car, I rarely drive it and she runs them all the time. Then gives me crap until I take it back in and get them replaced. I've looked at LED's that are supposed to last longer but haven't jumped on it yet.

 

just tell her to replace them herself or not use them.

they are useless anyway.