Hi everyone, new here to the ORG. I have a 2010 sv sport with 30,000 mi. (not under warranty) my passenger side headlight is out so I go to the dealer and they said its $200 for the HID bulb and the bumper has to be dropped to replace the bulb, which is another $200. This seems ridiculous for a headlight bulb! And why would they design the car so you have to drop the bumper to replace it?! Anyway, do I have any other cheaper options? Any ideas? I don't want a ticket for driving around without a headlight. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Buy a set of aftermarket hid bulbs from a local auto shop or try theretrofitsource.com ... You need the d2s bulb.. Stock color is 4300k.

For the install all I had to do was bend back the fender lining and you can get in there to replace it... If you have big hands it may be a bit difficult but can be done. But if you have the time you can remove the bumper and headlight to replace it too..

Hope it helps

 

That sounds crazy.

Have you looked at it to see if it is accessible??

I called my local dealership for a quote acting like I had the same car as you.
I'll report back with what they tell me.

I think you should be able to just buy a bulb yourself for around $30-70 and it should be a do it yourself kinda thing.

 

Funnyman has great advice...you can get an amazing set of OEM (phillips) or BETTER (osram xenarc) HID bulbs from theretrofitsource.com for under $200 per set. check them out I love their products (massive focus on quality) and amazing customer service.....That aside theres a badass writeup with a TON of pics (search the forum) on here about removing your headlights, you can actually google it and itll come up its that good. If you're not game for the do-it-youself way the dealer should only charge $79 to install your bulbs if you bring them in...thats what I was quoted by Autonation Nissan in Tampa FL. Good luck!!

 

Wow guys thanks for all the quick helpful responses, what a great forum! I'll definately try these suggestions and do more research.

 

My dealer said the same thing.

$400+ ouch.

Retrofitsource it is.

 

Im running these in my 4th gen with a TL retro, I love the output..and the color looks very OEMish

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...roducts_id=148

 

Wow!...

 

There actually a way to replace the bulb without dropping the bumper. Where the front wheels are, there is a panel with clips on them, not too much space to work, but you can actually replace the bulbs that way, without having to deal with dropping the bumper. I also suggest to get HIDs. Much better than the ones that comes with the car ! I changed mine to 6K and I love them ! Of course had to get a touch of KMONEY to get the unique style I want, but hopefully I helped out !

 

From the bottom of the car, corner, there are 3 Philips screws and 2 plastic pop rivets if you remove them, you can pull the plastic panel down and reach up to swap out the bulb. Less than 10 minutes work. I did this when I swapped out to LED turn signal bulbs. Good luck

 

Wow that was fast, do you have your lights on the auto setting? If you do I suggest that you take them off of auto and turn them on manually as that constant on/off (under overpasses, exiting the garage etc) takes it toll on HIDS life big time.

 

Good point Monte as this on-off-on issue stresses the lights when I pass through security entering work on a weekly basis.....we're required to dim the headlights then pop them back on after passing through the check point.

 

LOL, I was going to say Boeing and then I saw your location!

 

i have 5k bulbs from TheRetrofitSource and they're great. you dont have to drop the bumper, that's the long way. just cut your wheel to the side, pop off a few plastic fasteners in the wheel well and push the liner aside. on the back of the headlight there is a grey circular cap, you wanna spin this (i believe counter-clockwise) which will allow it to be removed. in there you pinch a metal pin and pull back to remove the HID bulb. when installing the new ones be careful not to touch the bulb, any oil/grease that gets on it can make cause it to blow.

 

Yep, Renton to be exact.

 

I thought it was under 36000 miles you still have warranty?


Posted from Maxima.org App for Android

 

....or three years which ever comes first.

 

Mitsu Evolution, newer gens of WRX Impreza, and Cadillac CTS are designed that way. its just so you get raped for the labor charge of taking the car to the dealer and getting the bumper removed for the replacement of the light

 

Thanks again everyone for being so helpful, looks like I'll order online and try the install myself! And yes, I'm two months over the 3 year warranty unfortunately.

 

Wonder if this would be covered anyway. It may be considered normal wear and tear

 

Everett here, but the same idea!

 

The $400 is for the HID bulbs, correct ? I'm hoping the regular headlight bulbs are very simple to change.

Does anyone know if the regular bulbs involve intensive labor to change ?

Thanks

 

Same process except they twist out without the grey cap covering access to the bulb. Still need to go in through the fender liner or drop the bumper.

 

great part about these cars is this forum. so many people with the same car and have so much info on it now, plus responses are fast and plenty of them. excellent car looking forward to owning mine for a long time!

 

check the inner fender and under the hood as said, sometimes on vehicles that are designed to have the bumper removed, you can snake your hands in and change the bulb. might have to remove the air filter assembly or something to make room. or get your kids with tiny hands to get the bulb out lol

 

wow I drove 24k in 1 year fml lol shoot me meow



Posted from Maxima.org App for Android

 

Why in the world would they design a car like that ? Hopefully the bulbs ( non HID ) last a long time. If I have the dealer do it and drop the bumper do they drop just one side or does the whole bumper drop making me think I should just replace both bulbs when one bulb burns out.

This alone would have kept me from buying a Maxima, never thought to research headlight bulb replacement.

I found this ( was hoping to find a Youtube video but no luck) but I'm not postive it's for the 7th gen

http://www.ehow.com/how_5070938_repl...an-maxima.html



Is headlight replacement covered under the extended warranty ? If so it may be worth picking up

 

usually the whole bumper has to come off, and if youre in it that far i would just replace all the bulbs

lots of new cars are designed with headlight replacement being a pain. i know Chrysler at least usually puts a removable plastic piece in the inner fender to access the headlights, but otherwise it can be a pain. its not just Maximas

 

Hi everyone. I have 2009 maxima sv premium package. My driver side hid ballast is out. Bulb is fine. Where can I buy the ballast alone. Thanks.

 

dealer or Ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Nissan-M...e461bf&vxp=mtr

 

I wonder if the way the lights are installed these has anything to to do with the lawsuit Nissan encountered on the 2002 and 2003 cars where people were getting the headlights ripped out for the HID.

Nissan installed some sort of bracket to help prevent theft as part of the settlement.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money...adlights_x.htm

 

I don't know about the 8th Generation (2013) Chevy Malibu, but the 7th Generation (2008-2012) Malibu is the same way, have to drop the bumper cover to replace the headlight bulbs.

 

They still don't drop the bumper when replacing the bulbs. They go through the whell well, so call their bull****.

 

Many vehicles built in the past 20 years have changed and some are very expensive to work on not just simple shop work but lights and other things are very costly to fix even if you are very good working on vehicle's you will still have a hard time replacing simple parts and if you break a plastic clip and you don't have one already preorder and delivered you can't even finish the job and use the vehicle. Or if you don't get it back together correctly you can have problems you might have to take it to a shop and get the lights adjusted or you paid good money but someone dropped the part a year ago and now it's not working. These days you can end up with out a vehicle or you paid for the work no one is going to say I broke a piece and we are getting it shipped in tomorrow and paying for it. You will drive it return with a complaint and have to pay more money. And believe me some simple jobs like bulbs replacement can be completely unbelievable as the price you were charged you have an easy fix.