why low beam bulbs are a pain in the ass

[SoonP5ismine]

i just had the pleasure....NOT...in changing my low beam bulbs after 2 years with stock bulbs after one of them burned out. i never attempted to replace a h7 low beam bulb in a P5 so today before the local mazda meet i did it. what i noticed is that the way these bulbs go in is unbelievably stupid and not secure. it seems that the manual really tells the truth this time "contact your mazda dealer for bulb replacement". why they couldnt have put a better bulb in the low beams? the high beams seem very secure. the h7s when you buy them are only half of the bulb you have to take apart your old bulb and pray that it wont explode in your hands while you remove the plastic/metal bottom part of it and then you have to stick that on the new one. in my old Pro i had 9004 bulbs which were very secure and lasted just as long as these. but the h7s are CRAP. well the bulb itself is ok but the locking clips and the huge rubber seals for the bulbs are ridiculous.

 

[Protege52003]

sorry for your frustration......will be easy next time you have to do it!

-R

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

What is really fun is when the little clippy thing comes undone from it's retaining screw on the passenger side where you need both hands crammed into the little space around the washer bottle neck. Even that becomes easy after a couple of tries but still is anti-engineering nonsense. I believe it could be done better & just as cheap but is small fish on the problem scale though.

 

[FunkyBuddha]

Because in japan..they use different bulbs/lights so in NA, they had to make these stupid little adapters.

 

[registering]

I Hate Changing Our Freakin Headlights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggg

 

[boo-boo]

ya its a huge PITA..esp the pass side one...

 

[Canecreekfreak]

Changing those h7 bulbs is a pain. I don't know why they didn't use a bulb like the 9005 in the high beams which is alot easier to change.
For that stupid adapter, I use a pair of pliers to grasp the base of the bulb, and my other hand on the adapter. I pry around the edges /w/the pliers to get it off. Seems to work pretty well, and I don't come close to touching the bulbs w/my hands.
Now, getting the bulbs back into the headlights is another story.

 

[Douggie]

Is it really THAT bad? I admit that it would be much better if they have given us more room to work with, but other than that, it's not that big of a problem. Once I've changed my bulb late at night with just a flashlight for illumination.

To get the adapter off, just stick a key between the bulb and the adapter and pry it off. Remember that the bulb that you're taking off the adapter is dead, so go ahead and touch the bulb

 

[novadan67]

Yeah, I agree - it was not really that bad. I guess I am used to working on my RX-7 which is 10X harder to do just about everything. Makes working on the P5 a piece of cake.

 

[theice]

yeah, once you've done this, it isn't all that bad. It will teach you to stay away from bulbs that won't last though...

 

[Snacks McGee]

If you thought the side with the washer fluid was a pain in the ass, try to the other side with an Injen CAI in the way. Weeeeeeeee.... double the fun!!! (sad1)

 

[anarchistchiken]

How does anyone consider this difficult? Jesus christ, are you guys serious? It takes like 2 minutes of work. If you're gonna b**** pointlessly, find something worth bitching about.

 

[Snacks McGee]

If you're gonna b**** pointlessly, find something worth bitching about.

Ah...the irony.

 

[anarchistchiken]

This is a worthwhile bitching topic. When you've been angry as often as I have, you learn to tell what is worth getting angry about.


I'm not making any sense, so i'm gonna stop talking.

 

[GGKAuten]

My favorite is when the FACTORY bulb some how manages to MELT the black adapter that the bulb sits in. I started carrying around spare bulbs and adapters with me because it started happening about every two months. Once I had to change a bulb on a pitch black road in the middle of bumble-hell Florida where you need EVERY light turned on just to keep from slamming a deer/possum/bear/etc...

Now THAT is fun! Haha. Doing it blind with nothing but the touch of your fingers wedged into that tiny little area.

But I have to admit they are a LOT easier than trying to change the bulbs on my 2001 NB. The dealership actually charges 85$ a bulb in labor to replace them....so it's worth the trouble, but DANG what a PITA!

The P5 is definately the easiest car to change bulbs in, considering all the other PITA cars out there.

 

[digitalricepape]

lol i had the problem with the bulbs melting onto the adapters. luckily the dealers replaced them free of charge both times. oh, the frustration that spikes me whenever i think about who the hell designed somethin like this, so that even changing a lightbulb isnt so simple anymore.

 

[AlaskaP5]

Passenger side low-beams are a PITA!!

That stupid little clip thing is almost impossible to put back on with the little space they leave you with...

Tail lights are much easier

 

[registering]

Yeah, the passenger side is the worst. The clip was distorted from the factory, so I had to reshape it to match the driver's side/owner's manual, but only after I spent lots of time trying to make it fit because hey, why would the clip be mucked-up straight from the factory? My driver's side is not secure, I often need to bounce the car after installing it to get the light to come on. Strangely enough bouncing on the road never affects it though. *shrug* Changing headlights in my 83 Buick LeSabre and 93 Saturn SC-2 were dreams compared to the pain in the ass Mazda made it to change these lights.

 

[SlowPro98]

so everyone has shown taht there is a problem, but how about some solutions? Is it possible to get wiring harnesses for a different bulb? what about the JDM bulb?

 

[altspace]

I replaced mine with Silverstars in about 15 min.