Question about headlights for 2003 P5

Drogemeister

Member
:
2003 Mazda Protege5
I need new headlights and have been searching the internet for a good deal. I've noticed that the headlights for a Protege are priced different than a P5. Are they compatible? They are about $100 cheaper than the P5 headlights and would like to use them if I can.

Also, what's a good site to buy parts for my P5?
 
The regular Protg or sedan, use a two bulb system.
The P5 has a single headlight bulb.

The housings are interchangeable but you would have to rewire the bulb connectors.
 
The regular Protg or sedan, use a two bulb system.
The P5 has a single headlight bulb.


The housings are interchangeable but you would have to rewire the bulb connectors.

I think you have that backwards, P5s have separate high/low bulbs.
 
I did check Rockauto and the sedan headlight housings are a lot cheaper.
The sedan housing seems to have orange on the sides and I don't know if those are running lights or turn signal lights ??
 
I would recommend get the sedan headlights. P5 have a horrible tendency to eat low beam bulbs for some reason. I think they overheat inside the housing. I know some other cars have had that happen (older Toyota Avalon rings a bell, the HID lights would explode inside the headlight assembly so they redesigned the reflector so it would dissipate heat better). I bought a 10 pack of bulbs on ebay a couple months ago for like $10 because i'm tired of paying $10 each at walmart every 3-4 months. Sure they're cheap chinese bulbs but at $1 each who cares.

I never hear of this problem with the sedans, and if it saves $100 I'd get the sedan version. I probably won't be keeping my car much longer but if I do then i'll be buying a set of sedan headlights once i go through the rest of my 10 pack. I've used 2 so far...

Also, I always use amazon or ebay to buy stuff because i live out in the country and there isn't much around. Rockauto has good prices as well but you have to pay for shipping, and Amazon Prime i get stuff in 2 days free shipping. If i'm not in a hurry ebay works well. between the 3 you can find everything you need.

if you are looking for used parts, www.car-part.com is a great resource for finding junk yards in your area. And, most junk yard prices are very negotiable, especially if you pay cash.
 
Last edited:
Never had any issues with bulbs of any type in my P5 housings.......halogen or the 35w HIDs that are over 10 yrs old at this point. No explosions or melting or changing bulbs once a month. Maybe the ground kit has something to do with it, maybe the battery harness added to the HID kit has something to do with it, maybe the garage and not always sitting out in weather has something to do with it, maybe it's just luck.
 
Back