Headlight Replacement in Honda Civic

[charlesctygal]

HELP!!! If anyone out there knows of any easy way to replace the passenger side headlight in a Honda Civic, could you please help me out. It is harder than just removing the bulb like in most any other car. If anyone has any hints, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[Oz]

Check owners manual - some of those lights are wedged in there and if you start tinkering with screws you could mess up your headlight alignment.

 

[Tomcat]

Remove the nut holding the steering wheel

 

[The_Twisted_Ear]

HELP!!! If anyone out there knows of any easy way to replace the passenger side headlight in a Honda Civic, could you please help me out. It is harder than just removing the bulb like in most any other car. If anyone has any hints, please let me know. Thanks!

If no one provides the solution - you might jump over to Honda Civic Forum - Honda Civic Enthusiast Forums
and look around (or leave a message).

BTW - What year Civic are you talking about?

 

[charlesctygal]

If no one provides the solution - you might jump over to Honda Civic Forum - Honda Civic Enthusiast Forums
and look around (or leave a message).

BTW - What year Civic are you talking about?

Thank you for your responses. When I last replaced it, I tried following the owners manual and it did not really help. You have to have a tiny hand to get in there, or to disconnect pieces under the hood, which I am not trying to do. I eventually ended up having someone do it for me, but they are not around any longer. Thanks for the Honda link, I will see what I can find. I have an 02 Civic

 

[The_Twisted_Ear]

I have an 02 Civic

I found this...

Q. How do you replace the headlight bulb located on a 2002 Honda Civic?

1) Open the hood. If you need to change the headlight bulb on the driver's side, remove the power steering reservoir tank by pulling it out of its holder

2) Remove the elctrical connector from the bulb by squeezing the connector on both ssides to unlock the tab. Pull the connector straigh off

3) Remove the rubber weather seal by pulling on the tab

4)Unclip the end of the hold-down wire from its slot. Pivot it out of the way and remove the bulb

5) Insert the new bulb into the hole, making sure the tabs are in their slots. Pivot the hold-down wire back in place and clip the end into the slot

6) Install the rubber seal over the back of the headlight assembly. Make sure it is right side up; it is marked TOP

7)Push the electrical onnector onto the tabs of the new bulb. Make sure it locks in place. Turn on the headlights to test the new bulb

8) Reinstall the power steering reservoir

 

[charlesctygal]

Thanks again, this is what the manual says, however, there is hardly any room for a hand to fit down there and you cannot see at all what you are doing. Thank you soo much though for your help!

I found this...

Q. How do you replace the headlight bulb located on a 2002 Honda Civic?

1) Open the hood. If you need to change the headlight bulb on the driver's side, remove the power steering reservoir tank by pulling it out of its holder

2) Remove the elctrical connector from the bulb by squeezing the connector on both ssides to unlock the tab. Pull the connector straigh off

3) Remove the rubber weather seal by pulling on the tab

4)Unclip the end of the hold-down wire from its slot. Pivot it out of the way and remove the bulb

5) Insert the new bulb into the hole, making sure the tabs are in their slots. Pivot the hold-down wire back in place and clip the end into the slot

6) Install the rubber seal over the back of the headlight assembly. Make sure it is right side up; it is marked TOP

7)Push the electrical onnector onto the tabs of the new bulb. Make sure it locks in place. Turn on the headlights to test the new bulb

8) Reinstall the power steering reservoir

 

[Seamaid]

I had the same problem with my civic, a friend of mine figured out the replacement and also screwed up the alignment of the light. I would buy the bulb/s and take it to your mechanic and pay a minimal cost for them to put it in.

Thanks again, this is what the manual says, however, there is hardly any room for a hand to fit down there and you cannot see at all what you are doing. Thank you soo much though for your help!

 

[charlesctygal]

I had the same problem with my civic, a friend of mine figured out the replacement and also screwed up the alignment of the light. I would buy the bulb/s and take it to your mechanic and pay a minimal cost for them to put it in.

Funny, the manual acts like its no big deal to do. Glad I am not the only one who has had a problem. I called ken dixon, and they said $35 bucks!!!

 

[Oz]

$35 is about 15-20 minutes of labor. Not a bad deal considering the cost of labor, AND price of an inspection ticket these days. Moving the P/S Reservior out of the way makes that headlight replacement a chore. Let them do it for $35.

 

[Seamaid]

Believe me, it will be the best $35 you will have ever spent! Seriously, the alignment will be off if its not in correctly put in.

Funny, the manual acts like its no big deal to do. Glad I am not the only one who has had a problem. I called ken dixon, and they said $35 bucks!!!

 

[Seamaid]

Also, do don't necessarily need to take it to a dealer, any auto shop should be able to do it and maybe cheaper. I think they will charge whatever the labor cost is for the time taken to install it.

Funny, the manual acts like its no big deal to do. Glad I am not the only one who has had a problem. I called ken dixon, and they said $35 bucks!!!

 

[5857dave]

Replacing 02 Civic Headlight

If you just need to replace the bulb, it shouldn't be difficult and you don't need to remove anything. BUT, if you are replacing the whole headlight assembly, you MUST remove the front bumper. Not difficult, but a little time consuming.

My son and I replaced his assemblies with aftermarket projectors and this was the only way to do to it. Good luck.

 

[bcp]

sometimes its just better to replace the car behind the light, than the light in front of the car.

 

[FairyChatMom]

My daughter has a New Beetle, my husband has a Jetta, and both manuals say for bulb replacement, take the cars to the dealer. There's no excuse for not designing the vehicles so that an individual with minimal skills and dexterity can replace a stoopit bulb!!

One vehicle I had some years ago required torx screwdrivers to access the headlights - would it really have been so bad to use phillips head screws?!? I'm an engineer - I know a little about design, and I know sometimes you don't really have a choice. But doggone, lights should be the simplest items to change out - OK, after wiper blades...

Stoopit cars.

 

[flomaster]

Amazingly enough I have repaired countless issues with my vehicles simply by typing out the issue and the make of the car in a search engine. Most of the time if it happened to you it happened to someone else. My Expedition had a recent issue with interior lights turning on and off on their own. Did a search. Couple shots of WD-40 in each door latch and problem solved! Saves a mint on hourly labor rates. Good luck with the headlight.

 

[flomaster]

My daughter has a New Beetle, my husband has a Jetta, and both manuals say for bulb replacement, take the cars to the dealer. There's no excuse for not designing the vehicles so that an individual with minimal skills and dexterity can replace a stoopit bulb!!

One vehicle I had some years ago required torx screwdrivers to access the headlights - would it really have been so bad to use phillips head screws?!? I'm an engineer - I know a little about design, and I know sometimes you don't really have a choice. But doggone, lights should be the simplest items to change out - OK, after wiper blades...

Stoopit cars.

How else ya gonna keep Mr.Torx in business?! They do the same on aircraft as well. Don't feel bad. We have screws that have Swastika looking patterns on the head that we call Nazi heads requiring a Nazi tip for removal. They are the worst and the tips we used to replace them break all the time.

 

[desertrat]

How else ya gonna keep Mr.Torx in business?! They do the same on aircraft as well. Don't feel bad. We have screws that have Swastika looking patterns on the head that we call Nazi heads requiring a Nazi tip for removal. They are the worst and the tips we used to replace them break all the time.

I hate those dang torx. Now I have to learn a whole different size scheme. Don't even mention "security" torx.

 

[toppick08]

HELP!!! If anyone out there knows of any easy way to replace the passenger side headlight in a Honda Civic, could you please help me out. It is harder than just removing the bulb like in most any other car. If anyone has any hints, please let me know. Thanks!

Try Chiltons Online. They pretty much wrote the book on car repairs.

 

[theArtistFormerlyKnownAs]

Try Chiltons Online. They pretty much wrote the book on car repairs.

Chiltons has helped me on more than one occasion (but i have the actual book for my model lol) to them