TheChestbump.com

Amanda’s 2004 Volkswagen Jetta recently blew the drivers side headlamp. We got in the car to go down to Autozone and pick up a new set. We purchased a pair Sylvania Silverstars because they look like they might be an improvement over the already decently performing bulbs that came stock. We got home with the bulbs and I popped the hood.

I was very impressed with what I saw. Compared to my old 1999 Pontiac Grand am, these were cake. There is really only 4 or 5 steps to successfully completing this job. We’ll start with the passenger side since it was the easiest.

Tools needed for the job: New set of Headlamp bulbs (9007 is the size) and a Phillips head screw driver.

The Sylvania bulbs we purchased were model 9007SU-2.

Right behind the passenger headlight you will see a flat black plastic piece with two silver arms holding it in place. Slide both of these arms off of the plastic piece and you will be able to slide the plastic back towards the motor.

• With the plastic piece out of the way, you will see the wiring for the headlamp. If you feel around where the bulb and the headlight meet, you will feel a plastic retaining ring. Turn it to loosen up the bulb and pull it backwards. Be careful not to drop the plastic ring.
• Pull the bub out gently towards the back of the car. Now with the bulb pulled out you can disconnect the wiring and get your new bulb ready for installation. Note the position of the black ring.
• Place the black ring back on the new headlight bulb and plug in the bulb. Insert the bulb back into the headlamp and twist the right to lock it in place. If the bulb doesn’t go in easily, look through the front of the headlight, closly at the bulb, you will notice a series of grooves that need to line up perfectly to get the bulb all the way in.
• Replace the black plastic piece and secure it with the two arms.

The drivers side is the exact same, except there is no room for a guy with huge hands like myself.

the only difference with the drivers side is that there is a black plastic over that needs to be unscrewed. You will notice that it has a bulb icon stamped into the plastic and the two screws are easily seen. Unscrew the cover and lift it straight up. To give you some extra room, you can remove the battery cover. I put the new bulb in without removing the battery, if you have big hands and want to avoid getting them all cut up you can remove the battery all together, but it’s more work than it’s worth.

I would recommend replacing both bulbs at the same time for two reasons; first being that you already in there and it just makes sense and the second being, if the bulbs are different brands and intensities, the light could look off and be very annoying at night.