GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I wanna change my headlight bulbs with my newly purchased silverstar white lights but after taking out the two bolts that hold the headlight assembly in place, I can't pull it out? I could just wait till monday and ask at work but I want to do this before then. Anyone know how to get that assembly out? Is there a hidden bolt I'm not seeing? or maybe something else I am not seeing thats holding it in place?

LOL!You don't need to remove the entire assembly to change the bulbs!Reeeeal simple.Unplug the harness that goes to the bulb.Pull off the rubber sealer.There's a wire clip that goes along the bottom side of the bulb to hold it in place. Push that clip in (towards the front of the car) and down to release it.Pull out the old bulb.Insert the new bulb the same way: with the missing electrical pin at the bottom.Twist it back and forth to make sure it locks into place.Replace the clip by pushing in and up until it clicks into place.Replace the rubber sealer. Push around the entire edge until it snaps into place.Replace the wire harness.DONE! Important Note: Do not touch the glass of either stock or replacement bulbs. Doing so causes oils from your skin to get on the bulb, which creates hot spots, and causes the bulb to die prematurely, or burst. If you get oil ont he bulbs, use a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol to clean it off. Always handle halogen bulbs by the base of the bulb.

That seems very easy, a lot easier then I was expecting... course I was trying this outside in the cold. Anyway that doesn't explain how to do the driver's side, the battery leaves very little room to do anything in there... I'll give this all a try though.

Small hands can get behind the battery.But if not, just remove the battery! Unscrew the battery hold down strap using the screw on the front side (near the headlight). Then just unhook it, and disconnect the battery.To reinstall, get the hook on the little eye down by the battery tray, and hold down the strap while getting the screw secured. It's tricky, but much easier than removing the headlight assembly!

I found I could just loosen the battery hold down and slide it over a few inches, so I didn't have to disconnect the cables and lose my radio pre-sets.

Is that a stock radio Bill?Cause I rehooked mine up the other day (long story why) after having been disconnected since October, and the presets were still there. Time obviously needed to be reset, but not presets.My Pioneer, on the other hand, bites in that department. Wish you could get some sorta aftermarket battery backup so I didn't have to reset my presets all the time!

It is the stock radio, but it sounds like I didn't need to worry! I was going by what happened when the dealer disconnected the battery on my wife's Park Avenue: lost the seat, mirrors, HVAC, radio, and other presets, plus locked up the radio with the anti-theft function...

Should be fine, but it wouldn't hurt to write them down JIC...

I think I'll try this when I can get my car indoors... Unless tomorrow is nice weather. I just don't want to be taking my car all apart in -5 or lower weather lol.

It's a very easy install, takes me about 2-5 minutes tops to change out all 4 bulbs (2 head, 2 fog). But then again, I've done it several times.

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish » ... But then again, I've done it several times. Hmmmm... That would seem to reflect badly on the quality of your bulbs!PS: Am I the only one finding the reply boxes opening reaaalllyyy slooowwwlyy tonight?

Quote, originally posted by MadBill »Hmmmm... That would seem to reflect badly on the quality of your bulbs!Actually, i took them out and put in the stocks when I took my car into the body shop after the deer hit.Then I also took them out and put them back in to take pics to post on here.I've only had to change bulbs for burnouts once or twice.

Make sure you properly aim the headlights. That's a problem I had!

anyone know how to effectively/correctly aim the headlights? i tried to do it with the bolt that changes the angle of the throw, but i'm not sure the best way to aim them to look even.

Quote, originally posted by Salsa! »Humm... if you just change the bulb it should not modify the aim of the headlights.... there is a separate adjustment for the aiming.,If you just take the bulb out and replace it the aiming will not change!unless you somehow shift the entire headlight assembly...which is not likely...

DON'T TOUCH THE GLASS! As you are installing: do not touch the glass on the bulb....the oils from your skin will get on there and when it heats up the oils will trap heat and bust the bulb!hehe...other than that its simple stuff!

wait a second.....Mavrik.....your a GM service advisor right? Shouldn't YOU be telling US how to do this?I'm slightly confused by this situation...though i have to admit...when I have my service department do my oil change i have to tell them how many quarts goes in it....b/c every time i dont they put some other engine's specs in and then i have a beef w/ the service guy....they have been consistantly getting it wrong for almost 2 years now!-me

Quote, originally posted by drummerdude »anyone know how to effectively/correctly aim the headlights? i tried to do it with the bolt that changes the angle of the throw, but i'm not sure the best way to aim them to look even.I like driving around in a light fog....err, that is: I mean wait until it's slightly foggy, then on a dark empty road, you can see exactly where each beam is pointing.

i use a closed garage door....im too impatient to wait for fog....no disrespect to madbill's approach....thats a genious idea!

my dealer usually will do it for me free if i get other stuff done in the same visit...

Well using a rag, a 10mm socket to remove the battery clamp and the nearby computer on the shop tool bench with GM Tech info website up only cause it had illustrations hehe... I managed to get my bulbs changed. Its rather simple now that I know how. Thanks to you all to for the advice. I don't think I have to re-aim my headlights since I left the assembly in place. Apparently why I couldn't pull the headlight assembly out before is because there is a third bolt hidden inside the fender.Ah well... now I am just starving myself till its dark so I can go out for food and see the difference at night. I did turn on the headlights with one old bulb in and one new bulb to see the difference, white vs yellow. Gotta love the white.

Sorry, to drag up an old post, but how hard can I pull on that rubber seal thing? Mine is pretty tight (and of course it's the bulb on the driver's side that's cooked). I don't want to wreck anything!

Quote, originally posted by pmh013 »Sorry, to drag up an old post, but how hard can I pull on that rubber seal thing? Mine is pretty tight (and of course it's the bulb on the driver's side that's cooked). I don't want to wreck anything!the rubber seal is pretty strong...if you can try and grab on 2 sides and just work it back and forth on the way out.

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »...There's a wire clip that goes along the bottom side of the bulb to hold it in place. Push that clip in (towards the front of the car) and down to release it....Replace the clip by pushing in and up until it clicks into place.Replace the rubber sealer. Push around the entire edge until it snaps into place.Replace the wire harness.DONE!Just to get some clarification from you, ragingfish...1. this "wire clip" item come off during the initial take-off of the old bulbs and goes back in when the new bulbs are in place?2. When you say "replace", you do mean "place it back" right? As opposed to getting parts because of th bulb change?I realize you don't own the Vibe anymore but any recollection is much appreciated. Thank you

Quote, originally posted by huy397 »Just to get some clarification from you, ragingfish...1. this "wire clip" item come off during the initial take-off of the old bulbs and goes back in when the new bulbs are in place?2. When you say "replace", you do mean "place it back" right? As opposed to getting parts because of th bulb change?I realize you don't own the Vibe anymore but any recollection is much appreciated. Thank youI got this one,The wire clip is pushed forward (towards you) and down to "disengage" it and the clip swings from left to right. After replacing the bulb, you swing the clip back to the left and clip it back into the holder, there are no replacement parts other than the bulb of course.

Thanks a lot. I have successfully changed the headlights to Silverstars.My do have very small hands for a guy but apparently still too big to get in between the battery and the light assembly. I ended up having to remove the battery. One problem I ran into was putting back the battery, the far screw on the strut was connected to a "hook" and I had no idea where to hook it back in... luckily I found the place after 10 min in the cold.Where exactly should the hook go into?Thanks

I realize I am very late getting into this thread, but... Thanks to the descriptions here, I successfullly change the bulbs in my Vibe. Didn't take all that long either. The clip was a little tricky, but it's easier if you do the passenger side first, as there's more free space over on that side to actually get your hand(s) in and see what you're doing at the same side. Once that was done, the driver side was easy enough.A question about the Silverstars. Are they really worth it? At twice the cost of a regular (Sylvania 9003XV) bulb, are the brightness worth it? What about other drivers? Are the light so bright it bothers oncoming traffic and/or traffic in front of you?

I haven't checked, but there should be lots of comments on Silverstars if you do a search, most grumbling about their short life. Strangely, my original pair both winked out in ~9 months, but the under-warranty replacements are still soldiering on after a further 2 -1/2 years.As far as light output, they are very good for my aging eyes, without triggering any undeserved flashing by oncoming cars.

this totally depends on your value system.if you like pure white bright light that only lasts a short time then you will like Silverstars.if you like a bulb that lights up and you never change it but once every couple years then go with OEMI live silverstars... bulbs are a little pricey but easy to change and "worth it" to me.There is definitely a difference.I have not been flashed by oncoming traffic for my bulbs... yet.

I get flashed for my stock bulbs all the time...The Silverstars are definately worth it. I haven't bought them for the Vibe yet but my last two vehicles had them. I never had a problem with short life either, my '03 Cavalier had them for almost two years before I traded it in. It's not really a brighter light, just a cleaner light (if that makes sense). I should look into bulbs soon...

These old posts are still helping since I had to replace my headlight today.Thanks!

I also just put Silverstars in. As was said earlier doing the passenger side first gave me an idea of taking care of the drivers side. Just loosened the battery, moved it to the left and got in there. Reminded me of my brother's Golf which was also painful and I have small hands.Had Silverstars in both my Sunfires (very easy to swap out in that car!) and they lasted long enough, worth the money in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfDbd0zgyKMTitle is Headlight Halogen Bulb Replacementits a non toyota headlight, but is the exact same assembly...This is for a 2005 , There is some info on the net indicating the matrix has a 90 degree bulb assembly, but not on this year.....

Ya, the old posts do still help.Gotta replace the driver side bulb myself and after a brief look, I decided more info would be wise.The video above should be helpful as well, so thanks!

banzai,its a piece of cake. if you've got skinny fingers, you won't even have to move the battery for the driver's side.

I never do things the easy way. I moved the battery (easy), pulled out the rubber cover (easy), removed the wire hold down (!) (STUPID AND NOT EASY TO REINSTALL), read GenVibe about how to do it correctly (easy), removed and reinstalled the wire hold down correctly (NOT EASY), and replaced the bulb and put it all back together (very easy). Thanks GenVibe!

Greg

THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH. I was having a bear of a time changing out the bulb on the driver side. I saved myself $20 putting it in myself (found the bulb at K-MART CLEARANCE for $3.00) I've got glommy big hands but once I read your reply, I was finished! Took a little longer thank your speed record lol, but once I read your instructions it was 15 min, no more (after messing with it for an hour lol!) THANKS. Bookmarked the page.. I LOVE MY 2004 VIBE! It's a great veh! Thanks again!