I agree, on my Audi A8, there is a blown sidelight bulb.

The manual says take to the dealer who charge £115/hr,

I got the factory manual, it says drain power steering and remove reservoir, but the pipe clips are inaccessible in order to remove it from the pipes, unless the rather substantial roadwheel and wheel arch liners/insulators are removed.

I am in the process of buying high quality replacement bulbs and will do all of them, inclduing the HIDs.

Perhaps the powers that be should consider fining vehicle manufacturers who design a car/vehicle that makes it impossible to change a main beam bulb at night, utterly bonkers.

Take the Focus mk2, the latest VW Polo, the list goes on, you have to undo a screw/screws and then remove the whole of the front light unit ,and unless you know the little knack of how to lift the thing over the hold groves then you'll never remove it, then you need to unplug the bulb connector before being able to access the bulb itself.

All this and no sign of an engine light to help out, where have all the engine lights gone these days ? The poor motorist doesn't stand a chance, I mean how many people carry a torch or head torch in their car these cars, a few but most don't, besides by the time you've figured out how to change a main beam bulb the torch batteries will have gone, then you could be landed with a light unit out and no idea how to put it back cus you can't see how it slots in and it's dark.

In daylight sure it's fine once you know how to do it and have the necessary tools it's a 5 to 10 minute job per light but try doing the same job when it's dark and you've no chance.

Ok so the Focus mk3 is easier to change a main beam bulb than the on mk 2, a wonderful breakthrough in design engineering !

However, it's easier to change a bulb on a vintage Morris Oxford, vintage Astra, vintage Ford Escort etc. so how come these car manufacturers have messed up so badly with their engine design layouts that resulted in the creation of a safety situation for the end user who purchases their product and then finds themself needing to change a headlight bulb at their own risk ?

Solutions :
Females, smile and ask a bloke, well that's what my sister-in-law did the other week, she was carrying a spares set in the car, job sorted.
Males - smile and ask a bloke, do it yourself, thanks mate, bet if I asked my sister-in-law to come and smile at you you'd fix it. Easier to fix it yourself, now what does this screw do, oh heck that's the one that turns the beam upwards and blinds oncoming drivers, oh is that why so many blokes cars have a light pointing at the stars !

Edited by MikeTorque on 23/12/2011 at 22:50

Yes little hands do help although it's still a squeeze. My sister-in-law isn't mechanically minded so needed to ask for help, goodness knows how she managed to target a bloke who knew how to do the job, must be intuition.

I prefer to take out the Focus headlight unit although I can just reach the bulbs without needing to do that but my hands tend to get hacked in the process, it's easier for me to pop out the lamp unit and get full access to the bulb connectors.