Headlight bulb replacement (low-beam and high-beam) on a 2010 FFH

[yky]

So, fellow 2010 FFH owners ... (note: 2010 FFH only as all other 2010 Fusion models have different-and-easier instructions)

 

I am curious ... if any of you have had a headlight bulb (low-beam or high-beam) burn out, have you EVER managed to change either the low-beam or high-beam bulb without bringing the car to the dealer?

 

I am asking because my front passenger low-beam bulb needs replacing ... and the only instructions given in the manual are to bring the car to the dealer.

 

I would really like to avoid paying $100 or more just to change four bulbs.

 

A Ford mechanic responded to a question concerning this on the following page:

http://www.justanswer.com/ford/2puf1-changing-headlight-bulbs-both-high-beam-low-beam.html

 

Unfortunately, the instructions he provided are as follows:

1) Remove the front bumper cover

2) Remove the headlight assembly

3) Only with the headlight assembly removed can the bulbs be replaced

 

On that page, the Ford mechanic linked to a couple of PDF documents detailing how to go about removing the front bumper cover and the headlight assembly. (I don't want to link to the documents directly because I am not too familiar with forum policy concerning hyperlinks, but the links are both on that page.)

 

It does not seem too bad, but I would just like to know if anybody has ever tried it, what their results were, and any pitfalls they encountered.

 

E.g. I already have one question: for the front bumper cover removal, do you need a vehicle hoist? Or is it enough if you drive the front wheels of the car up a couple of RhinoRamps and chock both rear wheels?

 

And a request for more elaboration on the following step: the front bumper cover removal PDF document says that "The rearward upper portion of the bumper cover must be pulled outward to unclip it from the bumper cover mounting bracket."

 

And as always, a bit of a rant as I'm sure everyone can relate to: WHY IS IT SO HARD JUST TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?

[Jason504]

I did mine last night I put HIDs in. For the drivers side take off the air filter thing. Passenger go in through the wheel well

[stempomj]

I'm about to put Silver-Lux Pro LED low beams in my 2010 Fusion - I'm now back to Jason 504's method after starting there on another page and then being told by an auto mechanic that it was all easier to remove the bumper and pull the assemblies and change out bulbs. I tried to find the correct method to remove the bumper. No luck thus far. Typically whenever I come up against this sort of debacle, I just work slowly and figure it out, taking photos along the way. I'm not even going to attempt this as it sure does not seem apparent in the least. As yky states, "why does this have to be so elfin' (my word) hard?

[Bill_in_WA]

I just replaced the low beams on my 2010 Fusion Hybrid. 

 

Passenger's side

There was no wheel well window, so I loosened the coolant reservoir on the passenger side and pushed it out of the way.  It was a little cramped to get two hands in there but it was doable.  A long flathead can help with the plug keeper flaps.  You just need to poke it down from above while you hold and tug with the other hand.

 

Driver's side

On the driver side, I removed just enough of the air intake ducting to twist it out of the way (2 hose clamps and one bolt), and removed the battery keeper so I could tilt the battery into the space vacated by the air duct. Just like the other side, it was a little cramped to get two hands in there but it was doable.  A long flathead can help with the plug keeper flaps.  You just need to poke it down from above while you hold and tug with the other hand.

 

Whole thing took about 15-20 minutes.  Just be careful putting things back in place, you don't want to touch the bulb with your fingers or scratch it putting it back in its hole.