its official, ford hates Mondeo owners

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agnes said:
E91 angel rings, not so much, wheel off jobbie.
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Yeah was the same on my E90. I could do the passenger side angel eye bulb from the engine bay but the driver's side one involved having to take the wheel and wheel arch lining off.

Fortunately if these went while out and about it wouldn't really be a big problem. The most important ones are dipped beam bulbs which are pretty easy to change, just need to full lock the wheel to get access to a flap in the wheel arch lining. Pretty fiddly, but I still managed to change my bulb in under 5 minutes while at services in the dark. Wouldn't be doing that in a MK5 Mondeo that's for sure. Crazy procedure involved there. Will still consider one for my next car though :)
 
You can *just* about change the bulb via the wheel arch on a zed if you've got small hands, but otherwise it is a bumper off job :(

So stupid.
 
I'm willing to wager that most cars are like this these days. The first one I owned that you needed to remove the front end on was the BMW E65. Halo lights were a bumper off and headlights out job.
 
was the same in a mk6? fiesta. had to take the whole cluster out and bend the bumper slightly to get the clips out.
 
Same deal with HGV's, Scanias require the whole headlamp unit to be removed, it's held in place by 6 hex screws, Volvo not so bad so long as you have the hands of a child to access the release screws.

Needlessly difficult on something that should have easy access by design.

That said, health & safety deems it not suitable for HGV drivers to change bulbs themselves, we have to phone our fleet department, obtain a defect number and drive to the nearest dealer to have it replaced (roughly £30) alternatively get a call out which runs into hundreds!

Mad!

I tend to carry spares and ignore the above but run the risk of disiplinary action if things go wrong! :/
 
E46 have to take the airbox out for the passanger side bulbs. I have girly hands and still can't get my hands down there.
 
Burnsy2023 said:
I don't even need tools in my Volvo. Two metal pegs are all that keep the cluster in. Such an easy job.
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Which is how it should be! If your bulbs go on a long nights drive, I don't want to faff around trying to see half the road. I'd rather pull over in some service station and quickly replace it.

Crazy.
 
TheVoice said:
Renault are guilty of this too, pretty sure it was the Megane or Scenic a while back that required the front wheels off to change the bulbs.
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You need to have the hands of a 4 year old to get into the spot where you change the bulbs on my Clio. Thankfully they've only gone once. Otherwise the front has to come off :/
 
Uther said:
For the fog lights on my Sportage the manual just says 'take it to a dealer'...
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:D

I'm laughing because it's so ridiculous - but it's also funny!

Cars seem to be built now with a view that it has to be taken to a professional to do basic maintenance.
 
Freefaller said:
:D

I'm laughing because it's so ridiculous - but it's also funny!

Cars seem to be built now with a view that it has to be taken to a professional to do basic maintenance.
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They're designed to be built easily - maintenance is a (chargable) afterthought.
 
My Ibiza and wives fabia were a doddle. However my Leon has LED lights so not so much an issue, but there is plenty of space back there.
 
It is utterly ridiculous when you consider in how many countries it's mandatory to carry a spare bulb set. What use is that bulb set if you don't have the tools or internet access to read up on how to do it?

Manufacturers should be forced to make changing safety critical bulbs as easy as unding a clip and swapping the bulb, not having to have a full set of tools and a garage to do so. -.-
 
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