Hi All
I have just tried to change the nearside headlight on my Z3. How on earth are you supposed to do this on the road (especially in France) - there is no room because of the air filter box .
I've had a look on the online repair manual and it makes removing the air filter box look very easy. I undid the nut but the box would not shift. Am I missing something? Any help gratefully received.
Thanks Guys
You also need to undo the large jubilee clip holding the MAF to the intake pipe and wiggle it out. Then the airbox should be free to just lift straight out. There is then an airduct cover over the rear of the headlight which unclips revealing the bulbs. Not straightforward but once you have done it it's easy to do again.
It's really just a matter of following your nose, so to speak - only a ten-minute job, even in France! The Germans also regard driving with one headlamp as a hanging offence, and quite rightly - there are so many lazy or inconsiderate drivers who just leave a dead headlamp for the next service, and let the rest of us wonder if they are a car or a motorcycle approaching us!
Remember to carry spare bulbs, too, which is compulsory in all civilised countries, as is a first-aid kit and a warning triangle.
If you think changing a headlamp bulb on a Z3 is a struggle, you should try doing this basic job on a Mk.4 VW Golf - or most other such modern cars.
True - it only requires about two dozen small torx-headed bolts and self-tappers to be removed, then the removal of the front apron and the offending headlamp unit, but time being money, VW dealers will charge about £100 to change a £10 headlamp bulb, or to change a 50p parking lamp bulb!
That's why you can always tell a practical owner of a Mk.4 Golf - by the scratches on his hands caused by trying to do the job without removing the front apron!
The non-practical owners, of course, just have to pay up, when they can get to a garage. What is the point of them carrying mandatory spare bulbs which the manufacturer has made it impossible for them to fit?
Even on the Z4 one has to remove a front wheel to get at the access panel on the back of the light unit.
How manufacturers ever get Type Approval for an idiotic arrangement like this is something to wonder about . . .
Thanks Aceman, mwpe and Mike, managed to do the job on Fri afternoon
As you say once you've done it once it will not be too bad next time. Still a bit of a struggle in the garage let alone at the side of the road.
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