How to Replace the Tesla Model S Halogen Headlight Bulb (Non-Tech Pkg)
I guess I've got one of the rare Model S cars that has no tech package. The headlight bulbs for these cars are the 9005 type (HB3 12V 65W). The only instructions I came across for replace the bulbs on the these cars was slim so here's my attempt to fill the void. I went ahead and tackled this with my typical "how hard can it be" mentality. I got the job done but my goodness, REALLY Tesla?!? I've got to replace a bulb through the wheel well? The maintenance ergonomics were not well thought out and I felt like crushing the little push-in fasteners at the end.
Tools/Items Used:
Instructions:
Additional picture of the headlight housing:
I guess I've got one of the rare Model S cars that has no tech package. The headlight bulbs for these cars are the 9005 type (HB3 12V 65W). The only instructions I came across for replace the bulbs on the these cars was slim so here's my attempt to fill the void. I went ahead and tackled this with my typical "how hard can it be" mentality. I got the job done but my goodness, REALLY Tesla?!? I've got to replace a bulb through the wheel well? The maintenance ergonomics were not well thought out and I felt like crushing the little push-in fasteners at the end.
Tools/Items Used:
- Sylvania XtraVision 9005 Halogen bulb (Appears comparable to the OEM Philips bulb that was in my car)
- 1.5mm Allen wrench
- 2.0mm flat head screwdriver
- Uncut fingernails, preferably the thumb :O
- Bucket-load of patience since this method doesn't involve taking the wheel off
Instructions:
- Raise the suspension to Very High
- Turn the tire all the way to the side of the headlight bulb your replacing. This will give you the most room to work with.
- Enable Jack mode in the suspension menu
- Open the frunk
- Take off the frunk trim piece closest to the fender, by unscrewing the bolt with a rubber head and lifting the trim piece out. See the images below for the red areas where there are clips secured by adhesive to the fender (another bad design choice) and other green locations where the trim tabs are slotted into to keep it from moving around
- Pop out all the push-in fasteners closest to the headlight in the wheel well and the one underneath the bumper. In my car there were 3 long fasteners and a bunch of small fasteners. I don't remember the number of small fasteners. This is the step where I had to use my fingernails, screwdriver, and Allen wrench to wiggle some of the fasteners out. These fasteners are great when new but once dirt gets in they are a pain to operate. See the image below for the location of the long fasteners.
- Bend back the wheel well cover to get access to the headlight. Slowly flex the bumper toward you as you bend the wheel well cover towards the wheel. There are areas where the wheel well cover can get snagged so slowly guide your hand around the wheel well as your bending the wheel well cover towards the wheel.
- Bend back the next protective covering. It's lighter than the wheel well cover and bends easily.
- Pull off the rubber seal for the headlight bulb
- Twist the existing bulb counter-clockwise to unlock it, pull it out, and unhook the wire it's attached to.
- Replace the bulb following the opposite of the previous step in the instructions. DO NOT TOUCH the bulb with your hands or get dirt on the bulb. Doing so will result in the bulb failing prematurely. Some wear gloves, I just carefully put the bulb in try to touch as little as possible. The approach that worked the best for me was to put the bulb in from the wheel well but to twist the bulb in I put my hand through the frunk area. The angling was better that way to get the bulb properly seated into the headlight housing. See the image below for how the headlight housing looks (up in the picture is up on the car)
- Turn on the headlights to make sure it works.
- Clean out the dirt in the fasteners and exercise their operation by opening them fully and closing them
- Replace all the wonderful fasteners, bolts, rubber seal, and trim. Enjoy!
Additional picture of the headlight housing:
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