Hey a-holes, turn off the high beams

Have to do that with my car. Not a great design.

 

Used to be a law that you needed at most a screwdriver to replace a headlight. When I owned Chevys that wasn't a problem. That law got repealed at some point in the Aughts.

Right now I own a Toyota and the local shop is kind to just charge me $29.99 plus tax to replace one.

 

This very week I had a DRL bulb replaced for the cost of the part as a throw in with my oil change. And it is a bitch to get to as well.

 

I was able to change mine about a month or two ago, but it is a bitch to get to. If I had bigger hands, I'd have been fucked.

 

My car I can do if the light goes out. It’s a pain because they aren’t made to easily be replaced. My wife’s there’s something Toyotas did with Prius lights that make it impossible to replace correctly without special techniques. I hate it.

 

There's very little about modern cars that is designed so the shade tree mechanic can do their own repairs. My wife and I both got new 2024s this year. I recently gave away or sold most of the tools I'd use for changing oil because I seriously doubt I'll ever do it again myself.

 

A few years ago I refinished the the headlight lens on my wife’s Infiniti older SUV that the sun and road grime had yellowed. It took an hour or so and she never had to use high beams after that.
Although you would like to think it doesn’t happen, over time headlights become out of alignment and people use high beams to compensate instead of getting them realigned.

 

2000s Civics required turning the wheel at angle, popping the splash shield and trying to slip your hand in one inch of space to replace the bulb. The next generation only requires removing a cover from the upper air intake.

 

To change the headlight on my GMC Terrain, you need to turn the wheel inward, remove screws and clips to pry open the fender attached to the wheel well, and squeeze your hand to feel your way around and reach the bulb.

Easy for someone with Trump hands. Pain in the ass for the rest of us.

 

I have a 2010 Civic so this checks out. The guy this week was able to do it on his own. But last time I needed a headlight replaced (a main bulb that time) it took three of them close to 15 minutes to figure it out.

I could probably save $10-$15 on an oil change elsewhere, but finding an honest place that will go the extra mile pays off in ways that don’t immediately plug into a spreadsheet.

 

A shop wanted to replace my cabin air filter for about $200 as they noticed it was a little dirty. This is a change I’ve done myself in the past … filters cost about $20 in stores. I told them they were crazy quoting me for $200 with $175 in labor costs.

Response I got: “Well it’s pretty labor intensive to get to and remove the filter.”

My response: “And yet you did it for free in order to tell me it was dirty.”

His response: “ …. …. …. So you don’t want us to change it?”

Went to AutoZone the next day and had the filter replaced in 5 minutes.

Unfortunately, shops and their labor costs for simple tasks still target Suzie Single Mom who doesn’t have the time to make the fix or research the fix and just wants it done.

Plus all the fear tactics they use to get someone to replace that Johnson rod that’s falling off.