Headlight bulb — replacement

Warning: Halogen gas filled bulbs are under pressure and may shatter if the surface is scratched or the bulb is dropped. Wear eye protection and handle the bulbs carefully, grasping only the base whenever possible. Do not touch the surface of the bulb with your fingers because the oil from your skin could cause it to overheat and fail prematurely. If you do touch the bulb surface, clean it with rubbing alcohol.

Halogen headlights

Note: The inner headlight bulbs are the high-beam bulbs and the outer bulbs are the low-beam bulbs.

1. Reach behind the headlight assembly, depress the release tab and disconnect the electrical connector from the headlight bulb socket.

2. Turn the bulb socket counterclockwise and pull it out of the headlight housing (see illustration). Caution: Don’t touch the bulb with your fingers. If you do, clean it with rubbing alcohol (the oil from your skin can cause the bulb to overheat and fail).

16.2 Rotate the headlight bulb (s) counterclockwise to remove the bulb from the housing

A Low beam bulb
B High beam bulb

Toyota Camry Chassis electrical system | Headlight bulb - replacement

3. When installing the bulb, make sure that the three lugs on the mounting base of the bulb socket are aligned with their corresponding cutouts in the headlight housing, then insert the bulb socket into the housing and turn it clockwise until it stops. Installation is otherwise the reverse of removal.

Xenon (HID) headlights

Warning: Some models use High Intensity Discharge (HID) bulbs instead of conventional halogen bulbs. According to the manufacturer, the high voltages produced by this system can be fatal in the event of shock. Also, the voltage can remain in the circuit even after the headlight switch has been turned to OFF and the ignition key has been removed. Therefore, for your safety, we don’t recommend that you try to replace one of these bulbs yourself Instead, have this service performed by a dealer service department or other qualified repair shop.

Warning: Never attempt to check for voltage at the bulb socket of an HID headlight.

  • Pages

    open all | close all