The good, the bad, the ugly of changing headlight bulbs

As cars becomes more sophisticated, it seems like they are increasingly becoming more complicated. Remember the days when you could just go to your local auto parts store to pick up a new headlight bulb and then replace the burned-out bulb in about a minute in the parking lot? Well, that may still be true for some models, but for a growing number of vehicles, this simple repair has become so difficult – and often time-consuming – that Autoline Detroit felt the need to produce a how-to video just for design engineers.

In the video, Sean McElroy, an ASE-certified mechanic who spent more than 13 years as a technician, looks at the extraordinary time it takes to replace headlights on some of the worst offenders. In particular, he notes the Saturn Aura requires the entire front bumper to come off to access the headlight assembly – labor that may take over an hour and can cost up to $100 at a repair shop. Of course, the video also features examples of vehicles with simple headlight access. To learn more, watch the amusing and illuminating video below, and then sound off with your own bulb-changing horror stories in comments.