Newby to a 2006 M35 Headlight scenario

[AG-M35]

Hello,
This is a 2006 base M35 and it's time to change all the bulbs. On the outset, realized things have to come apart, so the air filter housing is off and front of the engine exposed. So far the DSide fog and high beam done. How do you get to the low beam socket?

The FAQ was looked over but nothing specifically addresses the 06' M. I'm getting the gist that the front bumper has to come off to replace the low beams bulb. Is this correct?

thx

[pedsemdoc]

I'm getting the gist that the front bumper has to come off to replace the low beams bulb. Is this correct?

No, you should be able to access the low beam bulb, through the wheel well liner - you might need to remove the wheels to make access to the liner a little easier, but you shouldn't have to remove the bumper.

However, if you need to to replace your entire headlight housing, the front bumper has to come off.

Craig

[kmiles]

To get to the low beam bulb, the side marker bulb and the fog light you have to remove the front wheel liner. There are something like 6 push pin connectors and 3 screws that have to be removed. Total time to remove the wheel, wheel liner, replace the bulbs and put it all back together takes about 30 minutes per side. The other front bulbs can be accessed through the hood, but as you've found out, you need to remove the air filter assembly on the drivers side and move the radiator overflow tank out of the way on the passenger side.

[AG-M35]

Thanks all for the comments... I got as far as the Pside high & low beams. Those little plastic fasteners definitely have a short life span. I don't think 20% of them were reusable The Pside fog light will have to wait until the next oil change as it's hiding behind the windshield washer fluid tank..

[kmiles]

You are right on the fasteners. I bought a bag of them on Amazon and I've gone through half of them already. The fog light on the passenger side is a little tougher, but you don't have to remove the windshield washer tank. It takes a little bit of twisting at the right angle, but you can remove and replace the bulb without moving the tank. I found it easiest to maneuver the new one into place by shining a light through the fog light lens and guiding it into place by looking through the lens.

[AG-M35]

Thx again.... I also noticed that both lenses of the low beams have a bit of haze on them. It's possible that the heat of the bulb has deposited some sort of residue on the rear of the lens. Can this can be cleaned off from the back side before the bulbs go in? I plan on lifting the car for an oil change probably in February and will undo everything again to install newer fasteners, etc. thx

[hoaapple]

You can change your fog light bulbs from the front by removing the front lower grill surrounding light and then 2 bolts holding the lamp assembly. Pull out the light assembly and replace bulb.

Much easier than going around back.