How do you change the headlight bulb on a 2005 Honda CR-V?

Answer 1

Try http://hondatech.info/downloads/Auto for free downloads of Honda Service Manuals and Diagrams. Here are detailed instructions that work: In the 2005 Honda CRV there are four headlight bulbs (2 bright, 2 low-beam). The low-beam bulbs are located toward the outside of the vehicle, the high beams are toward the center of the vehicle. All four take the same Sylvania H1 bulb. On 02/24/2009 I bought one at a major auto-parts store for $5.99 + tax. The Honda dealer wants $17 for one bulb. Replacing a bulb: Make sure you are working on the bulb that is burned out. 1. Pull the electrical fitting straight back (toward the rear of the car) to remove it - very easy to do. 2. Remove the round rubber weather seal by pulling it straight back - a bit difficult to do. The seal has three rubber tabs on it. Instructions say to pull on the tabs to remove the weather seal. Pulling on a tab using my fingers does not work. I cannot pull it hard enough. So use an ordinary pair of pliers. But first take a small piece of paper towel and fold it so there are four layers of towel. Put the folded paper towel in the pliers so that the towel pads the jaws of the pliers. Then put the padded pliers on the rubber tab of the weather seal. That way the pliers are not pressing directly on the rubber tab. Without the paper towel pad it is likely that the pliers will tear the rubber tab. Using the pliers in the above way made it easy to pull the rubber weather seal off. 3. The bulb is located in a small holder and the holder is kept in place by a metal (wire) clip. Release the metal clip that holds the bulb holder in place. This is a bit tricky because you cannot see the clip very well. But doing it the follow way is easy. There is a little triangle-shaped piece on the end of the wire clip. Push that triangle toward the front of the car, then push it toward the outside (nearest fender) of the car. The clip releases easily when moved this way. The clip stays attached and just hangs down out of the way. 4. The headlamp bulb is mounted in a small holder that is made of a white ceramic material. That holder has two electric prongs that stick out towards the back of the car. Grip those prongs with your fingers and carefully pull the headlamp holder (with the headlamp in place) toward the back of the car. It comes straight back. Be careful to keep track of the position of the holder and the position of the bulb in the holder. There is a top and bottom to the headlamp and the holder, and you must NOT get it upside down when you put it back together. In other words, the new bulb must be put back together in the proper position, same as the old bulb. 5. Replace the old (burned out) bulb with the new bulb. When handling the new bulb, only touch its base. DO NOT touch the glass globe with your fingers because that gets oil on the globe and that will cause it to crack and burn up. If you do happen to touch the glass part of the bulb with your fingers, you must clean the oil off with denatured alcohol. It is a lot better to NOT make the mistake of touching the glass bulb. 6. After replacing the old bulb with the new one (in the bulb holder), insert the bulb holder back into the car and make sure it fits all the way in. Make sure that the bulb and holder have the same top-bottom orientation as was there when you removed it. 7. Replace the metal clip that holds the headlamp holder in place by doing the reverse of the motion that you used to undo the clip. 8. Replace the rubber weather seal by using your fingers to forcefully push it toward the front of the car. It just fits tight by friction and it must be pushed HARD to get it back into position. To verify that you have pushed it in far enough you can look at the weather seal position on another headlamp. 9. Reconnect the electrical fitting on the two headlamp metal plugs, and this completes the job. 10. By following the above instructions the job can be done in about twenty minutes. A pro who is totally familiar with the job can do it in about five minutes.