EASIEST WAY TO CHANGE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT BULB ON MAZDA 6 GH 2008-2012
Recently my low beam bulb on my Mazda 6, 2009 burned out. Before I started the procedure for changing the bulb, I looked on the Internet what exactly the replacement procedure is. I had heard that this particular Mazda model is famous for its complicated bulb replacement, but what I saw on the internet shocked me. That’s why I’m writing this post – because I found the easiest option to replace the low beam of the Mazda 6 and I hope this will help other owners of this model.
Just to clarify – this is a Mazda 6 without xenon. The xenon headlight models have different bulbs and the way it is replaced is also a bit different. I do not guarantee that the procedure below will apply to xenon headlights.
In most cases, people replaced the low beam bulb by removing half of the fender cover, others removed the cover under the front bumper. Not to mention that there were options for removing the entire fender of the Mazda. In most cases, it was the low beam bulb on the left side (driver’s side). As this side is more problematic because access to the bulb is limited by the air filter and fuse panel.
On the other side, the Mazda 6 has a little more space and there is no problem with access. After I bought the bulb (which is model H11), I went to the car to start removing the fender cover, because until then I knew that this was the only way. I opened the bonet and saw that the area around the left headlight was indeed quite crowded, but I still decided to look at the exact location of the low beam bulb itself. Using a flashlight I could see the bulb and I decided to try to change it from the top without removing the fender cover.
To my surprise, I did it within 1 minute. I personally decided to open the lid of the air filter and move it slightly to have a little more space to unscrew and remove the bulb. The lid of the air filter itself is held in place by 4 metal brackets, which are very easy to unclip. After you move it aside, there is enough space for work. If the space still looks small, you can open and remove the fuse box cover, which is also easy to unclip. This will give you even more freedom of movement. After this procedure, the low beam bulb is now very clearly visible and can be unscrewed from the headlight with minimal effort.
Hold the bulb by the base and turn it 30 degrees counterclockwise looking from the back of the headlight.
Then put the new bulb, which is automatically clipped to the connector, insert the bulb into the headlight and turn it 30 degrees clockwise. Again, due to the low visibility, you will be working only by feel, but once you have removed it once, the replacement is much easier.
And to show you exactly how easy it is, I made a video where I take out the bulb in exactly 15 seconds, even without removing the covers of the air filter and the fuse box.