Hi Guys, I was wondering if anyone knows how to remove the offside headlight? A7 3.0tdi Black edition. Have looked at the manual which gives only sketchy instructions at best and only for the nearside. Have slackened all the bolts and the headlight is loose and ready to remove but it is trapped behind the upper part of the bumper assembly. I've tried for 40 mins to find a way past this obstruction with no joy. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Don't take this as an absolute on your car but, there are quite a few newer cars (of all makes and models) that requires removal, or at least partial removal of the front fascia (bumper cover). Most can be removed within 5-10 minutes as they aren't normally attached with all that many fasteners.

Why they build cars (and trucks for that matter) with the headlight behind the bumper cover is a mystery. I always thought any exterior light bulb should be able to be changed "on the road". Not so anymore

 

Hi nigedvd, 3 years late, here's how you do it.. The lamp assembly is held in place by 5 bolts, not the 3 that it says in the handbook, there's also a U shaped piece of plastic you need to lift up (that's show in the handbook).

Unfortunately it doesn't end there, you also have to loosen the front bumper, there are 5 screws in the wheel arch, at least 4 underneath the car and one other to the inside edge of the lamp assembly (having removed the black plastic radiator cover first), you don't need to take the whole bumper off.

Now remove the electrical connector and the water drain pipe to remove the unit, you'll need to wiggle the lamp and bumper to do this.

Note - its absolutely essential to remove the whole unit, I tried just removing the rubber cover (to replace the H7 cornering bulb) but its just impossible to replace the bulb whilst still in the car.

Hope this helps, best wishes, David from France
(A7 313HP Asus Diesel)