2007 xc low beam replace; are you kidding?

[ytwok6v70]

I was able to replace the passenger side low beam on my 06XC70 without removing the ECU cover.... was a PITA. Next time I absolutely would remove the ECU cover. I attempted to follow VVFL's instructions in this thread for replacing the driver's low beam bulb, but gave up in frustration. I tried 10mm, 9mm sockets trying to get the airbox off, searched high and low for a good video and came up empty.... until I found these two videos

The videos show clear headlamp bulb replacement procedures on an 08 s60, identical underhood to my 06xc70. I followed the instructions in the Driver's Side video exactly and had the airbox off in 5 minutes. The only difficulty I had on the driver's side was removing the bulb, twisted left but the large tab did NOT want to come out. Fiddled with it for probably an hour until I finally got it out. I did not have any difficulty when I removed the passenger low beam bulb. Putting everything back together took another five minutes.

Driver's side https://youtu.be/c2ZcowAW7ts and Passenger side https://youtu.be/_XBWSWtcsM8.

Hopefully these videos are as helpful for you as they were for me.

[imst0ked]

For anyone doing this yourself, be sure that the little red rubber grommet comes out with the old bulb. Otherwise you will have a real hard time getting the new bulb in. Ask me how I know. Lol.

[v70+xc70]

Took me 45 mins first time. What a PIA. After that I've started to use needle nose pliers to help with the spring that seats the bulb. Having double jointed small hands helps as well......

[Xfingers]

There's a short youtube vid that helped me with my passenger side lowbeam bulb replacement. I can try to dig it up if people can't find it.

Two important things for me:
1. My 2007 owner's manual was WRONG. I think it included instructions for changing the pre-facelift bulbs.
2. Stand/kneel down in front of the car and look through the lens when removing/replacing the bulb. You'll see the 3 metal tabs on the bulb holder that need to line up with the slots before twisting the bulb to lock/unlock it into place.

Before finding the video, I was preparing to take off the front bumper. This was unnecessary and the bulb replacement took about 5 minutes once I could see what I was doing.

[Reverend]

I found it easy enough to just pull the whole headlamp out and replace the lamps (don't bother polishing the plastic - it's never good enough). It gives you good access to wipe down and clean a bunch of **** behind the bumper too.

When I got the new headlamps for mine, I was glad to have all new bulbs in there and I put the LED city light and marker light in there (Zevo - not some no-name crap, as I'd likely have the same problem replacing them in the future).

Here's how the little latch locks the bulb down;



Here's why there's no point in polishing plastic lenses. Note how the left side in the picture is just a blob of light, whereas the right side is clearer and light doesn't diffuse through the lens (and yeah, so I clean/wash/wipe down the bumper and all parts behind the plastic too ).