I have replaced the headlight bulbs several times over the last 2 years on my stepdaughters 09 Malibu. In GMs infinite wisdom, they designed the car so that routine maintenance (headlight/turn signal/etc) requires removing the bumper cover. Total pain in the ***!!!

I replaced the burned out drivers side bulb probably 18 months ago. Once I determined the bumper cover had to come off, I decided to replace every bulb in the front, I figure with my luck just changing the burned out bulb would bite me when the other side failed. Well, guess what happened a few months later? Yep, pass burned out. She just called to tell me the drivers side is out AGAIN!!!


This is really pissing me off. Why does this car go thru bulbs???? I have had my Ram 15 years, replaced fewer bulbs in that time than this Malibu!!!


Ideas???

 

I think nature of the beast is part of the problem, but see what alternator output is. If it's in 15v range that will burn up bulbs quickly.

 

Also, be sure you DO NOT touch the glass on the bulb when installing. The oils on your skin can make the newer halogen and xenon bulbs fail prematurely so be careful to only handle by the plastic plug. Another thing to check is that no moisture is getting into the housing. This can happen if the joint between the lens and the back (reflector) fails.

 

It is best to wipe the bulb down with an alcohol wipe after you insert it into the socket. As has been said, the oils from your fingers will cause premature failure.

 

I don’t know if the drivers information center will tell charging system voltage. Even if it does, who knows how accurate it really is?

The problem is she lives 2 hours away. The first time I replaced the bulbs I installed the brighter Sylvania bulbs. The second time, I used the standard bulbs. I don’t know what I’ll use this time.

I don’t touch the glass part of the bulb, and if I do, I wipe them down with a paper towel and brake clean. The headlight housings don’t leak, the electrical connections are clean, this really is starting to chap my ***!!! The first time I changed the bulbs, it was cold. I was sweating bullets pulling all those stupid clips and bumper cover snaps. I figured the cold plastic would crack.

I’ll say it again, changing bulbs or other routine maintenance shouldn’t require more than a screwdriver or maybe a pair of pliers. Eventually, every bulb burns out, common sense would be to make that repair simple and quick for anyone to do. Seems to me GM could have designed a cheap access panel to allow bulb replacement. I usually am one of the first to step up and defend engineers, there is no defending this stupidity, it is inexcusable.

 

I had a el Camino that kept burning out bulbs, replaced the headlight switch and the problem stopped.
just a suggestion

 

Un f&*()'n real that is just wrong for someone to think it is ok to let a vehicle out the door with that process as ok. What a PITA

 

1. Aftermarket bulbs are pretty-much all cheap Chinese crap. I won't promise that genuine OEM bulbs are any better--but they might be.

2. As said, verify voltage AT THE BULBS, with the bulbs LIT. And check the ground side, too. Too much voltage is obviously bad. Too little voltage is deceptively bad. Either one is hard on the bulbs.

3. Bulbs that don't have reinforced filaments are killed by vibration. Sometimes motorcycles have "heavy duty" "high-vibration resistant" bulbs. DRIVE THE CAR, make sure she doesn't have a wheel or driveshaft out-of-balance.

 

Pull the relay for the daytime running lights. Apparently it runs the main beams at 30% power and they don't like that for the long term.

 

My stepdaughter wasnt in town long enough for me to mess with her headlights. I did send her home with my scan tool to monitor charging system voltage. She reported back that it’s pretty steady around 14.4 volts, right where I would expect it to be.

The only brand bulbs I can find are Sylvania brand. I wanted to try a different manufacturer, I guess I don’t have much choice.