rolex11

I have the standard halogen headlights on my 2007 E350. My instrument panel shows a warning, "low beam left headlight". Most likely it is the bulb. Called my SA and asked if my Mercedes factory ELW (extended limited warranty) covers headlight bulbs. He says no.

As we all know the MB ELW is an exclusionary warranty and it does not say anything about headlights being excluded. Doesn't even say anything about any bulbs being excluded.

Anybody have any experience here?

boardboy330

I just bought mine...it came with a warranty. I told the dealer the headlights were BARELY visible at night and they said all they would do is readjust them, which they did. I bought a set of Sylvania Ultras and installed them in under 10 minutes. HUGE difference. I noticed the coating on the filaments had come off - I think the bulbs were about shot.

I ordered DDM Tuning HIDs and will be installing them this weekend.

rolex11

Do you have the specific info (model #, type, etc.) for the Sylvania Ultras you installed? And any good posts you know of showing the installation process.

I know I could do it myself, but if was covered under the ELW I was gonna let them deal with it.

Appreciate the help.

boardboy330

I have no posts...the lights are like all other MBs I have owned so I just dug in and swapped them. The bulbs on my 2005 are H7's. Both high and low beam.

Turn the cover and remove, turn the bulb and pull. Squeeze the connector and pull off the bulb. Place the new bulb and holder against the plug and reconnect. Push bulb in and turn. Place cover against housing and turn. Done.

Barry45RPM

Bulbs, like tires, wipers, and brakes are considered normal use consumable items... meaning if you use them as they are intended, they will indeed wear out, and YOU must replace them because you used them up. Therefore, there is no replacement under the warranty, as they didn't fail, they were used out.

rolex11

Much appreciated. Think I'll do it myself then.

boardboy330

If you have big hands like myself...you'll need to find a gopher to put the driver's side in. I got it out easily - but putting it back in was difficult. Wife had to do it for me.

rolex11

Thanks for all the info. and tips.

Here's my experience installing new Sylvania SilverStar Ultra with the H7 SU/2 item number.

As mentioned the passenger side light is do-able but the access is tight. Once you unscrew the cap to get into the where the bulb is housed, unscrew the base, and pull the base with the bulb out of the headlight is when the first problem occurs.

The amount of wire, or lack there of, doesn't allow you to really pull it out to where it is more easily worked on. It only comes out just a bit and makes pulling the bulb out very difficult. And then there's putting in the new bulb. It would be simple if the wires allowed pulling it out further, but no, you have to work both hands in tight and push the bulb all without touching the bulb as not to damage it. But once the new bulb is pushed into the base, reinserting it into the headlight chamber and screwing it in back in, is tight and awkward, but do-able.

I'm 6'3", 235 pounds. Wouldn't say I have large hands and forearms, but not small. Doing the same on the drivers side it impossible for me. In fact, I came up with a temporary fix.

I'll say this first, it took me over 2 hours just to do the driver side headlight. I have 4 blisters, at least 10 significant cuts and several bruises. Contorting your hands and body to get in there is all but impossible. First, removing the protective cap is not so bad. But twisting the base out is nearly impossible. This is mostly due to the expansion tank for the coolant that blocks everything. So you say why not remove, or at least unscrew the anchors to the tank and schooch it over a bit. Well, take a look next time at it yourself and you'll see why, bottom line, doesn't seem possible. After an hour contorting and messing up your hands pretty good, it is by miracle and persistence that gets the bulb base to twist off.

Same problem applies with pulling the bulb out and getting it back in, however it in way more difficult on this side. Honestly, most people would give up, I almost did. But battered and bloody, literally, it is do-able. Smaller hands may help slightly, but not much.

The previous poster said he got his wife to screw the base back in. Well after I realized there was no way I could, I also asked my wife. She couldn't even come close. So here's what I did, and if you haven't replaced a bulb it may be hard to follow this. After giving up trying to screw it in properly I just pushed the base into the headlight chamber and let it sit there loose and unsecured. Then I doubled sided taped a 3 inch thick piece of foam to the back of the protective cap that screws on to enclose where the bulb is. This foam is just pushing the bulb into the socket with pressure and keeping the bulb from rattling around.

DONE. Not perfect, but it's a fix for now and I have the light working. Next time the Benz goes in for work I'll have them secure it the right way. Hopefully without charge which would defeat the purpose of doing it myself. They must have a special tool that screws these bulb bases into the headlight chamber. This tool must be bent in such a way as to give the the leverage and angle to twist it in. Either that. or they remove the headlight all together.

Took the time to write this up, just so those who give it a try, know what there getting into. Now let me go tend to my wounds.

boardboy330

You can remove the coolant tank by removing the one "screw" which is actually a plastic rivet. Remove that rivet and pull the coolant tank. You should have plenty of room. Did this yesterday when I was trying to install my HID kit.

rolex11

My coolant tank sits on a metal L shaped bracket which is welded on to the engine compartment. The tank sits on this and is secured by 2 bottom screws or push rivets. You can't even really see them let alone get to them. Then it has 1 smaller push rivet holding it on the top. Only the top push rivet is accessible. The other bottom 2 are complete hidden, actually under the L bracket.

From The looks of it, it appears these bottom 2 are meant to be broken then replaced when you need to remove the tank. And probably not a good idea unless you plan on emptying the coolant from it first. The hose and electrical wire attached to it seem to have enough slack in them to lift it up several inches without emptying coolant, but again the 2 bottom rivet/screws seem to need to be broken off. And I don't have replacements, so I would be left with a full tank of coolant and no way the reattach it.

Trust me, I wanted to remove it! I agree there is plenty of clearance it once it has been removed. I was ready to rip it out and throw it across my garage an hour into this project.

Also, it looks like you have a pre-facelift 2005, mine is 2007 facelift. Could be slightly different configurations.

I'm just hoping that this piece of foam I have in there pushing against the bulb housing doesn't catch fire from the heat of the bulb.