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Replacing Headlight Bulbs on a 2002 VW Jetta

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Changing the headlight bulbs in a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta—not a lot of fun, but it is doable. Below are some basic instructions from my car repair experience as a service to fellow Jetta owners.

The passenger side headlamp is pretty easy. You just pop up off the little cover, untwist the ring, pull out the bulb and pull out the chord. Sometimes the chord is a little tricky—thanks to a sneaky tab, but that’s it.

The driver side headlamp on the other side is a different story, thanks to Mr. Battery. The easy thing to do would be to remove the battery and get total access to your headlamp housing. But this is supposed to be a simple do-it-yourself job. Removing the battery is a bit more involved. No thanks. But doing it without removing the battery could use some instruction in order to do the job with a minimum of profanity.

First you have to remove the little cover with the universal symbol for hard to reach headlamp. Once that’s out of the way, it might be helpful to remove the battery cover. Not required, but it gives you a little extra wiggle room, and you’re going to need every millimeter.

Next you need to remove the cover over the headlamp housing. Just like on the other side there are two bars holding it in place that you need to pop off. Of course the battery is in the way, as is the plug for what looks like the turn signal. Unplugging the turn signal might help—just don’t use a screwdriver to pry it apart. Not a good idea.

Once you get the headlamp cover off you need to pull out the bulb. This is the tricky part. As soon as you stick your hand in there you’ll notice how little room you have thanks to the battery. I found that if you try it from the side coming up along the battery you have little more room. Small, girlish hands would be helpful.

Once you can get to the bulb, don’t just pull. It’s never that easy. There’s a little tab/clip thing on the plug that holds the bulb in place and most likely this won’t come free without a fight. I found it worked better to untwist the ring and pull out the entire bulb, plug and all still attached. Now you can work the bulb and plug up to where you actually have some room and you can work the little clip and get the bulb free.

To put in the new bulb I recommend putting the bulb in first, unplugged. Secure it in place with the ring, then snap the plug in. It should go much easier that way. When you have it all plugged in, just check the light to make sure it’s tight, and put the rest of the assorted covers and plugs back.

Piece of cake. My bulbs lasted about 55,000 and 65,000 miles (one went before the other), so hopefully this isn’t something you’ll need to do often.

What’s really fun, if you haven’t done it yet, is the rear lights.

90 thoughts on “Replacing Headlight Bulbs on a 2002 VW Jetta”

  1. Hi, I’m about to replace the headlight bulbs in my wife’s 1999 Jetta – only low beam burnt out. What can I do about eliminating the daytime running of the low beams? I don’t like it and that’s what caused the short life of the bulbs. Who ever came up with that idea has to be punched out. Or at least forced to replace them in all Jettas!

  3. Thank you Kevin for the tips on replacing the driver side headlight on a 2002 Jetta. My hands are like my feet (too big) and I had a hard time of it.

    The thing I could not get in place was the plastic retainer ring that holds the bulb/socket assembly in the hole. I got it in place but could not twist it or lock it in place. Maybe I was doing something wrong. Maybe it doesn’t twist. I don’t know

    I had to take it to the shop to get it done. ugh!

    I still am fuzzy on placing the retainer ring around the bulb socket and “pushing/twisting” it in place.

    Your other points of advice were much appreciated.

    How do you put that “plastic” retainer ring back any way.

    thanks,

    Tom

  4. Here is a couple of other tips.

    1. Even if you are only replacing the driver’s side take the passenger side appart. And look at it, it will help! The driver side is a mirror image except for the plastic cover that you have to remove the screws to remove.

    2. The cover has two phillips head screws you have to remove, not the hex/torx head screw holding the actualt headlamp lense in place.

    3. Once that is removed and use the screw driver to help remove the metal clips that are holding the second plastic cover on.

    4. On the top of the cover is a plastic pin. Place youe screw driver (preferably a flat head but you can probably do it with the phillips) next to the pin and push the cover off.

    5. Now if you look down in you will see the bulb and the round plastic retainer ring. One thing I have noticed on three of the VW’s I’ve done is the driver’s side is considerably hard to turn then the passenger side. (I’ll get to this in a minute) Use your screw driver to gently pry/rotate the ring counter clockwise. It only needs to move maybe a 1/4 inch.

    6. Before you pull the bulb out not the orientation of the wires going into the back of the bulb. I think it’s like yellow on top or something?

    7. Pull the bulb out lift the plastic lock remove the bulb from the wiring harness the plastic ring should slide off the bulb.

    8. Now look at the plastic ring. You should see three slots in those three slots you may notice a bit of extra plastic. This my friend is why it is so hard to turn. It appears the mold for these parts leaves a nice bit of flashing inside the ring. Take a small knife and grind it away until it’s nice and smooth.

    9. Now take your new bulb put it in the socket, the socket is keyed so you have to make sure you put the bulb in the correct way. This is why I said not the wire orientation. If you didn’t just look through the lense and rotate it until it lines up.

    10. You’ll pretty much have to do the ring by feel.slide it over the bulb. But a tiny bit of pressure on the ring and rotate it. You should feel it slip further back as the key’s line up. Now turn it clock wise about a 1/4″ or until it stops.

    11. Now put it all back together and wash up!

    Note one of the one’s I did was still difficult to get back in place even after removing the flashing from the retainer ring.

    Hope this helps!

  6. No idea, Nate. Sorry. This isn’t a VW answer site, just offering some insight from the one job I did myself.

  7. I would suggest having your girlfriend/wife do this. I just did my driver’s side front headlight all by myself and it was a snap thanks to the great instructions. And my hands are so small, I had no problems getting in there, took 5 minutes.

    This is a big surprise considering I hate everything else about my jetta, it is a 2002 and falling apart. I always hope I make it to work and home, I am afraid to drive it anywhere else! Will never buy another VW again, but at least the lighs are easy to change.

  8. I totally just replaced the driver’s side headlight on my own, thanks to these instructions!

    I’m not a mechanic, I’m just a mom of 2 trying to save money. I asked the dealer how much it would cost and he said $50 plus labor. So, I bought the bulb at the VW store and decided to try it myself, and it worked! It was not easy, and I was not able to get the upper spring back on…but that’s no big deal.

    Thanks for the instructions!

  9. Maybe someone can help. The Drivers side bulb on my 2002 Jetta went out, so I followed the directions above to replace it. Only problem is the light did not go on. I swapped the bulb to the other side and it worked fine. It appears I have a location problem. Is there a fuse box for the light bulbs on 2002 Jetta’s? If so where would it be?

    Thanks

    Tommy

  10. thanks for the tips/instructions – they were spot on. the manual says to take it to the dealer and the other sites i found said i had to remove the battery. nope.

    thanks a lot.

  11. I just replaced the driver’s side bulb. Mine is a 2000 Jetta TDI, but the headlamp assembly looks to be mostly the same.

    It was going to be impossible to get the headlamp cover out with the battery in place. So what I did was to just loosen the base nut holding the battery a bit and slide the battery to the left, leaving all the terminals in place. This gave me ample room to change the bulb with ease.

    $10 bulb from NAPA Auto and a 5 minute job.

  12. Thanks for the tips, Kevin. My 2002 Jetta made it to 80k miles before the first headlight bulb expired. And joy of joys, it was the driver’s side bulb. Your advice came in very handy, and I accomplished the job in about 15 minutes. On the downside, I scraped up my hands a bit in the process. But on the upside, I feel a sense of self-satisfaction and I saved myself dealership labor charges — and that makes it all worthwhile. :-)

  13. Thank you so much for the instructions. It took me longer than some people here (5 minutes? ha–more like 1.5 hours), but I finally got it done. Stupid big hands. You’re right in saying that taking out the battery cover would help, but I saw all the extra bolts and connections I would have to undo, so I thought better of it and kept it on.

  14. O mann..what fun I have install for myself. So, the passenger headlight went out yesterday..I might as well replace both bulbs to match. 2001 Jetta 1.8t
    And I agree with you on the rear lamps..tons of fun! I pretty much gave up on the 1st try then months later got tired of looking like hobo with a busted taillight and decided to replace for the 2nd try. Had to muscle it..and received some scraps on my fingers…fun fun

  16. Hi Kevin, where is the post? I can only see
    “Changing the headlight bulbs in a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta”.

    Thanks.

  17. Would this apply to a 2001 as well? I live in a pretty remote area and am not willing to travel to a VW shop or pay their insane prices.

    Thanks!

  18. It’s fixed now, Yang. Sorry about that.

    And Nicole, I have no idea. At one time I owned a 2002 Jetta and this is what worked for me. I imagine they’re similar, but not having owned a 2001, I don’t know.

  19. Thanks for this. Let me stress one thing from the article:

    [Paragraph 6, sentence 4] “I found that if you try it from the side coming up along the battery you have little more room.”

    I did this replacement three years ago and by the time I was done, neither of my hands had any skin left on them. But, by approaching from alongside the battery, I just now replaced it in about five minutes.

    Specifically, stand on the driver’s side of the car facing the battery. Place your right hand next to the headlamp, and drop your right arm down next to the battery; you’ll do all the work with your right hand.

    Approaching from the top is a mistake, as the angle is all wrong and there’s much less room to maneuver.

  20. First you have to remove the little cover with the universal symbol for hard to reach headlamp.

    Hah, yes, that turned out to be prophetic. Thanks for posting these instructions, they were very helpful. For people wondering whether this how-to applies to the 2001 model Jetta, the answer is Yes.

    I agree with the person who suggested working on the passenger-side light first. That one took me 5 minutes vs. the 20 or so for the driver’s side and would have been a better place to start.

  21. This site is very helpful… save me a lot of time and a couple of dollars… thanks.

  22. I have yet to figure it out… All I know is that the skin on my left hand is sheared off… =/ I have trouble pulling the bulb out and don’t want to use brute force. The problem is with rotating it before pulling it… ugh.

  23. Following these steps I was able change the drivers sider headlamp in 10 minutes. One useful additional tip I discovered was that if you wear a thin rubber dish washing glove it makes it a snap to grab the bulb assembly and complete the quarter turn to remove it.

  25. Can someone tell me what kind of bulb (model number so I can get it from the store and attempt this myself) that I would need for the driver’s side headlight – not the turn signal, the main headlight.

    Thanks in advance, wish me luck!

  27. Rohit… I just bought a pair of the best lights Sylvania makes from Autozone for $50. Part number 9007SU.

    Will try these instructions in about an hour… wish me luck! (Thanks Kevin!!)

  28. @Rohit It’s a Sylvania 9007 lamp.

    I replaced the passenger’s side lamp about two months ago and the driver’s side just went out. This was at 86k miles. You might want to consider changing both lamps at once while you have the technique down.

    I relented on the driver’s side and pulled the battery. It added another five minutes to the process but probably saved the skin on my hands. I bloodied my knuckles doing the passenger’s side and the other side really is a lot tighter. Without the battery it’s a breeze. I took the opportunity to clean the terminals, probably not a bad idea anyway.

  29. This may seem stupid, but I got stuck on what exactly ‘just pop up off the little cover’ meant. I actually tried to remove the two allen-like screws up top, that say to read the owner’s manual first and something like ‘D1,2%’. If you’re a moron like me, the cover to remove is on the other side, under the hood – sort of a kidney-shaped black plastic cover. There are two metal brackets holding it in place, just push them to the side and remove the cover.

  30. I just wanted to add another thank you. I took your advice after reading this posting, and changed the driver’s side bulb on my girlfriends’ 2002 Jetta in a matter of 20 minutes. Then it took about 5 minutes to do the passenger side light. I went in from the side and it took some messing with to try to get the bulb out of where it rests inside the headlamp, but it eventually came out.
    The only tool we needed was the Phillips head screwdriver to remove an outer casing.

    I do agree having smaller hands is a blessing when it comes to this task!!

    Thank you so much for the advice it was greatly appreciated.
    John B,
    Lansdale, PA.

  31. Hey there… I just attempted it and I did it the first time thanks to your blog. I am a chick and I could even do it… and yes, your right… a womans hand is almost the only one that could fit in there.

  32. i just changed my headlight on the 2002 jetta and i think it is a good idea to remember that all the covers to be removed are on the back side of the headlights inside the engine compartment area and not on the outside or front cover headlights.

  33. Kevin and all posters….

    Thanks so much for taking the time to post this. I was ready to take it to the dealership but instead spent 10 bucks and 5 minutes doing it myself.

    Merci Kevin!

  34. On changing bulbs for A4 Jettas- I have done it a few times now, and it gets a little easier each time. If you are very, very careful, a long bladed screwdriver can be used to lever on or off stubborn or stiff cover retainer wires. Though I haven’t tried it, it is also conceivable to undo the top 2 screws that hold the driver’s lamp housing, and GINGERLY tip the lamp forward a few degrees- not on cold days! The plastic can be brittle and break the lower two concealed attachments. This could, however give you a little extra room to work. You may have to wedge a rag to hold it there.
    The easiest thing is to remove the battery. Removing the battery is not hard, as long as you undo the black (ground, or negative (-)) FIRST! THEN do the Red (+), using a 10mm socket for both. The battery is held at the bottom by a 13mm bolt, and is at the bottom front- so you will need a 6-8″ socket extension with a tight fit, so you don’t lose it in the engine compartment.
    You do not need to remove that bolt- just loosen it enough to remove the battery. My battery had two handles on top (Interstate)- but you can use a battery carry strap, or just lift it out by hand. Be careful with it- I once punctured the bottom of the battery by setting it on a bolt and had acid everywhere. You would be amazed how thin blue jeans can get after that! Even worse would be getting any of that on your skin. It will burn you real bad.
    The front turns are done in mush the same manner, but not as much holding them there- just a twist-lock flange.
    As for rear bulbs- They are concealed by a cover in the trunk area- a couple of turn buttons hold the covers on, and the lamp board has plastic claws that hold it- just push the aside, and wrestle the lamp board out of the hole without breaking the board (they are pretty tough)- once out, turn the key and lights on, and twist out the bad and twist in the new- the parts store will sell you the bulbs you need for your model and year.
    I have problems with keeping the running lamps on both my TDI and GLS- something to do with bulb quality or power at the lamp board??

  36. Hi,
    Thanks for the help–I think this is the second time for me using your site–passenger side the first time, driver’s side this time. Took 1+ hours to complete on the driver’s side mainly because I had trouble seating the bulb so the ring would lock. Took off the battery cover and moved the cable out of the way. First part was pretty smooth–I went slowly and carefully. Getting the bulb back in took more than half the time in the end–I had to plug it in to get enough leverage to hold it in place to twist the ring. I tried it both ways a few times–funny enough the original bulb seated so much easier than the replacement. Dealer was going to charge $30. I’ve changed the taillights a few times and have found them far easier.

    Thanks for your help!

  37. Hey. Thanks a bunch. Didn’t realize it would be such a big hassle until I read your instructions on how to change the bulb. Actually it only took about 30min. maybe.
    Thank You so much again. Mine was a 2001 Jetta. Seemed to work great!

  39. Thanks for the step by step instruction. I have 2 things going for me I am female with small hands and I am an electrician but I still found it frustrating to get into that small space. Only a few scrapes.
    2002 Jetta TDI.

  40. Thanks – actually did followed same instructions for a 2005 Jetta in -16oC weather. Waited for it to warm up a bit. The part that confused me was the little screw ring. I didnt realize that was a separate piece, was trying to turn the “D” part without success. The little over-ring turned easily – clockwise, btw, to the outside of the car – and the rest was easy. Small hands, few scrapes, few small bonus pieces of plastic clip snapped off in cold, but it’s done. Thanks.

  41. For a 2002 Jetta: Save yourself a lot of time and pain. MOVE THE BATTERY. Take off the light cover as described above (two phillips screws). Take off the plastic battery cover; it snaps in. In the front of the battery, at the bottom center is a metal plate that holds the battery down. You’ll need about an 8 inch extension on a socket wrench to loosen the bolt. Loosen the fabric cover around the battery so you can see and get to the bolt (sliding it up works), then take out the bolt and the metal plate. Careful: they are easy to drop, but also easy to find if you do. DO NOT LOOSEN ANY ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS ON THE BATTERY. Once the hold-down plate is off, slide the battery as far as you can toward the passenger side of the car; it will move maybe 5 or 6 inches, but that’s all you need. Once you move the battery, unplug the connector from the bulb; it just pulls off. After that is off, there is a black plastic collar that holds the buld in against the housing. There are no latches; just turn that collar counter-clockwise (Left) as you are facing the front of the car, maybe a half inch, until it comes loose. That collar holds the bulb in place; there are no spring detents that hold the bulb in place like other cars (this IS a Jetta) so just pull the bad bulb out, slide a new bulb in without touching the glass business end of the new bulb (remember, it just sits in the fixture), replace the collar and twist it clockwise (right, facing the front of the car) back in place, plug the connector back in, move the battery back, replace the hold-down plate, etc., etc., etc., reversing the process back to the point of having it all together. If you do it this way, it’ll take maybe 15 minutes, save you a trip to the dealer and probably 50 bucks or more in the process. THE TRICK IS MOVING THE BATTERY, WHICH IS NOT HARD IF YOU HAVE A SOCKET WRENCH AND 8 INCH EXTENSION.

  42. Tim – um…to remove the ring – “counter-clockwise (left) as you are facing the front of the car”?

    So, are you standing in front of the front bumper and when you lean forward just a touch you are looking straight down at the top of the headlight housing and the top of the ring, and then turn that topmost part of the ring to the inside of the car rather than to the outside fender of the car?

    That would be turning it counter-clockwise if you imagine squatting down in front of the headlamp and “seeing through to the ring”. If you were standing on the side of the car, facing the front, looking at the ring from the back of the headlight housing, you would be turning it clockwise (to remove)?

  43. Well I just did this about 5 minutes ago, and everything worked a treat. I agree about the driver side though – took about 10 minutes to do this mostly due to the difficulty in getting the outer cover off and on, but the retaining ring and bulb itself went in fairly easy. I found the trick was to get all the components lined up outside first – just to get the idea in ones head – so that the thee bayonet lugs were roughly correct the first time. That way it can almost be done with one had and there’s more wiggle room! The passenger side is easy, took 2 minutes.

  44. Thank you SO MUCH. This was a SNAP after reading through this page. The video posted above (January 24) is also a big help. I ended up using the advice someone else posted and wore rubber gloves – that seemed to make it easier to grab & twist the ring, and it also protected my hands from getting all scraped up. I replaced both headlights in about 20 mintues. Overall cost, $21 + tax. WooHoo!

  45. Thank you for the advice. Ordered the part off Ebay for $6 plus S&H and installed the bulb in about ten minutes. If we all helped each other out like this, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in today!

  46. Can someone PLEASE help me!! I think I must be doing something wrong. I am trying to replace the front passenger side turn signal bulb in my 2000 VW Jetta. I see the little black box and I know from reading I have to depress the plastic tab on the top and then pry off the cover. The problem is, it won’t come off!!! I am pressing as hard as I can on the tab (I don’t want to break it) and it doesn’t seem to be giving much. I am also using a long handled screwdriver to try to pry the back off while at the same time depressing the tab. I have tried and tried and I just don’t see how I am gonig to be able to depress the tab at the top enough? I like to think I am a fairly smart person and I’m no weakling but I am SO frustrated at not being able to get the back off the box!! HELP!

  47. Thanks for the info! After having 4 guys shake their heads and say “it can only be done by a dealer cuz you gotta take out the battery and get a security code for your radio”, I was able to use your directions and replace the lamp myself in less than 15 minutes.

    You ROCK!

  48. Thanks. I am not an extremely patient person but with your help I successfully changed the bulb in 10-15 minutes.

  49. Wow! I tried to get it at work but i could see it was to tedious and saved it for later, and im hand inclined, but i probably wouldve ended up snapping something if i hadnt of read this. This was great encouragement that saved me time. You were right, I was trying to turn the holder back on and i couldnt get it until a couple of curses was forced out of me and all of a sudden it slipped on and turned, walla! got my light back.

  50. I just replaced my jetta 2001 driver side headlite. The instructions were really helpful. Got it done less than 20 mins. It helped having plenty of sunlite while doing the task.

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