97 Civic - Replace Turn lsignal bulb

Yes, or at least you should be, specifically, the number of things blocking access from behind.

Let me tell you a story about turn signal replacement on a Civic (I have a 98). It seems that in Honda's infinite wisdom, they made changing the front turn signal bulbs as difficult as possible. Even more so than trying to get at the oil filter.

Oh sure, it sounds easy at first but when you actually go to do it, you find you're up a creek. Here is what you are SUPPOSED to do (from memory):

If you're replacing your passenger side bulb, turn your front wheels so they are pointing all the way to the left. If the driver side, do the opposite.

Get a flat-edge screwdriver and look for the plug that attaches the wheelwell cover to the car. Insert your screwdriver into the slot between the small part of the plug and the base and pull straight out.

If you do things correctly, you should now have what looks like one of those pop-up timers in a turkey which tells you when things are (supposedly) done. If you do things wrong, the top of the plug comes out and you're now screwed.

If you are so lucky to get the plug to pull out, you should now be able to pull back the wheelwell cover far enough to get access to the turn signal bulb. Like all the other bulbs, it has that locking mechanism you need to undo first.

Remove your old bulb, insert your new one then reverse everything above and you're good to go.

For the record, my plug top broke off and I had to spend ~$40 to have a $3 bulb replaced. Took it to a local place which only deals in Hondas and the guy told me afterwards that over time these plugs get filled with dirt and are very difficult to remove.

Good luck.

KAS

I did the following steps last weekend to replace the front passenger side turn signal bulb in my daughter's 97 Civic EX:

1. raise the hood and secure it
2. stare at the headlight assembly looking at the turn signal bulb with it's tail extending into the area between the outside fender and inside fender whilest saying, "I cant believe it is this tough"
3. remove the top three screws holding the headlight assembly in place, assembly will not move yet
4. discover another screw on the right side of assembly, remove it by sticking arm up air slot in front fender, assembly now moves a little bit
5. turn front tires to the left
6. remove all screws and pushdowns on front bumper cover left side
7. discover and remove another screw holding headlight assembly above tire, assembly will now pull out with great difficulty
8. remove bulb from assembly and replace with new bulb
9. reverse steps for reassembly

This took 3 hours to figure out plus the trip to O'Reilly for the bulb.

Lynn

LOL! Glad I'm not the only one who has had the fun.

When my dad and I first looked at replacing it, we both thought that going through the headlight assembly made sense. I stopped undoing more screws after the first two didn't have any effect on the headlight assembly at which point I pulled out the manual and attempted it myself.

When I take my car >> Let me tell you a story about turn signal replacement on a Civic (I

. . . . .

It would only take me 30 minutes to replace the other bulb now that I know the procedure ... and I did buy 2 bulbs just in case.

Lynn