Pretty ticked off right now.

I was replacing the daytime running light, and being gentle with it. When I turned the inner piece that holds the bulb itself, I heard some crackling sounds. I'm guessing the bulb was worn, and the jostling broke it altogether. The bulb came off the base and fell inside of the headlight. How do I get the bulb out of there?

Getting the metal base of the bulb out of the inner piece that holds it also cracked part of the inner piece off, but I think it's functional enough to still be used with a new bulb.

 

that sucks. taking the headlight assemblies apart is nontrivial afaik. usually there is some kind of heating process to release the glue holding the lens onto the rear of the housing, and then re-glueing to put everything back together.

i didn't manage to find anything right away, but you'll probably find the best information searching for posts/documentation about taking the housings apart to do an HID retrofit.

 

What about removing the assembly and turning it to get it out. Don't know if you could get a retractable claw in the light opening. Just throwing some ideas out there

 

Different car, but I've had the same thing happen. Like posted above. Ended up taking the headlight off of the car and getting the broken part to fall out of the opening.

 

Either bake the head light apart, there is a lot of write ups out there for doing so. Not very fun... or take it off the car and shake it to see if you can get it out!

 

Thanks for the advice. I did try a wire hangar with a loop on the end. Seemed like a fruitless endeavor.

I think my best option is to remove the headlight assembly and turn it sideways.

Youtube seems to show you must remove the bumper to get at the headlight. Is it possible to undo the bolts of the headlight and turn it without removing the bumper?

ex. @ 5:30: It doesnt look possible to remove the headlight without removing the bumper. And I'll probably need someone to help me. Ugh

 

^No. There's a tab (on each side) on the front bumper that slides into a bracket on the headlight (underneath). Just take the bumper off.

 

Taking the bumper off is pretty easy. The first time it will be on there a bit, but just take your time and remove all the bolts and it will come right off! Also lay down a towel or a blanket to set your bumper on to avoid adding any additional scratches!

 

Maybe try the same wire hanger but put some good duct tape on the end (sticky side out) and see if you can "stick" the bulb with it.

 

Not a bad tip.
Thankfully, Tires Plus helped me out. I needed to swap my winter and summer tires any ways, so I made an appointment today. I asked if they could look at it and give it a try. They've seen this happen before.
They used a blower with a hose to see if they could push the bulb into where it fits into the headlight assembly. They got it to stay in that area where the small arm thing spreads the light across the reflective surface. They then used a claw to grab the bulb and pull it out. They couldn't get it to come out at the perfect angle, so the fragile bulb (it fell out of the base with barely any force by me) shattered on it's way out of the hole. I can barely see a few minuscule pieces of glass inside the headlight assembly, but it doesnt bother me. They vacuumed the glass in the engine bay as best they could. I always wear protective eye glasses when I work under my car. I better keep in mind next time I change fluids to watch our for some small glass pieces that I'm sure will turn up.
Overall I'm satisfied and relieved I dont have to waste 2 hours of my precious free time fiddling around with it. Props to Tires Plus!

 

I was going to suggest duct taping some brake booster hose or other large vacuum line to the shop vac suction hose and using the hose/vacuum to pull it out since it should have been light enough without the base. Glad to see you have it sorted!

 

Coat hanger with gum at the end. It worked for me.

 

God speed