First off, let me start by writing, that i am sorry. A few good pictures are missing and i do not know what happen to them, so this might not be the _complete_ guide i hoped for, but at least it will get you very far.

 

Everything you see was performed by a professional aka not me. Removing the front bumper is essential to removing the headlights to install HID/Xenon or LED lights. This is the sole reason this was done.

 

I don't know the dimensions of the Torx screws, but they should be standard as with many other cars.

 

The car:

 

 

First off, removing screws underneath the car:

 

 

 

 

Few extra pictures:

 

 

 

Then removing the screws under the bonnet:

 

 

After that removing all screws in the wheel arch:

 

 

 

 

Removing the plastic cover marked as blue will give some access to the bulbs and make it a bit easier to change them.

 

 

After removing all the screws in the wheel arch on both sides it should be easy to loosen it and gain access to the screws holding the front bumper.

 

 

There are two on each side and my mechanic spend a lot of time getting to the one in the back. There's no space and it requires very small hands. I've marked their approximate location as seen from the outside. 

 

 

Now the front bumper can be removed. You might need to use a little force.

 

Only 3 screws hold the headlight in place:

 

 

 

 

Remember to disconnect the wires to the headlight. 

Edited 9 April, 20188 yr by Cown

Do you know if you have to remove the front bumper to get the grill out?

Lower grill ( below the number plate ) No.

 

Thanks, AG Falco

1 hour ago, AGFalco said:

Lower grill ( below the number plate ) No.

 

Thanks, AG Falco

I want to swap out the upper grill on a pre-facelift but want an idea about how to do it before I embark on taking it apart 

You undo the four Torx 25 bolts under the leading edge of the bonnet.

If you pull the grill forward you can see some of the barbed tongues that hold the grill in place all around the edge.

 

I don't know if you can get to all of them without removing the bumper first.

I found a small car trim removal tool useful to release the barbed tongues from the front of the bumper can work.

 

Thanks, AG Falco

 

some pics of those 2 screws you mentioned above holding the bump.

 

I found the best way to access them is to remove the 3 screws holding the headlight in place which will allow you to wiggle the headlight exposing those 2 screws. I found best way to loosen them is via a mix of from behind the wheel arch or from up above wiggling the headlight out the way.

 

For the passenger side, to use the above method you will need to move the battery AND battery tray, this will allow you to wiggle the headlight out the way to access those 2 screws

Hi, sorry if this is a noob question, but do you need to remove the entire bumper to remove headlight unit? or can it be done jist by undoing the 3 bolts/torx screws? 

On 12/08/2021 at 10:18, Jay6887 said:

Hi, sorry if this is a noob question, but do you need to remove the entire bumper to remove headlight unit? or can it be done jist by undoing the 3 bolts/torx screws? 

Bump, does somebody know?

On 19/09/2021 at 17:58, yankarinRG said:

Bump, does somebody know?

Found this thread looking for how to remove the headlight unit.

Look at the photos in the OP, in particular the 2 underneath "Only 3 screws hold the headlight in place:". As far as I can tell there are 2 screws that can be accessed from the top, but the one on the side is hidden by the upper/front grille:

Access via the grille slots to that hidden screw on left is blocked by a plastic piece that seems to be there exactly for that purpose.

I suppose one could make a hole to render that screw accessible but even for that you'll probably want to remove the grille in order to make that hole not larger than required.

The grille does have a couple of squarish holes though that just might be designed to access those hidden screws:

but it will be quite tricky not dropping them when you pull them out or try to reinstall them.

Maybe the front grille can be tilted forward sufficiently when you undo the four bolts labelled in the above picture?

All that without knowing if there is enough room to take the unit out with bumber and/or grille in place!!

IMHO this sort of design should be outlawed. I don't know about the UK, but here on the mainland we're required to carry replacement bulbs which also implies that you should be able to install them under reasonable climate conditions rather than have to hope you can get the work done without having to take an appointment in an over-booked dealership!

Edited 22 December, 202522 Dec by RJVB