Roadster Headlight Removal

Mod Description

How to remove the headlights if one gets smashed

Mod Details

PremiumNo Difficulty Mod ID734 Creditevilution For Linkhttps://www.evilution.co.uk/mod/roadster-headlight-removal.htm Copy to Clipboard

Space is tight behind the Roadster lights so it makes sense to remove the units first.

Using a Torx25 screwdriver, remove the screws circled below.

Old Method

Pull the top of the panel towards you, it hinges at the bottom on two hidden tabs (circled green). The light surround actually clips in firmly to the body by hidden clips (circled blue). It takes a scary amount of force to get them off but they do come off.

Try and distribute your pulling to minimise the chance of breaking the covers. A little modification is outlined at the bottom of the page to reduce this.

With the surround lifted you can see the two clips that held it down.

New Method

For many years, people have been saying “once you get the light covers off, you can modify the tabs” but getting the light covers off for the first time can leave you with destruction. On all the forums and sites, the information just stated to pull the covers off and to do it carefully.

However, no matter how careful you are, you can end up with this…

I took a minute to look into it, there is a very easy way to remove the headlight cover that reduces the risk of breaking. Look to the side of the headlight housing just behind the full beam unit.

Is that a clip I see before me? Yes it is. Take a long screwdriver and push the tab out…

…and lift the headlight cover. One tab down and one to go. Unfortunately you can’t get to the other one* but as you have lifted the front of the cover it gives you more to grip, more control and it gives you better leverage. It’s usually the 1st tab getting stuck that causes the covers to break so pushing it in to release decreases the chance of the cover from breaking when the 2nd tab releases by about 95%.

*The Other One – Site reader David M suggests it is possible to get access to the lower tab. However it’s impossible to photograph and I don’t have a Roadster to check so it’s up to you to decipher this statement.

“Next to the lower long alignment screws of the lower headlamp there is a keyhole-shaped little hole. If you stick through a flat screwdriver then you can push the lower tab out. On the side without the washer bottle you can snake your arms past the horn and up and reach the hole quite comfortably. On the other side I think you can only reach it after taking off the wheel arch liner.”

So, it might be worth removing the arch liner in order to be able to reach the lower clip for the 1st time so you can remove the covers intact and modify the tabs so you don’t have to go through this ordeal again.

Once you have the cover off safely you should modify the clips as shown here.

Removing The Lower Light Housing

Using the Torx25 screwdriver, remove the five screws. The entire unit will now lift out.

Repeat on the otherside if necessary.

How Do I Stop My Light Covers From Breaking?

It’s very simple, you just need to cut the tabs down a bit, check here for that info.