Hi all,

Have been trying to change bulbs in my fiesta mk8 vignale to whiter bulbs. Main beam was easy to change, but the dipped in the projectors is a nightmare.

Followed the vague instructions in the manual for removing the headlight unit and could not get them out.

Having given up till another day, when ***** the front mount back on, I noticed that it had broke (must have leant on it at some point...), so it is only the rear screw mount and then plastic clip holding the headlight at the front (and the foil tape that I put on)

Am I right in guessing I'll need a new headlight?

Thanks in advance

Broken plastic I reckon it is a new light fitting.

hmmm, thought as much :(

guess it's not fixable, and probably expensive then.

Maybe some epoxy or even still and pin a metal brace across the break??

What problem is it causing and is it an issue presuming the unit is still held in place?

The broken part is the piece of plastic at the front of the unit that attaches the unit to a solid part of the engine bay.

Currently it is only held in place at the front, by a push stud that fits in a rather flexible part of the car. There is a screw at the other end of the unit that is fine.

However the whole headlight does move slightly, whereas the other headlight doesn't move.

If it can't be drilled and braced or glued then it will probably be a new unit.

I'm going to have a go at gluing it when I next get a day off, as where it has broken it doesn't look like there will be room to drill.

Thanks for the advice :)

Depending on the size of the plastic I would prob try to metal stitch it

Basically using a soldering iron heat up some fuse wire on the plastic and melt it into the plastic and stitch the 2 broken parts together

Then reinforce with glue

Recently tried this trick on a shower part that had broke, rock solid since

Plastic welding is the way to go with this sort of stuff. Done a fair few now and all lasted as far as I am aware, you just have to make sure the plastic is a similar type as it won't bond otherwise. If you wanted to really bodge it then you can melt some excess plastic elsewhere on the bracket and put it where the break is.

2 minutes ago, Luke4efc said:

Plastic welding is the way to go with this sort of stuff. Done a fair few now and all lasted as far as I am aware, you just have to make sure the plastic is a similar type as it won't bond otherwise. If you wanted to really bodge it then you can melt some excess plastic elsewhere on the bracket and put it where the break is.

Saying that I remember I did the same thing above, metal stitch and melted some plastic on it, didn't use glue in the end lol

Cheers for the suggestions, will give plastic welding a try.

Will do a test run with some other bits of plastic so I can get an idea of the best way to do it.

I also have the Fiesta Vignale MkVIII and I went to check mine. I've got the same problem. My passenger headlamp has a broken bracket. I won't accept this and I will go to my dealer to replace it. Did you try to contact your dealer? It's totally unacceptable for a brand new car to have such problems. I've never crashed my car or even tried to replace my headlamps and I always keep it in a garage and never outside. I also use my car in the highway and very rare for city routes. I don't know, I'm very confused, but I want to see what my dealer will say.

 

4 hours ago, arisgardelis said:

I also have the Fiesta Vignale MkVIII and I went to check mine. I've got the same problem. My passenger headlamp has a broken bracket. I won't accept this and I will go to my dealer to replace it. Did you try to contact your dealer? It's totally unacceptable for a brand new car to have such problems. I've never crashed my car or even tried to replace my headlamps and I always keep it in a garage and never outside. I also use my car in the highway and very rare for city routes. I don't know, I'm very confused, but I want to see what my dealer will say.

I'd say the dealer should fix this if it makes the headlight loose. As you say you should expect a brand new car to at least have all the bits still attached.

The same bracket was broken on my drivers side headlight - noticed a week after I had received the car.

With the bonnet closed the headlight was secure, but after opening it was 'very wobbly'!!

Took it back to the dealer and they ordered a new headlight. Four weeks later the new headlight was fitted.

Cheers - Paul.

So, are these being broken by being leant on at the factory, or is it shutting the bonnet on them that's breaking them?  Very poor for a brand new car either way, and most people won't notice until they fail MOT in 3 years time...  

I’ve just had my 67reg Fiesta at the Dealer for it’s service and they have informed me that both my headlamp mounts are broken. They say someone must have reversed into my car and caused it yet there is no damage to indicate this. They  want to charge £275 each to replace. Now seeing this I believe it to be a design fault. 

I'm keeping a close eye on mine after reading this thread but so far (fingers crossed) ok. It's really not on to imply that you/someone else has broken the brackets while the lamps and surrounding bodywork are undamaged.

I had a Mk 3 SEAT Leon prior to the Fiesta and the tail lights on those were prone to cracking - it seems they were a very tight fit and got damaged during assembly. I got mine replaced without too much hassle but many members on the SEAT forum reported that dealers were pulling the same trick and saying they must have damaged them reversing (again, with no other damage) and had a real battle to get replacements under warranty.

1 hour ago, Dvdwithnovowels said:

I’ve just had my 67reg Fiesta at the Dealer for it’s service and they have informed me that both my headlamp mounts are broken. They say someone must have reversed into my car and caused it yet there is no damage to indicate this. They  want to charge £275 each to replace. Now seeing this I believe it to be a design fault. 

The snapped brackets are a common problem, i had both my lights replaced on my 1st ST-Line due to this and were covered under warranty

If there is no evidence of damage from someone reversing into your Fiesta I wouldn't accept what they say, It wouldn't surprise me if they knew about the issue but would rather charge you for the job as they can get full retail where under Fords warranty they would get less for the same job.

3 hours ago, Dvdwithnovowels said:

I’ve just had my 67reg Fiesta at the Dealer for it’s service and they have informed me that both my headlamp mounts are broken. They say someone must have reversed into my car and caused it yet there is no damage to indicate this. They  want to charge £275 each to replace. Now seeing this I believe it to be a design fault. 

The bonnet is breaking the headlamp brackets, ford know about this and a fix is available without replacing the headlamps. 

2 minutes ago, iantt said:

The bonnet is breaking the headlamp brackets, ford know about this and a fix is available without replacing the headlamps. 

Do you know what the fix is @iantt?

The brackets are replaced and bonnet adjusted. 

3 hours ago, iantt said:

The brackets are replaced and bonnet adjusted. 

Be interested to see how they replace the brackets, the mount on mine that was broke was a moulded piece that was part of the headlight.

A few weeks later a new headlamp was fitted under warranty.

 

Cheers - Paul.

34 minutes ago, p.harv said:

Be interested to see how they replace the brackets, the mount on mine that was broke was a moulded piece that was part of the headlight.

A few weeks later a new headlamp was fitted under warranty.

 

Cheers - Paul.

Basically it's a case of cutting off the old bracket and ***** on a new one. 

6 hours ago, iantt said:

The bonnet is breaking the headlamp brackets, ford know about this and a fix is available without replacing the headlamps. 

Thats what I thought it would be. I’ve emailed Ford and am going to argue this.