Replacing your car headlight when they get burnt or restoring your car headlight lens when it becomes foggy is one of the most vital car maintenance practices you can adopt aside from checking and changing your car fluids regularly. The reason is that; restoring your headlight lenses or replacing your car headlight bulbs makes driving in adverse weather conditions or nighttime driving very safe for you and your family and everyone else on the road.
Bright and clear headlights help to provide a better vision of the path ahead of you to help you notice road signs, avoid road obstacles, and alert other drivers of your position on the road in case of a two-way single lane. While there are different types of car lighting systems such as tail lights and signal lights that help road users to communicate effectively, the importance of ensuring your headlights stay bright cannot be overemphasized.
Why? Because you can have the most expensive or luxury car and it won’t matter much if your car headlights are yellowish looking or aren’t working, or are too dimmed to illuminate up to 500 meters ahead of you. Of course, aside from how bad it makes your car look, you will also become a magnet to highway patrol officers. Fortunately, replacing your GMC headlight bulb is quite easier than you thought. All you need is to make sure you get the right bulb for your GMC car, truck, or SUV model and follow the steps in this blog post to replace your GMC car headlights.
When to replace headlight bulbs
You might be wondering when is the best time to replace a car headlight bulb? The answer is simple. Replace your headlight bulbs when:
The bulb has dimmed: headlight bulbs, particularly halogen bulbs tend to emit less light output as they age and depreciate. While HID and LED bulbs do not dim with age and are only replaced when they fail, ensure you replace your halogen bulbs on time when they go dim because they could burn out at any time after that.
The Bulb is blown out: All headlight bulbs are mandated to be replaced when they burn out. Replacing your headlight bulbs improves your visibility as a driver and helps keep you and other road users safe when driving at night.
The Headlight circuit failed: this is another scenario in which your car headlight bulb might need to be replaced. The reason is that sometimes when your car headlight bulb stops working the underlying cause might not be the bulb itself. Instead, it could be from the bulb socket, the electrical component, the terminal connections, or the wiring.
How safe is it to drive with a headlight problem?
Not safe at all! According to the US headlight laws, your headlights must be turned on and perfectly working after dusk to drive safely. While some states in the US specify conditions in which the different headlights should be on and when they must be turned on such as when it’s raining or when there is minimal visibility due to fog, smoke, snow, or other factors. The bottom line is that you need a fully functional headlight to navigate through. So, driving with a headlight problem is not safe.
GMC headlight replacement bulbs and prices by vehicle’s model
| Model | Application | Brand | Part Number | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GMC Terrain 2020 | Performance Halogen Headlight Bulbs | Lumen® | LH-9005LH-H11X | $36.95 – $50 |
| GMC Terrain 2020 | Vivid Headlight Halogen Bulbs | Lumen® | XEN-LH-9005XEN-LH-H11 | $49.95 – $60 |
| GMC Terrain with Factory HID/Xenon Headlights 2020 | Parking Light LED Bulbs | Lumen® | 7443CA 7443CR 7443CW NB7443CA NB7443CRNB7443CWDCDR 50W6 | $14.95 – $22.95 |
| GMC Terrain with Factory HID/Xenon *.4 Headlights 2020 | Sylvania® | 168SL.BP27443 RSL.BP2194RSL.BP7443SL.BP2168RSL.BP2194ASL.BP2194BSL.BP194SL.BP2825SL.BP921SL.BP2 | $6.75 – $19.38 | |
| GMC Terrain with Factory HID/Xenon Headlights 2020 | LED Headlight replacement bulbs | Putco® | 239006HW 239005HD239005NW | $33.55 – $50 |
| GMC Terrain with Factory HID/Xenon Headlights 2020 | Nitro ProLux Zero Direct Fit LED Headlight Conversion Kit | Putco® | 709005PZDC | $265.99 – $300 |
| GMC Terrain with Factory HID/Xenon Headlights 2020 | SMD27 LED Headlight Conversion Kit | Diode Dynamics® | DD0129P | $75 – $100 |
Replace a GMC car headlight like a professional
Now that you know why you should replace your car headlight bulb and the cost of each brand of headlight bulb for your GMC model, it’s time to dive into replacing your headlights like a professional. To get started, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Locate the headlight housing
The first step is to locate the bad headlight bulb in the headlight housing and you can do this via your engine compartment, rather than from the front of the vehicle. Open your hood and locate the headlight compartment situated opposite your radiator.
Step 2: Remove the power wires
Removing the power connections to the headlight bulb is possible through the base of the headlight. Locate the plastic catch or the metal clip holding the plug to which the powers are attached and push down on it while you remove the plug. If yours is a screw cap, unscrew it by turning it counter-clockwise. But if it’s held in place by a metal clip, pull it up and secure it.
Step 3: Remove the bad bulb
Once you have disconnected the power cable connecting to the headlight bulb, remove the back of the headlight holder and gently pull the bulb forward to disengage it while holding the base. For some bulbs, you would need to rotate the bulb a bit before it will come off.
Step 4: Install the new LED bulb
After you have gotten rid of the old bulb, the next step would be to install the new headlight bulb that fits your vehicle’s model. But be careful while handling your new bulb. You wouldn’t want the old from your hands to get into it. That might cause the bulb’s lifespan to reduce due to overheating from the bulb. Once you have connected the bulb, check to be sure none of the rubber’s gasket is showing. Then, reconnect the power wires back and test the bulb by switching on your headlight control.
Conclusion
Headlight replacement can be said to be a necessity as long as driving safely is concerned. However, there are things you should keep in mind while restoring your car headlight bulbs. For example, if your car makes use of LED or HID bulbs that don’t have a visible filament that can be tested. You should, first of all, test if the circuit to the bulb is working fine before assuming that the bulb is faulty.
Secondly, if one of your halogen bulbs is dim or faulty, it’s best that you replace both bulbs rather than replacing only the faulty bulb. This is because in most cases, the other halogen bulb that hasn’t shown signs of being faulty might just be a day or two behind the faulty one.
Finally, restore your headlight lenses and ensure all the ground connections, fuses, and headlight components are working perfectly well after replacing your headlight bulb. Replacing only your headlight bulb does not necessarily mean your headlight would be as effective as that of a brand new car. This is true especially when your car’s headlight lenses are oxidized. But once you replace your old bulbs, restore your headlight lenses using restoration wipes, and repair all its electronic components, your headlights will illuminate like that of a brand new car.
