FixHeadlight Not Working — What It Is, and What It Costs
One headlight out is the most common lighting complaint on the road, and the records reflect the obvious: it's usually the bulb. The interesting part is the rest — housings, wiring, and switches — and what separates a cheap fix from a surprising one on newer cars.
This page is a focused cut of the broader Headlight or Brake Light Not Working records.
What it actually turns out to be
| The fix involved | Share of visits* | Typical cost† | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulb | 72.8% | $38 – $146 | $73 |
| Headlight | 15.9% | $60 – $272 | $131 |
| Other, rarer causes | smaller shares | varies | — |
*Share of visits whose repair involved this part. Combined repairs count toward each
part involved, so shares overlap and don't add up to 100%. Among visits that ended in a parts repair.
†Middle half of real invoices (25th–75th percentile) when this was the only fix — parts + labor, all vehicle types.
Real repair reports
These are recent, paid visits for this complaint — the words as the owner said them, and what it turned out to be.
Car owners said
“Passenger side headlight is out”
“driver head light out”
“Right Front Headlamp Out”
“Check headlight not working”
“Diagnose headlamps not working”
“Both headlights are not working”
What the technician found
“Technician was able to confirm the low beam bulbs had burned out. Performed repair, issue has been resolved.”
“Inspection found passenger side headlight blown - replaced bulb - retest passed”
One side out
A single dead low beam with everything else working is a bulb until proven otherwise. The price spread is about access — some bulbs change in a minute, others hide behind the bumper or inner fender — and about bulb type, with HID and LED units costing multiples of halogen.
Both out, or flickering
Both headlights failing together, or lights that flicker with bumps, point past the bulbs to a switch, relay, or wiring — less common in these outcomes, and worth proper diagnosis rather than parts roulette.
Moisture in the housing
A fogged or wet housing kills bulbs repeatedly and eventually corrodes the connector. That's when the job becomes an assembly replacement — the expensive tail of these records, especially on vehicles with LED units.
Take this to the shop
The FixDozer Diagnosis Brief puts this page on one printable sheet: what this complaint usually turns out to be, how often, and what each fix should cost — so when the diagnosis comes back, you already know whether the number fits.
Download the Diagnosis Brief (PDF)View it online · Narrow it down for your vehicle