Grargh I hate my Mazda 3 (Headlight Housing)

Darkewolfe

I've replaced the headlights on my '05 Mazda 3 a few times. This last time, I had a little bit more trouble than usual with the retaining clip, may have bent it slightly. Didn't make any bit of difference at all that I noticed. Today, I went in to get my annual inspection, not at my usual, preferred mechanic (due to the holiday) and the chucklefucks failed me because "the retaining clips on the headlights are not properly secured, causing misalignment on the headlights. Now, I'm not a mechanic, so I suppose there could actually be a problem here that I can't see. But I can't see anything wrong with my perfectly working headlights.

Anyway, I went to look at the retaining clips from Mazda. We're talking about a piece of wire, made from pot metal, which you could probably make at home. They don't sell them. They require you to buy the entire headlight housing again.

So, first, does anyone have any tips or insight regarding making sure the headlights are properly aligned, since I can't see a visible difference when I actually look. Second, has anyone had any serious problems with the ubiquitous Mazda 3, and do they have any insight on fixing?

evilmrhenry

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/repair/1347221
Basically, point it at a wall, figure out where the headlights are actually pointing, and push stuff around until they point in the right direction.