My Car failed inspection for stupid reasons. Someone help me fix it.

[Buffy]

My car failed inspection for two reasons (it's ten years old):

The front headlights are cloudy. Can't I fix this with toothpaste or something silly? Never done, please help.

The light over my rear plate is out. I'm sure I can buy a replacement from autozone and replace it myself instead of paying the $80 they want to fix it, but I'm having trouble finding the right bulb in the interwebs. Some things says bulb 194, another says 3057, and neither really looks right.

My car is a 2005 Saturn Ion Red Line.

Any info or guidance would be swell.

[Fondue]

I bought one of these before I traded in my old car, seemed to help a tiny bit but nothing like what they advertise lol

[Buffy]

Yah I bought one of those kits from Autozone (like that, not that specific one - GOOD FOR THE LIFE OF THE CAR it claims), gonna do in morning and see how it works out.

Also, the bulb was a 194, I took the old one out and the # was printed on it. I bought a bulb from autozone as well and now it lights up.

However, in the process I broke the little case that the bulb goes in, so now I gotta go to a junkyard tomorrow and see if I can find one.

Just what I wanted to do on a Saturday >.>

[arus2001]

I dread to think how many aspects of inspection my old car would've failed. Of course, it being 20+ years old gave it an excuse. Anyway, I wouldn't expect much luck on the headlights. While they may do okay on exterior gunk, you still get humidity and such that accumulates on the inside with the lights further baking it all into the plastic. If you can't get to that, which is usually unlikely in newer cars anymore, stuff's still gonna be yellowed/cloudy.

[SephYuyX]

Toothpaste + elbow grease does work, it just takes some time. Easier to buy a pad that goes on a drill and use that, but all you need is toothpaste aside from that.

Bring that old light in to autozone or who ever and they can match it, or just tell them the year+make and thell have it. Chances are it wont look like what's currently in there. If it doesnt work, just take it back.

[BerenTebogo]

Also the option of saying fuck it. If you don't regularly speed / blow stop signs you will pretty much never have to worry about it. One of my cars I let the inspection go over 3 years without being renewed just to see if I could. Drove it almost every day, 3 warnings and no tickets. Saving money is good.

[Brill Weave]

My car failed inspection for two reasons (it's ten years old):

The front headlights are cloudy. Can't I fix this with toothpaste or something silly? Never done, please help.

The light over my rear plate is out. I'm sure I can buy a replacement from autozone and replace it myself instead of paying the $80 they want to fix it, but I'm having trouble finding the right bulb in the interwebs. Some things says bulb 194, another says 3057, and neither really looks right.

My car is a 2005 Saturn Ion Red Line.

Any info or guidance would be swell.

All told you can fix this shit yourself in about an hour and a hundred bones. You *should* be able to get replacement headlight housings for less than 50 each. The bulb for your plate is like 5 bucks. Youtube can easily walk you through how to remove and replace the headlight housing. Another option is calling around to any salvage yards in the area to see if they have the housing. If they do you can probably get them for about 20 a piece.

[Brill Weave]

In case you're curious, this is pretty much every way possible to clean up the headlights.

http://www.wikihow.com/Repair-Oxidiz...dlight-Cleaner

[Buffy]

I ended up doing one of those $10 kits from autozone. I think it came out pretty good.

Before/After







Saved me 90$ (they wanted to charge me $100 for the two front lights) and I got the back light over the tail plate working, now I just need a replacement for the plastic mount I broke and I'll be in business.

[Brill Weave]

Nice job. Good to know the cheap kit works well.

[Pringles]

Also the option of saying fuck it. If you don't regularly speed / blow stop signs you will pretty much never have to worry about it. One of my cars I let the inspection go over 3 years without being renewed just to see if I could. Drove it almost every day, 3 warnings and no tickets. Saving money is good.

Truth. Years back during my poor college days, I drove my beat up 90 hatchback civic with a rejection sticker in the windshield for 7 months before it fell off one day while I was driving and a state trooper saw it. Only reason I was pulled over and got a $50 ticket and told to fix it before my court day.

[Anoat]

People troll on Florida so much, it's good to know we have at least one beneficial thing over other states--none of this inspection sticker bullshit.

[BaneTheBrawler]

why inspect it when Florida Man will just eat it?

[Brill Weave]

People troll on Florida so much, it's good to know we have at least one beneficial thing over other states--none of this inspection sticker bullshit.

Yeah but I see the massive negative side to it. Ohio doesn't have statewide inspection laws. So when we get someone needing road service because the car "won't run" that means anything from dead battery to broken axle. With my job, inspections made it so much better. When you're ranked nationally by how many cars you get running instead of towing, the lack of inspections in an area is a colossal kick in the dick.