Before you start
Check the fuse first. A blown fuse was all that was wrong with one member's fog lights. The front fog fuse is number 21 in the bonnet fuse box (15 A), and the front fog relay is K4 behind the switches. See relays and fuses. That list is for the NA car, so check it against your own.
Which bulb? It was first said to be H1, the same as the dipped headlights. In 2012 that was corrected: the bulbs that came out of one car were H3, even though a Halfords manual listed H1. H1 bulbs didn't fit the first member's either, and he agreed it is H3. Take the old bulb with you, or check yours when it is out.
The usual way in: through the headlamp opening
This method was passed on in 2011 by a member who was asked about it after finding nothing in the handbook. The thread has no photos.
- Take the headlamp out on the side with the dead fog. It is held by a 13 mm nut onto a screw moulded into the headlamp housing, and a bracket holds it against the clam. Pull it forward carefully and disconnect the wiring plug from the back of the headlamp.
- Reach down and disconnect the wiring plug from the fog lamp cap.
- Twist the lamp cap anticlockwise and take it off.
- Disconnect the bulb wire.
- Unclip the bulb and take it out.
- Fit the new bulb and reverse the steps.
The other way in is from underneath, by taking off the front wheel and the arch liner. That is more involved and needs a low-entry jack.
What went wrong for members
- The headlamp nut is hard to reach. One member couldn't get any of his spanners on it. Someone with small hands took the headlamp and fog lamp out for him later.
- The cap and housing broke. One car turned out to have had a bodged repair, with a large amount of glue on the back of the lamp lens, and when the owner tried the cap both the twist ring and the bulb housing came off in his hand, with pieces of plastic sheared off. Another member's cap wouldn't come off either and he left it. Don't apply too much pressure when twisting the back of the lamp. A garage later fitted a new fog lamp assembly, and was reported to have done it without removing the clam, though the owner wasn't there to see.
- The bulb clip fell out. One member changed the right-hand bulb in 2015 and the clip that holds it fell out of its bracket. He then removed the panel that holds the fog lamp in position, which is held by 3 hex screws (one on top, two on the bottom). It still doesn't come out completely, but refitting the clip and the bulb was much easier, and he says not to be afraid to remove it.
- Melted housing. If the bulb isn't seated exactly right, it touches the plastic housing and melts it. One member's did, and he was left with two parts, one of them rattling around in the bumper. Don't use the fog lights once they are working unless you are sure of that. Another member changed both bulbs through the headlamp openings and then smelled burning after about a minute with all the lights on. He had left the headlamps unplugged and wondered if that caused it. The thread doesn't say what the cause was, and he doesn't report back.
If the lamp itself is broken
The light unit is said to be the same as the one fitted to the Vauxhall Vectra GSi and the Ford Mondeo ST24, so you may be able to find one second-hand if the VX220 one is too expensive. We haven't checked the fit.
Several members also say the fogs do little in actual fog ("a birthday candle would be more effective"; "next to useless"). That is their opinion.