Got no answers to my previous post, but did find this post from 2012:

"I had no problem removing the bulb for the front parking / daytime running light on the passenger side of my 2006 XJ8. Just screwed off the round cap that covers the housing for the high beam bulb as well as this little 5w5 bulb, reached in followed the wire leads for the parking light bulb and turned it 1/4 and out came the black plastic tube the 5w5 bulb pushes into. But on the drivers side - not luck! I can follow the wires to where the black tube goes through the headlamp but can't feel enough of it to get a grip on it to turn it or pull it out. Pulling gently on the wire leads does not good and I don't want to break them."

Before I start forcing things, can someone verify that it is the black plastic part that comes out of the silver tube that appears to be attached to the reflector in the headlight? Do I turn the black plastic tabs rather than the silver tube?

BTW, the Owner's handbook shows the picture below which does not look like what I can see from the back with a mirror (my wires come out of the back between the black plastic tabs), and the repair manual says nothing about parking lamp replacement except that the lamp is a W5W.

 

haha, just answered your previous post for you.. I did not have to turn anything, squeeze, and pull

 

Now I am a little confused since the other post was also about a 2006 XJ8. Maybe it is a difference between HID and H7 headlights? I'll try the passenger side since he found it easier (I assumed both would be the same) and see if I can get it out without breaking anything. So much for the owner's manual instructions.

 

Right you are, trosty. No turning needed. The curved tab is the one you have to move toward center to retract a little hook. Driver side was easy once I realized you have to pull on the wires while pressing the tab with one finger (couldn't get two fingers in there to pinch and pull).

However, my passenger side was a PITA. The lamp holder was already part way out of the tube, the wires were wedged between the release tab and body on one side, and the wires had been looped behind/above the forward end of one of the ribs on the inside top surface of the housing. Had a devil of a time getting the wires freed and then when I inserted the holder in the tube, the new LED lamp hit the bottom of the the hole in the reflector and did not want to go through. Had to wiggle wires for a long time to finally get it started through the hole and wiggle and push some more to get it the rest of the way. It sits low in the reflector hole and the lamp holder did not seem to catch in the tube, but it is better than the old lamp was and the LEDs give a much whiter and brighter light than the yellow incandescent lamp. (before and after below for the passenger side)