Driving into Chester tonight the nearside front dip beam flickered and then went out with a "warning light failure" message coming on. The car is 2 years old and is fitted with xenon lights........is this an item that would be replaced under warranty.

Possibly.

What's the cars mileage.

The car is 3 year old in May 2010 and just coming up to 25,000 miles

You should certainly get a lot more use out of a xenon unit than that! They're usually marketed as 'lifetime of the vehicle' type usage...

I'd be onto the dealer to investigate that one further.

Steve

Sorry Roy but it isn't covered, my mate had the same thing, it's around £100 to get it sorted at a dealer iirc.

Xenon bulbs fail, just like normal ones but they cost a lot more to replace.

I would certainly expect a lifespan in excess of 3yrs and 25k for them, especially as mine in the Fabia were fine after nearly double that time and 3.5x the mileage...

This would be premature failure in my mind, for which there should surely be a cause...

Steve

You can read or download a copy of the SkodaAuto New Vehicle Warranty here.

The relevant section is below:

Items where the lifetime of the component is or can be influenced by driving style and external factors will only be considered under the terms of the warranty for a period of six months or 6,500 miles (whichever is soonest).

Beyond that limit, the defects must be classified as wear and tear and will not be covered by the Škoda warranty. Components subject to wear and tear are as follows:

• Brake linings and disc pads

• Clutch release bearings

• Clutch pressure plates and centre plates

• Tyres

• Wiper blades (wiper rubbers have no warranty owing to their conditions of use)

• Seat and backrest covers

• Floor coverings

• Spark plugs

• Batteries for key fobs and alarms

• Light bulbs

• Shock absorbers

Depends also what has failed within the system and whether its the ballast or the bulb itself. If its actually bulb related, look up what type it is and look here:

Xenon HID (D2S/D2R/D1S/D1R) - Philips Bulbs from Power Bulbs

Steve

Thanks once again for all the useful comments and advise. Would you believe it( Meldrew style) got up this morning checked the lights and yes you guessed they were working fine!!!!!!!!! we will wait and see if the continue to do so.

Cheers

Could be a loose connection to the ballast perhaps? Worth getting checked out, as intermittent issues with xenon lighting is to be avoided really!

Steve

I had this on my Superb (Xenons) when it was still under warranty. I was expecting to pay for this, but it was covered under the warranty. They said that the Xenon bulb should last the lifetime of the car so was deemed to be covered by the warranty when it failed.

This was done at Brooklyn in Rugby, who sadly are no more....

Have the battery and alternator checked Roy, if one is wearing out it could just be a simple case of not enough juice at that time.