Hi guys,

Thinking of getting bi-xenon lights for my SM... It's quite a pricey option which made me think about how long will the lights last, and if they go, how much would it cost to replace them?

Regards,

Will K

Mine are still going strong after two years. I don't recall anyone on the Yeti forums mentioning a HID bulb failure so far but I'm sure they happen.

Superskoda list the Osram HID bulb at 99 euro each This place lists them on eBay at £34 the pair. Big difference in price, I wonder how they stack up quality-wise?

I've had HID headlamps on my last 3 Jaguars, my wife's New Beetle and both her Yetis - a cumulative total of 16 years and 280,000 miles use. The only failure was a control module on the first Yeti, replaced under warranty. I wouldn't want to be without them, especially on the Yeti with the cornering function - or indeed on the Jaguars where the standard lights are truly awful.

Mark.

On the subject of bi-xenon headlights,does any one know if it damages the bulb when the lights are flashed? Curly947

On the subject of bi-xenon headlights,does any one know if it damages the bulb when the lights are flashed? Curly947

It doesn't so much damage them but can shorted their lifespan. You will only really shorten them a great deal if you flash your lights a lot though. Otherwise it's fine.

Most cars with Xenons will go on for years and years without needing a bulb change.

You even see some 90's and early 00's cars with original bulbs still in with no problems.

Phil

It doesn't so much damage them but can shorted their lifespan. You will only really shorten them a great deal if you flash your lights a lot though. Otherwise it's fine.

Most cars with Xenons will go on for years and years without needing a bulb change.

You even see some 90's and early 00's cars with original bulbs still in with no problems.

Phil

Though the Police/Ambulance services are having control unit failures when the headlamps are set to flash alternately when using "blues & twos".

Most forces specify standard bulbs rather than HID for this reason.

As they aren't a filament bulb and the bi-xenons only flip a little shutter to change beam rather than switch one bulb on and another off then back again, the reliability should be much better.

Most vehicles with single hids have them in the dip beam, so as flashing uses the main - halogen - bulb, not the xenon burner, it is a non question really.

The xenon technology has been around for years and years as road lighting, stadium illumination and aircraft landing lights. MTF is much longer than any incandescent filament bulb and they are also much more resistant to vibration damage. Ebay sellers and others have the burners for not much more than the so called hi-output halogens.

Though the Police/Ambulance services are having control unit failures when the headlamps are set to flash alternately when using "blues & twos".

Most forces specify standard bulbs rather than HID for this reason.

That I can understand.

That's a lot of on/off even for a standard bulb to go through so xenon's aren't really suitable for that purpose. For general everyday use and the odd flash of the lights xenons are more than ok. Plus as above if the light are already on when you flash it will either just move a shutter to get full beam or use a normal halogen bulb to flash with depending on the setup so no effect on the bulb.

Phil