Driving at night - Dipped beam - Horrific!

[paully]

Wow, what a difference! Since my dealer adjusted Monte's lights up to the legal maximum I can now actually see very well into the distance. It really is a massive improvement, so much so that I'm not even going to fit any different bulbs.

One very happy camper!

Yup I agree..Once the dealers do the job they should have, on PDI ,then the difference is remarkable. Like you I decided not to bother with any other lights once I`d had my Eureka moment. But I dont buy, at all, the nonsense that no one has complained before. Mind you denial is pretty standard for the motor trade..Anyway glad your happy 

[jim157]

I too have experienced the problem with poor light output from the Fabia vrs lights.

I however have 2 H7's in each light pod. I have a 2011 vrs.

Dipped beam is projector = Defined beam but poor reach

Main beam is reflector. = lights up everything

 

Are these the old or new style of lights? Or are they just a vrs version as I know someone with a Monti and they have the dual dip and main projector style light. His don't seem to be helped by the fact that the light pod is tinted as standard.

 

I've ended putting the following bulbs in. Naughty I know but no one has flashed me and I personally don't think they are much better than my standard 55W Osram bulbs. http://www.ringautomotive.co.uk/uk/products/Cars/Bulbs/Performance+Bulbs/RW464

 

I think it was a massive oversight for Skoda not to have Xenon's as an upgrade option.

 

Silver = old style dual bulb units

Black = new style single bulb units with shutter actuation.

 

 

As I mentioned earlier you could fit HID's in your projector dips and adjust them upwards slightly.

[MWRobbo]

Silver = old style dual bulb units

Black = new style single bulb units with shutter actuation.

 

 

As I mentioned earlier you could fit HID's in your projector dips and adjust them upwards slightly.

 

Do you know when they changed to the new style?

 

I think I'll pop down to the local MOT station and ask them to check them over for height.

 

Thanks for the info.

[jim157]

Do you know when they changed to the new style?

 

I think I'll pop down to the local MOT station and ask them to check them over for height.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Mid 2011 for the VRS's from memory; the Monte Carlo's had been out for a few months before the black pack filtered across to the VRS.

[paully]

They did a major change to the lights from MY2012 for both Fabia and Roomster

Edited 25 October, 2013 by paully

[TeebsVRS]

Just ordered some Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited on the Eurocarparts Halloween sale. With the dark mornings and evenings, was reminded how poor the lights are. Even my 19 year old MX5 has better lights!!

[Brimma]

Strange, we have a lass comes regularly to the East Mids meet in a Monte and I've never once heard her complain about the lights

[AVTUR]

Strange, we have a lass comes regularly to the East Mids meet in a Monte and I've never once heard her complain about the lights

Maybe she doesn't have to drive down unlit, or poorly lit carriage ways? I certainly had no complaints driving in well lit areas.

[seboni121]

Both my fabias had poor lights ! So Philips extreme plus fitted and headlight adjusted at headlamp not at the knob inside( no pun intended)

[Binzie]

how do you get the bulb out of the holder, had both sides out today but bulbs wouldn't let go ?

[vRSgone]

It seems that problems with Fabia 2 headlights have only occurred in its latest incarnation i.e since 2011. Presumably then owners of Fabias' prior to 2011 are generally happy with headlight performance. Is that correct? If so, is it possible to fit headlights from the earlier Fabia? Would they be a one for one replacement & would there be any compatibility problems, with wiring or CANBUS?

As seems to be the case with several other Fabia owners I have seriously considered ditching my  vRS , because of the headlight situation, but all things considered, I JUST LOVE MY FABIA TOO MUCH TO PART WITH IT; and of course the economics don't stack up. Apart from the high financial loss I would suffer, what could I replace it with to obtain similar performance? Nothing else has the same bang per buck!

I've tried all the suggested "fixes" on this forum - Philips Xtreme, Osram Nightbreakers, even a HID conversion, but the truth is the optics of this headlight are technically flawed, and so the only final option is headlight replacement. BUT WILL THEY FIT? This is my final attempt to overcome - what is for me a major problem. I live in the country, and to be safe you need decent headlights. As mentioned before my wife's Clio light up the road like a football stadium .

Any forum reader that can throw some light on this situation (terrible pun) please do.

[Sparkly]

Derek my car is a 2010 and the big difference is that I have two H7's per side one for dipped and one for full beam, whereas the later headlight models have one H7 per side which is switched between high and low beam by a shutter.

 

Can you swap to the old headlights, I'm not sure, but if you can it will be a costly exercise to buy two new full units I would expect.

 

I have the Osram Nightbreaker Gold LE and they are a big big improvement but in reality I am still underwhelmed by the output from them compared to some very basic car's headlights.

 

I also live out in the sticks, so feel your pain.

[Ootohere]

Fabia mk2 vRS came out in the summer of 2010, and as the nights got darker as the year went on, the first owners learned just how pathetic the standard Dipped Beam fitted were.

(How bad a cars lights are is not something you usually can know doing a road test in Summer or during the day.)

 

Skoda road testers & engineers should know just how bad they are, they must have driven the cars in the dark,

and should not sign the model off for production and selling to the public.

 

Fitting better bulbs can improve lighting up the road when on dip, adjusting the lights level properly, and there is no need annoy other drivers on dip.

But the sidelights are doing that anyway,  and annoying many drivers.

so you just need to try the Dipped Beam bulbs in the early vRS that work for you.

IMO the first vRS, from 2010 Full Beam is good.

 

george

[vRSgone]

Thanks Sparkly for your prompt reply. I was hoping , if earlier Fabia lights fit to source them from a breakers yard. But even if I had to buy them new, it would still be a lower loss than parting company with the car & replacing it.

[Brimma]

I'm sure I've said this before, but I'll say it again

If the lights are as bad as made out on here, and enough people complained, it surely would have been a recall matter

[OzFabia]

I do not understand the drama with the lights, but then Aussie Fabias are fitted with the two-bulb-per-side chrome lights (and the chrome grille surrounds), which I believe are better than the "black pack" lights.

[Sparkly]

I'm sure I've said this before, but I'll say it again

If the lights are as bad as made out on here, and enough people complained, it surely would have been a recall matter

You have and you just did

 

My lights are liveable

 

Would I like them to do a bit more? Yes

 

What would I grade Skoda for providing me with the lights C- could try harder, easily distracted in class.

 

It's still a pass, but don't we all want more for our kids?

[Big Sheep]

What would I grade Skoda for providing me with the lights C- could try harder, easily distracted in class.

 

 

 

I would grade the dipped beam of my black pack lights as originally supplied 'F'. That is a fail.

 

Only with the upgraded bulbs and necessary adjustment would I rate it a 'C'.

 

I agree that the level of dissatisfaction with this needs to be got back to Skoda.

[The Plumber]

Strangely our black pack lights on the Monte are better with the Nightbreakers fitted than they were in the standard DE module lights we had on the previous Elegance. Oh and they are the same bulbs; took them out on P/X and transferred them across.

 

 

TP

[Gazbull17]

Since I fitted the Bosch 90+ bulbs I got from Euro Car Parts and adjusted the headlight height it's made a hell of an improvement.

Can't complain about the light given off now, it was poor before I done this though.

[RazeVRS]

Running a 61 plate VRS with black lamps.

Last year I upgraded to the Phillips X treme vision bulbs as they won reviews based on quality of beam throw & pattern. Tweaked the lamps up a notch,having lined them up against the garage door .

Much better than before . No issues with the beam being cut by the projector , but then I've been driving with these style of headlamps for 12 years :-)

[Gazbull17]

Don't know what all the fuss is about with the lights on the Monte Carlo.

As RazeVRS said above, 5 minutes on the drive with the lights shining against the garage door, bonnet open, 1-2 turns anticlockwise, lights shining where they should be.

New bulbs do make a difference though but if you don't fancy adjusting them yourself then your dealer or any MOT registered garage should sort them for you.

[AVTUR]

I'm sure I've said this before, but I'll say it again

If the lights are as bad as made out on here, and enough people complained, it surely would have been a recall matter

It won't/can't be a recall matter because the lights are within legal requirements, but they are set to the absolute minimum limit, which, in my humble opinion, is inadequate if you need to drive in a rural district (like I do) where there is little or no street lighting. A cut off point 20 metres in front of the car is simply not safe nor desirable in this circumstance. Of course it's probably less of a problem for city folks due to the abundance of bright street lighting.

Please don't say 'it' again. Thanks.

[SuperTurbo]

 

Just installed a set of Osram Nightbreaker unlimited bulbs, have to say, although still a little fiddly this is by far the easiest I've found it changing a set of headlight bulbs.

 

Overall the difference IMO wasn't that drastic, the most notable difference is the spread of the beam horizontally rather than brightness/reach. I'm guessing the next step is to try adjusting the height level but I'm a bit sceptical in doing it myself but with very little free time on my hands I'm unlikely to get to the dealer/garage any time soon.

 

Does anyone have a guide as to where the adjusting screw is and also how i know what level is going to be ok (e.g. not too high to be a nuisance to people)

[Gazbull17]

On top of the headlight unit there is a white screw, it looks like a cross between a posidrive and Allen screw.

If you turn it anticlockwise the beam will go up and visa versa, shine the headlights against a wall or garage door and adjust until you're happy.

It's a bit of trial and error but it's easy to do