How good are Xenon headlights

[OctaviaJo]

My new Octy will have these Xenon headlights.  My Mk II had Halogen bulbs which it blew with unfailing regularity whilst I owned it (the only niggle in 5 years ownership).  Skoda in the wisdom made the Mk II headlights an absolute doddle to adjust and replace - I had it down to a fine art - I could do a continental driving flat beam adjust in about 2 minutes(inc. both sides), and replacement of a single bulb took about 3 minutes.  In fairness all its bulbs were a doddle to maintain once you had spotted where they were.  The Mk III Octy doesn't appear to have the same drop out quickly headlight system - in fact it may even be a dealer job (I need to get it home and take a close look).  I've been shown that the Xenon bulbs have an infotainment system adjustment for continental driving :clap: , but I just wondered about the reliability of the Xenon bulbs per se will they be less problematical than the old halogen bulbs - I'd be interested to know if anyone has had problems with them.  Atm I am hoping the new Octy has that nice 'bulb out' light on the dash again which was a really nice touch - will I need it?

[Croat]

Veary good!

[skyjawa]

Xenon are night and day above halogen.  And much more reliable.  Our old golf was 10 years old before I had to replace a Xenon bulb.  And that's the only one I've ever had to do having owned Xenon cars for the last 9-10 years.

Edited 8 March, 2016 by skyjawa

[Paul007]

Worth the money

[whitep]

Wouldnt have another car without them.

[wlange]

Agree with above.

Moreover they are pretty cool with active cornering and all those funny wobbles / cross-eyes in the boot-up phase

As for Halogens - that's nice that O2 had it easily replaceable. My putrid Laguna Mk2.2 required on one side: 2 elbows in my arm (or lots of pain) and few attempts to locate clips, on the other side - 2 elbows weren't enough and yours truly had to go through the battery removal, covers and what not...all in all 2 bulbs taking together more than 1h, dirty, scratched hands and one nasty grim on the face. And that was for a msc mechanical engineer with some practical experience Eventually, after doing it 1 or twice, I decided to let the service have the fun with it...Now it look's funnier from the time perspective, but I'll stay with Xenons!

[FluffyEyeball]

Very good! They look better, are brighter, light up more of the road, and last longer than halogens. Even if they do fail, they are still easily accessible.

 

And yes the MkIII Octy has the bulb out warning

[silver1011]

Be warned, once you have had xenon's you won't go back.

 

I've had them on both my previous MkII Octavia's.

 

Just about to order a MkIII without them (on a PCH so not willing to pay the £970 or £40/month for xenon's) and I know already I'll miss them!

[Jimbo1]

I am currently driving a Mk1 Fabia VRS with Xenon headlights (New Octavia VRS due for delivery at the end of the month - excited or what!). I had owned the Fabia for ten years and covered almost 160,000 miles and the Xenons are still the original lamps. I have had to change just about every other bulb on the vehicle at some time but have never touches the headlights. I would never have another car that didn't have xenon headlights (I believe that the one's now fitted to new vehicles are even better).

[GoneToBeemer]

The only complaint that a few have had (including myself) is that in colder, wet weather you tend to see a bit of condensation in the lights. Apparently completely normal, but it really irritates me!

 

They are so much better than halogens though, look better, perform better and will last much longer before needing any attention. The only other gripe I have is that the Xenons in the Octavia don't seem to be as good as those in other manufacturers cars.

[cip]

I have to say that I haven't experienced the condensation.

Instead, I think that AFS is behaving strange sometimes, lighting to much on the side of the roads and not in front of the car. I know that somehow it's supposed to work like that, but I don't like it always and I switch from auto to short beam .

[OctaviaJo]

Thanks all, sounds like I've clicked lucky to get them as part of the car :-D  Hopefully I won't ever end up changing an Octy bulb in -18C by the side of a French motorway ever again!  Cold hands didn't come close as a description!

Edited 8 March, 2016 by OctaviaJo

[MrAdamwood]

Just for future reference with regards to the mk2 blowing halogen bulbs repeatedly I bet it had a loose electrical connection. See it all the time, not sure about the science behind it but all the ones I've done on all different makes, if it's going through bulbs tightening the connections has always fixed it unless the light fitting were obviously loose and suffering bad vibration.

[99Reza]

I found the xenon system on Octavia mk3 is very ordinary at best, the spread of light is good but lack the much needed intensity. As a comparison, I had a Bi-xenon equipped Tiguan before the Octavia, so much better in term of intensity. Even my 8 years old C-class Bi-xenon has more light intensity and that's with the original bulbs and yes they last that long (hopefully for more years to come). Nonetheless it's still a step up from  a Halogen system. 

 

Changing the main bulb is quite easy, pop the black seal located at the back of the headlight unit and you can immediately see the bulb. As a pre-caution, at delivery ensure the black cap is secured tightly, mine didn't and ends up funnelling copious amount of water inside the headlight. The headlights shouldn't have condensation either, if it does, check the seal. 

Edited 8 March, 2016 by 99Reza

[Paul007]

The other must haves that I won't go without now are parking sensors - front I can do without, but the back is handy.

[Big P]

My first Octavia had halogens that would blow almost monthly - very annoying. The next three have had Xenons, the difference in light and vision is unbelievable and I have never had a blown bulb. I would not go back to halogens

[WesternDuke]

Xenons every time!

[JerryT]

Xenons definitely, and changing them for driving on the 'wrongside' of the road takes about 2 seconds through the infotainment system.

You'll wont regret it.

[DravenSteel]

Absolutely a must have. I see plenty of MkIII's going around with standard lights and they look like a different car, never mind the better light and visibility they provide. Take it out on a pitch dark country road (mine was near an airport) and you'll be delighted [emoji2]

[Alpha2110]

Xenon are fantastic there way better, driving at night is less tiring. My car has not got them unfortunately but I will deffinaly spec them on the next.

Edited 8 March, 2016 by Alpha2110

[Gromle]

I find the Xenons on Octy good, but not great.

Have had cars with better halogen highbeams.

[FlyingGecko]

I find the Xenons on Octy good, but not great.

Have had cars with better halogen highbeams.

 

I bet none of them were Octavias.

[toni8b]

Already an outdated technology compared to Audi's matrix led.

[Gromle]

I bet none of them were Octavias.

Correct.

The best unmodded halogen highbeams Ive tried was actually in my parents old Scorpio (1994).

[HeBeGeeBee]

Already an outdated technology compared to Audi's matrix led.

Very true but they cost over twice as much as Xenons do.