I have a problem with one of the bixenon headlamps on my 2014 Octavia 1.4 TSI. The nearside bulb has developed some strange yellow/amber reflections. If I look at the headlamps from the outside they seem to be perfectly identical and produce the same white light. However, projecting the light against a wall or another vehicle, I can see this annoying yellow reflection. Things get even worse during driving, especially on bumpy roads... suddenly the nearside headlamp projects yellow/amber light for a few moments and then back to white. The defect is always visible when reflecting against something. I've only covered 14k miles. The other bulb works perfectly well.

One day I asked a friend of mine to drive my Octavia. I was driving another car and I could see my Octavia bulb being white and suddenly turning completely into yellow for a couple of seconds, whilst in motion. I think the yellow reflection appears when the lens point in one specific direction.

I've had the car inspected twice by two Skoda garages: once in Italy during a holiday trip in July and once at my local dealer a month ago whilst having my annual service. On both occasions I was told that everything is fine and therefore they won't replace the bulbs as it's not necessary. How can they tell me that everything is fine?! I know what I see and it's not normal at all... my previous Octavia was a 57 reg and the xenon bulbs were perfectly white even after 5 years of usage.

What's going on with the headlamp? Is it just a bulb which is ageing a bit too soon or is defective? Or is it something wrong with the headlamp itself ? Skoda doesn't seem to be willing to acknowledge that there is an issue.

I'm thinking of replacing both bulbs at my expense with a set of Osram Cool Blue 5000k, but before I invest £200 in a set of new bulbs I'd like to find out if it's indeed a problem of bulbs only.

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? Please help!

Many thanks

Edited 27 September, 20169 yr by Mauxs78

Here's how (more or less) it looks like..

Edited 27 September, 20169 yr by Mauxs78

Take it to another uk skoda dealer

Ignore the yellow ribbon you've described - the NS light is clearly producing a different colour light altogether than the OS light. There's clearly a fault, most likely with the bulb, but could also be related to a faulty ballast or igniter. Either way there is definitely something wrong!

Try swapping the ns bulb with the os one to check if it is a faulty bulb,

Definately a fault there as they're clearly different!

Take your evidence (that photo, and if you can a recording of the intermittent changes) to your/another Skoda dealer. If they still refuse ask them to demonstrate the same "normal" feature on one of their demo vehicles.

Supposing it's the bulb, are these covered under warranty? I've heard different opinions when I asked. One dealer told me they're only covered for 6 months, another one said they are covered but only if they burn. As long as the bulb is still working they won't change it. Another dealer was a bit more vague and said they did xenons under warranty in the past but they need to inspect the car first.

If they acknowledge the problem but say it's not covered I'm fine with that, but I don't accept when they say everything is fine when clearly is not...

Supposing it's the bulb, are these covered under warranty? I've heard different opinions when I asked. One dealer told me they're only covered for 6 months, another one said they are covered but only if they burn. As long as the bulb is still working they won't change it. Another dealer was a bit more vague and said they did xenons under warranty in the past but they need to inspect the car first.

If they acknowledge the problem but say it's not covered I'm fine with that, but I don't accept when they say everything is fine when clearly is not...

I think you'll be lucky on a 14 plate car - even though xenons are meant to last a lot longer than halogens!

It's actually a 64 plate ... Bought it exactly 2 years ago

I've finally managed to have the car inspected by another Skoda garage.. and again they told me they "can't replicate the issue".

I'm starting to think that perhaps I'm seeing things?! Although these photos I've uploaded here speak for themselves, there clearly is an issue and no one at Skoda seem to be willing to acknowledge it.

They will keep the car overnight and try again when the sun sets. I will get a final response tomorrow, but I'm already expecting I will have to walk away with another disappointing "no fault found".

Very disappointed with my experience so far. If they don't solve the issue, I'm afraid this might be my last Skoda.

Edited 25 October, 20169 yr by Mauxs78

Here it is... it can't be my imagination

Edited 25 October, 20169 yr by Mauxs78

Thats the cut off line that your seeing as regards the yellow-ish line

 

Take a look at post #52 by xpower

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/373126-upgrading-the-xenon-bulbs/page-2

 

it might be of some help

I've finally managed to have the car inspected by another Skoda garage.. and again they told me they "can't replicate the issue".

I'm starting to think that perhaps I'm seeing things?! Although these photos I've uploaded here speak for themselves, there clearly is an issue and no one at Skoda seem to be willing to acknowledge it.

They will keep the car overnight and try again when the sun sets. I will get a final response tomorrow, but I'm already expecting I will have to walk away with another disappointing "no fault found".

Very disappointed with my experience so far. If they don't solve the issue, I'm afraid this might be my last Skoda.

If it's a real safety issue then I can see your argument, I.e. If the road ahead is poorly illuminated by your headlights thus the probability for a potential accident increases.

Yellow and blue along the cut off line is pretty normal for xenon lights, especially at short distances using the stock lens. It can be tweaked by slightly bending the cut off shield closer/further from the lens.

 

Find a flat (ideally white) wall in a dark place and try taking some pictures with a 5 and 10 meter gap to the wall.

Mine are the same, (66 plate tdi vrs) doesn't seem to be a problem for me...and doesn't effect vision at night...

I'm no expert, but looks like a faulty lens, the effect could be caused by CA, chromatic aberration

I know the cut off point can have a thin yellow line on it and doesn't really bother me. But I'm starting to believe that something is wrong with the lens. Dealer swapped bulbs, nothing at all has changed. If I look at the front of the car when the headlights are on, bulbs are exactly the same. But let's say if I go down on my knees I can see that the nearside top of the lens is completely yellow, while the offside is white/blue. This is the same effect I get whilst driving. One bulb reflects white/blu on the bumper of the car before me, the other one yellow.

Dealer'/s conclusion is that they couldn't find any fault and suggested to visit another garage to compare my car to another one with xenon. They don't sell cars, it's just a garage, hence they can't test this for me.

I wouldn't say it's affecting visibility because to be honest the issue is mainly annoying in town. When driving outside town it's not so noticible. However, I'm 100% sure it was not like this when I bought it, and also considering I paid a fairly premium amount to upgrade to bixenon, I think I'm entitled to pretend that the car works like it should. I've only had it for 2 years and I'm fighting with this problem now for over 6 months. It's not me being fussy, but something must have happened to my headlight at some point and I don't know what to do now. I only know that every time I use the car at night i get angry on it... ☹️

Edited 26 October, 20169 yr by Mauxs78

I only know that every time I use the car at night i get angry on it... ☹️

Oooossaaaahhhhh mate.....remember your pressure points!

(Sorry just been watchin bad boys......)

So what was the diagnosis¿????.

Had those yellow glows from new...just "drive and forget" is the diagnosis.