Hi Chaps,

 

I'm a newbie here in need of some advice.  I've recently moved from UK to the Netherlands and brought my Octavia MK III (2015 model) estate over with me (for better or worse).  To register here I first need to change the headlights and foglamps for driving on the right to pass the MOT equivalent.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have an option to simply change the lights over using the settings on the dash, so wanted to know whether there was another way to do this myself instead of shelling out serious £££ or €€€ as the case may be.  I've read elsewhere on this forum about using an OBDeleven to activate the rear passenger side foglamp so thinking about giving this a try but not found anything yet about switching the headlights or front fog lights.  

 

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

Cheers,

James

 

 

2 minutes ago, JD85 said:

Hi Chaps,

 

I'm a newbie here in need of some advice.  I've recently moved from UK to the Netherlands and brought my Octavia MK III (2015 model) estate over with me (for better or worse).  To register here I first need to change the headlights and foglamps for driving on the right to pass the MOT equivalent.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have an option to simply change the lights over using the settings on the dash, so wanted to know whether there was another way to do this myself instead of shelling out serious £££ or €€€ as the case may be.  I've read elsewhere on this forum about using an OBDeleven to activate the rear passenger side foglamp so thinking about giving this a try but not found anything yet about switching the headlights or front fog lights.  

 

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

Cheers,

James

 

 

You haven't said what sort of headlights you've got.

Good point - apologies.  They are halogens.

I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. I've checked the workshop manual and the Halogen lights are permanently set to LHD/RHD depending on where you bought it. As you've said you've bought it in the UK and are now on the continent, you're going to have to source LHD headlights to replace. If you'd have had Xenon or LED headlights it would be a simple button press, but that's not much use to you unfortunately.

Edited 7 June, 20205 yr by wg100

Thank you for that info, wg100.  Is replacing headlights straightforward to do or is it something that requires specialist equipment / know how?   If the latter, a rough idea of how much it should cost would be helpful to make sure I don't get fleeced.

 

7 minutes ago, JD85 said:

Thank you for that info, wg100.  Is replacing headlights straightforward to do or is it something that requires specialist equipment / know how?   If the latter, a rough idea of how much it should cost would be helpful to make sure I don't get fleeced.

 

What is the age of the car? Is it a facelift O3?

 

You will need to get the front bumper off which can be a bit of a mission, but once that it done, it's three screws per headlight to undo, then unplug. Installation is in the reverse order. If you are inclined to do it yourself, I'd set aside a sunny day and spend €7 on an hours access to ERWIN and download the specific pages from the workshop manual - electrical system. You would also need to have the beam setting done once installed.

 

No idea how much a garage would charge. Probably 3-4 hours labour?

 

Edit: I've just re-read your inital post and see you've moved to the Netherlands - you'll probably be able to find replacement headlights quite easily on eBay - there's a lot more LHD Octavias around than RHD ones.

Edited 7 June, 20205 yr by wg100

It's a 2015 model (MK III - pre-facelift).

 

Will have a look at the workshop manual as you suggest and see if it's within my limited capacities to do it myself.  Sounds like all in it would be a pricey job to get done at a garage.

 

Also hoping the OBDeleven will save a few quid with the rear foglight activation.

 

Thanks again for the info - very helpful!

Yes will take a look on eBay for the replacement headlights.  

 

Am I right to assume the front fog lamps will also need changing?

32 minutes ago, JD85 said:

Yes will take a look on eBay for the replacement headlights.  

 

Am I right to assume the front fog lamps will also need changing?

 

No, I don't believe they are directional.

1 minute ago, wg100 said:

 

No, I don't believe they are directional.

 

Great - that would be one less thing to worry about.  

 

One more question - when looking at replacement headlights, would there be any problem fitting LED headlights instead of halogens?  Have had a look on eBay and there doesn't seem to be much difference in the price between the two.

5 minutes ago, JD85 said:

 

Great - that would be one less thing to worry about.  

 

One more question - when looking at replacement headlights, would there be any problem fitting LED headlights instead of halogens?  Have had a look on eBay and there doesn't seem to be much difference in the price between the two.

It's not my area of expertise, but it's not as simple as changing the headlights. Amongst other things, the car would need to be programmed and the wiring loom may not be suitable as it was specced for Halogen.

1 minute ago, wg100 said:

It's not my area of expertise, but it's not as simple as changing the headlights. Amongst other things, the car would need to be programmed and the wiring loom may not be suitable as it was specced for Halogen.

 

Understood - makes sense.  The advice is very much appreciated.

Xenon or led also requires front washers and possibly also self leveling sensors installed.(100 for xenon, 99% sure for led)

37 minutes ago, Chrunchy said:

Xenon or led also requires front washers and possibly also self leveling sensors installed.(100 for xenon, 99% sure for led)

 

Depending on the lumens rating of the LED would determine whether you need washers. Sub 2000 lumens and you don't.

 

You'd need to find the rating for these headlights.

 

@JD85 I'd just throw a pair of LHD halogens in and then you're guaranteed all to work and to be legal. Last thing you need is Dutch plod giving your car the once over, as a RHD car with Dutch plates will look out of place.

9 hours ago, tunedude said:

 

Depending on the lumens rating of the LED would determine whether you need washers. Sub 2000 lumens and you don't.

 

You'd need to find the rating for these headlights.

 

@JD85 I'd just throw a pair of LHD halogens in and then you're guaranteed all to work and to be legal. Last thing you need is Dutch plod giving your car the once over, as a RHD car with Dutch plates will look out of place.

 

Thanks for the tip, tunedude.   Possibly a stupid question, but is it enough to simply change the bulbs or does any other part also need replacing?  

 

Also, wg100 mentioned I would need to get the beam setting done once installed.  Is this something that's doable at home or does it need a specialist to tackle?

37 minutes ago, JD85 said:

Also, wg100 mentioned I would need to get the beam setting done once installed.  Is this something that's doable at home or does it need a specialist to tackle?

It's relatively easy to park on a level place with a wall (or similar) in front and set the headlamps to be close to correct, but a headlamp alignment is always advisable.

56 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

It's relatively easy to park on a level place with a wall (or similar) in front and set the headlamps to be close to correct, but a headlamp alignment is always advisable.

 

Thanks PetrolDave.  Do you know whether it's just the bulbs need replacing or any other parts of the assembly?  I've found a separate thread (below) where you asked previously about spare bulbs for driving in France, and were sent the following link.  It's not clear whether these are suitable for driving on the left or right however.  Did you use these for driving in France?

 

http://www.superskoda.com/Skoda/OCTAVIA-III/Octavia-III-original-Skoda-spare-bulb-set-cars-WITH-front-fog-lights

 

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/409138-bulb-types/

 

 

 

 

 

4 hours ago, JD85 said:

 

Thanks for the tip, tunedude.   Possibly a stupid question, but is it enough to simply change the bulbs or does any other part also need replacing?  

 

Also, wg100 mentioned I would need to get the beam setting done once installed.  Is this something that's doable at home or does it need a specialist to tackle?

 

Only thing with LED bulbs is they're not ECE certified. LED headlights on brand new cars are the whole unit. So if they fail, you have to replace the entire unit. Depending on the bulb, the beam pattern might not be right. MOT's get failed all the time in the UK. If your car is being re-registered in the Netherlands, I'd imagine it will be similar to the tests cars in blighty have to do. Probably won't be as strict as it is a car sold on the continent.

 

You wouldn't be able to installed LED headlight units, because they're for the FL model and as previously mentioned, the xenon units need washers.

 

Halogen bulbs are your best bet. Get a decent set (I've always used Osram) and you won't need to do anything else

3 hours ago, JD85 said:

 Do you know whether it's just the bulbs need replacing or any other parts of the assembly?

When I went to France it was just for a holiday so I fitted stick-on deflectors, but for someone moving permanently to any country that drives on the right then if you have Halogen headlamps you need to replace the whole headlamp assembly.

 

Changing just the bulbs will do nothing to change the aim of the headlamps from RHD to LHD.

So to help on this question, I asked how much it would be at my local Skoda dealer last year (when I was planning a trip to Czechia). They said it would be £180 per light inc workshop time (from RHD to LHD). The cost of moving them back was £30 (just labour), so Skoda know this issue and have priced accordingly.

33 minutes ago, varaderoguy said:

So to help on this question, I asked how much it would be at my local Skoda dealer last year (when I was planning a trip to Czechia). They said it would be £180 per light inc workshop time (from RHD to LHD). The cost of moving them back was £30 (just labour), so Skoda know this issue and have priced accordingly.

Do you have Halogen or LED headlamps?

My partner had a 2016 SE 4x4 with Halogen lamps, so that how I knew of this particular issue.

1 hour ago, varaderoguy said:

My partner had a 2016 SE 4x4 with Halogen lamps, so that how I knew of this particular issue.

I think the dealer may have been confused, with Halogen lamps on the Octavia III there is no way to adjust them from RHD to LHD - you just have to stick on headlamp beam deflectors if going on holiday or change the headlamps if emigrating.

 

Other models did have headlamps that could be adjusted via a lever, but that doesn't apply to the Octavia III with Halogen headlamps.

I think you may have misunderstood me. The price you quoted was for a headlight UNIT change....i know that the standard halogen lamp units are not changable from right to left hand drive.

3 hours ago, varaderoguy said:

So to help on this question, I asked how much it would be at my local Skoda dealer last year (when I was planning a trip to Czechia). They said it would be £180 per light inc workshop time (from RHD to LHD). The cost of moving them back was £30 (just labour), so Skoda know this issue and have priced accordingly.

 

Very helpful to have this info - many thanks for sharing.