Hi,

So i just saw a tiktok about someone complaining that his toyota 2022 headlight burnt and he need to replace the entire unit since you can't chnlga e the bulb, and that's why he hates new cars. So i went to look on my car and it seems like you can't change the bulb you need to replace the qhole unit if it is burnt. Do you know how long it is supposed to last? It's not cheap to buy a unit and that's before the work to repace it you have to take out half the car

I think the headlamp units of your Israel-marketed Fabia Mk4 will be what Skoda calls "Bi-LED" type and similar to my UK-marketed Fabia's headlamps, except yours will have a dipped-beam pattern appropriate for driving on the right-hand side of the road, whereas my car's headlamps have a dipped-beam pattern appropriate for driving on the left-hand side of the road.

Received wisdom seems to be that the expected lifespan of the LED headlamps factory-fitted to new cars is from 30,000 to 50,000 hours, but, if a LED headlamp starts to fail, it can be expensive to replace. I took a cursory look at my car's lights and I thought that it might be possible to replace the four LED modules individually (rather than the complete light unit) but I could not be sure.

If a car has 'smart' full matrix LED headlamps (with a swappable dipped-beam pattern) dealing with failure (or damage) is likely to prove VERY expensive and I recall the replacement cost of a single matrix LED headlamp unit for a Hyundai being around £1400.

My 2021 Hyundai i20 had an 'entry level' specification and (unusual) halogen headlamp bulbs that were far from easy to replace - but the bulbs themselves were only about £10.

My helpful AI assistant says

While most new cars feature LED headlights, halogen bulbs are still commonly found in entry-level and some budget-friendly models. LED headlights are increasingly standard on mid-range and premium vehicles. Halogen bulbs, the traditional type, are known for their lower cost and ease of replacement. 

• LED Headlights:

  These are becoming the norm, offering benefits like longer lifespan, energy efficiency, and brighter light output. They are often integrated into the headlight unit and may not be easily replaceable as individual bulbs. 

  (My 2009 Skoda Roomster has 'projector' headlamp units with a single H7 halogen bulb and the light output is very poor. I've replaced the halogen bulbs with LED equivalents and the improvement is very significant. Each time the Roomster is due for its annual Ministry of Transport safety test, I need to remember to put the H7 bulbs back in as 'converting' a halogen-bulb light unit to LED is forbidden in the UK. Fortunately, swapping the Roomster's headlamp bulbs fromLED to halogen and vice versa just takes a few minutes.)

3 hours ago, nimni said:

Hi,

So i just saw a tiktok about someone complaining that his toyota 2022 headlight burnt and he need to replace the entire unit since you can't chnlga e the bulb, and that's why he hates new cars. So i went to look on my car and it seems like you can't change the bulb you need to replace the qhole unit if it is burnt. Do you know how long it is supposed to last? It's not cheap to buy a unit and that's before the work to repace it you have to take out half the car

I really wouldn't worry. Yes, LED headlights are expensive to replace, but your car is a 2024. Many other things will blow up before the headlights (or tail lights) decide to go.

It should be possible to identify visually from outside the car whether a Fabia Mk4 has the simpler LED non-adaptive headlamps or the more complex, more expensive, adaptive full-matrix LED type, but that assumes one knows what the two types look like!

An alternative method might be to check the car's Travel Mode lighting setting on its infotainment display unit. My Fabia has the Amundsen display unit and non-adaptive LED headlamps. The dipped-beam pattern of adaptive full-matrix LED lights can be swapped between a 'left-hand traffic' pattern (eg. for driving in the UK) or a 'right-hand traffic' pattern (eg. for driving in Continental Europe). If the infotainment unit has the Travel Mode menu option shown below then the car should have adaptive full-matrix LED headlamps.

However, if the Travel Mode option is 'greyed out' (as with my Fabia) the LED headlamps will be the less sophisticated type.

Edited 20 July, 202520 Jul by DerekU

21 hours ago, DerekU said:

as 'converting' a halogen-bulb light unit to LED is forbidden in the UK

Correct for your 2009 Roomster but not strictly true as you can on vehicles first used before 1 April 1986. - https://www.passmefast.co.uk/resources/rules-of-the-road/driving-law/led-headlights

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/4-lamps-reflectors-and-electrical-equipment#section-4-1-4

1 hour ago, nta16 said:

Correct for your 2009 Roomster but not strictly true as you can on vehicles first used before 1 April 1986. - https://www.passmefast.co.uk/resources/rules-of-the-road/driving-law/led-headlights

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/4-lamps-reflectors-and-electrical-equipment#section-4-1-4

Yes, please don't do this. Every time I'm blinded by a 2009 Uber Prius with AliExpress LED headlights, I wish people cared about the laws and leglislation.

These are the H7 LED bulbs I chose to install in my Roomster

Classic Car LEDs Ltd

Pair of Compact Ultra H7 LED Headlight Conversion Bulbs M...

This is a pair of our new, ultra compact, ultra bright direct replacement H7 LEDs. These LEDs have the same fitment and therefore will fit most vehicles that take an H7 lamp for dipped or main beam...

The 1 April 1968 'compliance date' is clearly mentioned in the advert, as is the requirement that the LED bulb must still pass the MOT's beam pattern test. I did (crudely) compare the H7 halogen and LED beam patterns and, as far as I could see, they were the same.

OSRAM markets a range of LED bulbs that can be used legally as halogen bulb replacements in quite a few countries. The UK is not on the OSRAM country list, though Ireland is.

I've only owned one car (a 1962 Turner) that would have been eligible for the pre-April 1968 MOT derogation and I used (fragile) Lucas Le Mans headlamp units in that. I'm amused to see the current asking price of those units - as I was pretty skint in those days, the Le Mans lights must have been cheap back then.

8 hours ago, DerekU said:

It should be possible to identify visually from outside the car whether a Fabia Mk4 has the simpler LED non-adaptive headlamps or the more complex, more expensive, adaptive full-matrix LED type, but that assumes one knows what the two types look like!

An alternative method might be to check the car's Travel Mode lighting setting on its infotainment display unit. My Fabia has the Amundsen display unit and non-adaptive LED headlamps. The dipped-beam pattern of adaptive full-matrix LED lights can be swapped between a 'left-hand traffic' pattern (eg. for driving in the UK) or a 'right-hand traffic' pattern (eg. for driving in Continental Europe). If the infotainment unit has the Travel Mode menu option shown below then the car should have adaptive full-matrix LED headlamps.

However, if the Travel Mode option is 'greyed out' (as with my Fabia) the LED headlamps will be the less sophisticated type.

I have the more sophisticated one

Used to be a Turner just parked on the main (bypassed for many years) road in a nearby village, so rarely go that way now but I'd not be surprised if it was still there as the village had two classic car garages that I knew of.

Only the front side light bulbs were specified on my 1973 Midget, at 5 watt and as put the LED bulbs in the headlights confusion was sorted in 2021(?).

I've recommended Classic Car LEDS Ltd as a good company with good products for a while, even for modern VW's (where allowed).

I notice I said "1968" above, but the 'exemption year' is "1986" (as nta16 advised).

This means that, besides my Turner, my lethal Reliant Scimitar GTE and (possibly) my first Golf GTi could, nowadays , have their headlights legally converted to LED.

Edited 21 July, 202521 Jul by DerekU

As I live in a glass house I let the transpose go. 😄

I always fancied a GTE (and P1800 ES) but a GTE owner, and user, where I worked then advised me against owning one so I turned to considering a GT6 but a chap at work got me on to MGs and that was the start of me disproportionately helping the British economy out. I got a GT6 later and it was possibly the worst car ownership experience for me, but my considerable losses were others gains, some very undesirably.

The LED lights on "classic cars" debates and use I lived through with many of those owners against were buying inferior products but earlier even good LED bulbs weren't as good as they should be now.

19 hours ago, nimni said:

I have the more sophisticated one

Although (as OccyVRS highlighted above) LED headlamps can be expected to have a long lifespan, they are not guaranteed to be immortal nor to be immune to accidental damage.

On a just-in-case basis, it might be educational to ask your Skoda dealership what the cost of a replacement headlamp currently is for your car.

(An online advert for a single LED matrix headlamp for a Skoda Octavia Mk 4 quotes a price of 1191€)

10 minutes ago, DerekU said:

..... LED headlamps can be expected to have a long lifespan, they are not guaranteed to be immortal nor to be immune to accidental damage.....

Imagine having a miinor bump and the other driver saying "Not much damage, just a cracked headlight. 50 Quid should sort it ...." 😲