Headlamp failures

[guest1060]

This could be pure coincidence but my 2008 GD jazz has recently had both headlamps fail within 2 months of each other.  Headlamp failures are rare enough for this to be  noteworthy.

I am nervous because I am a month away from the end of the 3 year warranty period.

I know there is a recall for some jazzes because of the switching mechanism but these were bulb failures which were cured by replacing the bulbs.

FYI to replace the headlamps you need to partially remove the wheel arch liners (very stiff plastic) and then fiddle around blind with one hand.  Absolutely ridiculous.

Or you can pay Halfords £5.99 to have one of their young lads do it. The best £5.99 I have ever spent.

[guest713]

Can't offer any advice on the actual problem but just had to comment on Halfords...they did my MOT last year and the only "fail" was a headlight bulb - I had to use my phone to search the internet for a how-to as none of them could fathom how to get in to the bloody things!

[guest907]

I had both headlamps fail couple of years ago on my GD within about 100 miles of each other on a business trip to Milton Keynes. The Honda dealer replaced both bulbs and charged me £26 inc VAT which I was more than happy with.

Am I right in thinking GE headlamp bulbs can now be changed under the bonnet?

[chrisv]

I attempted to change a headlamp bulb  on my 2005 1.2,,,,,read book,,,,,,remove trim from wheel arch,,,,lokk , try, give up.....dealer changed both bulbs for about £12 a bargain,,,but they didn't touch the wheel arch trims??

[bill888]

Fitfreak shows how to change the bulb, with photos here:
http://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-diy-repair-maintenance/36509-diy-changing-headlight-bulbs.html

[nowster]

That's one of the things that's very much simpler on the GE models.

[culzean]

Just note that those 90/100W bulbs fitted on fitfreak website are illegal in UK for on-road use

Although from my daily drive to and from work in the dark down country lanes I'm 100% sure some of the cars are fitted with them - from behind they light up the interior of my car are like a jumbo jet landing behind me,  or when approaching from the front they sizzle your eyeballs and leave you blind for a few hundred metres after they have passed.  And when they are combined with fog lights they look like part of Blackpool illuminations approaching.

[guest2865]

............ and their use in UK reg cars will no doubt invalidate owners car insurance.

[guest1583]

 

     I have change both my headlight for my Jazz, I did access the headlight case from the wheel arches below, taking off all the plastic trimmmings below it took me about half an hour its a bit tricky though.

[guest1844]

One would normally expect headlight bulbs to fail at roughly the same time. If they're made exactly the same, they will be "burning out" at the same rate. I replaced a bulb last year, and then the other a week or so later. Likewise my other car.

Difficult-to-change bulbs are a safety issue I think. People just end up driving round with one bulb for weeks (in the case of a friend's Megane) because they have to arrange getting it changed. What happens if that goes, as you might expect it would? There's no point carrying spare bulbs in the glovebox anymore.

[guest1583]

hi
Well it depends if you can re place it or not.

[culzean]

I normally choose a nice warm dry summers day to change the bulbs our Jazzes (yes more than 1 in the family) and change them every 12 months.  Beats the hell out of crawling around on a cold and wet winters day trying to change one because it has blown.

[guest1583]

 
thats such a nice idea.

[guest2865]

I normally choose a nice warm dry summers day to change the bulbs our Jazzes (yes more than 1 in the family) and change them every 12 months.  Beats the hell out of crawling around on a cold and wet winters day trying to change one because it has blown.

!! - I haven't had to change a headlamp bulb since the days of sealed beam units (60s/70s) - How many failures have you experienced with your Jazzes?

[culzean]

'Normal' (low performance) headlight bulbs will last longer than the high performance xenon gas (+50%. +80% and now +120%) brighter, that I have been using since they were introduced quite a few years ago now.   I cover a few miles a year and found that around 15 months one will pop.  That is why I change them every 12 months now, when it is convenient for me!!!!

Recently I fitted  Phillips Superbrights (+80% and around £22 a pair) and the increase in visibility was very welcome, I now have Halfords ultrabright (+120% and about £25 a pair) and they are very good.

One tip is to always avoid blue or coloured bulbs because all the coloured glass does is decrease the amount of light the bulb puts out.  Also note that these extra bright bulbs in standard wattage (55/65 watt H4 for Jazz) are fully road legal in UK - unlike the  90/100Watt filament and retro-fit superwhite HID 'conversion' bulbs, which are totally illegal in UK because they are not CE marked and not matched to the reflectors - this means that the beam pattern is illegal and all they do is throw the extra light in all directions and annoy the Sh*t out of other road users.