HID bulbs for XC90

[Yet another Mike]

Hi, I need another HID bulb for my 2007 (57 plate) XC90 SE Lux that we have owned since new. It is a bi-xenon system. This will be the fourth replacement bulb since the car was new. The N/S one failed after 6 months and was replaced by the dealer at no cost. I had to replace the O/S one in November 2010 (£121.03) and the N/S again in February 2012 (£113.40).

All bought from and fitted by the main dealer.

The N/S has now failed again, (the car has now done just over 80k miles). It is an Osram Xenarc D2R 35w 66050.

Finding the costs of these bulbs from the dealer to be prohibitive and yet not so long lived, I took a look around the web at options.

Interestingly the Osram website denied all knowledge of a 66050. Philips' website claims that their 85126 VIC1 will fit the car.

But dealing with one of the more reputable online sellers, they told me that the 66050 is a unique bulb made by Osram for Volvo; and Osram refuse to supply it to their firm. They believe it is identical to the Osram 66250 except for the fitment notches. They say that the notches on the 66050 are subtly different to those on the standard D2R bulbs and they are therefore unable to supply me with a bulb that will fit the XC90. If true, it sounds like a deliberate Volvo stitch-up to have a monopoly on supply.

So I am left with a couple of questions -

Am I really unlucky to be needing a 7th bulb for the car in 80k miles, or is there an underlying fault?

Do I actually have to source a very expensive bulb again from a main dealer, or despite what I was told by the online seller, is there actually an alternative cheaper option that does fit my XC90?

Any ideas, or other relevant experiences welcome.

[adieu]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/volvo-xc90-headlight-xenon

Think they are the right ones

[Yet another Mike]

Originally Posted by adieu

http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/volvo-xc90-headlight-xenon

Think they are the right ones

Thanks Adieu for the pointer. However, call me suspicious but whilst I think £100 + is too costly, surely £13.75 for a pair is too cheap. I am also not too keen on the small print conditions of the seller -
"Please check your vehicle handbook to make sure that you are purchasing the correct bulb fitment. It is your responsibility to check that the part is suitable before purchasing, any specific vehicles mentioned are for reference purposes and should always be double checked."

and
"It is the buyers responsibility to check the part number before purchase. If the wrong item is purchased and a refund is required P&P costs and 20% of the unit cost will be deducted from the refund. It is the buyers responsibility to check the part number matches those stated in the description. Any reference to specific vehicle models are for reference only and it is the buyers responsibility to check the part is suitable for their vehicle."

I am pretty sure that if I check my vehicle handbook it is not going to specify these EcoXen bulbs. But, if somebody has used these bulbs and had a good experience with them then perhaps I'll put my scepticism aside.

Has anybody bought generic D2R bulbs for their XC90, and if so, did they fit OK?

[owenfackrell]

I have and mine are fine. For the reduced cost it matters less if they don't last as long. Mine weren't the ones above how ever.

[Shadeyman]

Originally Posted by Yet another Mike

Thanks Adieu for the pointer. However, call me suspicious but whilst I think £100 + is too costly, surely £13.75 for a pair is too cheap. I am also not too keen on the small print conditions of the seller -
"Please check your vehicle handbook to make sure that you are purchasing the correct bulb fitment. It is your responsibility to check that the part is suitable before purchasing, any specific vehicles mentioned are for reference purposes and should always be double checked."

and
"It is the buyers responsibility to check the part number before purchase. If the wrong item is purchased and a refund is required P&P costs and 20% of the unit cost will be deducted from the refund. It is the buyers responsibility to check the part number matches those stated in the description. Any reference to specific vehicle models are for reference only and it is the buyers responsibility to check the part is suitable for their vehicle."

I am pretty sure that if I check my vehicle handbook it is not going to specify these EcoXen bulbs. But, if somebody has used these bulbs and had a good experience with them then perhaps I'll put my scepticism aside.

Has anybody bought generic D2R bulbs for their XC90, and if so, did they fit OK?

They we either work and save you over £200 or they wont. I would have thought they're worth a try as they're quite easy to install ...

[swxc90]

After one failed on mine, I replaced both with these and kept the original as a spare.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=171223303040

Fitted straight in, 2 minute job each side.

[SkipjackUK]

get mine from HIDS direct in Manchester, I needed D1S

genuine Osram £34.95

http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/osram-6...de-in-germany/

[Yet another Mike]

Thanks everybody for the advice, much appreciated. Before the last couple of replies had been posted, I decided to call round to the local branch of German Swedish French Car Parts (GSF Car Parts) and see what they had to offer. I reasoned that whilst they might be more expensive than online suppliers, they should be cheaper than the main dealer and if there was a problem I could take it back easily. And I could solve the problem the same day.

They also said they could not source the D2R Xenarc 66050, but were sure the D2R Xenarc 66250 would do the job.

Below is a picture of the two alongside each other. The failed 66050 is on the left and the new 66250 on the right. There appears very little difference, the 66250 has some extra metal clips at the base of the glass tube.

I fitted the new bulb with no problem. And it worked OK and was also the same colour as the bulb on the o/s of the car. For interest I took the o/s bulb out to inspect it - installed by the main dealer in November 2010 - and guess what, it is also a 66250. So the same dealer has fitted subtly different bulbs at different times.

So what have I learned -

1. Don't bother going to the main dealer for your HID bulbs, there is a huge markup, and there is no guarantee of consistency anyway.

2. If one bulb fails, don't necessarily replace both, the colour match between a new and an old bulb may be good, so suck it and see.

3. despite advice to the contrary by some dealers and suppliers, the Volvo supplied bulb is not a different fitting from the standard D2R fitment.

4. So buy the cheapest bulb you are happy with from an online source.


Thanks again

[bobdabuilda]

What was the price difference?

[diro]

The question if there is any difference in performance fitting genuine osram or philips bulbs compare to aftermarket chinese stuff?

At the moment I have fitted these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-4300K-D...item27d2c608ff

before had 5000k different brand chinese crap.
Obviously 4300k better on the wet roads at the moment but still not fully satisfied.
It would be nice to hear if some1 was using genuine osram or philips and can compare whether its worth to buy or just dont bother and better save money buying cheaper alternatives.

The point is my old S40 T4 halogen headlights seems do better job illuminating wet roads than XC90 projectors.