Don't waste money replacing Xenon bulbs at Dealer

[bobdabuilda]

The last set of volvo blades I had from the dealership were definitely not Bosch and lasted 12months at a push. They also had an ugly overlap fitting on the end of the wiper arm and not at all flush like the ones they originally replaced. When queried I was told it was a different new design from Volvo.... wouldn't buy again.

[bobdabuilda]

The last set of volvo blades I had from the dealership were definitely not Bosch and lasted 12months at a push. They also had an ugly overlap fitting on the end of the wiper arm and not at all flush like the ones they originally replaced. When queried I was told it was a different new design from Volvo.... wouldn't buy again.
Also the cheap neolux h7 bulbs I've bought from ECP last longer than the Volvo bulbs I've used before and the nightbreakers from Osram so costwise its a nobrainer.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by bobdabuilda

The last set of volvo blades I had from the dealership were definitely not Bosch and lasted 12months at a push. They also had an ugly overlap fitting on the end of the wiper arm and not at all flush like the ones they originally replaced. When queried I was told it was a different new design from Volvo.... wouldn't buy again.
Also the cheap neolux h7 bulbs I've bought from ECP last longer than the Volvo bulbs I've used before and the nightbreakers from Osram so costwise its a nobrainer.

yes current ones are not as good as the older cars blades , not Bosch .. Ford cost cutting no doubt ..

you say the neolux bulbs lasted more than 18 months when used as day running lights?

[bobdabuilda]

Yep I have been really impressed with them especially as they cost about £1.50 each as opposed to the much more expensive ones I formerly tried above. Bte I've never had a volvo one last beyond a year and when mentioned to the dealership they just shrug the shoulders and say 'consumables arent guaranteed'

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by bobdabuilda

The last set of volvo blades I had from the dealership were definitely not Bosch and lasted 12months at a push. They also had an ugly overlap fitting on the end of the wiper arm and not at all flush like the ones they originally replaced. When queried I was told it was a different new design from Volvo.... wouldn't buy again.
Also the cheap neolux h7 bulbs I've bought from ECP last longer than the Volvo bulbs I've used before and the nightbreakers from Osram so costwise its a nobrainer.

The Osram Nightbreaker is a high powered bulb that runs at a higher temperature to give more light at a higher colour temperature - consequently the life expectancy is around half that of a normal bulb and this is clearly marked on the packaging. The worst bulbs in my experience are RING and Halfords.

[Squirrell]

One of mine went last week, I had the car brand new, it's now 4.5 years old, done 48k, so don't bank on getting 7 years from the original Volvo ones!
I will be looking for Philips/Osram/Bosch as a replacement and fit them myself, no way am I paying £183 for a bulb!

[EdmundIJones]

Interestingly one of the ladies who works for me as a 2007 plate V60 with xenon's. She noticed one wasn't working last week so I took a look for her and showed her how to take the headlight cluster out.

She spoke to Volvo today who quoted her £66 per bulb and £15 to fit. No hard less for buying two just upfront £66. So she is getting them to fit it tomorrow for her.

[Squirrell]

I changed the Xenon bulbs yesterday and they are so simple, less than 5 mins to do both sides, pull out the two metal clips, headlight completely removed, twist off the plastic cover, twist the plastic reatining ring holding the bulb 1/4of a turn, pull out the bulb, pull off the connector, replace bulb by reversing the process above to reassemble. All for the cost of two Xenarc Osram bulbs that were £35 each. I decided to change both even though only one had failed to ensure they were the same colour and also to have a spare, just in case. They werelabelled identically and look exactly the same as the original ones I removed from the car. Anybody can do this, just take your time and be careful handling and fitting the bulb, they are fragile!

Fingers crossed they last longer than the orginal ones Volvo fitted at the factory as they have only lasted 4.5 years and 48k.

[12345]

One thing I learnt, was to make sure that the bulb is firmly pushed into its holder. The holder has about 12 prongs that clamp around the case of the bulb. At first my bulb was pointing to the ground.