Weak Headlights - Contact Volvo

[jepho]

The response below is how Volvo see the issue of customer relations and dangerous lighting.

It would appear that I should have purchased my car through them and then I would have been confident that the Volvo dealer would have found an alternative solution.

It looks to me as if Volvo customer relations might just have well said to me that the best solution was...



I will see about getting VOSA to test the lighting.

Grrrrr.

Dear...

Thank you for your e-mail.

I am very sorry to read that you are extremely disappointed with the brightness from the dipped beam on your recently purchased Volvo C70.

I can assure you Mr... that the headlamps meet all the UK legal requirements and regulations. If the dealership has confirmed that there is no manufacturing defect, I can only request that you speak to the selling agent of the vehicle to see if you can exchange or return the vehicle.

Based on the information you have provided below, it does not appear that the vehicle was purchased within our dealer network, if it has been purchased within our dealer network, I have every confidence that the dealership will provide you with an alternative solution.

Kind regards

Kiran Rakhra

Customer Relations Consultant
Volvo Car UK Limited
Volvo Car Corporation - Region 2

[janusz]

well, car surely had to meet local safety regulations. no doubts about that.
The issue lies elsewhere. Even if the lights were the best in the world at the time when the car was new, something obviously has happened between then and now as the light emitted by projectors is now rather pathetic...
Now, something interesting for all readers. Spoke to a friend of mine today who owns VW Passat with headlights quite similar to these on s40 (low beam projector, high beam "standard" halogen). He mentioned that: "yeah, low beam isn't the best of the world on passat but it's just ok. Yes, I can see that too (other cars have better lights) but that's design issue - projectors are designed for xenon - not halogen".
Looks like then we, Volvo owners, are not the only ones facing low beam issues although perhaps in our case the problem is quite visible...

[Volvorforlife]

The reason I changed my projectors was because volvo use a cheap Bosch projector, even the projector in the demon lights are crap. The projector in xenon and halogen lights different.

[Clan]

I have found 2 problems with these lights :

1 , That SOME of these V50/S4/C30/C70 lights are simply aimed too low and focus on the road ahead at a distance that doesnt allow safe progress above 50 mph at night .. I simply went to a dark lane and adjusted them up a little by eye and drove it and the beam seemed to be of a height that was much better . I dont have a beam alignment gauge but no one has flashed me and i dont see the edge of the beam shining any higher than other cars i drive .
I suspect that when aligned on a headlamp tester they may appear correct and not too low but in practice are focusing too low on the road ahead . These cars are passing MOT tests and enough people have had the alignment checked due to the aim pointing to the ground up ahead so what IS the probem ? ..

2 , I have found the reflectors on some of these cars have lost their silver at the top due to the heat rising from the bulb which is on in the day time , you cannot buy the reflectors but second hand good ones are fine .
Both the above things i did made the headlamps as good but not better than any other average car out there .

I have found that dirty front plastic covers and misty lenses inside the headlamp make very little difference to the light output surprisingly ..
I hope that helps a bit ..

[oban]

I couldn't agree more I have a 850 t5 and the headlights are shocking, very poor I also have a Peugeot 406 estate that has fantastic headlights, this is frustrating when Volvo prides themselves on safety.
Does anybody no of an upgrade to help cure this?

[jepho]

Originally Posted by janusz

well, car surely had to meet local safety regulations. no doubts about that.

I thought it was stating the obvious and customer relations personnel at Volvo were making a point that did not need making. I have less confidence in them now. They appear not to have read the complaint I was making.

Worse, because the car I own was not bought through their own dealer network, Volvo customer services appear to think it absolves them from the responsibility to produce a vehicle that is safe under all possible conditions of use.

Originally Posted by janusz

The issue lies elsewhere. Even if the lights were the best in the world at the time when the car was new, something obviously has happened between then and now as the light emitted by projectors is now rather pathetic...

I am not convinced that anything concerning the dipped beam performance of my car has slipped out of adjustment. It just appears to be a shockingly bad design error. Having now fitted Volvo H7 bulbs, I will pay to have the local Volvo dealer investigate the issue and give me a report on what has taken place.

Then it is a formal test at VOSA to establish how far below par the lights are performing. After that I will contact Volvo again.

[jepho]

Originally Posted by Volvorforlife

The reason I changed my projectors was because volvo use a cheap Bosch projector, even the projector in the demon lights are crap. The projector in xenon and halogen lights different.

Have you just changed the projector glass lenses? If so, I would be interested to know precisely how you did this and what results you experienced after the change. Which projector lenses would you recommend?

Please would you tell me how the projector part of the lamp differs between the different bulb types?

[jepho]

Originally Posted by oban

I couldn't agree more I have a 850 t5 and the headlights are shocking, very poor I also have a Peugeot 406 estate that has fantastic headlights, this is frustrating when Volvo prides themselves on safety.
Does anybody no of an upgrade to help cure this?

If there is a way to change the projector lenses, and that will cure the issue, I too am interested in finding out just how to go about making the modification.

[jepho]

Originally Posted by Clan

I have found 2 problems with these lights :

1 , That SOME of these V50/S4/C30/C70 lights are simply aimed too low and focus on the road ahead at a distance that doesnt allow safe progress above 50 mph at night .. I simply went to a dark lane and adjusted them up a little by eye and drove it and the beam seemed to be of a height that was much better .

Thank you for a useful response. My first thought was that the beams were set too low. I had an MOT tester set them to the correct height and that made some difference... I could now see that there should have been light in the places where the beam was pointing.

After fitting the Volvo H7 bulbs, there was a small increase in light output and it was an improvement over the Ring +120% bulbs I had installed. Nevertheless, the performance on the road is truly dire. Any ambient lighting from street lamps (sodium) or other cars and the weakly illuminated pool of light on the road just disappears. In heavy rain, the lighting is positively lethal as nothing can be discerned by me when driving.

Originally Posted by Clan

I dont have a beam alignment gauge but no one has flashed me and i dont see the edge of the beam shining any higher than other cars i drive . I suspect that when aligned on a headlamp tester they may appear correct and not too low but in practice are focusing too low on the road ahead . These cars are passing MOT tests and enough people have had the alignment checked due to the aim pointing to the ground up ahead so what IS the probem ? ..

My take on the problem is that the projector lens is too thick to permit the easy passage of light. That answer just does not make sense; in terms of the design parameters that I assume the Volvo design team imposed. Yet, the light is consistently poor for several forum members (under similar conditions) and, for me, that eliminates the possibility that chance lent a hand and therefore we all have either dirty lamp reflectors, badly adjusted lamps or poor eyesight or a mixture of all of these issues.

My car was supposed to have passed its MOT test before I bought it... and yet the lighting was very badly adjusted with the beams being set wrongly (one too high and the other too low) but it had passed that particular MOT tester. A second MOT tester 'discovered' the lamp misalignment after I had mentioned the poor lighting brightness and light pattern. My hope is that the local Volvo dealer will adjust the lamps to a position that will reflect the values with which they should have been set when the car was new.

Originally Posted by Clan

2 , I have found the reflectors on some of these cars have lost their silver at the top due to the heat rising from the bulb which is on in the day time , you cannot buy the reflectors but second hand good ones are fine .
Both the above things i did made the headlamps as good but not better than any other average car out there .

I have found that dirty front plastic covers and misty lenses inside the headlamp make very little difference to the light output surprisingly ..
I hope that helps a bit ..

It is a good point about the reflectors and I will specifically ask that the Volvo dealer looks at this particular aspect. If necessary, I will try to buy some better ones. The car had only done 26,000 miles when I bought it and everything looked well cared for... all the service stamps were present in the book. I did not get the feeling that the car had been subjected to abuse. The plastic headlamp covers and the projector lens glass all looks to be very clean and clear.

I don't feel that it is helpful for Volvo to effectively wash their hands of the problem by effectively telling me that because I did not buy my car (a Volvo) through a Volvo dealer.... the problem does not happen to Volvo cars.

[Volvorforlife]

Originally Posted by jepho

Have you just changed the projector glass lenses? If so, I would be interested to know precisely how you did this and what results you experienced after the change. Which projector lenses would you recommend?

Please would you tell me how the projector part of the lamp differs between the different bulb types?

I used the projectors from a lexus LS430 they are bi xenon and I used the hole projector combined with Denso ballast boosted to 70w with Densoa 35w and 55w switch so I can choose between 35w 55w and 70w and the bulbs I use are five5 bulbs.

It was easy enough to do but cost over £1200 for the parts.

The difference is night and day.