Volvo HID bulb - How much!!

[Tony_TVR]

My C30 T5 has factory HID bulbs fitted as an extra although the other day one of them failed. The car is only 4 years old with 40k.

The dash kindly indicated the low beam had failed so I visited the Volvo main dealer for a replacement bulb. Imagine my shock when I found out:
a) They are not a stock item and must be ordered
b) It is £126 for the low beam filament only!
c) They don’t consider bulbs to be a consumable item, and even if they did at that price they are too expensive to stock!

Now to add salt to my wound I have just done a search on the bulb type on eBay and found that copy parts are down as low as £10/pair delivered. No just to put all the '... not as good quality comments to bed' are they really 24 times better. I don’t consider 4 years particularly 'long life'.

Appreciate any comments or support - Volvo UK are being copied into this thread.

[philmots]

I'd be careful buying from ebay, but if you pick one up from powerbulbs or similar (also trade on ebay!) it should be a genuine one. Your standard bulb will be made by Osram or similar just in a Volvo box.

[458bhp]

Cheapest dealer for Volvo parts even when you factor in delivery is FRF Swansea. Thats where most people from the various Volvo forums buy their genuine parts from.

[confused_buyer]

It is just a bog standard Philips or Osram D2 bulb in a Volvo box.

The non-branded ones on ebay are generally OK if from a reputable seller. Just make sure whether you need a D2R or D2S (I think D2S for the later C30) and the colour temperature so it matches your other bulb (4300k probably).

[6fire]

If not a consumable, will they replace them under warranty? If they won't surely they're having their cake and eating it?

[Pesty]

Try here although some of their bulbs are very expensive branded ones are half the price you were quoted.


http://www.powerbulbs.com/store/category/xenon-hid...

[wolf1]

6fire said:

If not a consumable, will they replace them under warranty? If they won't surely they're having their cake and eating it?

It's 4yr old so out of warranty.

[Rich_W]

Be carful when changing it. There's a lot of voltaeg in there!

[Pesty]

Rich_W said:

Be carful when changing it. There's a lot of voltaeg in there!

And some amperaeg

[Rich_W]

[Megaflow]

http://www.hids4u.co.uk/

I had a similar conversation with Volvo when one went on my old S40, except after telling me the price was £126, he then told me he couldn't sell me one. When I asked why he said it was dealer fit only because of the voltage, when I asked what the difference between a 20k volt headlight bulb and a 20k volt spark plug was, he said, and this is the gods honest truth, "you don't change a spark plug when it's live".

The dumb pillock didn't really have a answer when I said, I don't plan on changing the bulb live either...

A bulb from the above was exactly the same Philips bulb as I took out, with the same part number, the only difference was it cost £46 inc free next day delivery.

Changing them on a C30/S40/V50 is child's play too, open the bonnet, locate what looks like a stainless shell tent peg and pull it out, remove the headlight and disconnect the wiring. Remove the cover on the back of the headlight, remove the ballast with a 90deg turn, and remove the bulb as normal. No tools required. Reassembly is the reverse...

[Kenny-Mack]

Same thing happened to me not long ago, BMW wanted crazy money, i found a recommended supplier through one of the BMW forums, and i just replaced them both - because the colour temp of your existing bulb will have changed slightly over time and won't match the new one anyway.

As someone said there is a lot of voltage in there so be careful.

at 4yrs old it really shouldn't have failed but these things happen

[Garvin]

The life of an OEM HID bulb is far in excess of the life of the average vehicle. This is why they aren't carried as a stock item - they're just not required as a consumable item and really only required for damage repairs where ordering them in is not a problem. Having said that I had a HID light failure on a previous Audi - turned out the bulb was fine but the ballast unit had failed.

[Megaflow]

They fail quite a lot on Volvo's because they are used as the DRL, so they are on all the time. Sadly, as I found out, this probably means the OP's other one won't be far behind.