How long should they last? My g/f's IS is about 26 months old and just noticed one of the lights were out. I thought they were supposed to last longer than regular halogens...?

 

good question.

having read around the 2is section, i've found that the 2is oem hid system is a bit picky when it comes to D4S bulbs.

some have great experiences with aftermarket bulbs lasting forever, and some have gone through multiple sets of oem D4S bulbs.

if anyone else has a better explanation, feel free to jump in...

 

an hid, even aftermarket should last the lifetime of the vehicle. i think its rated at 3000hours typically which comes to about 8 years of regular usage.

if the bulb went out prematurely, its either that the bulb had a manufacturing defect, or the ballast is not providing constant 35W output and killed the bulb

someone chime in if they think otherwise

 

Short cycling can significantly reduce the life expectancy of an HID bulb. That's why I wouldn't recommend using the AUTO headlight setting if your GF parks in a garage, or drives under other circumstances that are causing the light to turn on and off unnecessarily.

 

^^^ The lights are not set on AUTO mode and the only time she parks in a garage is at home; I dont think I have ever seen her turn the lights on inside a garage at like the mall or anywhere like that either.

I read some posts here about people getting their bulb replaced under warranty so I think she's going to call to see if she can get her's under warranty too. FWIW the car is an '08 with about 28k miles on it.

Any suggestions for good aftermarket bulbs assuming the dealer won't cover it?

 

ddm tuning has a lifetime warranty on all of their hid products and they're really inexpensive.

 

I dont think anything HID will last longer then 2 years. Thats why you should get some aftermaket HID's with life time warranty or something. Clark@VIPSTATUS offers that, so as long as you have your receipt they will cover your HID's.

 

i have found, doesn't matter which brand of HID bulbs i use they all seem to last me bout a yr, so i just buy the cheepo ones from ebay, but i think when i order new bulbs i'll just go with vleds. (i never use AUTO)

 

Just to update this thread, my g/f was able to get the bulb covered under the original warranty (4/50k). The dealer replaced the other side too! We'll see how long these last. Thanks for all the responses guys!

 

wrong


wrong again, cheap bulbs all burn out quickly, OEM osram sylvania or philips will last years....see the HID link in my sig for more info on HID

 

Wow. I just replaced a bulb after 2 1/2 years. Didn't even think to ask the dealer. I just bought another Phillips bulb on eBay.

 

I still had the stock HID bulbs in my 98 GS400 up until i sold the car a year or so ago... 10 years of use and 175k miles on the car, and they worked fine still.

HID bulbs are supposed to last... if youre still in factory warranty, the dealer should replace the bulb at no cost, assuming there are no obvious modifications.

 

I think my right side just went out. I'm at past warranty though, oh well. Where can I get replacement for OEM HID bulbs?

 

through personal experience my bulbs last about a year and a half or so

 

I have my OEM bulbs, 24k on them. I'll sell you one for 30$ shipped. Let me know