How To: Change Headlamp / Headlight bulb

[usbseawolf2000]

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

They'll probably just ask that you send it in for a replacement. It's been two months already?! wow.

Powerbulbs.com (where I bought it) has not reply yet. Since they are in UK, I will not be making an international call.

I called up Philips USA and they simply refuse to replace the dead bulb. The support lady said that Philips only do store level returns. She did not answer my question of the length of the warranty for the X-Treme Power bulbs.

I went to R & Strauss and bought another pair of X-Treme Power for $49.99. I just replaced a dead one and keeping an extra bulb, just in case. We'll see.

While replacing the dead bulb under the sun today, I noticed "stuffs" on the brand new bulb. I put it back in and got the 2nd one out. The 2nd one looked cleaner but it still had smaller "stuffs" on the glass. The bulbs are made in Germany. I feel disappointed with Philips quality and support.

I already spent over 100 bucks on light bulbs and I do not have confidence how long they are going to last. Let's hope my dead bulb is a fluke / defective one.

[Boo]

Ouch. 2 months/5000 miles is not a good sign, even in the world of flukes.

I was expecting the Philips X-Treme Power bulbs to last at least as long as the Sylvania Silverstars lasted on Tideland Prius' Prius (1 year).

BTW, I still have not received a response from Philips to the email I sent them more than 2 months ago wherein I asked Philips what the life expectancy of the X-Treme Power bulbs were.

[Tideland Prius]

Hmm interesting. It better last as long as the Sylvannias although I have noticed they are running quite hot. I have seen smoke rise from my headlight cover after driving in cold rain/snow.

What you could do is go back 2 months later and say that the bulb you bought at R & Strauss burned out.

[usbseawolf2000]

Thanks for the suggestion.

I just found out that the bulb has two filaments. I really looked into the bulb because my highbeam was still working. I found the filament at the tip edge was broken while the one close to the base was still good.

[ScottY]

Originally Posted by Boo

...

BTW, I still have not received a response from Philips to the email I sent them more than 2 months ago wherein I asked Philips what the life expectancy of the X-Treme Power bulbs were.

lol... I did the same thing two weeks ago. No words yet. I guess I shouldn't expect them to get back to me any time soon.

Boy, this is bad news. I was hoping to replace the OEM's with the X-treme Power when they go out.

[Boo]

Originally Posted by ScottY

lol... I did the same thing two weeks ago. No words yet. I guess I shouldn't expect them to get back to me any time soon.

Hmmm. Maybe Philips' response to me got lost in the email lol.

Originally Posted by ScottY

Boy, this is bad news. I was hoping to replace the OEM's with the X-treme Power when they go out.

Maybe you still can. By the time your new OEM's go out, you should have the benefit of additional anecdotal experiences of usbseawolf2000, Tideland Prius and me. Personally, I like the 80% greater brightness so much, that if the X-Treme Power bulbs last around 12,000 miles, then I'll be willing to replace them with the same. If they don't last that long, then I'm just going to try a different brand of brighter bulb like the Sylvania Silverstars Ultra, which, based on Tideland Prius' experience, should last at least 12,000 miles. [EDIT: Per Tideland Prius' post below, he had the Silverstars, NOT the Silverstars Ultra.]

[usbseawolf2000]

When I was at the store, I was thinking of getting the Philips Vision Plus that is 50% brighter. I used it in my previous car for two years before trading it in for the Prius. I decided to give X-Treme Power another chance and bought it.

We will see how things go with my bulbs as Tideland Prius and Boo's bulbs are still working fine. It is still too early to conclude.

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by Boo

Maybe you still can. By the time your new OEM's go out, you should have the benefit of additional anecdotal experiences of usbseawolf2000, Tideland Prius and me. Personally, I like the 80% greater brightness so much, that if the X-Treme Power bulbs last around 12,000 miles, then I'll be willing to replace them with the same. If they don't last that long, then I'm just going to try a different brand of brighter bulb like the Sylvania Silverstars Ultra, which, based on Tideland Prius' experience, should last at least 12,000 miles.

Note I used the Silverstars NOT the Silverstars Ultra.


I managed to see my X-Treme Power bulbs in the front of the car for the first time (dad was parking the car when I was leaving the house in my friend's car). They are damn bright . Almost high beam in intensity but aimed low.

[Tideland Prius]

Any updates?

[Boo]

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

Any updates?

None on my end. Everything remains fine, but I've only driven 500 miles since I put in the X-Treme Power bulbs. Gotta get out of my room more often.