I am not the best when it comes to car mechanics, so bear with me!

My wife has a two year old VW Polo, and the headlamps dipped bulbs keep going. We are using the bulbs suggested as being correct by VW, installing correctly, not touching the bulb itself etc. But we have had 4-5 bulbs go, on both sides over the space of the last 5-6 months costing a small fortune.

Any suggestions?

My wife has a two year old VW Polo, and the headlamps dipped bulbs keep going

Must be costing you a mint.

boom, boom, tish…………

I had this with my old Ibiza although that would have been an older generation than your Polo.

You should replace both sides at once, really. When one blows it seems to weaken the other side which then fails not long after….repeat and repeat….

It might be worth getting the fault codes checked. I mentioned it at a service & when they checked the fault codes, there were loads of over-voltage errors coming up; the mechanic reckoned the regulator on the alternator was putting out slightly too high a voltage which may have been causing the issue but reckoned it wasn’t worth sorting out unless it really became a problem.

If they are the standard H7 55W bulbs, then have a look at the Halfords heavy duty options. They are the same price as their normal ones (I think) and come in a green packet. Since using them, I didn’t have another bulb fail. Prior to that, I was getting through 4 bulbs/yr…..

Our Touran ate rear bulbs, reliably every 4-6months, and headlight ones maybe a year to eighteen months.
Is it a VAG thing? Our Ford doesn’t, neither did the Toyota.

These:

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-blades-batteries/car-bulbs/halfords-472-h4-heavy-duty-car-bulbs-x-2

Look like they are a few quid more for a pair. Worth trying though IMO.

Happened on my much older Audi. Check to see if the headlight unit itself is locked into position properly as what was happening on mine was excess vibration causing headlight bulbs to go.

Thanks all, the offside one i could understand vibrations as above as you have to physically remove whole headlamp unit to get space to change bulb, but it is nearside that has gone again this time which is just a case of unscrewing rear cap on light to access.

Will look at the engine fault codes and see if that may be issue

Light failures are something that happens on some cars, my partners Saab, my ex-wifes Forester – but not her previous one, and not my Legacy.

Both my partner and my ex keep a spare bulb in the glove compartment.

I do like the heavy duty bulb idea – will order those next time… Thanks Stumpy 🙂

If it’s 2yrs old why not take it back to VW and make it their problem under the warranty?

My old A4 had a huge appetite for offside bulbs (the hard side to change natch) switched to halfords heavy duty and they never blew again.

Also just try buying the cheapest ones from the local auto factors.

My Honda used to go through one every six months, then one a month, then a year or more would go by….and so on.

The 2nd set of cheapo ones, less than £4 each, have lasted over a year so far.

It does seem like batches of bulbs can be a bit iffy sometimes too.

Off to Halfords i trot then, see if they improve things.

Unfortunately, we are not the first owners despite it only being 2 years old, we bought it from the in-laws as they didn’t like it!

I once had both headlights go at the same time on my car. On a dark unlit country road. Flipped from high beams down to dips and *pop* *pop* total blackness. That was a tense moment!

(If that ever happens to you, please be smarter than me and remember you can stick your fog lights on, rather than trying to drive to safety with high beams blinding all the oncoming drivers).

scud – Member

……..we bought it from the in-laws as they didn’t like it!

Did they say why? Maybe it was the cost of bulbs…..!? 😆

Have you checked them for holes? LOLZ!

I used to go through bulbs in the bike like clockwork- vibrations and shonky charging/rectifier bits I think. Stuck in Osram Nightbreakers and they lasted years. They’re a brighter and hotter bulb which you’d think would shorten life, but just seemed tougher.

First owners or not,it still has a factory warranty for 36mo/60k
Bilbs not included, but electrical faults should be.

Nice at double headlight failure!
My old pug was bad and used to eat them for breakfast or something. Even had one brand new one blow on the way back from the MOT, and best of all, got pulled over by the cops!
Current car gets thru about 1 every 2 years, almost always the LH headlight, but I’ve always put that down to the fact that you need to remove plastic protectors from the cooling system to get enough access for someone with hands the size of an 9 year old. The RH light has acres of space to change the bulb.
Must get another replacement kit actually… bulbs only ever blow when it’s cold enough to freeze your fingers off.