My 2009 XC90 has the factory bi-xenon projector headlights. I find that their brightness is awful - the worst HID headlights I've ever seen, in fact. Is this a design issue or is there something wrong with mine? The only factor I can think of is the age of the bulbs, which are the original D1S bulbs from 2009 and still working. Would new bulbs help?
The lenses are clear; I refinished them a few years ago by sanding & polishing, and they're still OK.
By comparison, my 2006 and 2014 BMW 5 series vehicles both have much brighter HID headlights, as does just about any HID-equipped car (and even some halogen cars!) that I see on the road.
I replaced the bulbs, which definitely increased the brightness. I also raised the beams, which I couldn't do before because the light output was too weak to cover longer distances. The lights are now OK and I can finally see at night! They're still not as good as my BMW HIDs, but definitely better than before, and acceptable.
Regarding the bulb choice, I went with the Osram Cool Blue Intense (CBI) which start out at ~4500K and gradually shift to ~5500-6000K after about 50 hours of use. I had these in a previous vehicle so I knew what to expect. @generic_volvo_driver and @ShadowDancer, you are definitely correct that a lower color temperature yields better visibility. However, I find the HID standard 4400K looks too yellow; to my eyes, these Osram CBI bulbs look pure white, which I prefer. Once you get to color temperatures above 6000K, that's when the visibility starts to noticeably decrease. Factory LED headlights, such as those in the new SPA-platform XC90, are much bluer than these CBI bulbs.
Another factor is that before the Osram CBI bulbs first appeared on the market, HID bulbs from reputable manufacturers (Osram or Philips) were only available in 4400K. Higher temps were only available in cheap Chinese bulbs that were usually dimmer than the 3200 lumens of the reputable brands, reinforcing the view that higher temps = bad. These Osram CBI bulbs are able to maintain the same 3200 lumens of the lower-temp 4400K bulbs, with the same Osram quality.
The only way I can see to further improve the light output is to swap out the stock projectors with good aftermarket projectors, but that's not a task I'm willing to tackle, especially with the active bending feature. A projector conversion would actually be a lot simpler on XC90s with the reflector headlights, and there are YouTube videos showing how to do so. The lights are now good enough for me.
I got them on Amazon.ca for CAD $143 for the pair, which is only about $20 higher than 2 standard 4400K bulbs. They are also available on Amazon.com for USD $110.
Regarding your lower light output, your reflectors inside the headlights may be degrading, and getting a black spot on the inside top of the reflector (I had to use a scope to see it).
Thanks, yes I had previously read that thread. I don't have a scope to check the inside of the reflector bowls, but the thread indicates that there is some visible burning / dark spot on the outside of the reflector as well (at least in that particular case). I saw no evidence of such burning on my units, but I guess it could just be less advanced and therefore not visible externally yet. I don't see a dark spot using the cardboard test in post 41 either.
In case of burning, the only real solution would be to replace the headlights, but new units are prohibitively expensive and used units on eBay would likely have the same issue, and are also quite expensive as well. In fact, the prices on eBay for used HID units are actually higher than for the LED headlights on the new SPA XC90! There don't seem to be any aftermarket copies of the projector HID lights available; there are plenty for the older reflector version.
For now I think I'll leave them alone for lack of other viable options. At least the new bulbs have helped. These lights were never great to begin with (I've owned the vehicle since it was 3 years old) - not a very good design.
Thanks, yes I had previously read that thread. I don't have a scope to check the inside of the reflector bowls, but the thread indicates that there is some visible burning / dark spot on the outside of the reflector as well (at least in that particular case). I saw no evidence of such burning on my units, but I guess it could just be less advanced and therefore not visible externally yet. I don't see a dark spot using the cardboard test in post 41 either.
In case of burning, the only real solution would be to replace the headlights, but new units are prohibitively expensive and used units on eBay would likely have the same issue, and are also quite expensive as well. In fact, the prices on eBay for used HID units are actually higher than for the LED headlights on the new SPA XC90! There don't seem to be any aftermarket copies of the projector HID lights available; there are plenty for the older reflector version.
For now I think I'll leave them alone for lack of other viable options. At least the new bulbs have helped. These lights were never great to begin with (I've owned the vehicle since it was 3 years old) - not a very good design.
I completely agree with you there aren't a lot of options with the XC90 HID headlights, with no aftermarket replacement and the cars not worth that much at this point, to replace the headlights is almost $2K, especially for the early 2007 as you need to also change the ballast (they changed the ballast mid-2007, I guess to use up the older stock from the 04-06 design). without the ballast you can get new headlights for $1400 give or take (lower from Tasca, slightly higher from FCP Euro with the lifetime warranty)
I have somewhat conceded with driving with the fogs on at night which help a lot after going with a higher brightness (shorter life) H1 fog bulb from Philips....
I have thought of going to the halogen housing and trying LEDs or other options, but then I will have the bulb out warning all the time.... and possibly worse light output.
Thanks for posting your thoughts, I am 100% with you on everything you said.
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