There are plenty of things we can attend to on our cars that can save us a few pounds at the garage, and replacing headlight bulbs can be one of them. Here, we explore the types of car headlights and bulbs you find on vehicles today and which ones you can replace yourself.
You need to check which bulbs your car already has fitted. Ordinarily, this will be in your car’s user manual. If the manual doesn’t have that information, you can either check the bulb in your car’s headlight or go online to several car parts websites or Amazon Garage, where you search your car registration or details, and the correct options will be presented to you. Make sure the bulb you get is for a headlight, and shop for reputable brands, including Osram and Phillips. It’s also worth considering getting an emergency bulb kit so that you’re not caught out.
The best headlight bulbs for cars at a glance
The most common type of bulb on the road today is the halogen/filament bulb, which has proven to be reliable and cost-effective for the past few decades. They use filaments of glowing halogen gas to create their light; modern halogen bulbs are much brighter and longer lasting than they used to be. They use a number of H fittings (for example, H4 bulbs), so make sure you know which one you need. We’ll look at Xenon bulbs shortly, but first, the best halogen bulbs are listed below.
The best headlight bulbs for cars:
Your go-to place for headlight bulbs
Pros
- Order spares from the comfort of home
- Enter your registration to get the correct items
Cons
- You'll need Amazon Prime for free delivery
Best halogen headlight bulbs
Editor's choice
Pros
- Whiter light for more visibility
- Long beam which is useful in the pitch dark
- Great quality bulbs
Cons
- Lifespan could be a bit shorter than standard bulbs
Best halogen with xenon look
Pros
- Xenon look, which freshens up a car
- Inexpensive upgrade, which is always handy
- Improves visibility for an older vehicle
Cons
- Shorter lifespan than others
Best for long beam
Pros
- Safe and stylish white light
- Great quality units
- Good for upgrading original halogen bulbs
Cons
- Not as white as some reviewers expect
Best for brightness
The specific colour temperature of Philips RacingVision bulbs allows your eyes to focus better and perceive contrasts in the distance, helping you drive more safely.
Pros
- Great brightness for driving in the dark
- Improved brightness over some other Xenons
- Top-quality bulbs
Cons
- Mediocre lifetime of 200-hours
Best for lifespan
Pros
- Long-lasting lifespan
- Good value for money
Cons
- No real increase in brightness
Best xenon headlight bulbs
Xenon/High-Intensity Discharge (HID) bulbs use an arc that uses xenon gas and metal salts to generate their light. They burn colder, and so have a bluer light than halogens. They tend to be brighter and last longer too, but they are more expensive to buy. Xenon bulbs can only be fitted to cars that came with xenon/HID bulbs from the factory; it’s illegal to install them otherwise. They use a range of D fittings.
Best Xenon bulb for value
Osram has introduced a product authentication system called the Osram Trust Programme, which allows you to verify the authenticity of the bulbs you purchase, ensuring you get a top-quality product along with a four-year guarantee.
Pros
- Good value for money
- OEM standard which is reassuring
- High output of 3,200 lumens
Cons
- Output is not quite as white as hoped
Best Xenon bulb for durability
Pros
- Crisp white look
- High output of 3,300 lumens
- Quartz glass for improved reliability
Cons
- No blue tint
Best Xenon bulb for performance
Pros
- Improved brightness over some other bulbs
- Top quality bulbs
- Long lifespan of 2,500 hours
Cons
- More yellow than blue
Frequently asked question about headlight bulbs
Which headlight bulb do I need?
As you can see there are a number of different types of headlight bulbs, and each of them come with pros and cons. It is however, important to check which type of headlight bulbs are suitable for your car. For example, it is illegal to fit xenon/HID bulbs to cars that don’t have them from the factory. If you’re unsure which bulbs fit your vehicle you can head over to Amazon Garage where you can enter your car’s registration to find the best headlight bulbs for you.
How to replace a halogen bulb
Halogen bulbs are easy to replace, but on occasion, they can be fiddly:
1. Access to headlights is from behind, inside the engine bay, you don’t have to remove the headlight.
2. Designs vary, but generally, there will be a plastic cover that you remove to access the bulbs inside the light.
3. Carefully unclip or pull out the bulb from the mounting. And look at the position the bulb was clipped in so you know how to fit the new one.
Tip: It doesn’t matter with the old bulb but do not touch the glass on the new bulb because your oil on your skin will blow the bulb immediately.
4. Remove the old bulb from the connector.
5. In order to fit the new one, do the exact reverse of steps 1 to 4.
6. Once you’ve fitted the new bulb, give them a test.
How to replace a xenon bulb
Replacing xenon bulbs can involve removing the entire headlamp, and some you can do like a halogen – it depends on the car model. In either case, xenon headlamps require extremely high voltage to ignite the gas, so extreme care is needed if replacing yourself. In cars that need to remove the whole headlamp, you can buy the bulbs and save yourself some pounds if you wish, but we suggest getting a professional to fit them.
What are LED bulbs?
LED bulbs, like HID, are not allowed to be retrofitted on car headlights – but you can fit them in interior lights, for example. You may find LED lights with H7 bulb fittings for example, but they are not ECE compliant. LEDs are more energy efficient and long-lasting – up to 10 or so years. These days, LED lights are generally replacing xenons in new cars; for example, current higher-end Mercedes-Benz A-Class models feature LED headlights. They’re practical and allow car makers to create cool headlight shapes. LEDs can be fitted with sensors and, therefore, become adaptive. The downside is they can be incredibly expensive to replace and only done by professionals.
What can we expect in the future for headlights?
Laser lights are entering the industry. These cutting-edge headlights fire a laser at phosphorus, emitting light which is filtered through a lens and then hits a reflector. The advantage is that these use hundreds of mirrors that can be individually adjusted by the car’s electronic brain to tune where and how the road ahead is illuminated. In other words, fully adaptive headlights.
Alex Boyd is a Commercial Content Writer at Bauer Media writing for Parker’s and CAR, and loves travel, gardening, DIY and music.
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