Morning all,

Curious to know if anyone else on here has looked into other lighting options for their Volvo's.

I own a 2012 Volvo XC70 T6 with 325k mile on it.

One of the things that frustrates me the most with this vehicle is the Front Headlamps.
Not impressed with them at all.

The plastic lens covers are cheap, discolor way to quickly, and when you do a light repair polishing kit on them, they just don't last.

Wish I could find a company that made replacement plastic lenses for these cars.

On top of that the bulbs internally are junk, limited light, nearly no true night vision with them and they burn out way to fast. I go through 2 sets of low beam bulbs a year. ugh...

Let me know. I'd hate to have to buy over priced new Volvo Headlamps for my car every few years just to be able to see down the road.

Thanks.

Bob

Bob,

I may have had an experience that will be helpful to you. I recently purchased a 2006 V70 with a 168,000 miles back in June of this year. The driver's side headlight assembly had a crack in the lens seal which allowed moisture inside the lens housing. In addition, although both lenses had been polished with a 3M lens polishing kit twice by the prior owner, the plastic was yellowing. Volvo wanted $645 per lens assembly for a replacement. I purchased an aftermarket lens made in Taiwan by a company called TYC. The driver's side lens assembly was $180 and the passenger side was $196. Why the difference in price I have no idea. I purchased both lenses from eEuroparts.com and had them installed by my private garage. When I looked at them they seemed of good quality and my private mechanic had no objection about them. Of course the savings was staggering. I have only had them install for a few weeks and so far the experience has been positive. Let me clearly state I receive no compensation from the manufacturer TYC or eEuroparts.com. I am just sharing my personal experience that I hope is helpful to you. I don't know if TYC sells a headlight assembly that would fit your Volvo, but it is an option to consider.

Personally, though I have no control over this decision, I wish Volvo and the other manufactures stuck with a glass construction. From what I've been told, the decision to go to plastic was to "save weight" and increase the gas mileage. I think it was driven to same money and force customers to buy new headlight assemblies every few years. That's just my opinion.

Again Bob I hope this information is helpful to you. I appreciate the help I receive from others on this website when I post a question.

Hugh

Good to hear that the TYC units are working out. The lenses are plastic, correct?

Out of the box - I wonder if you cleaned the lenses and put some of that clear plastic on them that they use for protection on the noses of the car on them - that way you could peel it off and replace it.

BTW - we own a 2012 XC70 and the headlight lenses look like new. One was replaced when the car was 5 years old and we hit a LARGE 8 point deer and both lenses look the same - our 2008 has lenses that look really crappy!

Hi Bob,

If I were in your position, I would have two choices.

First, remove the assembly from the car and use an acrylic polisher to clean the lens. Then, I could carefully melt the outer surface using a torch. This process requires skill and involves a significant level of risk.

Alternatively, contact FCP and set product warranty expectation through email communication. I might propose that the new $600 Volvo lamp remains functional and clear for a period of 10 years or 100,000 miles. Given the fact that it comes with a lifetime warranty, it's likely that they would agree to this arrangement.

For headlight brightness, I've installed aftermarket LED lights by Lasfit on my wife's 2018 Tucson, and the illumination is even more intense than the Xenon lights on my friend's Mercedes S500. It's remarkable how times have changed.

Thank you as always.


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