joshTL

Hi

I have a 2003 TL-S. Last week my passenger side bulb started to flickr and then just went out. I called my dealer and she wants to first charge me diagnostic fee which could be anything from $90-180. Then if it's just a bulb the cost to replace it is $350 for one bulb ($190 for the bulb and $160 for the labor). She said the whole unit (bulb + ballast + transformer) could cost up to $1100 to replace.

That just lit a bulb in my head. So I started to google and landed on this great website. I read the existing threads here and the information in there is amazing. But I am not in a position to do this myself.I have to get someone do it for me. What are my options? Do you guys recommend going to the chain shops like Pepboys etc. or find a local mechanic? How much should it cost to get it done with a mechanic?

Thanks & Have a great day!
-Josh

victus1

You may want to go to those tuner shops who do this stuff day in and day out. Tuner shops have more experience installing HID ballasts in tricked-out riced-out colors than any dealer will. They are experts on this issue...and they can do the job much better, faster and cheaper. If your ballast has failed, and you want to stay OEM, pick one up from ebay real cheap....otherwise install a new aftermarket kit. But for God's sake, do NOT go to the dealer for such a simple issue....you will get raped!

Skirmich

Better DIY and save some Bucks...

01tl4tl

this job is pretty simple
as said a honda tuner shop can do it easily
a kit from someone like www.hidextra.com is what you need = only 59$!
once an HID part fails, replace all of it now, with much better aftermarket parts

chances are you have moisture in the headlight lens,,if not now you will someday
prevention is worth doing it all right now

01tl4tl

1-2 hours shop labor rates,,never pepboys!!
this is a semi-specialty job,,not in their expertise

look in Regions link at top of page for ziners near you who can offer a hand

joshTL

Thanks for your reply. I looked at the hidextra website. It seems like they sell conversion kits which allow cars with halogen lamps to use HID lights. Can the same kit be used as replacement for OEM HID kit? The phillips bulb alone costs $60 on amazon. How come this whole kit for both sides is only $59?

joshTL

Thank you all who responded. A small twist to my original post. As I said earlier the headlight started to flickr and eventually stopped working about a week ago. I used headlights every day while returning home from work. In the entire week I never noticed the passenger side headlight coming up. But today it started to come and die immediately.
Every time I turn the headlights on the passenger side light comes up for something like 1 second and then goes out. During that 1 second its flickring continuously. Does this mean the bulb is fine and problem lies somewhere else? I read up little more on the Internet and this seems to be common behavior with bad bulbs.

I had a small accident in the parking lot where my passenger side front fender got a dent due to other driver's fault. The fender was replaced and the passenger side front door too was removed and repainted to blend the color. Can this work cause damage headlight wiring (loose connection)?

Thanks again,

-Josh

thelastaspec

When you order a kid from hidextra they say the bulb is D2R/D2S (as they are the same socket) but the 2DR has the black anti-glare stripe.

2DR = for non projector hid lights (like a mercedes or pruis or our TL)
2DS = for projector style hid (bmw, '04+ TL, audi)

What bulb do they give as it doesnt look like you get to pick?

victus1

hidextra does not carry D2R bulbs any more. You cannot substitute D2S for D2R because the headlight assembly was not designed for that and it will cause glare to other drivers. If you want quality bulbs with a 5 year warranty, get the D2R Morimoto bulbs from The Retrofit Source. They are known to honour their warranty claims. I get all my bulbs from them.

thelastaspec

Thank you.

This is exactly what i was worried/thinking about.
I refuse to put 2DS bulbs in even though they fit for the glare.

Not worth the 150$ fix it ticket for too much glare.

I checked out theretrofitsource but i cant find 2dr bulbs... maybe i missed them...

Skirmich

Been Driving with D2S Bulbs for 5 years, No tickets and No Excessive Glare! Just turn UP the Headlight Shield on the well Headlight And Voilá!
There will be some glare specially coming from the top of the headlight but nothing to be worry about a ticket...

fsttyms1

You can use them just fine on the TL. the 99-01 have a front diffuser that will eliminate glare, and the 02-03 have a small diffuser as well that will block it. Most here that have replaced them have used it without glare. Without the Diffuser it could potentially cause it but we have them.

01tl4tl

I believe hidexta is the major importer- possibly maker of what they sell,,
they sell on ebay, and to other companies who mark up the price 300%

the site info on their kits is confusing,,we have hid stock,,dont need the dash thing or other stuff,,the straight up 59$ kit is for the TL ,,without any issues!
its a simple matter to cut 2 power leads and add a wire connector or splice from them -to the new ballast

suggest 5000K bulbs
order on the phone to make sure you get what you need
mention acurazine,,plus use their 10% discount code found on the main page, or other codes online thru a search

victus1

Yes, definitely not worth a ticket from an overzealous trigger-happy cop who is enamoured by his authority.

Call TRS and talk to Matt (owner)....he has D2R Morimoto bulbs in stock which are not listed on his website. I just bought a pair last week. They have a 5 YEAR replacement warranty....real warranty, not BS marketing

joshTL

Thanks for the tip. I am new here. I was going to ask what is TRS but I am not sure if it's OK to post their link here. So I googled for "TRS and HID" and found out the "retrofit" website.

I am just not sure if I should get them before finding out what is wrong. As I posted in my updated post, initially the passenger side headlight was totally dead but yesterday I noticed that it was coming up for a fraction of second and going away after flickring. So I was wondering if the bulb is bad or something else.

victus1

Josh,

It sure sounds like your HID bulb is at then of its life. Mine was doing the exact same thing....it was toast, but both my ballasts were good. But the problem with HID, as opposed to other bulbs, is that you CANNOT replace one bulb and be done with it. You see....when HID bulbs age, their color and intensity changes. So if you change one bulb, the other bulb will look much dimmer and a bluer/pinkish/violet color. Not good. So you should change both sides since the other will probably fail soon.

And here is where they dealer steps in (ka-ching, ka-ching on their cash registers ).....they charge you $300 to install a bulb, and $1200 to install bulb + ballast + ignitor per side. Why? Because all this stuff is buried in the headlight assembly and it's hard for common folk to get at it because the front bumper needs to be removed.

Having said all that.....it is freakin' EASY to do this job yourself and there are DIY's written here which you can search for. I changed the ballasts and the bulbs myself because I didn't want to deal with any other problems in the future. I ordered a 50W kit from the retrofit source with a 5 year replacement warranty. Extremely easy to install. And I get more light on the road than any new car out there.

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Start with the bulbs, and don't worry about the ballast or anything like that. It's time to replace the bulbs, and I'm willing to bet everything else is fine.

I really recommend you change the bulb yourself. It is EASY. If you can change the lightbulb on your fan, your smart enough to change the bulb. There is a DIY guide in the DIY section as well.

I first came to AZine because I googled for directions on replacing the bulb. I had no clue what I was doing, and I had to call my dad because I didn't know how to disconnect the battery. That much inexperience, and it was still easy.

Oh good lord...

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Here is the link to the DIY from Fatty:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...24&postcount=2

Here are the service manual pics:
Page 1: http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/4858/hidbulb1.jpg
Page 2: http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/6580/hidbulb2.jpg

All you need to buy is a Torx T20 screwdriver. I got one from my local auto shop for ~$3.

01tl4tl

a tiny flatblade screwdriver will fit the torx screw,,or a torx #20 SECURITY bit is the right tool
another option is the dremal with a cutting blade--make the screw into a flatblade fitting in seconds~

at our cars age, its reasonable to expect ballast and ignitor failures
Its just too easy to get a kit and replace everything with modern, sealed, waterproof parts,,for less than the dealer cost of 1 bulb

You can buy your bulbs elsewhere if you want,,or get the ones include with the kit.
places will sell the ballast and the needed capacitor/ignitor wire without bulbs if you desire

01tl4tl

car that was crashed,,ck all ground wires--may have gotten paint under their attachments or left off etc

jdubbs11ghost

if you are just trying to buy the bulb, there is no need to go spending $100 or more per bulb. go on amazon or any similar sites and it will match up your vehicle with parts that fit your TL. With a little bit of looking you could easily find a set of nice 4300K or 5000K bulbs for around $30.