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Anyone have a link for an upgrade for headlight bulbs for my RDX. The low beam light is not enough, the high beam I can get by with,,but those low beams are not enough!
Ahh.. it looks like the Base RDX came with Halogen headlights hence the low luminosity.. If they're projectors, you may be able to get away with throwing an aftermarket HID kit into but if they're reflectors, I'd steer clear from it.
Well, tried to take the cover off from the passengers side and it wouldn't budge. It's counter clock wise to remove from what I understand, but would not budge at all. suggestions ! Just trying to find out what's all in there and then make the determination.
Original halogen headlights, HID, LED. I've tried them all. None gave me bright light with good distribution. When I was still on the original halogen bulbs, I was once stopped by an office asking if my low beams were on; yes, they were that dim. I think it has to do with the design of the headlight housing.
Currently I am using LED. As said before, they don't perform any better, but at least they are prettier to look at and easy to install.
The guys who installed the HID kit a few years ago removed the covers, so when I swapped the HID out for the LED, the covers came off quite easily. If they are coming off for the first time, you probably need a set of big pliers or something to remove them.
In any case, this the what driver's side looks like after that frigging cover comes off. Notice that the three points are not even, so the bulb can only enter the opening at a certain angle.
From what I have gleaned after reading the above, there's no remedy for the problem of low beam insufficiency. In another words, I'm stuck with the problem eh!
The only good solution is either to do an HID projector retrofit to your existing headlights, or get a set of headlights (tech model) from a junkyard if you can find it. Buying a new HID headlight will be expensive and not worth the effort.
I have a 2015 rdx Tech package with the HID headlights. My driver side light is out and ever repair shop i talk to is telling me its between $900-$1000 to fix! Is it possible to switch from HID to LED? LED lights would only run me about $200 for both.
I have a 2015 rdx Tech package with the HID headlights. My driver side light is out and ever repair shop i talk to is telling me its between $900-$1000 to fix! Is it possible to switch from HID to LED? LED lights would only run me about $200 for both.
Why wouldn't you just get new bulbs and/or ballast and Do it yourself, it's pretty easy to do.. I don't recommend going LED as you already have HID from the factory so you'd be going through the extra effort to bypass the HID ballast for no gain...
Why wouldn't you just get new bulbs and/or ballast and Do it yourself, it's pretty easy to do.. I don't recommend going LED as you already have HID from the factory so you'd be going through the extra effort to bypass the HID ballast for no gain...
where would you recommend getting the parts? Dealership told me both ballast and ignitor need replacing.
Well the weather warmed up a bit , so I bit the bullet and changed out the low beams. Those covers are the damnedest things I have ever seen in my 50 years of driving and working on auto's. Got em off , one of the covers is still intact and broke two of the fins on the other. My wife asked if the lights any better , told her they don't work good in the day time, but hope they will be better in the dark Went with the syvania Xtavision. Got be better than the stock low beam bulbs that were in there
Well the weather warmed up a bit , so I bit the bullet and changed out the low beams. Those covers are the damnedest things I have ever seen in my 50 years of driving and working on auto's. Got em off , one of the covers is still intact and broke two of the fins on the other. My wife asked if the lights any better , told her they don't work good in the day time, but hope they will be better in the dark Went with the syvania Xtavision. Got be better than the stock low beam bulbs that were in there
My bet is your low beams still don't perform better then average SUV on the road. I think there is something wrong with the design of the projectors.
Please kindly report, and I would like to be surprised.
Well. drove out for a Saturday night date with the Mrs. Have to admit, they are much better than the OEM lights that I had in there. They are not the best I have seen for low beam auto's , but at least I think I can live with this now. There may be something better. The bulbs set me back 40 bucks and change. I looked at the top of the line from Sylvania but at almost a c note each and then reading the reviews from folks that had used them, thought better not try those Syl Xtavision 11's are what was used, better, still not perfect , but better..
The covers that are so dang hard to remove, there is a large diameter 0 ring that helps seal out moisture fro the light housing. I removed the 0 ring from the cover and gave it a good spray of silicone lube and then back together. The covers will come off easy next time, if needed.
The lights seem bright enough, but I'm thinking that they need to be aimed a little higher. I will work on that next and see if aiming the lights a bit higher will over come the problem.
Thanks for that Sir. I had thoughts about adjusting the lights to the sides also, and from the file you were kind enough to post, I see that the lights can only be adjusted up and down. I will raise them a bit and see how that turns out. Will report back with findings.
Thanks again Dave. I aimed the headlights higher and made the highway light up much better . Low beams are Okay with me now. No going back. That screw driver trick worked great.
Have you found a resolution to this problem? My 2014 RDX Low Beams are dim to non-existent. My High Beams work fine. I have replaced bulbs at least 3 times. I think the high beam is in the same lightbulb...right? So it would appear the power is there.
Coincidentally, My 2003 Honda Pilot had a recall of the wiring harness 9 years after I bought it. April 2012 (NHTSA Recall 12V-136)
Direct Quote from the 2003 Honda Pilot Recall Notice:
"There is a potential failure with the wiring of the low beam headlights which may cause the low beam headlight to fail. The loss of the low beam headlights will increase the risk of crash."
"Call any authorized Honda dealer and make an appointment to have your vehicle repaired. The dealer will replace the low beam terminal and if necessary the combination lighting switch."
Could we be experiencing the same issue on this 2014 Acura RDX? I really want to get this fixed. Other drivers do not appreciate me always using my high beams .
Okay,,since starting this post, I have switched to something mo better. I switched out to LED bulbs for the low beam and have to say, they really do the job I wanted them to. I actually had a car flash there beams at me when I was on low beams last night ..LOL Bought the bulbs from Headlight Experts LED with capacitors to insure no dash lights causing any head aches . Cost around 90 bucks and best of all they are plug and play..Hope that helps someone ..
Okay,,since starting this post, I have switched to something mo better. I switched out to LED bulbs for the low beam and have to say, they really do the job I wanted them to. I actually had a car flash there beams at me when I was on low beams last night ..LOL Bought the bulbs from Headlight Experts LED with capacitors to insure no dash lights causing any head aches . Cost around 90 bucks and best of all they are plug and play..Hope that helps someone ..
I’m glad the LED light bulbs are working well for you.
If someone flashes at you while you are on low beams, that simply means your lights are aimed higher and blinding others (mistaking for high beams). It’s for your own safety (and other road users too). I believe the cut off of low beams should meet the road in around 300ft or so. Please ensure they are correct. Good luck.
Okay,,since starting this post, I have switched to something mo better. I switched out to LED bulbs for the low beam and have to say, they really do the job I wanted them to. I actually had a car flash there beams at me when I was on low beams last night ..LOL Bought the bulbs from Headlight Experts LED with capacitors to insure no dash lights causing any head aches . Cost around 90 bucks and best of all they are plug and play..Hope that helps someone ..
Just purchased a 2013 RDX and ordered the LED low beam kit from Headlight Experts. Hoping it works!
After consulting with Daniel Stern, automotive lighting consultant (and a wealth of knowledge,) I sent back the LED headlights. There are no led kits or “hid” upgrade kits legal to use in a halogen standard headlight assembly.
But the great news is I found both full headlight assemblies (including new bulbs) from Headlights Depot for about $417. Received in a couple days and with a guide I found on here about bumper removal and headlight assembly change I successfully replaced the entire assemblies yesterday. They are perfect now! Low beams are great, high beams are blazing. I believe this is the only “true” fix for the low beam dimness issue. There appears to be a manufacturing defect in the original projector housings, and I’m hoping the replacements will last more than a couple years.
One last tip, you can use a H9 low beam bulb in place of the H11 by simply modifying the ridge/groove. The H9 is around 2100 lumens compared to the 1350 lumens of the H11.
11-20-2018, 05:21 PM
