2003 Honda Civic used 5 left headlight lamps

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

2003 Civic has gone through 5 left headlight lamps (low beam)in the 3 years I have had it. 2012 recall was performed. Honda says "bring it in… " but won’t say if it could be a failure of the replaced part.
Thoughts? Suggestions?

2

Does your Civic use the low beam bulbs as Daytime Running Lights?
Do you commute? How long each day?
Have you had the charging system checked out, just on the off-chance that it’s producing too much voltage… but I don’t truly suspect this without other symptoms?
What type of bulb does the low beam take?

I’d just keep some spare bulbs handy and consider it the cost of owning the car.
When I commuted, about an hour each way,I used to go through a set of bulbs about every year. I use the “Silverstar Ultra” bulbs and I always drive with my headlights on regardless of the time of day or weather.

3

Have you been installing halogen bulbs yourself? If you accidentally touch the glass bulb, it will shorten the lamp’s life.

You might need a new lamp socket. It’s a common failure/repair on many vehicles.

4

Low beams are never used for DRLs.

5

Depends on the year/make of the vehicle.

Depending on prevailing regulations and vehicle equipment, the daytime running light function may be implemented by functionally specific lamps, by operating the low beam headlamps or fog lamps at full or reduced intensity, by operating the high-beam headlamps at reduced intensity, or by steady-burning operation of the front turn signals. Compared to any mode of headlamp operation to create the daytime running light, functionally dedicated DRLs maximize the potential benefits in safety performance and minimize fuel consumption, glare, motorcycle masking, and other potential drawbacks.[2]

Tester

6

Please name a car or light truck that uses the low beams for factory DRLs.

7

Here’s a GM vehicle for one.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-c3314_ds525907

Tester

8

Fair enough.

To OP: your Civic uses the high beams for DRLs.

;-]

9

Any moisture/condensation in the headlight assembly? That could cause the bulbs to fail.

Ed B

10

Since it only occurs on the left side, unlikely related to the way the headlights work, DRL or not. Suggest to purchase the next replacement bulb at a different vendor. Sometime a vendor will get a lot of defective bulbs, and when one fails you buy the next one at the same place, and it fails quickly, well, you see where this is going …