One of my headlights recently went out and I took it to the Dealer for replacement and to my amasement, I was told it would cost close to $1700 to replace because my Headlight computer was damaged and this also damaged the bulb. The bulb would cost $248 and the computer cost $1140. I looked at Ebay and found HID Ballast for $120 but the dealership told me the Ballast and Head Computer are not the same thing. I even asked if they could replace the entire headlights with regular halogen buls headlights and they told me it was impossible. I am having a hard time paying almost $1700 for headlight system. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you
Report your dealer to the Better Business Bureau, your state’s District Attorney, the local police department and anyone else you can think of. Your headlight computer? Really?
You have a blown bulb. The total repair should be about $50. Never ever go to this crook for anything ever again.
I should add, your car does not have a computer assigned to your headlights. But in some cars the headlights themselves adjust to follow the direction of the car, specifically when the car is turning. Mercedes comes to mind.
But you have a blown bulb. In any car the most a blown bulb should cost to replace is $50, even at the dealer.
HID systems like this are expensive and some are pricier than that.
Welcome to high tech gee-whiz stuff as distasteful as it is. You are not being gouged at all and the dealer is correct about not being able to modify the lamps to use regular halogens. Yes, the ballast and control module are separate things.
I’ve seen used Lincoln HID bulbs on eBay go for 300 dollars each and a headlamp repair for 2400 dollars; for one lamp.
You’re stuck between a rock and a hard place and unfortunately things are not so simple anymore. Scrounge around for the used stuff would be my recommendation.
I’ll wager that your headlights are controlled by a Body Control Module. It’s the “computer” that flashes the lights when you use the security system, flashes them when you use the “Intruder Alert”, and in that car it probably even enables the lights for a number of other automatic features.
But since it’s only one light that’s out and not all of them, I’ll also wager that it’s just the bulb or ballast. A bad BCM would disable both bulbs.
Change the bulb first.
I agree with mountainbike. But I would also suggest that it is time the buying public realize the cost of those lights. They are expensive and frankly, I don’t believe they are better than a basic E-code lamp.
E-code lamps are available in a sealed beam design like all cars use to have.E-code is the European code and are available in left and right hand drive. One size fit all and they cost a few dollars. The produce very good light.
BTW the blue color of the light on the new fancy designer lamps on many cars today is not a design feature (it is not brighter it does not provide better vision any more than the yellow street lamps. They all produce a bright line spectrum that can distort your vision.
OK sorry for the marginal tirade.
As mountainbike noted, it is most likely the lamp or the ballast-which you would not have with a sealed beam lamp.
If this is a dealership, I’d be looking for a new one, even if it was 100 miles away.
The $248 sounds about right for a factory HID lamp. Replacing with halogen lamps would require rewiring and would probably cost more than what the guy is asking for with labor and all that. It’s not as simple as unplugging one bulb and swapping a halogen bulb in it’s place.