Do all replacement LED headlight bulbs suck?

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Nick1994

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When I bought my Sonata in 2/2017 it had what I assume were cheap LED low beams installed, they had huge ballasts in-line and looked really cheap. I wasn't all that happy with the light output.

I did the 9005 to 9011 mod and have been running those since. Been very happy with their performance for lighting, but they burn out every 6-8 months and I get tired of replacing them.

So I did some searching for 9005 LEDs on Amazon and found these:
Amazon Link
They were rated really good. I tried them out and while they spread the light out ok, they don't have a center beam like halogens do, so no distance. Then one of them stops working unless you wiggle the wire to the bulb.

Do the halogens burn out often since I'm using the wrong bulb?

Any better options for better life?

Thanks.
 
Originally Posted by Nick1994
I did the 9005 to 9011 mod and have been running those since. Been very happy with their performance for lighting, but they burn out every 6-8 months and I get tired of replacing them.


All the Sylvania bulbs sold by local auto parts stores have a 1 year warranty. I would buy a pair of Sylvania 9011s from your local O'Reilly/AutoZone/Advanced and make sure that they take your phone number and whatever they need to make the warranty process as simple as possible. I'm not very familiar with AutoZone or Advanced, but at O'Reilly, giving a phone number during purchase allows you to cash in on the warranty in the future with just a phone number and no receipt.

As you said, they only last 6-8 months. Perfect candidates for taking advantage of the 1 year warranty. For the price of one 9011 bulb, you'll get two.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...-headlight-bulb-pack-of-1/9011bp/4743050

The 9011 appears to only be $25 at O'Reilly, so you'll effectively be paying only $13/bulb, which is pretty good.

Quote
So I did some searching for 9005 LEDs on Amazon and found these:
Amazon Link
They were rated really good. I tried them out and while they spread the light out ok, they don't have a center beam like halogens do, so no distance. Then one of them stops working unless you wiggle the wire to the bulb.


https://www.fakespot.com/product/hi...5-hb3-9600lm-6k-cool-white-2-yr-warranty

They're "good" because 30% of the reviews are fake and/or paid for. Never underestimate the lengths to which Amazon sellers will go to fool you into buying their cheap crap.

Quote
Do the halogens burn out often since I'm using the wrong bulb?

Any better options for better life?


You're not using the wrong bulb. It's just that most 9011s are 9005 bulbs on steroids, without much in the way of lifespan optimization. The 9011s you can readily get your hands on come from one source, and they make good bulbs. The only slight issue is that their 9011 design is, as I said, a 9005 on steroids.

Also, a 9011 was really designed to be a high-beam bulb, not a low-beam bulb or a dual-purpose, low-and-high-beam bulb. The 9011 wasn't designed to necessarily last very long. The fact that your Sonata uses a single 9005 per side (and by extension, 9011) speaks volumes about the engineers...let's just say that it appears that low-cost was a priority.

There is an expensive (about $60) 9011 bulb that you can buy that will last a bit longer than your ordinary Philips/Sylvania 9011 bulbs, but I honestly think the best option would be just taking advantage of the 1-year warranty on all bulbs from your local parts store.
 
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I think so, I've tried a couple, OPT7 and Putcos and neither impressed me much and didn't last very long. So I'm sticking with halogens for now. Sylvania Silverstars are just fine, I get about a year out of them and they have good light output for the money.
 
Does your Sonata use the headlights as DRL's? If so, that could be the cause of your short lifetime. My 9011's were almost a year old when I got LED's, and served my father in law well till he traded in that car for another one a few months later.

I'm running Diode Dynamics SL1 LED's... not cheap, but they mimic the 9011 (OEM is 9005) beam pattern I had in my 300, and they play nice with finicky Mopar electronics. They also have a pretty good warranty. The Morimoto 2stroke 2.0's are also pretty good.

Yes, I know the beam pattern is narrow. They were just like that with the halogens, all the LED's did was make it whiter. It's my one major complaint about this car.

2nd pic shows low beam on top, high beam on bottom... I suck at taking photo's so excuse the overexposure.

44614D48-FF48-487D-8973-5BA1D5068264.jpeg


27DCBE38-9A78-4173-8774-4F8DAF48F3D9.jpeg
 
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What is it you don't understand? There is no suck or not suck "poor lil old me it doesn't last long".

There is only, you are an irresponsible person for ever putting LED retrofits in incan housings and law enforcement needs to crack down on this.

EVERYONE who puts an LED retrofit in an incan housing needs their driver's license revoked and their vehicle impounded.

That's the polite way to put it. When I see these blinding lights on the road, my thoughts drift more towards vigilante justice. You have been warned, that some random person, and I am not alone by any stretch, is getting really [censored] off at idiots who put this crap in their incan headlights then blind other drivers.

Just don't do it. Man up and buy housings designed for LED lighting instead of either pretending you are cool for having bluer lights, or being so blind that you shouldn't be on the road if you can't see with stock lights which are legally required to provide enough light to drive safety if you weren't too blind to safely drive at night.

There is no such thing as "my vehicle blah blah blah" wasn't good enough headlights. If your headlights were hazed over, clean or replace the lenses. If you're just an immature child that thinks more is better, you could not be more wrong. More cold light blinds people and causes accidents. Remember that the vehicle alternator would have no problem at all supporting multiple times as much incandescent lighting output as vehicles have had, so did you think this was some magic upper limit with incan bulb brightness? It wasn't, AT ALL. It was regulated for very good reason.
 
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Originally Posted by Dave9
What is it you don't understand? There is no suck or not suck "poor lil old me it doesn't last long".

There is only, you are an irresponsible person for ever putting LED retrofits in incan housings and law enforcement needs to crack down on this.

EVERYONE who puts an LED retrofit in an incan housing needs their driver's license revoked and their vehicle impounded.

That's the polite way to put it. When I see these blinding lights on the road, my thoughts drift more towards vigilante justice. You have been warned, that some random person, and I am not alone by any stretch, is getting really [censored] off at idiots who put this crap in their incan headlights then blind other drivers.

Just don't do it. Man up and buy housings designed for LED lighting instead of either pretending you are cool for having bluer lights, or being so blind that you shouldn't be on the road if you can't see with stock lights which are legally required to provide enough light to drive safety if you weren't too blind to safely drive at night.

There is no such thing as "my vehicle blah blah blah" wasn't good enough headlights. If your headlights were hazed over, clean or replace the lenses. If you're just an immature child that thinks more is better, you could not be more wrong. More cold light blinds people and causes accidents. Remember that the vehicle alternator would have no problem at all supporting multiple times as much incandescent lighting output as vehicles have had, so did you think this was some magic upper limit with incan bulb brightness? It wasn't, AT ALL. It was regulated for very good reason.



His Sonata has projector style lights. He has a very distinct line between what is lit, and what isn't, unlike the reflector style housings. Just like mine. How are you going to know whether someone like me or him has factory hid/led or aftermarket?

Vigilante justice over headlights? You're a [censored] psycho who deserves to be in a mental ward. Seriously, get off your high horse. Oh, and modern cars do not use incandescent lights for headlights. Probably should learn what you're complaining about before you go all "vigilante" on the wrong person and get your [censored] beaten or lose your own life.

Most of the crazy blinding white lights are in fact poorly aimed FACTORY HID/LED. Escalades, Acura's, Kia/Hyundai, and Ford Explorers seem to be the biggest offenders. Those hurt and are far more blinding than any aftermarket LED currently on the market.

Really seems like you're the immature child here... vigilante justice over headlights, rage about expensive pick up trucks... are you ever happy or do you just [censored] about everything?
 
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Originally Posted by Nick1994

Do the halogens burn out often since I'm using the wrong bulb?

No, not in my case and I have to use low beam as DRL during winter. Have you tried Philips X-tremeVision? If not, get it from a reliable source that you will get a genuine product. Loads of counterfeits on the market.


Pls calm down on arguments over LEDs. I feel that both of you folks are right. I am annoyed of both, factory-installed and improperly aimed, as well as LEDs in Halogen housings. The factory-installed lights folks can't do anything about it but LEDs in Halogen casings, that definitely drives me nuts too, esp if you drive a small sedan. I wholeheartedly agree that the cops should be able to issue a ticket for such mods.
 
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Does your Sonata use the headlights as DRL's? If so, that could be the cause of your short lifetime.

Daytime running lights are a good reason a lot of these newer vehicles are having headlights go south quicker. They are mounting up hours faster. I rarely drive at night any longer. (Except for when we were moving). And I never use headlights during the day. Mine are always in manual "OFF" mode. I suspect the bulbs will outlive me.
 
Originally Posted by Skippy722

His Sonata has projector style lights. He has a very distinct line between what is lit, and what isn't, unlike the reflector style housings. Just like mine. How are you going to know whether someone like me or him has factory hid/led or aftermarket?
...

it has halogen projector lights. Designed for a halogen bulb. Not LED.

Now going vigilante is extreme, but I agree that the amount of vehicles out there with blinding aftermarket LED/HID is increasing, and wonder how many accidents are related to them.

I also agree that even most factory LED lights have too much glare and/or improperly aimed. Not as much a problem with factory HID from my experience..
 
I wouldn't worry so much about the cat is the other drivers out there being blinded. If It's anytime after happy hour you don't know who you're blinding out there, drunk, stoner, strung out, legally blind and still driving or whatever. You never quite know exactly what they're gonna do when I can't see.
 
Agree … I drove two hours after dark last night. Mostly 2 lane roads.
Three things stood out:

1). Japanese cars and Ford's with insanely bright lights in my face
2). Aftermarket bulbs not made for that housing hitting 170 degrees
3). Jerks who just want to get away with brights on until they get flashed
 
I did the 9005 to 9011 swap in my Hyundai over a year ago and they're still going strong. I think it helps that they don't double as high beams or DRLs.

I've researched drop-in LED options but am not convinced about their performance or longevity.
 
Originally Posted by Skippy722
I'm running Diode Dynamics SL1 LED's... .


Same here for our Legacy.

I'm running their yellow LED fogs and much-brighter back-up lights, as well as all interior LEDs for both of our Subarus.

The Forester has OEM HID's, so no need to upgrade those.
 
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Does your Sonata use the headlights as DRL's? If so, that could be the cause of your short lifetime.
Nope, it has DRL that are dedicated LED strips at the bottom, but I don't use those either and keep them switched off.

Originally Posted by Dave9
What is it you don't understand? There is no suck or not suck "poor lil old me it doesn't last long".

There is only, you are an irresponsible person for ever putting LED retrofits in incan housings and law enforcement needs to crack down on this.

EVERYONE who puts an LED retrofit in an incan housing needs their driver's license revoked and their vehicle impounded.

That's the polite way to put it. When I see these blinding lights on the road, my thoughts drift more towards vigilante justice. You have been warned, that some random person, and I am not alone by any stretch, is getting really [censored] off at idiots who put this crap in their incan headlights then blind other drivers.

Just don't do it. Man up and buy housings designed for LED lighting instead of either pretending you are cool for having bluer lights, or being so blind that you shouldn't be on the road if you can't see with stock lights which are legally required to provide enough light to drive safety if you weren't too blind to safely drive at night.

There is no such thing as "my vehicle blah blah blah" wasn't good enough headlights. If your headlights were hazed over, clean or replace the lenses. If you're just an immature child that thinks more is better, you could not be more wrong. More cold light blinds people and causes accidents. Remember that the vehicle alternator would have no problem at all supporting multiple times as much incandescent lighting output as vehicles have had, so did you think this was some magic upper limit with incan bulb brightness? It wasn't, AT ALL. It was regulated for very good reason.


This is the second time today you have flipped your lid and freaked out on someone. You need some counseling.

I don't know what goes on in your personal life, but you really don't need to take your anger out on others. Grow up.

Originally Posted by Driz
I wouldn't worry so much about the cat is the other drivers out there being blinded. If It's anytime after happy hour you don't know who you're blinding out there, drunk, stoner, strung out, legally blind and still driving or whatever. You never quite know exactly what they're gonna do when I can't see.

The 9011's or these LED replacements weren't blinding anyone actually. My car has a really nice cutoff.

Having 3 cars means my brother helps me often shuffling them around between my 2 residences, so he drives my Sonata a lot and follows me. Not blinding at all, especially since they're projectors.
 
For all the people complaining, here. Led, the xenondepot Xtreme LED Pro (not cheap) on the driver side, factory halogen in the right. You tell me how that's blinding.

The other is a LED in a single RX350 projector... nice controlled light.

898F1845-1B8A-4367-ADE0-BFF507E056FB.jpeg


E7728F85-8495-43A7-88F6-C5E5E19C1FFE.jpeg
 
One of my relatives is a famous psychiatrist. He travels around his country and gives lectures. Students flock to his lectures and often bring tape recorders. Anyway, the last time I've attended one of his lectures was 10+ years ago, and one thing really stuck with me: "Don't charge your clients too much, because they won't come back. Don't charge them too little either, because they won't take you seriously."

It's telling that the first reply in this thread has a solution to the issue of expensive bulbs burning out ever 6-8 months: it is called taking advantage of the 1-year warranty. This effectively halves the cost of the bulbs from a rather costly $25/bulb to a much more reasonable $13/bulb. I guess $13/bulb is too little to be taken seriously. The OP himself has said that he finds the current bulbs adequate, just lacking in lifespan, and has had bad experiences with LEDs.

Nonetheless, we have the LED evangelicals who seem determined to push LEDs which are 10x more expensive onto us, with pseudo-scientific wall shots "proving" some sort of point. The high price and the fancy marketing speak have persuaded a good number of people to "upgrade" to these LEDs, when in reality, LED bulbs are a work-in-progress at best. $120/pair of LED bulbs sounds like a much more reasonable price than a mere $13/bulb! I guess I should take the more expensive LED bulbs more seriously.

And we have people claiming that projectors control glare, which is patently false. The only good that this claim does is to separate those who last took physics in 1972 from those who know what they're talking about. The SAE testing is in, and has been in for quite a while now. I guess people have more important things to worry about, such as selling LEDs, than reading up on basic SAE testing around here. In sum, 5 of the 9 LEDs tested in a projector headlamp created excessive glare at multiple federal test points. A projector is no guarantee of glare control. Using the intended light source for the headlamp is a better guarantee of glare control.

And glare isn't the only issue we have with LED retrofit kits. We have, in almost all of the LEDs tested by the SAE, a steep drop-off in light projection distance compared to the original halogen bulbs. So, with the 9 LEDs tested by the SAE, not only do you run the risk of glaring people, but you also run the risk of actually worsening how far you can see at night. A true win-win situation if you ask me: a true Darwinian solution to the issue of people who think LED retrofits are some sort of upgrade
wink.gif
.

But of course, here comes the flood of people who last took physics in 1952 that are going to poo-poo SAE testing. I guess SAE testing is only relevant for motor oils, not other vehicle components
wink.gif
.

If one were really looking to objectively improve their vehicle's lighting, one could consider (all of the below upgrades are actually upgrades backed by scientific evidence, not "I swear to God that it helps, I promise!":

1) Swapping to a purpose-built LED CHMSL (not swapping out the bulb inside, but swapping out the whole assembly for a name-brand, aftermarket unit).

2) Moving the LED CHMSL higher up on the vehicle for better conspicuity. A lot of sedans put their CHMSLs on the shelf behind the rear seats. Moving it up to the roof/glass junction area allows it to be more visible, and more beneficial.

3) Adding side turn signal repeaters. A lot of older cars, especially, don't have anything on the side of the car that indicates that you are making a turn/merge. This is, obviously, quite dangerous, and the literature supports the fact that side turn signal repeaters are beneficial.

4) Performing simple bulb upgrades, such as swapping from 3057 turn signal bulbs to 3457 turn signal bulbs, which are brighter.

But, none of the aforementioned upgrades require you to pull out the Ben Franklins from your wallet. The most expensive upgrade listed costs about $50, max, and that is buying the aftermarket, purpose-built LED CHMSL. I guess none of my upgrades are worth considering, because they don't involve blowing wads of money at stuff that other drivers can clearly see and appreciate, like super white LED bulbs
wink.gif
.
 
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Originally Posted by Deontologist
One of my relatives is a famous psychiatrist. He travels around his country and gives lectures. Students flock to his lectures and often bring tape recorders. Anyway, the last time I've attended one of his lectures was 10+ years ago, and one thing really stuck with me: "Don't charge your clients too much, because they won't come back. Don't charge them too little either, because they won't take you seriously."

It's telling that the first reply in this thread has a solution to the issue of expensive bulbs burning out ever 6-8 months: it is called taking advantage of the 1-year warranty. This effectively halves the cost of the bulbs from a rather costly $25/bulb to a much more reasonable $13/bulb. I guess $13/bulb is too little to be taken seriously. The OP himself has said that he finds the current bulbs adequate, just lacking in lifespan, and has had bad experiences with LEDs.

Nonetheless, we have the LED evangelicals who seem determined to push LEDs which are 10x more expensive onto us, with pseudo-scientific wall shots "proving" some sort of point. The high price and the fancy marketing speak have persuaded a good number of people to "upgrade" to these LEDs, when in reality, LED bulbs are a work-in-progress at best. $120/pair of LED bulbs sounds like a much more reasonable price than a mere $13/bulb! I guess I should take the more expensive LED bulbs more seriously.

And we have people claiming that projectors control glare, which is patently false. The only good that this claim does is to separate those who last took physics in 1972 from those who know what they're talking about.



Blah blah blah ramble ramble ramble you like to pretend to know what you're talking about, go back to the candlepower forums
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Op asked about led's, I answered with my own personal experience. I'm not saying they're better than halogens, they're on par with the 9011's I had. Would I buy them again should they fail? Nope. I'll upgrade to oem hid.

But in typical BITOG style, it's new therefore should be shunned, and people who have absolutely no experience with/even owned whatever it is will dismiss it and everyone who's happy with it.
 
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It isn't so much about the cost of replacing the bulbs, I just don't want to cram my hands in there to replace them. I can't find 9011 bulbs in auto parts stores easily here, they're pretty rare. And since I clip them with wire cutters to make them fit, they probably aren't warranty-able.

And there was no glare whatsoever with the LEDs or with the 9011s.
 
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