2012 Jetta Headlight Bulb Low Beam

I just bought the car and the low beam on drivers side was out so I bought the silverstar xe or what ever they are, was about $53 for 2 bulbs and came in a hard case at auto zone. I watched multiple videos, looked at multiple websites and can't get the bulb back in the housing to rotate clockwise. I have looked at the passenger side and removed and reinstalled that side about 20 times and don't have any issues with the passenger side. The driver side is a PIA and will not rotate to lock in place.

When I removed the bulb the clip on the black plastic harness fell off and I reinstalled the correct way, at least I think I did.

I wonder if I need to bend the prongs a little? I messed with it for over a hour! There has been quite a bit of language towards the car.

Please help!

Two things I'll say: 1. These bulbs are f****** infuriating to install, and 2. You need MUCH less pressure to seat and rotate the bulb holder thingy (that's a technical term, lol) then you might think. The key is PERFECTLY lining it up so that it will snap in place.

Do you have kids or a woman around? Seriously...find someone with small hands to give it a try if you can't get it seated. If you have big hands, it's difficult to line it up properly.

I'll give a try again tomorrow and possibly will not yell as much at the car

Are you looking at the front of the headlight while you do this?

I tried again today for 10 minutes to change the bulb and no luck. I am making sure its lined up with the hole. The passenger side has zero issues. The drivers side is a pain in the ass.

If you think the low beams are a pain, the DRLs are a royal one. I can only count my blessings that I decided to put in LED replacements, because by the time I was done I NEVER wanted to have to touch them again. Located under the same cover that you take off to get to the low beams but tucked in under the low beams. Getting them unfastened was a bear, and getting them put back in was a nightmare. Lost some blood and a whole lot of skin on that task. Makes low beans, even one that wont seem to lock, look like a walk in the park, because at least you can get a grip on them.

I gave up and took the car to a local shop and he had a tough time. He said he only wanted a couple bucks to put it in, it was such a pain in the ass I gave him $20

Amusingly enough...I had to replace a headlight bulb for the third time today (passenger side). I had it snapped in place in less than 10 seconds. No joke...I was fixing to start cussing when I barely got going (the cover is a pain to get off)....but the bulb/holder shocked me and snapped into place before I had a chance to start sputtering. I'll take it.

I had trouble putting my right side in when I changed by bulbs. took a break and a swim then it slid right on. It goes in easy, but has to be absolutely in perfect position. The left side just has more room to feel the perfect position. THATS MY STORY AND I'M STICKING TO IT.

issues with low beams on Jetta 2013

I replaced my driver side low beam. Few months forward, both of my low beams stopped working. I checked fuses, looked at the bulb and it seems fine. I ordered 2 replacement light switches since the first one was from China, and wrong kind. I got it yesterday.
I put in the switch and the same thing is happening. Switch works because I can use high beams but not low beams.
I checked the fuses again, then replaced the passenger side bulb with a new one, and it started to work. I initially thought I caused all this mess by putting low beam into high beam socket. I researched they are both H7 so that would not make any difference. My question is.
HOW THE HELL 2 BULBS BURN OUT AT THE SAME TIME?
Now, I have to go get 2 more of the low beams and yes putting them back sucks ass.
Question, is it really good idea to look for H7LL because I'm not sure where I can find them and what is the cost difference as opposed to normal H7.
Thank you for any suggestions

Its common for both bulbs to go out at the same time. Happened to me as well as others.

I ended up putting in Phillips Vision PLus 60% after a lot of research. The Silver Stars don't last long.

If I had the time to wait on shipping I really wanted to go with the Osram 65W bulbs. Technically an offroad only bulb, but higher wattage than stock, and lots of TDI owners having success with them. Phillips and Osram are the same company.

See this thread in post 40 on page 2.

https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=341917

I plan on buying some in a few months to have the next time they go out. I really liked the Phillips compared to stock, but these sound much better, but have to order in advance.

Oh also, if you are in a pinch, I only could find the Phillips at Pep Boys. Advance and Autozone only carried their brands or Silverstars at the time.

Dirtysouthjacket I think the set I got was also Phillips Vision PLus 60% and that one bulb lasted only 2-3 months and it wasn't cheap.
My question would be did it burn out so fast because I only replaced one and not 2 bulbs?
And since it died so fast I'm tempted to go with cheapest bulbs my local Pep Boys has since I have 15$ mail in rebate from that set.
Thanks
Arek

Arekkosinski,

There was another member on here who drove mostly at night or dark conditions due to work. He also drove a lot of miles. So he was also unhappy about not getting very long bulb life. He left the forum and deleted his posts, so not sure what his final solution was, but he tried many different things.

I bring that up just to ask, how long did you get out of the originals, and how much of your driving is using the low beams?

I unfortunately don't know a lot about the lighting systems on the MKVI platform yet. But replacing in pairs might help. Some users have also turned off the DRLs thinking it improves bulb life. You may have just gotten a crappy bulb or gotten something on it.

I found the company that also sells the Osram 65Ws. Free shipping if you buy 2.

http://store.candlepower.com/osraulhiouh7.html

If it was me, I would not put cheap bulbs in. But that is just me. I hate hitting deer and want to see them as soon as possible at night.

standard bulbs last longer,

brighter bulbs last shorter.

no free lunch.

https://www.sylvania.com/en-us/innovation/education/learnautomotivelighting/Pages/FAQs.aspx

Quote:

However, since our headlights are brighter and whiter than BASIC, they may have a shorter life span compared to our other products.

Thank you both, that answered my questions. It's really awesome to be part of such a supportive community.
arek

bubbagumpshrimp said:

Two things I'll say: 1. These bulbs are f****** infuriating to install, and 2. You need MUCH less pressure to seat and rotate the bulb holder thingy (that's a technical term, lol) then you might think. The key is PERFECTLY lining it up so that it will snap in place.

Do you have kids or a woman around? Seriously...find someone with small hands to give it a try if you can't get it seated. If you have big hands, it's difficult to line it up properly.

Click to expand...

^^ What he said. I thought I was the only one. Note where the tabs that the passenger side bulb is located and pushed into. I hate doing these bulbs. Hard to get to and hard to put back in.

Seems there's a consensus here. My driver's side took nearly 30 minutes to get back in. I thought it was due my lack of fine motor skills.
Apparently correct alignment is crucial. However, just because I eventually succeeded doesn't mean I learned anything from the experience. I'm sure the next time will be a PITA, too.

I buy Sylvania ultra stars with cash, photo copy receipt, return and get money back.

3 weeks later call Sylvania, email my receipt get 2 new bulbs for free 3 days later.
Do that 8x a year until the 1 year warranty is up, the rinse and repeat.


Sounds like free lunch to me.

Also I turned my drl down to 20%. They last so much longer. I'd disable, but I carry kids, so I decided to keep something glowing during the day.

I did enable deactivation of drl during blinker though.

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Osram 65Ws

So my passenger low beam went out and I bought two Osram Rallye 65w. I am installing them when I get home tonight.

Anyone who has these, how long did they last?

Should I replace my driver side even though it isn't burner out yet?

flyerchic2000 said:

So my passenger low beam went out and I bought two Osram Rallye 65w. I am installing them when I get home tonight.

Anyone who has these, how long did they last?

Should I replace my driver side even though it isn't burner out yet?

Click to expand...

Definitely. If they're both original on your 2011, then chances are the lighting performance of that, still good, bulb is quite decreased compared to a new one. So in one housing you have a brighter bulb than the other housing which has a faded bulb. Plus, you're there anyways, and the install procedure is fresh in your memory. Here's a tip of installing them, shine a light at the clips where the bulb housing clips into the headlight. Note where the bulb housing tabs are clipped into. If you know where, installing will be so much easier. But trust me, it will be frustrating.

I keep the old working as a spare in glove compartment.

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Osrams are installed.

Thank you buyingconstant7 and jason! I installed both sides and they work. It took me about 15 minutes. The hardest part was taking off the covers just because they probably haven't been turned in 5 years.

I kept the working OEM bulb and put it in my glovebox.

Let us know what you think of the higher wattage bulbs. I think you are the first on here to try in a MK6 Jetta and post about it!

They are going to be my next set of bulbs as well.

Osram bulbs

I took a quick night drive and the lights are definitely brighter. FWIW, I am posting pictures of the lights against a wall.

bubbagumpshrimp said:

Two things I'll say: 1. These bulbs are f****** infuriating to install, and 2. You need MUCH less pressure to seat and rotate the bulb holder thingy (that's a technical term, lol) then you might think. The key is PERFECTLY lining it up so that it will snap in place.

Click to expand...

"Infuriating" is right. Why does VW make a routine task so f'n difficult? I've changed headlight bulbs about 6 times already and it's taken anywhere between 2 - 20 minutes to get it seated in place properly. Today, I'm trying to change a bulb again, and after about two attempts and 30 minutes, I still can't get it to install properly.

I know you have to keep the tabs pointed at about the 1/7 o'clock position and then give it a clockwise turn to about the 3/9 o'clock position, but I can't seem get it in the right position to catch.

Is there any trick to this? This should be a simple one minute task.

flyerchic2000 said:

So my passenger low beam went out and I bought two Osram Rallye 65w. I am installing them when I get home tonight.

Anyone who has these, how long did they last?

Should I replace my driver side even though it isn't burner out yet?

Click to expand...

You won't have any regrets with these. I drive a lot at night so I replaced the high and low beams with these at around 30-40k miles . I just had one burn out about a month ago. I had them on for about 2 1/2 years and put 80k miles of driving. Alot of it at night.

The low and high beam isn't an issue and I have massive hands. The drl on the other hand is such a pita I ended up removing the front bumper cover and pulled each headlight so I could so it. As someone else mentioned, you have to make sure they're lined perfect before you twist them on. And you don't need to push hard on them.

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