CarlT

Big thanks to all that helped me sort this bulb issue out. Just had an 'engaging' discussion with the garage owner over the matter, and I've got a valid MOT cert! The bulb cost £8.99 from a local car spares shop...rather different to the £60 originally quoted. Many thanks again, esp lexynik. Carl

There is definitely no additional wiring or boxes. The wires from all the bulbs go straight into thw main wiring loom. I've got the bulb out, in front of me now, and it states Sylvania 9006 HB4 U, 22P 12V 51W. The bulb itself comes attached to a plastic connector. Lyxynik...I'm thinking option 2 in your last note.. this isnt a HIDs bulb.

there is two options-

1-your car has been modified and you either need one hid bulb of a matching spec to your other lowbeam hid bulb or you need to disconnect the hids-a two minute job-and fit original type halogen bulbs-easily available and priced normally

2-your car does not have hid,s fitted and your mot tester / mechanic is incompetant or trying to rip u off

from the year of your car it was not made with hid,s-if it has them it has in fact been modified-as i said before pop your bonnet and if you see electrical ballast boxes wired inline to your lowbeams they are retrofitted

Many thanks lexynik, really clear....I'm going under the bonnet for a really good look around. I'm old enough not to be beaten by a bulb!

Hello again-explanation of an hid setup HERE - its basically a very common modification to make your headlights more modern in appearance and function - the easiest way for you to tell if you have a hid kit fitted to your low/high beams is to pop your bonnet and look for ballast boxes as pictured HERE in flyeris and parthibians posts - these will be connected to wires to the headlamp bulb in question if they are hid,s although usually mounted on inner wings and easily visible it is possible to hide them away although less common and likely-- it would not be beyond the realms of possibility for this to be the one and only modification on your car

Thank you kevinsgs300 for welcome and lexynik for very helpful comments & links. I'm 100% sure that the headlamps have not been modified or upgraded, chance would have been a fine thing, but alas..

So I'm back to factory spec's in terms of replacing the normal headlamp bulb? £60 for one just seems so expensive for one bulb...maybe I'm out of touch with modern technonolgy. I must be in the wrong business! IS200bulbs-R-Us.com?

I've just realised that I have been confusing my original question by referring to 'mainbeam headlights'..doh! I mean the normal driving lights you use a night, not the full beam lights that dazzle on-coming traffic...I'm braced for the comments back about not being clear so spare me these please :) Plonker springs to mind, but I dont need to be told! What a way to introduce yourself to a forum???

it is quite possible that a previous owner "upgraded" the mainbeams to hid type - a quick cheap fix would be to fit a set of ordinary bulbs and disconnect the hid,s or source a replacement hid bulb-you can buy a complete kit for about £60 so i would think you can buy one bulb cheaper-you may have to examine the blown bulb to find the type and im sure someone on here can post a link to cheap hid bulbs of the correct spec

lexynik

Also many thanks to you for your comments. What a helpful bunch of folks. Hard to believe that one bulb is causing me so much of an issue. One failed bulb = no MOT cert = cant renew tax. I doubt that the previous owner did 'upgrade' as nothing else was, as it's a very 'standard' car and bought from a Lexus dealership with low mileage...but you just never know! Parden my ignorance but what is a HID type bulb??

Hi Carl, welcome to LOC

You need to find out if your car has the standard halogen bulbs - if so then you can get them from eBay

This should give you an idea of what you should pay for a pair of headlamp bulbs

Graham

Graham,

Thank's for your reply & welcome, appreciated. It's a standard IS200, yr 2000 i.e not modified in any way, and the garage who I know well called round various suppliers and they all said it was a HID bulb?? (whatever this is) @ c £60 each. I never thought that a simple bulb replacement could be so complicated. Replaced the main beam bulbs a few times at around £12 each, but absolutely confused as to why the normal headlamp bulbs are different and so much more expensive.

Hello all,

I'm a long standing owner of a X reg IS200, the second one I've owned and both have been fantastic cars. I've never needed to use the LOC forum before as I've not had any questions or issues worthy of raising!

My car failed it's MOT today because of a defective Mainbeam (Dipped) headlight (not bad for a car with 180K miles on the clock). I thought it would be an easy fix until I was told that a replacement bulb would be around £60. In 12 years of driving a IS200 I've not had to change one single Mainbeam bulb so pretty lucky I guess, but still at £60 per bulb this seems very costly.

My question to the experts within the forum is...

a.) is this the 'normal' cost of this bulb?

b.) is there an alternative option? I know this sounds a niaive question, but I'm no car or bulb expert that's for sure and I've read that there are 'alternatives'...what these are, I haven't a clue mind you.

I'm just seeking to ensure that the car is legal and as close to manufacturer spec as possible so it will get through it's MOT.

Thank you in advance of your help.

Carl