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How Long Do LED Headlights Last? (LED Bulb Lifespan)

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Last Updated on: 7th September 2023, 12:42 am

LED headlights may be the best type of headlight on the market, they are exceptionally efficient, very bright, inexpensive, and last for a very long time.

Heat and moisture is usually the biggest culprit for a failing LED, the complicated tangle of circuitry at the base of the diodes generates the majority of the heat.

LED headlamps require a large cooling system, sometimes even requiring the use of a small fan.

LED Headlight Lifespan

LED headlights can last upwards of 30,000 hours with a high-quality product. However, the headlight assembly should feature appropriate cooling and most units must be sealed from moisture to reach this lifespan.

Other headlight types don’t fare up as well as LEDs do, halogens only last between 500 and 100 hours, HIDs last around 2,000 hours, and xenon headlights last roughly 10,000 hours.

LED headlight

What Should You Do?

Despite the fact that certain headlight bulbs are advertised to last hundreds or thousands of hours, practical challenges are generally present.

There’s a good possibility you’re dealing with a manufacturing issue if a headlight bulb burns out too soon.

You may be able to take advantage of a manufacturer’s warranty in certain cases.

While you may have to go through hoops to acquire a free replacement if your headlights fail within the guarantee term, most major manufacturers’ headlight bulbs come with a one-year warranty.

It’s also a good idea to inspect the headlight assembly before replacing it. Contamination might cause it to fail sooner than expected, thus a worn-out or damaged headlight component could be a problem.

Water and road dirt may be able to seep into the headlight assembly if a rock punches a tiny hole in one of the components or if the seal cracks.

As a consequence, the lifetime of your headlamp would be substantially shortened.

  • Andy Lewin

    Andy Lewin is a senior mechanic, ASE qualified master technician, and an experienced automotive engineer.He's passionate about serving the automotive community with the highest-quality and trustworthy information on all things automotive. He loves to write about car repairs, maintenance, car modifications and tuning, faults, and much more.

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