Fair enough. Halogens are very old tech. HIDs are a vast improvement in brightness. And I agree that LEDs are preferred. However, I'm finding upgrades from HID to LED to be a bit cumbersome and finding a reliable D1S LED that will work (especially without canbus errors) is a bit of a crapshoot. It seems like you run into less compatibility issues when going from Halogen to LED. Does that make sense?
The "problem" is the lens degrade over time and the cost of generic halogen replacements vs. new genuine VW hid units will only get worse over time. Spending 1200 on headlights for a 5k truck is not very attractive.
Totally makes sense... I hear you.
You may have only paid $5,000 for it but it was a $70,000 truck. So now that you understand the situation properly, $1,200 headlights on a $70,000 car aren't so bad. They are $5,000 a piece for Audi matrix LED replacement housings, don't complain.
I have been looking into replacing both assemblies with brand new OE. I have the T1 1st-Gen HIDs with static directionals (PNs 7L6941017BQ & 7L6941018BQ) which were used in North America (not sure of other locations) for 2006 and early 2007 only, after which VW released a minor facelift to the front ends. So here we are, sixteen years later, and these two headlight assembly models are all but impossible to find, even used. That is what has led me to consider retro-modding to the halogen models. At least if I go halogen, I can upgrade to some respectable LED lamps for a fair improvement. I fear my poor Treg might be a driveway ornament for some time while I search for the best option.
You can still used LED lamps in the existing HID housing. No need to down grade to Halogens, to then upgrade again. Much easier transition.
****... Great insight. I can appreciate your efforts and motive behind this. Unfortunately I don't have much that I can offer at this point other than suggesting check out car-part.com which I've had lots of success using
When I replaced my Headlights with New HID's, the whole assembly. I got them on amazon.
Link?
That doesn't solve the lenses going bad. That's the ultimate issue with Touareg headlights.
They're out of stock now
I think it's more the wiring on these.
Wiring is fine on our 2008. But after multiple "polishes" the plastic lenses are hopeless. If they sold those separately, a big problem would be solved. The fact is even if the wiring or reflectors or ballast lasted forever, the original lenses on most T2 headlights are now worthless. No amount of polishing, or "new bulbs" or re-wiring or reflector repair matters much once the lenses are gone. That's why plugging a pair of cheap new aftermarket halogens every two or three years would be the sane solution to keeping a 15 year old truck (dwindling in value) on the highway. We're adding some LED driving lights for now...
You're not polishing right. I can make any headlight look brand new. I can walk you though the correct process if you want.
Touaregman, THIS would be my ultimate solution! If you have experience with such, or know of any threads that might help, I would greatly appreciate it! My biggest concern is getting error codes from the LED installs. I have heard too many mixed messages regarding this. I also have no idea which brand(s) of LEDs to trust. I have researched three that I think might be worth a try, but from my limited experience, this would be little more than a big, fat experiment. Hopefully, I wouldn't fry a ballast or controller! (UGH)
Not a Touareg but may help
