Problems with the headlamp

I bought my 06’ RL on Dec. 05’ and switched the headlamp bulbs to “Silverstar 9003ST” a month later. Since then I had three headlamp bulbs burnout and replaced the new bulb with the same manufacture again.

This is about every 10 months (sometime shorter) the light bulb would burnout. Does anyone have the same experience with their none-OEM headlamp bulbs?

Thanks.

I pretty much had that exact same problem. The dealer told me it was caused by the aftermarket bulbs. So I went back to stock. Except I had more than three burn out. I think I had 8. Maybe more. It's been awhile so I can't remember how many.

Same here.... Aftermarket bulbs would only last about 4-6 months. Went through so many I lost count. (Mine was usually the passenger side bulb burning out) Back to OEM, and its been over 6 months ago.

:)

Are your replacing one bulb at the burnout. Halogen bulbs (9003) have to be replaced in pairs or they burnout prematurely. I had the original burn out at 18 months and the replacemnents made it 18 more months. I am on the 3rd pair. Also never touch the glass, if you do you make a hot spot that will fail in hours from the oils on your body. If you accidently touch the glass, do clean it with alcohol and a microfiber cloth.

I leave my headlights on all the time - looks like 20,000 miles between failures. I now have 44,000 miles.

Are your replacing one bulb at the burnout. Halogen bulbs (9003) have to be replaced in pairs or they burnout prematurely. .

Replaced both....
Yep... they were clean

:)

Thanks to everyone sharing the experience. Not quite sure the differences between the OEM and the after market bulbs. If the manufactures claim that the bulbs are “designed” to fit a specific model then why they burnout prematurely. I don't drive that much at night and don't have the DRL. Basically the bulb burning time is quite low.

Do we have quality issues here?

Silverstars have notoriously short lives, so much so that GE had some sort of rebate or replacement program because people b*tched so much about it.

I run European bulbs in my Ridgeline which I order from the UK. They are DOT legal, but much cleaner and whiter. They're not cheap Wal-Mart specials, though. I'm on my second set in over three years and 61K miles.

Philips X-Treme Power H4 from Power Bulbs (http://www.powerbulbs.com/product_detail.asp?prod=43)

Thanks Shovelhd. I will try to find it in the U.S. If not I may order it on the website you provided.

Thanks again.

These bulbs are not available in the US, or else I would have bought them here :)

I just spoke to the Sylvania Customer Service representative. It seems this is a known problem for Honda Ridgeline. They claim that RL has higher voltage than the bulb can withstand. But they are still list them in the parts catalog and selling them in the stores. :confused:

I was advised to send the broken bulbs back for replacement. And as Larry mentioned, all bulbs should be replaced at the same time.

Thanks everyone.