and how much does a new one cost. Do you have to have them installed by a service tech?

 

I hear the average life time is about 1800 hrs which is like leaving them on for 2 and a half months.... but theoretically I think they could last forever since there's no filiment and they only fail when shock and bump from everyday driving cracks the capsules or ballasts?
I've seen after market HIDs go from $800CAD to 2800...
I wonder if they'll be covered by warrenty as well if they "burn" out since technically, they don't "burn out", they break?

 

they come stock on the GT's don't they ?

 

i think they are standard in everything except base car

 

HID lamps do not have a filament, and are therefore more vibration resistant. But, they do have metal electrodes at either end of the arc capsule. The electrodes do have a limited life and can also wear in ways that can cause other types of bulb failure. A typical automotive HID lamp may have a rated life of 2500 to 3000 hours, but that is dependent upon the bulb itself and how it is being powered.

I have an HID bicycle headlamp that puts out an impressive amount of light for a 13 watt consumption, but its extremely small capsule results in a rated life of only around 700 hours.

There are several reasons why the manufacturer will strongly recommend against DIY replacement. For one, a starting voltage of 20,000 or more volts is provided to "strike the arc" when the lights are first turned on. Also, the arc capsule when lighted contains gas under very high temperature and pressure. Explosion is one failure mode and the enclosures are designed to contain such an explosion. The installer is exposed to danger if the lights are switched on before the enclosure is back in place.

 

If HID's last for 1800 hours then I'm not going to worry about them going anytime soon.

Suppose half of your driving is done in the dark and your average speed is 30 mph. Then 1800 hours with lights on corresponds to 108,000 miles travelled in total. If you're a high mileage driver your average speed will probably be higher than this and most people spend more time driving in the daylight than at night, so this is a pessimistic figure.

 

yea it's something you don't think about when you buy a car with these lights. It costs about 4 dollars to replace the headlights in my Maxima with a replacement bulbs and yes while it is not as bright as the HID it's not that different.

 

Think I've seen that the bulbs alone are about $140. However, if you keep the wick trimmed, they should last a long time.