I believe these are HID lights, one of mine died so there I go to the dealership. I'm at 160k btw

Right off the bat they say they're going to charge me 180 to do a test and unassemble to find out if it's the light bulb or the system itself which is causing the issue.

This is normal?? He explained how much they have to take the front bumper and all to get in and dig and they don't want to mess it up, as a result it's a 2 hours labor job.

If the system is flawed replacement is over 700? That's what he claimed. And I still need to do my breaks..

 

What? It's a bit of work to get to them, sure, but it's probably just the bulb. The simplest test is just to drop in a new bulb and see if it works. If they're stingy on bulbs, they can swap your right one to the left one and see if the problem travels with the bulb. If it really is the ballast, then that will get more expensive, but it's too early to go crazy with the diagnoses. You can also do the left-right swap yourself if you have a screwdriver. Just go somewhere else, they're making this too complicated.

P.S. here's the full Mazda test procedure if you're willing to do some of this work yourself: http://foxed.ca/rx7manual/2003mazdarx8/ go to Body & Accessories, then Lighting Systems, then Discharge Headlight System Inspection.

 

Much appreciated, thank you. It seemed wrong to me from the start.

 

It's actually pretty easy to change the bulbs. The Owner's Manual makes it sound all mysterious and scary, but it's not a hard job at all. Just make sure you disconnect the battery and wear gloves, and you will be fine. I'd follow Loki's advice and see what happens.

IIRC you just need to remove the grey plastic cover by turning it, unplug the connector, undo the metal clip, and the bulb should come out. We use D2S bulbs, for reference.

HID bulbs do eventually "burn out." They don't have filaments to snap, but the voltage needed to activate them eventually get too high for the system to light them up.

 

I see, thanks.
When I check for prices on the bulbs I get everything between 20$ and $100. What should it be actually?

 

I can't recommend anything under $50. Some of the cheap ones don't last very long.

Philips has the standard Xenon for about $50 a pop:



Or you can get these XtremeVision ones(which are sold in other markets, just not in North America). I got a pair from XenonDepot and they seem to shine a bit further down the road. They are also a nice, crisp white without any yellow or blue tint to them.

D2S - Philips X-treme Vision gen2 HID Bulbs | 85122XV2C1

 

So cost reflects quality, makes sense.

I ask only cause i wanted to compare with their price at the dealership for the bulb.

I called them, explained I did some consulting and that I'd like them to do the process described above and nothing otherwise complicated. The sales rep was pretty indignant that I was accusing him of being dishonest. Which I wasn't but whatever. He said fine so we'll how that goes...

 

Dealership bulbs tend to be the most basic ones, which, with HIDs, should be okay. I won't pay more than US$110 for a pair of OEM replacements. I would never buy any halogens from dealers because they tend to be the crappiest of the bunch in terms of brightness and have the dealer markup.

Like said, you can do it yourself, but if you want them to do it, that's also fine. Honestly, it's most likely the bulb, given the mileage you have.

 

What do you guys make of these LED headlights that kick out 3000-4000 Lumans? Are they any good?

 

Just want to chime in here...

S2 Xenon are not exactly the same as S1, ballast and it's wiring are different, globe is same.