Xenon change in 05 model?

[VolvoVoom]

Hi all, we are looking at possibly getting a new 05 leftover XC70. It has the xenon package. I have read many of your comments regarding your dislike for the Volvo xenon package on 2004 and earlier vehicles. I was wondering if there were any changes were made on the 2005 model xenon headlamps to improve the 'blackhole' performance.

Thanks, and this forum is a great resource!

[Jack]

I bought an '05 with them in June after reading many of the same concerns. I'd say they aren't as bad as I expected though they aren't the improvement they should be over the standard lights you would expect for the price.

I think earlier cars may have had different lights, but there may also have been issues with the adjustment and the software control of the leveling. As I understand if the lights aren't on when some software calibration is done they may be left pointing in the full down position. I did tweak mine up two turns from the factory aiming but found it to be too much and now have them up one turn.

Like all HID's there is a relatively sharp top cutoff that one adapts to over time. But the bottom line is that I'm not unhappy with their performance.

[Art]

Hi all, we are looking at possibly getting a new 05 leftover XC70. It has the xenon package. I have read many of your comments regarding your dislike for the Volvo xenon package on 2004 and earlier vehicles. I was wondering if there were any changes were made on the 2005 model xenon headlamps to improve the 'blackhole' performance.

Thanks, and this forum is a great resource!

I seem to recall that the bi-xenon units on MY2005 use high performance reflectors though I’m not sure if this is at all related to your question.

[VolvoVoom]

Thank you both for your replies. I'm sure that I can live with the xenons performance in the darkest of areas. I have been driving a VW Touareg with xenons for about 2.5 years now and I understand their strengths and shortcomings regarding sharp cut off of the light. The thing that the VW has is the shutters to fully open the aperture open, which really lights up the road. This will probably be the single hardest change to get used to with the Volvo lights. I'll remember the adjust them up one notch for a little more throw.

I wonder what "high performance reflectors" means? :)

[Puff The Magic Wagon!]

I wonder what "high performance reflectors" means? :)


If they are the same as on my MY05 then sweet fanny adams!! Hence why I was looking into some way of upgrading the fogs into HID driving lights...

[Big]

VV, pardon me for changing the subject, but how did the Touareg treat you? I considered one a couple of years ago and went with the XC90 instead. I liked them both and the XC90 has worked out well but I kind of miss the off-road ability of the T-reg.

[VolvoVoom]

VV, pardon me for changing the subject, but how did the Touareg treat you? I considered one a couple of years ago and went with the XC90 instead. I liked them both and the XC90 has worked out well but I kind of miss the off-road ability of the T-reg.

The Touareg is great when it is working. I'm currently getting ready to sure VW to buy it back. Out of the last 90 days, it has been in the shop for about 47 of them.

The kicker is that I love the vehicle. With the air suspension and rear diff lock, it is the best stock offroad vehicle that I have ever driven. I have even setup two offroad rallies in So. Colo. over the past two years with about 10 vehicles joining us for about 180 miles of all offroad difficulty driving.

http://www.avalonsystems.net/img/albums/2005CORally-Aircooled/IMG_5804.sized.jpg

Pics of our 2005 Colorado Touareg 4x4 Rally (http://www.avalonsystems.net/gallery/2005TouaregRally)


I also love it as a tow vehicle. I bought an Airstream trailer this past year, and even the V6 tows it pretty well. The air suspension is perfect for this task as well and easily absorbs the 440 lbs on the trailer tongue.

However, despite all of this, my car has completely started to fall apart. VW refuses to see that there is a problem, despite the fact that they have already paid out over $6200 in warranty parts and labor last month alone.


I hope (or at least the wife hopes) that the Volvo will be much less maintenance intensive during the warranty period! The Jetta TDI we will be replacing has (knock on wood) been relatively trouble free, but its warranty expires next month.


Now, back on topic. Puff, are you really that unhappy with the xenons? Do the current fog lights have a vertical adjustment wheel to help aim them as driving lights?

[Puff The Magic Wagon!]

Now, back on topic. Puff, are you really that unhappy with the xenons? Do the current fog lights have a vertical adjustment wheel to help aim them as driving lights?

I find that they lack severely in range such that I have little confidence in going at National Speeds on A/B roads - just can't see ahead to read the road.

My suggestion comes of what I did to my Impreza to overcome its (admitedly more severe) shortcomings in the lighting department - hence why I was thinking of doing the same to the XC.

[Nice Pic btw]

[John@CdnRockies]

I have the '04 Bi-Xenons and must admit that they severely needed upward adjustment. I did it to the point where oncoming cars not longer flash. They have been great since I reached that "highpoint", including a 600 mile return drive through the Rocky Mountains yesterday. No complaints aside from Volvo inherently pointing them way too low.

Btw, Tourage was on my finalist list - glad I didn't buy it as the Volvo has been without a glitch these 30,000 miles.

John

[ChuckK]

I was wondering if there were any changes were made on the 2005 model xenon headlamps to improve the 'blackhole' performance.


I'll respond to your original question. I am one of those people who don't like the bi-xenon headlamps. I was also one of the first people to aim them up and post instructions for doing that on this forum. (I bought one of the first 2004 XC70s to arrive here.) Aiming them up helps a lot, but they are still nowhere near as good as the halogen headlights on my 1995 Volvo 850 when driving on a dark, two-lane road.

Because I was still unhappy with the headlights (they're really the only thing I don't like about our XC70), I asked the service manager at my dealership whether they had made any improvements in the 2005 model. I also checked the parts numbers with the parts department. I figured if they had improved them I would complain loudly to my dealer until they changed them for the new models. (They're actually surprisingly good about customer service.) Unfortunately, I discovered that the 2005 bi-xenon headlights were the same as the 2004 models. Of course, it is possible they changed them partway through the 2005 model year or that they are different in 2006.

Back on the off-topic Touareg thing, your experience with good performance and abysmal reliability is right in line with what I have read about that vehicle. I bought a new Volkswagen Rabbit in 1976 that had the same combination of attributes. I did my own car repairs in those younger days and swore I would not buy another Volkswagen product again in this lifetime. I have lived up to that pledge.

[Jack]

I just took a look in VADIS at the lights and it is clear (no pun!) that the '05 is quite different from the '04. About the only parts that are the same are the bulbs...the headlamp assembly, motor, and basic layout are different.

[VolvoVoom]

Well, we ended up buying the car. I don't have any major complaints yet about the light. They are different. The single biggest problem I have seen so far it that it is easy to over drive the lights, and corner lighting is a bit problematic on tight corners. I will bump the adjustment up a notch to see if it helps!

On the subject of different lights/modifying lights/adding lights, what are the primary differences between these HID housings and an E-Code HID housing? Is there anyway to turn on the center DRL lamp to use for additional high beam light by using coding or rewiring?

I have done this on my Touareg by modifying a coding for an electronics module. This makes the car think it is in Europe and it turn on the inner H7 halogen lights, which are only set for flash to pass here in the state. It GREATLY supplements the stock bi-xenons when the highs are on.

I don't even know if such a thing is possible on the Volvo.

[ChuckK]

I just took a look in VADIS at the lights and it is clear (no pun!) that the '05 is quite different from the '04. About the only parts that are the same are the bulbs...the headlamp assembly, motor, and basic layout are different.

I think the bulbs and reflectors are what will determine the light pattern. When you say the headlamp assembly is different, does that mean the reflector is different? I was told it had not changed.

[Jack]

Hard to judge the degree of change by the diagrams but just about all the part numbers are different.