Even 15 years ago no headlight would cost more than a transmission. It boggles the mind. It goes to show that the advertisers have done their job in brainwashing people into accepting something that to me is totally unacceptable. I literally could replace my transmission for the price of a headlight.
2016 Headlights replaced today
- Thread starter Krul1
- Start date
You better ask for a raise because the CX-5 transmission costs about 6K without install. To bad for some but all the money goes to the top 1%.
So you consider the price of a headlight costing half the price of a transmission to be reasonable? If a rock cracks a headlight 10 miles after the warranty runs out you have no problem paying a thousand dollars for a new one? Some people make no sense.
mazdadude
ZOOOOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOOM
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- '16.5 Mazda CX-5 Touring
This was done once for a Toyota pickup, I believe late 80's and if I recall it was around 5X MSRP... 12k vs 60k
Interesting article from Australia on the subject.
http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/the-real-cost-of-repairing-your-car-20140410-36gk6.html
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Ok, I am still old fashioned.
I purchased my 2015 at the end of the model year last year. There were a dozen or so 2016 CX-5 GT's on the lot and I decided on the 2015 for the following reasons, aside from being a little concerned about some of the changes.
1) Wanted the self leveling H.I.D lighting over the L.E.D lighting. While I liked the L.E.D's, I still wanted to stay with proven technology (H.I.Ds). The performance was about the same and HIDs have been around quite a while and are easier to service.. Additionally, I asked the salesman (no clue there) about defrosting on the LED's since it usually snows a bunch around here and I was concerned about not having the heat thrown by HIDs (as well as Halogen) to melt the snow off the lens...(Is turning out to be an issue for some I guess)
2) Did not want the Electric E-Brake. This was Mazda's 1st shot at this E-Brake and just like a new model yr...Let someone else be 1st!
Turns out, at least w/ the E-brake, there have been a few issues already. I had this (throw-back IMHO) in my departed 2013 Subaru Outback, and that one froze up on me! If it had not been a warranty issue, it would have cost me a fortune to fix it, since it involved braking a seal under the car to manually release the brakes! Then the dealer had to reinstall that seal and whatever to get the E-brakes whole again...(Never did that seal procedure since I was towed back to the Dealer and they released the E-brakes). Not too much to go wrong with the old fashioned pull handle/cable type on the 2015s.
3)I Liked the 2015 wheel design over the newer 2016...meh...
4) Lastly: Got a much better deal on the 2015 since they wanted out of them.(rules)
I purchased my 2015 at the end of the model year last year. There were a dozen or so 2016 CX-5 GT's on the lot and I decided on the 2015 for the following reasons, aside from being a little concerned about some of the changes.
1) Wanted the self leveling H.I.D lighting over the L.E.D lighting. While I liked the L.E.D's, I still wanted to stay with proven technology (H.I.Ds). The performance was about the same and HIDs have been around quite a while and are easier to service.. Additionally, I asked the salesman (no clue there) about defrosting on the LED's since it usually snows a bunch around here and I was concerned about not having the heat thrown by HIDs (as well as Halogen) to melt the snow off the lens...(Is turning out to be an issue for some I guess)
2) Did not want the Electric E-Brake. This was Mazda's 1st shot at this E-Brake and just like a new model yr...Let someone else be 1st!
Turns out, at least w/ the E-brake, there have been a few issues already. I had this (throw-back IMHO) in my departed 2013 Subaru Outback, and that one froze up on me! If it had not been a warranty issue, it would have cost me a fortune to fix it, since it involved braking a seal under the car to manually release the brakes! Then the dealer had to reinstall that seal and whatever to get the E-brakes whole again...(Never did that seal procedure since I was towed back to the Dealer and they released the E-brakes). Not too much to go wrong with the old fashioned pull handle/cable type on the 2015s.
3)I Liked the 2015 wheel design over the newer 2016...meh...
4) Lastly: Got a much better deal on the 2015 since they wanted out of them.(rules)
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- 2016 CX-5 GT AWD Sonic Silver Tech & i-ActiveSense
It's thanksgiving, so I thank God for the 1% and all the jobs they create, and for paying 39% of all income taxes.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Sometimes you do take the risk of having new technologies. LED lighting is still advancing. But I decided to have it because LED itself has been proven very reliable. I'd rather have improved everyday safety for nighttime driving! Besides, people having problems here are cosmetic issues, not LED itself. If I have the same problems after the warranty expired, I simply just leave it alone like those unavoidable door dings as LED itself is still functional! I only wish we can have even more advanced Mazda i-ActiveSense Adaptive LED Headlamps (ALH) available here in the US.
1) LED will generate heat too.
2) I was skeptical about electric brake at first. But after using the e-brake on a BMW 520D, which even has a feature of applying the e-brake automatically when you stop at the traffic light, and releasing it automatically when you apply the gas pedal, I thought this is great for stop and go traffic! And I like the electric brake on CX-5 so far, as long as it's working and the battery doesn't die.
3) I agree. 2015 GT wheel has better look than 2016's. But it's also showing our ages too.
4) Nothing can beat that...
You guys are very lucky the dealer replaced your headlight on the first or second request. My driver side headlight fogged up in the first 8 months of ownership. It appeared in the summer once we started getting heavy rain. Dealer took a look and said normal, even with a large crack in the top. It appeared as if someone left a tool there and closed the hood. Mazda's TSB shows the interior of the headlight moisture guide on when to replace. I'm not saying that's expected or even reasonable, it is not.
It took several visits, emails and posts on this forum to get my headlight replaced. I have not been back to the dealer for so much as an oil change since that incident.
It took several visits, emails and posts on this forum to get my headlight replaced. I have not been back to the dealer for so much as an oil change since that incident.
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Even household LED light bulbs get fairly warm or mildly hot depending on your tolerance... I've never really attempted to determine housing temps of my HIDs over the years.
I wonder if the LEDs actually run the same temp or hotter than the HIDs?
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- 2016 CX-5 GT AWD Sonic Silver Tech & i-ActiveSense
Nobody is talking condensation. Pics posted are showing it's not condensation.
It's a manufacturing defect.
Your predicament was different and seemed like (he said...she said) human error.
See post 14. If it has water in the headlight, it's called condensation.
Was it a tool, human error or stress crack? I do not know. My point is that the dealer, in my case, dismissed it without any further investigation.
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LEDs temps
I recall way back when (April 2015) when I purchased my HID equipped CX-5, I did a comparison (somewhere) on some sort of "special" cooling being needed, during design, on the 2016 LED equipped CX-5. That was a minor "contributing" lighting factor in my decision to go with the 15's + the fact that I simply liked the HIDs light output, auto leveling etc. during a board discussion with "K.C.Sam" who purchased the 2016 model year. Since then (and before for the oem HIDs") life has been mostly good!
I recall way back when (April 2015) when I purchased my HID equipped CX-5, I did a comparison (somewhere) on some sort of "special" cooling being needed, during design, on the 2016 LED equipped CX-5. That was a minor "contributing" lighting factor in my decision to go with the 15's + the fact that I simply liked the HIDs light output, auto leveling etc. during a board discussion with "K.C.Sam" who purchased the 2016 model year. Since then (and before for the oem HIDs") life has been mostly good!
Good to know! Thanks!
The number of watts a light consumes is equivalent to the amount of heat produced. I believe halogens are typically 55-60 watts, HID's 35 watts and I don't know how many the typical LED's consume but would guess it's around 22 watts.
Then it's just a matter of figuring out how much of that heat gets directed at the lens cover. HID's have a remote ballast which consumes a small amount of watts and that heat doesn't get directed to the lens cover. Halogens are the best at melting ice from the lens cover followed by HID's and then LED's. It won't be long before lens covers have built-in heating wires to handle snow/freezing rain but headlight wipers with a good anti-freeze glass cleaner works in all but the coldest weather.
Just a quick sample on a 3rd party bulb but these are drawing around 36 watts
They have a built in fan. I agree..the remote ballast probably dissipates a measurable amount of heat.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/led-headlight-bulbs-conversion-kits/
They have a built in fan. I agree..the remote ballast probably dissipates a measurable amount of heat.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/led-headlight-bulbs-conversion-kits/
I have worked as part of a team of engineers incorporating LED lighting into products that had used halogen or HID. (Not automotive) The customers wanted LEDs because they last longer, and draw less power for the same light output. Heat is a significant issue, not because they get hotter then other sources (they don't) but because light output goes down at high temperatures, at a certain temperature they will be destroyed. Many LEDs used in industrial lighting work best at about 100 drg F and fail at around 200 F
BTW Because LED headlights usually use an array of individual LEDs Headlights are being designed that follow the road when the car turns and go from high beam to low beam by controlling what LED are turned on, not by moving anything.
BTW Because LED headlights usually use an array of individual LEDs Headlights are being designed that follow the road when the car turns and go from high beam to low beam by controlling what LED are turned on, not by moving anything.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
You're referring to more advanced Mazda i-ActiveSense Adaptive LED Headlamps (ALH) available in the worldwide but not in the US. Our LED headlights on CX-5 are still using old fashioned AFS with motors turning the reflectors left-and-right, as well as up-and-down. They have single-point LED light source which looks like traditional halogen or xenon instead of ugly LED array headlights found on the Acura!
The LED array on Acura looks hideous. Don't know what the designers were thinking at the time. In comparison, the LED light on Mazda, BMW and Merc looks a lot classier.
