HIDs melting / bleaching headlight chrome

I was troubleshooting an issue today and noticed my HIDs have burnt or melted a V shape shadow in the chrome back of the headlights. I just replaced the bulbs and had never seen this before. Note the dealer replaced my headlights this summer as the DTRL lens was melting.

Have any of you seen this? This sucks because the headlights are almost new and my truck is out of warranty.

HID stats:
- 55w
- 6000k
- Bi Xenon

As you can see in the pics the "burn in" shadow is the same as the light pattern.

Lights on:





Lights Off:

 

how long have you had them and how often do you have them turned on?

 

The new bulbs are 2 weeks old and typical use is 4-5 nights a week for 1 hour at a time. The HIDs have been on the truck since Aug 2009 but as I mentioned the headlight housings were replaced in May/June 2010.

 

retrofit them!!! halogen reflector style housings where not designed to accept xenon lights period. they will eventually ruin your headlights plus they are hell on other motorist when they are not done correctly. a true retrofit would not only stop this but it would give tremendous light output while doing it safely.

 

so these head lights are not the oem headlights?

 

Its hard to say...because there are two variables. The new housings and the new bulbs. I would tend to lean towards the bulb being the issue as they were replaced more recently. What brand are they?

 

They are OEM headlights but not original to the truck. Toyota replaced them as the original ones had an issue with the DTRL lens.

 

the ones from slimcubby

 

Hmmmmm, i wonder if toyota changed the compound they use for the reflector...

 

If they did it sucks!

 

slimcubby? never heard of them, is that a bad brand? maybe they run hotter then they should?

 

As unfortunate as it may be, i wouldnt put it past them. Or you could always take out the HID bulbs, put stockers back in and take it to the dealer. It might just be that that batch of headlights got a bad coating.

 

They are a great brand. They do a group buy about once every couple months on here. I am running my cheap DDM HIDs and have been for about a year without issue. I have them in my heads, the lights on my bed bar, and in my hella 700FF's.

 

Sweet then? must be a bad housing. I just got a good pair of HID's through an Xr-u group buy. Can't remember the brand right now.

 

Ive had mine on for over a year and on about 3 hours a day with no issue...

 

I think I am going to do this:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/li...ofit-apollo-shrouds-lots-really-big-pics.html

 

Completely agree. Retrofits aren't about "what you can afford", but what is right to do. It's not pleasant to come across a PNP on a dark and stormy rural highway.