Sylvania Silverstar headlights - a product review with warning

A while back I had a headlight burn out so I chose the Sylvania Silverstar as my replacement - The blue package not the top of the line orange package. The product has performed as advertised including light, clarity & service life.

And speaking of service life - Lighting is one of those things nobody thinks about until it isn't working. Like about Monday this week I noticed I had a headlight out - drivers side. Great, now I gotta go get another set because when one goes, the other is close behind. No lie that.

I kept forgetting to stop and get another set of lamps - kinda like remembering the rook leaks but only when it's raining - and last night as we left to go to a show said I should just throw in the spare lamp I have in the garage but didn't.

Leaving the show I started up the truck and turned on the headlight - which promptly failed. The high beams still work but the low beam filaments were toast so I drove home with no lights rather than blind everyone else in the city roads. 3 miles later, I'm home safely with no harassing interaction with other drivers.

So if you're using a respected manufacturer for lamps and they have an expected service life - expect the other lamp to go very quickly behind the first one. Do not hesitate getting your replacements.

I will be getting Sylvania again, perhaps the higher end but at least the Silverstar at a minimum. I hope you find this useful.

 

Headlight bulbs should always be replaced in pairs. The lights dimm over time, and as you mention when 1 fails the 2nd isn’t usually far behind if the lights have strict quality control.

What I do is keep an extra set on hand at all times. When 1 bulb fails, swap the set and save the old bulb. When the next set has a light go out, swap in the old bulb to replace the dead one in order to buy a little time to pick up a couple new sets.

 

When one goes out I'll get two new sets. Swap one in and throw the other into the glove. I'll end up using the second set forgetting to replace it before a bulb goes out. I usually replace bulbs in the spring anyway, along with wiper inserts and other maintenance.

 

I also tried to use the same bulbs several months ago. I loved the extra light when driving at night, but they kept blowing out. One month the driver side would blow out and then the next month the passenger side would blow out. I went through at least 5 or 6 replacements and I was talking to the counter guy and he tells me that the older models, mine is a 2008, can't handle them and that I needed to use the lowest of the 3 levels of the Silverstar bulbs. He was right since I've gone several months with those lower bulbs. Well until this week, but that's a different problem that I will post in a new thread.

 

Um - I have a 2006 so if I get 18 mos out of them I"m good - pissed at the cost but good.

I'm actually looking at the ceramic harness from the "ultimate headlight" thread. Makes sense overall - can't justify the expense at this point.

Cycling and heat are the cause of failures in conventional lamps...

 

Silverstars are not a performance improvement, if you look at the spec they actually produce less lumens than stock due to the coating. Many people think it is more due to the whiter color.

Take another look, I posted an update in the original thread with a reduced cost option for the harness. Not a huge savings, but a savings alternative non-the-less.

 

Ive heard this alot.

Cant recall last place of origin of my zxe, but they are well over a year old. I think i bought 2 sets in the last 6.5 yrs and im still on that 2nd set.

Few yrs of working nights included.

All i know is dont touch, dont touch, dont touch

Oh, and save your reciept

 

Not sure about country of origin for Sylvania's per se. But Osram makes legit high performance silverstars from Germany which are not the same bulb as the Sylvanias.

Don't touch, wear gloves. And don't start your truck with the headlights on to avoid the voltage cycling on startup. Always turn your headlights off when you turn your truck off and leave them off till after your truck is running.

 

Never crossed my peanut to mention to others about the lights being off upon startup. Makes sense.

Luckily my lights are always shutoff manually due to yrs of not having auto offs.

My fogs are always on tho.

 

I will say that I'm happy with the lamps - consistent life from each of the lamps is an under-rated quality. My bad for not replacing them sooner.

 

Does that mean your chess board gets a couple of little puddles on it?

I know this is two years old but the joke was irresistible...

I too have the headlight issue now. The Autozone guy mentioned the auto on/off trick (turning the light switch to off) but it does not seemed to have helped. The Sylvania package does say if you are not happy with the product you can return it for up to a year. I let AutoZone exchange it rather than return it. Mistake, cuz when the replacement burned out they said I had already warrantied it. SO! return it as being unhappy with it. Once that transaction is complete then go buy another one for a fresh year of return.

 

Guess what happened last week? Yup, burned out - like clockwork.
Went one step down to the XTRAVision for $25 (compared to $45 for the Silverstar) Clock has started...

 

I've ran the ultra's in the past with bad results. I've always had good luck with the regular silverstars but never looked at the packing to see where they are made. Have them in the taco (low beams, fogs and high beams) for 3 years with no issues.

 

I just upgraded to the Silverstar blue package. These are the mid grade and don't have that blue coating on the glass and made in Germany

 

Sorry, but still over priced and under performing.