Have to admit it's one of the "Features" I dislike. Mine's a 2011 Tsi where it has two headlamps (both H7 bulbs) one for dipped beam, with the second illuminating when you select main beam. As much as it irritates me I've not had any issues with it blowing bulbs that often. Mines 8 years old and in that time it's only had two new bulbs, the latest just this week. However they have both been the "H7 dipped beam." I bit the bullet and bought a new pair and plumbed for the Osram Long-life version. They come with a 4 year guarantee, but time will tell... They are bog standard brightness wise. I think some of the issues with bulbs being blown frequently stem from choosing the "brighter versions" they tend to run a lot hotter and hence are a bit more fragile. Battery wise, I'm still on my original.
I did consider doing the "pin-bend" mod, but in the end just couldn't be bothered doing it, just in case it threw up any error codes or unwanted hassle come MOT time.
While we are on the subject of bulbs. Has anyone had any adventures with can-bus compatible LED replacements for standard bulbs?
I was following a similar Polo to mine a few weeks back and couldn't help but notice that the tail a brake lights were a bit weedy, as were the indicators. I was thinking about switching the indicator bulbs out first (PY21W) for some amber LED versions. The Cree, Philips & Osram ones all seem to get reasonable reviews, and are supposed to be compatible with can-bus, so no messing about with additional resistors. I'd bin the whole idea if it meant having to touch the original loom. Though they are not cheap at circa £25 a pair, so they'd have to be 100% trouble free before I would pry my wallet open for that sort of cash...
If those do a good job I may splash out and replace the Stop & Tail with some red LED versions.
