Hey all- on my 97854T5, I've had to replace 2 Phillips VisionPlus 9006 bulbs in the last 3 weeks. Now, i'm running a vision-plus in the driver side, but my stock bulb(which btw is made by Phillips, but I guess a different model) is in the passenger side. Now, I can really see the difference between the two. Anyone having this problem and whats the cure??? At $11 a bulb, it's becoming pricey to change these bulbs. Also, the bulbs have a cloudy look when I remove them; what the deal??? On the bright side, I can replace the bulbs much quicker now(tip: remove that plastic hose going to the ECU box and u have more space) TIA, BD

Hi ya,

I have had a look at my copy of the nhtsa TSB but there donesn't seem to be any. the only thing of i have is this recall :-

99V235000 LIGHTING:SWITCH:BUTTON:RING:HEAD LIGHTS

You could have a voltage regulator problem going high or a short just on your passenger side as this seems to be where yours are failing. I also use these type of bulbs and i just make sure i don't touch them. Because we have DRL on Volvos here in the UK mine last about 2 and abit years.

Mark in leeds/uk.
94 850glt 2L 20v,k+n,t5r bumper,Slots,Volvo Brace.

BD, I am not sure if this will help you or not, but my wife's '98 V70 GLT has been burning out/blowing headlamp bulbs recently. I took it in to the dealer to purchase another replacement bulb and the guy in parts said that I should check with service regarding the status of a recall/service bulletin on this before he would sell me a replacement bulb.
Sure enough, there was an outstanding replacement notice and so the dealer replaced both low-beam bulbs and the wiring harness leading to the headlamp assemblies.
Even though your car is a different model and year, you may want to see if this applies to you. Take care, Fred.

Are you handling the bulbs before installing? Oil from your hand
can cut their life (I wear cotton gloves). You also have to be careful
to not bang them up to much installing them (something I find hard to
avoid on the 850 light bulb housing design -- access is pretty tight).

You could also check the cars voltage to make sure it is not too high.

Another tip: On the passenger side you can also pull off the box for
reading the engine codes (it slides up) to get more room. I had to
do this on our 95 (not sure if 97s have the same readout box).

Ray- why or how could the voltage be too high?? And how can I adjust it if it is too high?? I will go see if my dealer will check it out for me. But I do handle it carfully b/4 install and I reckon if the bulb will sustain bumps when driving, why not when being installed?? Anyhow, anyone knows if the dealer fix applies to our 850s??