Bought a set of Sylvania SilverStars several years ago for my sis's 240 wagon with daytime running lights, paying Schucks Autoparts $49.95 for the set. They lasted a little over a year before one of the low beam bulbs burned out. In 2004 I bought a set of both low and high beams for my 850, this time from Wal-Mart, for $37.50 each. A year later again one of the low beam bulbs burned out. Wrote a letter to Sylvania, telling them of my disappointment, and how I wish I had kept my Philips, which were seven years old and still working when I changed over to SilverStars. I said I thought Sylvania should make good on their product, considering all the money I'd spent, and send me another set of low beam SilverStars. Got the following reply back from Sylvania several days ago:

Good Afternoon Dr. Parr,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. Unfortunately, as with
most high performance products, there is a trade-off between the higher
performance of the SilverStar and its life hours. The shorter life span
is directly related to the high performance nature of the lamps. The
blue absorption coating on the glass contributes to the crisp, white
light emitted but also contributes to its decreased life. The SilverStar
product works harder (not burns hotter, however) to give the whiter,
brighter light and this impacts its life hours. The life expectancy of a
SilverStar halogen light source is largely dependent on the driver's use
of the lights, which will vary by season, time of day and number of
miles driven. We estimate the SilverStar halogen lights to have a life
span of up to one year under average driving conditions. The life of the
SilverStar is further decreased if being used in a day-time running
light application. Unfortunately with the current technology, the
tradeoff for increased performance is a shorter life span.

That being said, it sounds as though you received beyond the average
life from your SilverStars. I am sorry I could not be of more
assistance to you. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any
other questions.

Sincerely,
OSRAM Sylvania

For the amount of money I paid for those bulbs, and to have Sylvania tell me belatedly that they only last a year, is close to fraud in my opinion. It's right up there with the company in the Philippines or Malaysia that makes the ABS module that fails like clockwork, and has been doing so for the past twelve years without the company fixing it, though Victor Roche can and does. Deliberate design failure to kick money to the Volvo service departments, in my opinion.

If anybody has anything good to say about Sylvania's short-lived bulbs, I would like to hear it. I have no complaint with the quality of light they throw out. They are superior to regular halogens. But not at their price and their very short operating life (which Sylvania deliberately fails to note in their advertising). Dick