Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost

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Thu 18 Mar 2021 14:16
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - Tunder
The Mrs’ 2016 Nissan Note has just failed its MOT.

Apparently the offside wing mirror indicator light is dead.

Cost to replace £140!!! Just for the led module.

A bulb would have been about £10!

So much for technology advancements!
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Thu 18 Mar 2021 14:30
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - Xileno

The problem with MOT failures is that if you need the car on the road again quickly then there is not much option but to pay up. If one had more time, then a vehicle dismantlers might be able to help.

But yes, it is crazy. Things have been heading in that direction for some years.

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Thu 18 Mar 2021 14:46
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - bathtub tom

I've an LED gone in my high level brake light. I tried to take it apart to replace it. Simple job I thought, unsolder one LED and solder another in - no way. I couldn't dismantle the light without destroying it, but I got far enough to see the LEDs were what I think are called 'surface mount'.

A new light assembly is £80 from a main dealer. Eighty quid for a tuppeny-halfpenny, poxy , LED!

It's an advisory on MOTs as long as at least half of the LEDs are working. Looks like I'll be getting advisories until more individual LEDs fail.

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Thu 18 Mar 2021 15:26
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - Steveieb

The headlight bulb on my daughters Polo Gti cannot be changed and I was horrified to find the whole lamp unit Is £850 .

What’s going on. Bring back the Ford Cortina!

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Thu 18 Mar 2021 17:36
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - Andrew-T

The headlight bulb on my daughters Polo Gti cannot be changed and I was horrified to find the whole lamp unit Is £850 .

The other day I decided the n/s headlamp cluster on my 207 was starting to look rather too clouded (the car has spent its entire (almost) 13 years outdoors). I knew from repairs 4 years back that a new unit was £155 - or more by now - so I found quite a decent used one on E-bay for £35. Interestingly it came with all bulbs, which I assume will be OK, but if they're not, my present ones will do instead, they are original so they last well. But there is still the cost of replacement, which entails removal of bumper and probably front wheels too.

So £850 for a lamp cluster, even a new one, seems well over the top. Presumably it's all driven by an imagined demand for stronger illumination, so LEDs and expense no object. It gets ridiculous when a lamp unit costs more than a respectable banger ....

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Thu 18 Mar 2021 19:04
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - _

Just wait till you pay £2000 for one on a range Rover Velar.

Tears to eyes?

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Fri 19 Mar 2021 01:17
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - nick62

I know an Audi Q7 headlight was more than £1,500 five years ago.

Edited by nick62 on 19/03/2021 at 01:18

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Thu 18 Mar 2021 15:36
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - Civ6

I've an LED gone in my high level brake light. I tried to take it apart to replace it. Simple job I thought, unsolder one LED and solder another in - no way. I couldn't dismantle the light without destroying it, but I got far enough to see the LEDs were what I think are called 'surface mount'.

A new light assembly is £80 from a main dealer. Eighty quid for a tuppeny-halfpenny, poxy , LED!

It's an advisory on MOTs as long as at least half of the LEDs are working. Looks like I'll be getting advisories until more individual LEDs fail.

Some like the COB lights are not soldered, they are glued in place so you cannot remove them, in some cases the joint is too small to solder if you wanted too?

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Thu 18 Mar 2021 19:32
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - Terry W

Manufacturers make little money from selling new cars so they hike the price of replacement parts. They sell a car once but replacement parts for the next 10-20 years!

This is made more profitable as components are integrated into vehicle designs, rather than generic bulbs costing a few ££ from Halfords.

Your choice is simple - a second hand part if you have the time to track one down, or scrap the vehicle.

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Thu 18 Mar 2021 19:49
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - bazza

Plenty on eBay for about £30 used, should be ok. You can spray any colour coded ones to match with a small amount of DIY ability.

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Thu 18 Mar 2021 21:31
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - Bolt

Plenty on eBay for about £30 used, should be ok. You can spray any colour coded ones to match with a small amount of DIY ability.

Only problem with used is you have no idea how much time they have left before they need replacing again, OEMs should as mentioned before be made to be easy replaced and would probably make as much cash that way as they would throw away units which should be outlawed due to waste build up

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Fri 19 Mar 2021 01:09
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - expat

Manufacturers make little money from selling new cars so they hike the price of replacement parts. They sell a car once but replacement parts for the next 10-20 years!

This is made more profitable as components are integrated into vehicle designs, rather than generic bulbs costing a few ££ from Halfords.

Your choice is simple - a second hand part if you have the time to track one down, or scrap the vehicle.

I believe that the EU is looking at right to repair legislation. They also need to look at making it possible to repair. Hopefully some unsung genius in a backyard shed will find a way to repair some of these modules. There is a good income for someone who offers such a service.

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Sat 20 Mar 2021 10:38
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - Bolt

Manufacturers make little money from selling new cars so they hike the price of replacement parts. They sell a car once but replacement parts for the next 10-20 years!

This is made more profitable as components are integrated into vehicle designs, rather than generic bulbs costing a few ££ from Halfords.

Your choice is simple - a second hand part if you have the time to track one down, or scrap the vehicle.

I believe that the EU is looking at right to repair legislation. They also need to look at making it possible to repair. Hopefully some unsung genius in a backyard shed will find a way to repair some of these modules. There is a good income for someone who offers such a service.

A group from USA is doing the same thing, as certain OEMs will not allow third parties to work on there units, to the point security chips are installed to reject installed parts without OEMs install code, which without it- it wont work properly

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Fri 19 Mar 2021 07:21
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - barney100

There must be clever so and sos at car companies thinking up ways of much as much cash as possible from parts and making it as hard as possible for other firms to make cheaper replacements.

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Fri 19 Mar 2021 08:14
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - joegrundy

"The other day I decided the n/s headlamp cluster on my 207 was starting to look rather too clouded (the car has spent its entire (almost) 13 years outdoors)."

I've had this issue on several cars and tried various methods (Brasso, Tcut, etc.) which worked but were very short-term. I now use Turtle Wax Headlight Cleaner & Sealant (about £8 on ebay) which doea a good job, doesn't seem too abrasive, and the effects last quite well.

Re the LED lights in mirrors - do they have to be LED? If it were possible to open up the assembly without destroying it, would it be possible to use an ordinary bulb? I am imagining perhaps soldering the bulb connections and hot-gluing it in place. Or is this just a simplistic fantasy?

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Fri 19 Mar 2021 09:21
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - Andrew-T

<< I am imagining perhaps soldering the bulb connections and hot-gluing it in place. Or is this just a simplistic fantasy? >>

I would guess a bulb would need more space than LEDs, which generate much less heat ?

Yes, I tried polishing out the crazing on my lamp cluster, but it's pretty much a waste of effort. Brasso is quite good for many things, it's probably almost identical to T-cut. Cleans up CD shells and even CDs as well ....

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Fri 19 Mar 2021 09:25
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - elekie&a/c doctor
Lighting systems on modern cars are very sensitive to current loading . If you fit the wrong bulb , you run the risk of damaging the electronic control module.
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Fri 19 Mar 2021 09:48
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - joegrundy
Lighting systems on modern cars are very sensitive to current loading . If you fit the wrong bulb , you run the risk of damaging the electronic control module.

Thanks for that. It was just a simplistic fantasy, then. Isn't 'progress' wonderful? I suppose this is so we can have DRLs visible from space and other 'benefits'.

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Fri 19 Mar 2021 10:21
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - bazza

I think a fix is actually possible, there are YouTube repairers for these things, but it's more micro soldering and making sure the led is the right one, correctly wired etc. Not simple DIY

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Fri 19 Mar 2021 13:10
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - brum

I think a fix is actually possible, there are YouTube repairers for these things, but it's more micro soldering and making sure the led is the right one, correctly wired etc. Not simple DIY

Before rushing out to buy a new mirror, check for a damaged or broken wire, inside he flexible rubber gaitor between the door and A pillar, many cars of all types can suffer wire breakages from constant flexing (and poor quality wire) or a dodgy or partly pulled connector at the A pillar

LEDs should be good for life, if t had failed, its probably due to water ingress and corrosion has damaged the pcb tracks or solder joints, unlikely to be the LED itself. Possible to repair if its easy to strip down, which many times it isnt. Requires the appropriate skills and right tools, it will be surface mount tech using high temperature lead free solder that requires the correct temperature soldering iron and fine tips. Not a 5 min job for sure.

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Sat 20 Mar 2021 10:33
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - Bolt

LEDs should be good for life

That depends on the driver, if its not keeping within the current specs they do burn out, as with cheap indoor bulbs that are given overcurrent on purpose so you have to buy new bulbs after about 2 years

they don`t burn out as such they lose up to 60% of there brightness, except when the driver fails they stop working

I bought some Chinese made bulbs at £1 each some 3 or 4 years ago and when they burnt at below half brightness I took them apart, and if car LEDs are made the same, they are not meant to last long on purpose

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Fri 19 Mar 2021 14:18
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - bathtub tom

bazza's reply sent me looking at youtube. Very illuminating. I now know what I'll do when more of my LEDs fail.

I suppose the repair won't be legal, not meeting requirements, but do you think an MOT tester would notice that?

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Sat 20 Mar 2021 13:03
Nissan Note - LED lights replacement cost - Bolt

bazza's reply sent me looking at youtube. Very illuminating. I now know what I'll do when more of my LEDs fail.

I suppose the repair won't be legal, not meeting requirements, but do you think an MOT tester would notice that?

I did try using LED brake light bulbs as they cannot be seen by tester, he did notice they were brighter and told me so, I went back to standard after that as I have been behind cars with LED rear lights and they do get on your nerves being so bright

I only use them now for reverse lights, giving better rear vision while reversing

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