1998 NB headlights

Yes there is a new harness(1C0-971-671) but don't think it helps if the bulbs burn out. 3 bulbs in 5 years isn't an issue, and as for your old Passat I bet the headlamps are only on at night time.

Aren't more frequent headlamp failures a much more common occurence on many new vehicles? I was told it was just because they are brighter (more wattage, less support wires to sap heat from the filament) so they run hotter, and don't last quite as long due to their design.

That pretty much sums up the problem. Considering the size of the bulb I'm surprised they last that long. Also it does seem some people go through bulbs like crazy while others don't. Is it the car, rough road, or just bad luck... I don't know but I can tell you at our dealer the amount of bulbs we replace have dropped a lot over the last year. And that's on cars we see regularly. I always blamed the owners for forcing the federal government to mandate DRL's. Remember not too may years ago how many cars you see after dark with no headlamps on????

True, but remember DRL are on at reduced voltage and that should mean that lamp life is not all that reduced. However looking at it from another perspective, I wonder what happens to the halogen cycle at the reduced voltage, especially in the winter?

My parents Volvo has 100% intensity DTRL's (front and rear lights, not just fronts) and they are on their second set of front bulbs, and nothing in the back has ever gone... 140K Kms and 10 years of service, original bulbs died after 7 and 8 years. DTRLs don't really reduce service life.

In the winter I would say the halogen cycle is fine. A few degree's less isn't all that much of an effect on metals and glass... we feel the cold much more. Plus its in its own little environment and it would still reach its operating temperature.

But that was operating at 100% while the VW's operate at a reduced voltage. I believe it is a 30pc reduction.

We like VWs real well...but their designers/engineers need punishment for making a primary safety device so difficult to maintain.

And don't even get me started on DRLs. The only folks to have benefited are those who sell light bulbs....

Every thing about the NB is a PAIN with respect to service. I view it as a specialty type car such as a Porsche, Vette, etc. Once the headlamp assembly is out it's a DIYer job.

I'd doubt that. 55W is common for low beam bulbs and 55W lows have been around for years in the form of the 9006, H4 (the low beam part), 9007 (the low beam part), and H7 bulbs. The H4s have been around for decades. 9006s have been around since the mid 1980s, and 9007s since the early 1990s. The only newer bulb in that bunch is the H7 (late 1990s). I'd say if it was a problem with bulbs being "bright" we would have found this back in the days of the H4s and 9007s.