[mallard]

Headlights in my wife's 04 Accord sedan have been problematic for almost a decade. My first problem was that the factory halogens would only last 6 months before needing replacement, which involves taking off the wheels to remove plastic cladding in the wheel well. I solved that by installing aftermarket projector housings with LED bulbs, which were installed for 5 years.



When those aftermarket housings fell apart last year, I polished and reinstalled the factory housings and put halogens back in. They haven't blown out yet. Despite seemingly working properly, low beams are unusable on dark country roads.



I want to upgrade the headlamps but I'm unsure how to proceed:

• Since her factory housings are not projector, I assume an HID or LED retrofit would be inappropriate for the vehicle. (I did LEDs on my Pilot, which has factory projector housings).
• Based on my experience, I concluded all aftermarket projector headlight housings are ricer junk.
• I could install fog lights (not currently equipped), but the wide beam pattern of true fog lights would not help see further down the road.
• I considered installing an LED bar in the air dam, but I don't want to blind other drivers or run into trouble with the law.

Any advice/guidance would be appreciated; thanks in advance!

 

[Rocky]

If you are using anything other than the cheapest basic halogens, my experience is that these whiter lights last 4-5 months tops.

 

[xGS]

Headlights in my wife's 04 Accord sedan have been problematic for almost a decade. My first problem was that the factory halogens would only last 6 months before needing replacement, which involves taking off the wheels to remove plastic cladding in the wheel well. I solved that by installing aftermarket projector housings with LED bulbs, which were installed for 5 years.
When those aftermarket housings fell apart last year, I polished and reinstalled the factory housings and put halogens back in. They haven't blown out yet. Despite seemingly working properly, low beams are unusable on dark country roads.

I want to upgrade the headlamps but I'm unsure how to proceed:

Any advice/guidance would be appreciated;

What halogen bulbs are you using?
Are the headlamp lenses in good (clear) condition?

Try using modified 9011 and 9012 HIR type bulbs: How to Modify HIR bulb bases
Try a set of these auxiliary lamps: PIAA | PIAA 1100p LED White All Terrain Pattern #26-01202

 

[cintocrunch]

When you say LED or HID retrofit what do you mean? Plug and play kits or an actual projector retrofit?

Plug and play kits are very hit or miss, if you go that route buy a quality kit (retrofit source or headlight revolution tend to sell good products with good return policies if the beam pattern does not match OEM).

Having had experience with these and since there is a really good how-to video on youtube for retrofitting a projector into 7th gen Accords, I'd strongly recommend that route.

 

[mallard]

Thanks for all the info. To answer the questions:
I'm currently using stock-equivalent halogens.
I last polished the housings under a year ago; they aren't badly clouded, but they aren't crystal clear.

I watched the YouTube video on the projector retrofit. I'm not willing to try and explain to my wife why I'm putting her headlights in the oven. But I agree that's probably the best way to do it. The Spyder projector housings I bought off eBay many years ago were garbage; I'm not going that route again.

I didn't know about HIR bulbs; thanks for that info.
Tonight I also learned SNGL makes an aimable 9005 and 9006 LED drop-in kit for open reflector housings. I need to research this a bit more.