Replace D2S HID Bulbs Now?

I have a 2007 vehicle with working factory D2S low beams. Assuming that the bulbs are original, should I bother replacing them as preventative maintenance? Are they likely to be worn out and stressing the ballasts after 10 years? D2S bulbs aren't cheap, so I'm only going to replace them if there is valid reason to do so.

How often do you use your headlights? Are you a frequent night time driver where they will have many hours of use, or do you very seldom drive at night?

Magio said:

How often do you use your headlights? Are you a frequent night time driver where they will have many hours of use, or do you very seldom drive at night?

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I drive at night daily, but the previous 8 years of the vehicles life are unknown.

HID headlight bulbs gradually lose intensity with usage (and their current requirement increases, which does put added wear and tear on the ballasts). It doesn't matter how old they are, it matters how many hours of use they have on them. If the car has low miles, or is not often driven with the headlamps on, then they're probably fine. But if it's got average or more headlamp runtime, yes, you should put in new bulbs. Use quality bulbs from GE, Philips, or Osram-Sylvania, either the standard type (good price on an excellent GE-made bulb here), or the Philips Xtreme Vision if you want to maximize your seeing distance without creating new problems.

Make sure your headlamp lenses are in new condition (no fogging/cloud-up) and the lamps are aimed correctly.

Osram Night Breaker Unlimiteds are great bulbs too and comparable to the Philips Extreme Vision in performance. Haven't looked to see which one is cheaper

Vehicle has 125k miles. Not sure how many hours that translates into on average. I'm considering the Osram XNBU due to only being slightly more expensive than standard genuine bulbs, and being a warmer color temperature than the Philips XV. Not sure if I'll really notice a difference from standard though.

Ok I purchased the GE D2S 53500 bulbs. Is there any way to check that they're genuine after I receive them?

Osram and, I think Philips too, has product verification services on their website. I have not been able to find anything like that from GE. Where did you buy them from?

GenuineXenon, an Amazon seller who promises genuine bulbs, but I'd like to check anyways.

If you bought them from that link I posted, you're good to go -- that vendor (on here as XeRay, or maybe that's a relative/associate of the vendor) is probably the sharpest brain on here as far as spotting and avoiding counterfeits.

Do it. The number of strikes + hours, do add up; turning the output dim & blue.
They are cheap. <$80 bucks for a pair of genuine 85122+ {free shipping from Utah too}

erict said:

GenuineXenon, an Amazon seller who promises genuine bulbs, but I'd like to check anyways.

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Words like "genuine" and "official" in seller names or their websites don't guarantee much. Searching for driver updates and such might give you all kinds of links for things like "officialmicrosoftupdates.com" or "genuinenvidiadrivers.biz".

-Virgil- said:

If you bought them from that link I posted, you're good to go -- that vendor (on here as XeRay, or maybe that's a relative/associate of the vendor) is probably the sharpest brain on here as far as spotting and avoiding counterfeits.

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Thanks for the compliments and vote of confidence, didn't know I (XeRay) had that kind of "reputational status" here. HIDbulbsRus is a business operated by my 2 sons, I am their uncompensated business coach and technical adviser. GE has no verification program that I am aware of, Philips and Osram do. All of the bulbs sold by my sons are authentic. They have been selling authentic HID bulbs for almost 10 years.

erict said:

Ok I purchased the GE D2S 53500 bulbs. Is there any way to check that they're genuine after I receive them?

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Look and see if they have the same (identical) serial numbers on the side or if they are different and most likely not consecutive. GE individually serializes each bulb. If they are the same number then they are 100% counterfeits.
The serial numbers are located below the E1 and DOT markings, a long string of numbers with a dash in the midst. Good luck buying from Amazon or ebay, for the most part about 80% are counterfeits from China. Especially when the price is very good. For GE D2S bulbs (53500) less than about $40 each ($80 a pair) plus shipping (shipping addl) is a huge red flag.