Is this a Philips QC issue?

Received a couple packs of Philips 9004 VP bulbs.

In the process of installing them, I noticed something seemingly odd about the bulbs -- the "pedestal" isn't attached symmetrically to the legs.

All four bulbs in both packs exhibit this trait. They were sold by Amazon, so I believe they are genuine and not counterfeit.

Is this by design, or did something so obviously askew get past their quality control?

Here's a link to some additional pics.

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TheIntruder said:

Received a couple packs of Philips 9004 VP bulbs.

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Can't imagine buying those. With a typical 9004 system you need as much help as you can get, so skip the "barely better than stock" 9004VP and use these or these, which are much better.

I would not use those "bent" bulbs; I'd send them right back.

They were sold by Amazon, so I believe they are genuine

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I don't follow your thinking here.

-Virgil- said:

Can't imagine buying those. With a typical 9004 system you need as much help as you can get, so skip the "barely better than stock" 9004VP and use these or these, which are much better.

I would not use those "bent" bulbs; I'd send them right back.

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I will. But I'm not sure I could trust Philips again after this, or at least anything not from their German factories. Both packages show the same sort of inconsistency. These should be first quality, from one of the big OEMs, not the seconds they're said to pawn off to other brands like Wagner to repackage as their own.

Don't the NHPs have notoriously short life? I understand the tradeoffs, but I'm not eager to replace these things every 125 hrs, or whatever their rated lifetime is.

I don't follow your thinking here.

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If I had bought them from a random eBay seller, I might not have been surprised by such poor quality from potential fakes.

But, these were purchased from a major retailer, and I have little reason to suspect they are not genuine, in which case the quality is unacceptable.

TheIntruder said:

If I had bought them from a random eBay seller, I might not have been surprised by such poor quality from potential fakes.
But, these were purchased from a major retailer, and I have little reason to suspect they are not genuine, in which case the quality is unacceptable.

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I can assure you, Amazon sells a lot of counterfeit stuff including all kinds of automotive bulbs, Even stuff they ship from their own warehouse, even their own inventory has counterfeit products.
The moderators here will tell you the same thing, don't take my word for it. Counterfeit products are equally a problem with ebay and Amazon. As well as many, if not most internet autoparts sites, unless they are a large national chain with proven direct purchasing authorization from Philips.
Don't blame Philips for this QC issue, I assure you those bulbs if real would never be sold with a Philips label on them.

TheIntruder said:

I will. But I'm not sure I could trust Philips again after this

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That seems like a kind of overreaction. For one thing, even the best companies have occasional slip-ups, that's just part of the nature of mass-producing any product. And it's also not possible to know when this bending happened...or how many times these particular bulbs have been returned and resold.

or at least anything not from their German factories.

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Philips doesn't make 9004 bulbs in Germany.

These should be first quality, from one of the big OEMs, not the seconds they're said to pawn off to other brands like Wagner to repackage as their own. If I had bought them from a random eBay seller, I might not have been surprised by such poor quality from potential fakes. But, these were purchased from a major retailer, and I have little reason to suspect they are not genuine

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Your faith in the (non-existent) power of a "major retailer" as a guarantee of quality is kind of strange. It's certainly not warranted. They might be genuine Philips rejects that were supposed to be destroyed but somehow got diverted from their date with the scrapheap and found their way to Amazon's warehouse, lining somebody's pockets along the way. It happens, even to companies far more prestigious than Philips, supplying product far more important than headlight bulbs. That's the unfortunate reality, and there's not a lot Amazon or any other "major retailer" can do to stop it.

Don't the NHPs have notoriously short life? I understand the tradeoffs, but I'm not eager to replace these things every 125 hrs, or whatever their rated lifetime is.

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For one thing, lifespan is rated at 14.0 volts, and it varies exponentially (-13) with voltage. Output is rated at 12.8 volts. So their lifespan rating of 150 hours at 14.0v translates to 480 hours at 12.8v or 322 hours at 13.2v. That's plenty.

And even the best premium light bulbs are cheap. The kind of car crashes that happens at night aren't.

-Virgil- said:

That seems like a kind of overreaction. For one thing, even the best companies have occasional slip-ups, that's just part of the nature of mass-producing any product. And it's also not possible to know when this bending happened...or how many times these particular bulbs have been returned and resold.

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I had the opportunity to examine the same product at a local store. The results are just as inconsistent. The bulbs in one package were even worse than the ones I received.

Philips doesn't make 9004 bulbs in Germany.

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Therein lies the problem. I have other applications where their German-made bulbs were fine.

Your faith in the (non-existent) power of a "major retailer" as a guarantee of quality is kind of strange. It's certainly not warranted. They might be genuine Philips rejects that were supposed to be destroyed but somehow got diverted from their date with the scrapheap and found their way to Amazon's warehouse, lining somebody's pockets along the way. It happens, even to companies far more prestigious than Philips, supplying product far more important than headlight bulbs. That's the unfortunate reality, and there's not a lot Amazon or any other "major retailer" can do to stop it.

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One package I can understand as an anomaly. Two packages raised flags. Similarly poor quality of stock at another unrelated authorized Philips dealer only reinforces my lack of confidence.

I can tell poor quality control when I see it. I don't understand the effort to make excuses, or come up with hypothetical situations to try to explain it away.

Brand new, genuine product from authorized dealers should not be subject to these kinds of questions.

TheIntruder said:

I had the opportunity to examine the same product at a local store. The results are just as inconsistent. The bulbs in one package were even worse than the ones I received.

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I've had bulbs (not 9004) where just the glass was askew slightly with respect to the base, but the filaments were still positioned correctly. Those 9004's do look pretty bad though.

I'm sure Amazon would exchange those, or give you a refund. You can also try reaching out to Philips to see what they say.

TheIntruder said:

I had the opportunity to examine the same product at a local store. The results are just as inconsistent.

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Interesting.

authorized Philips dealer only (...) new, genuine product from authorized dealers

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You do realize Philips doesn't really "authorize" "dealers" this way, right? This is not an Audi or a Chevrolet we're talking about, it's more like a can of Del Monte sweet peas.

I don't understand the effort to make excuses, or come up with hypothetical situations to try to explain it away.

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What you are misinterpreting as an effort to make excuses is actually a pretty reasonable reaction to some of the bizarre ideas you're espousing in this thread.

Try using a better bulb like the NHPs or X-Vs and I think you'll be happy with the quality.

TheIntruder said:

I had the opportunity to examine the same product at a local store. The results are just as inconsistent. The bulbs in one package were even worse than the ones I received.

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With the prevalence of counterfeits in the marketplace (much higher profit margins for the seller), Were these bulbs you compared from a national automotive chain that has direct buying authorization from Philips ??
It is quite possible you are comparing fakes with fakes again.

XeRay said:

With the prevalence of counterfeits in the marketplace (much higher profit margins for the seller), Were these bulbs you compared from a national automotive chain that has direct buying authorization from Philips ??
It is quite possible you are comparing fakes with fakes again.

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Nope, not counterfeit. New, unopened product. Both retailers, Amazon and Pep Boys, appear on this list.

Like I said, I didn't buy this things off the street from some guy who drove buy in a van, and was selling them for a dollar, in white boxes.

I did what any normal consumer would, and, despite whatever rationale some wish to come up with, received a product that is inconsistent in quality, at best, and poorly suited for its intended use.

If, indeed there are possible issues in Philips' supply chain, and such substandard product is reaching their retailers, that is as much an indictment of the company as allowing defective product to leave the factory.

Rationalize it, use semantics, doesn't matter. Ultimately, poor product in the hands of consumers is poor product.

TheIntruder said:

Nope, not counterfeit. New, unopened product. Both retailers, Amazon and Pep Boys, appear on this list.

Like I said, I didn't buy this things off the street from some guy who drove buy in a van, and was selling them for a dollar, in white boxes.

I did what any normal consumer would, and, despite whatever rationale some wish to come up with, received a product that is inconsistent in quality, at best, and poorly suited for its intended use.

If, indeed there are possible issues in Philips' supply chain, and such substandard product is reaching their retailers, that is as much an indictment of the company as allowing defective product to leave the factory.

Rationalize it, use semantics, doesn't matter. Ultimately, poor product in the hands of consumers is poor product.

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Pepboys is a valid source Amazon is not, Amazon has been shown over and over to have counterfeits in their supply chain both within (less) and outside (most) their organization (Other sellers). Amazon can't be used as a reliable authentic source under any circumstances, when it comes to counterfeits. Granted Philips does sell to them but their stocking methods do not insure counterfeit stock is not co-mingled with authentics.

If you found poor QC product at Pepboys then you are correct there is a QC problem somewhere on the bulb type you bought.

Suggestion: Buy GE 9004 Night Hawk Platinum instead.