Headlight Replacement Quick Facts
- Replacement costs range from $10 to $40 for halogen bulbs to thousands for sealed LED or laser assemblies, with labor adding more.
- The type depends on the vehicle and trim: Halogens are cheap but short-lived, HIDs are brighter but costly, and LEDs last longest but often need pricey modules.
- Use good-quality bulbs, replace in pairs, restore cloudy lenses, and fix dimming or damage promptly for safety.
Headlight replacement costs vary widely, from $20 to change a simple bulb to thousands of dollars to swap out a complete module on a luxury car with an advanced lighting system. The price depends on your vehicle’s make and model, the type of bulb, and whether you need only a bulb or an entire headlight assembly. For a simple bulb replacement, you can do it yourself after buying the part, which can be as low as $10 for a basic halogen bulb to more than $100 for LED or HID varieties. If a pro does the work, the cost ranges from $30 to $300.
Costs escalate if the headlight assembly needs to be replaced because of damage or an electrical issue. The sealed headlight units for many modern vehicles cost more than $1,000. Labor for complex jobs, which might require removing the front bumper, can add several hundred dollars to the expense. Regardless of the cost, car headlight replacement is a crucial safety matter. Replace a burned-out or malfunctioning headlight promptly.
What Type of Replacement Headlight Should I Get?
Headlight bulb replacement isn’t as clear-cut as it used to be. Once upon a time, sealed-beam incandescent headlamps were tightly regulated, and car headlight replacements were relatively uniform in size, inexpensive, and easy to replace.
Over the years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has updated the design standards to include more variety. Now you see an array of lighting options that are as unique as the car’s look. The variety of headlamps, from projector beams to LEDs, presents equally confusing options. Some vehicles require simply replacing a bulb, while others might need an entirely new headlamp module when a light is damaged or burns out.
The first step is to determine the proper replacement bulb for your vehicle. Check your owner’s manual for the part number, or visit a reputable auto parts store. The store needs your vehicle’s brand, model, year, and trim level. Some cars might use a premium replacement bulb providing a wider range of illumination with a particular trim.
MORE: Study: Better Headlights = Fewer Crashes
Modern Headlight Replacements Cost More
Design trends are partially to blame for the high cost of replacing headlights. Many newer models have sealed, nonserviceable headlight assemblies. If only the bulb fails, the entire unit must be replaced. Modern systems often have features such as adaptive lighting, auto-leveling, or matrix LEDs that improve visibility, but their complexity drives higher replacement costs.
Headlight Bulb Standards
Avoid brands that do not have “DOT” inscribed on each bulb, and avoid brands you have never heard of. “DOT” stands for U.S. Department of Transportation. These bulbs without this inscription likely do not meet NHTSA’s standards, so don’t buy an unknown, low-priced replacement that might fail months after installation.
The Department of Transportation or NHTSA does not certify headlight replacement bulbs, despite what you might see on websites or hear from auto parts store employees. Essentially, manufacturers conform to what might be called an honor system in which they submit documents to NHTSA showing their bulbs meet federal standards.
“NHTSA enforces the (standards) by randomly selecting and purchasing equipment from the marketplace and testing to the requirements of the standard at independent test labs,” a spokesperson told Kelley Blue Book. If the bulb fails to meet its standards, NHTSA can impose fines.
The agency said its standards include guidelines on handling corrosion, dust, humidity, extreme temperatures, vibration, inward force, connector contacts, aiming adjustment, and other criteria.
“For headlamps, maximum and minimum candela are required to be projected in different directions ahead of the vehicle. In general, a lower beam must direct high levels of luminous intensity at angles down toward the road but is limited in the amount of luminous intensity that can be directed above the road where it will glare other road users,” said the spokesperson for NHTSA.
MORE: Car Safety Features 101: Everything You Need To Know
Headlight Bulb Basics
Let’s get to the basics of headlight bulbs. There are four replacement headlight bulbs available on the market. The key is determining which bulb fits your car — incandescent, halogen, high-intensity discharge (HID, sometimes called xenon headlights), or light-emitting diode (LED). This story targets the last three bulbs because automakers stopped installing sealed-beam incandescent bulbs about 20 to 25 years ago.
We also won’t say much about laser technology in headlights here. These advanced laser headlights enable a half-mile of visibility, but the units come at a hefty price in a few high-end cars. For example, the laser light headlight assembly for a 2020 BMW i8 sports car can cost nearly $7,000 to replace at a dealership’s parts department.
Halogen Headlight Bulbs
The average price for a replacement basic halogen bulb that matches the quality of the factory-installed headlight is about $20 each. The price range is about $10-$40, with costs rising from basic to premium as the bulb’s capability increases.
A premium halogen replacement bulb has considerably whiter light, is much brighter, and lets the driver see farther down the road — big pluses in terms of safety. The drawback is that a more intense bulb’s life is shorter than a basic bulb’s. Generally, a basic halogen bulb lasts from 500 to 1,000 hours.
The average age of cars on U.S. roads is about 12.8 years old. That means most cars have headlight units that use replaceable halogen bulbs. If yours burns out, you can upgrade to a brighter replacement. We recommend you buy them in pairs because, although the other light may be working now, it may have limited life remaining. Moreover, a halogen headlight dims 20%-40% over its life. Replacing both headlight bulbs helps ensure the best lighting performance on both sides of the car.
High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Headlight Bulbs
Many newer vehicles use xenon HID bulbs, but the variety is being phased out in favor of LEDs. An HID bulb requires an electrical charge to ignite the xenon gas in the bulb, and then the ballast inside maintains it. HID bulbs are three to five times brighter than halogen bulbs. A single replacement HID bulb can cost around $150. However, a benefit is that it can last 2,000-3,000 hours.
Replacing halogen bulbs isn’t tricky for most vehicle owners, but replacing HID bulbs can be a challenge. We recommend you visit a professional to install a xenon headlight replacement. It is a high-voltage situation that might be out of your comfort zone.
HID bulbs also dim over time, eventually casting a pinkish hue on the road. The discoloration usually indicates degradation inside the bulb, meaning it’s time for a replacement.
Light Emitting Diode (LED) Car Headlights
LED is the newest and longest-lasting replacement headlight bulb, and it’s standard on most vehicles from model year 2025 and newer. Replacement LED bulbs cost $50-$200 a pair. The light-emitting diodes last about 30,000 hours, and LED failures are often from the unit’s electronics and not the diodes themselves. It might be necessary to buy a complete headlight assembly that is equipped with a new LED bulb. The price to replace a damaged unit is steep. Using less-expensive aftermarket parts or buying a used assembly might affect your car’s warranty.
The headlight module for a 2022 Subaru Forester costs between $600 and $900; a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited, $675; a 2020 Toyota Corolla, $900; a 2019 Cadillac XT5, $1,350; a 2018 Volvo XC90, $2,800. The headlight module for a 2019 Tesla Model 3 runs $1,000 or more. That’s just the cost to replace a faulty LED headlight assembly unit and doesn’t include installation.
Automakers like LEDs because they emit plenty of light, require very little electric power, and are small enough to give designers more options for headlamp and taillamp shapes.
While LEDs last tens of thousands of hours, the replacement cost will likely give future owners of that 8-, 12-, or 15-year-old vehicle a financial headache. They will long for the good ol’ days when a halogen headlight cost about the price of two lunches at a fast-food place.
Inspect the Headlight Lens
Changing a burned-out headlight bulb is the perfect time to give the headlight lenses a little TLC. The front end of a vehicle faces a lot of road debris that can cause pitting on the soft plastic headlight lenses, which causes a dull headlight. In more severe cases, pitting can ruin the protective clearcoat and leave the lenses susceptible to UV damage.
Cloudy headlights are not only an eyesore but also a safety hazard when driving at night or during inclement weather. In states that require safety checks, headlights that are too dim or cloudy may fail inspections.
The good news is that headlight restoration kits are readily available at local auto part stores and online retailers. For roughly $25 and a few hours of your time, you can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars restoring an old headlight compared to buying a new one. If you aren’t confident in your DIY car detailing skills, a professional car detailer can restore the lights for about $150.
“No matter the headlight restoration method, applying a new layer of protection to headlight lenses is imperative,” said Trevor Speddon, an expert car detailer in Vermont. “Otherwise,” he said, “they will start to cloud from UV damage very quickly.”
When to Replace Your Headlights
Signs that headlights or headlight assemblies need replacement include:
- Flickering or dimming lights
- Reduced visibility when driving at night
- Bulbs burning out more frequently
- Yellowed or cloudy lenses
- Cracks or damage to headlight housing
Replace headlights promptly for safety reasons.
Pro Tip: Misaligned or dim headlights are just as ineffective or dangerous as burned-out ones. Check headlights monthly for optimal usefulness.
Bottom Line on Headlight Replacement
If your vehicle is older than 2015, chances are it uses halogen or HID bulbs that aren’t expensive to replace, but wear out faster. If your car is 2015-2025, it may have LED headlights. These last longer, but sometimes require a costly module replacement when they fail or are damaged. Use a professional for complex HID or LED bulb replacement. Buy DOT-compliant parts, replace bulbs in pairs, and restore cloudy lenses before they reduce safety.
Editor’s Note: We have updated this article since its initial publication. Rick Kranz contributed to the report.
