Citroen C5 Aircross Headlights

It depends what the car left the factory with. A standard halogen is R150-R400. Xenon HID capsules are R800-R1,550. LED units run R1,150-R2,450. If the housing itself is damaged — a crash, or a lens cracked past restoring — a complete assembly is R3,700-R11,300 depending on the model and whether it is a simple halogen unit or a full LED one with levelling built in. Good used assemblies are usually the sensible answer on a pre-2016 car, and we source them regularly.

Carefully, and with realistic expectations. Aftermarket conversion kits sell for R1,550-R4,050, but a kit is only road-legal here if the complete unit carries SABS approval and includes the self-levelling and washer provision that HID and LED systems require. Dropping LED bulbs into a reflector housing built around a halogen filament is the version that fails a roadworthy and dazzles other drivers. If you want more light legally, SABS-approved bulbs at R600-R1,150 a set in a properly restored and correctly aimed housing get you most of the way there.

The lenses are polycarbonate with a thin UV-protective coating on the outside. Our sun destroys that coating, and once it has gone the plastic itself oxidises and yellows — which is why the older C2, C3 and Xsara cars parked outdoors are always the worst. It is fixable. A professional restoration is R400-R750 a pair and involves wet-sanding back the damaged layer and applying a fresh UV coating; the coating is the part that matters, because a polish alone will look brilliant for a few months and then haze again. DIY kits are R150-R350. Once the lens is cracked or sandblasted right through, restoration cannot help and the assembly needs replacing.

By hours rather than years. Halogen bulbs are rated around 500-1,000 hours, which for most owners is two to four years. Xenon capsules run 2,000-3,000 hours and dim and shift colour as they age rather than failing outright. LEDs are rated past 10,000 hours and generally outlive the car. Replace halogens in pairs even when only one has blown — the surviving bulb is the same age, is already dimmer, and mismatched output is both distracting and a roadworthy talking point. A quality halogen pair is R300-R750.

Every headlight housing breathes, because the bulb heats the air inside it and that air has to go somewhere. A small amount of condensation that clears within twenty minutes of driving is normal. What is not normal is water pooling in the bottom of the lens, and that means either the breather is blocked or a seal has hardened and let go — common on coastal cars and on anything that has been through a Highveld thunderstorm at speed. A reseal is R200-R500 if caught early. Left alone, the moisture corrodes the reflector coating and then only a replacement assembly at R3,700-R8,500 will restore the beam.