My wife owns a 3.0 X-type (03 reg) and would like to know if it is possible to upgrade the headlights? In comparison to modern cars, the lights appear to be weak and it would assist her with night time driving. Thanking you all in advance……

 

I changed mine to HID. The "high beams" I left as halogen and stepped up to a brighter bulb (you can find on sites such as Sylvania or Osram).

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...lights-261020/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...hoices-246548/

 

it’s good to know that the lights can be upgraded….would anyone be able to recommend a reliable auto electrician in South East London / North West Kent who would be able to do this ?

 

jimbo, if you need to know anything about HIDs, let me know. A lot of these articles have been written by me. You have a bit more selection when it comes to HIDs when it comes to bulb color. Some bulb colors can lead to issues with the local law. Also, your halogen bulbs are 55 watt bulbs, the correct HID bulbs for your car are only 35 watts (yes, 35).

 

Before going further there might be another factor to consider for “weak headlights”. My wife complained of the same thing on her X-Type. While not denying that the normal x-Type headlights could be improved, I suggest that the first thing to check is whether the plastic adjusting mechanism for the headlamps is broken. This is/was the case on my wife’s car. One of the headlamps points to a spot on the ground not far ahead of the car….it cannot be corrected because of the broken plastic bits.
The designers of these lamps (Hella?) deserve a special place in automotive hell not only for this weak aspect of the assembly but also for making it virtually impossible to change the bulbs without personal injury!