Headlight replacment

Melted my right headlight trying to take apart the lens. Need a replacement but having a hard time finding any used ones even on ebay that are in good shape with no broken tabs. Anyone tried the TYC replacements? I did some looking online and it seems they get pretty good feedback, a lot of people buy them for retrofitting. Even body shops say there the #1 choice. Anyone personally used these on there Legacy though? All the reviews are on Hondas and other cars.

 

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1390296&cc=1432596

 

Thanks!

Brian

I used to rep TYC/Genera and they made pretty good quality parts. For a while, they became too proud of their stuff and stopped allowing the sale of it to the general consumer, but that only lasted for about 4 years and they brought back a retail line.

 

I would use them as I've been to the factory where they are made but I would bet that there are some on here, without knowing a thing about them, will disavow them completely. That's the case on a lot of the posts here.

Cool, thanks for the reply. I ordered one off amazon, I have there prime thing, it was $10 more then rock auto was but free 2 day shipping makes it actually cheaper. Plus if it turns out it sucks its free return shipping with no re stocking fee. Ill post back with results!

I got in a small fender bender back in May, and the body shop put in a TYC headlight. It looks and fits just as well as the OEM headlights. You'll most likely have to re-aim the lamp, though. It definitely has a nice crisp cut off. (What sucks is that now I have a headlight with some 83000 miles on it, and the other is crisp and new and is SO much brighter than the OE light.) I'll see if I can snap a pic tonight to show you the difference that I'm seeing between my OE light and the TYC.

The left is the original headlight, the right is the TYC.

 

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/29/a2anapar.jpg

Clean the lense on the LH one and see if it helps.

Does the replacement headlight include the outer clear lens?

Wow looks nice.

 

Yes it's the entire light that's included in the replacement. I got mine from amazon for $133. Arriving tomorrow. I'll install and post a pic. Thanks for the replies everyone!

Clean the lense on the LH one and see if it helps.

 

 

 

I've hit it with the high speed buffer with some light compound and then a really fine 1500-2000 grit polish. It looks like a brand new headlight. For some reason, though, it just doesn't give the output of the new one. I've swapped bulbs and ballasts around on my hid kit and it's still dimmer on the driver's side. It's also not as crisp.

I'll be interested in how easy or difficult is was to remove the old one and install the new one.

 

I'll install...

Got the light yesterday! It definitely comes well packaged so no risk for shipping. Light looks 100% identical to OEM, I put them side by side and every mark curve and line is the same. You can tell its slightly cheaper than OEM, the mounting tabs are like a medium hard plastic, as apposed the the OEM being hard plastic. The rest of the light feels the same.

 

Install was easy, take off grill, the 2 plastic mounting tabs, and than 2 10mm screws. After that remove the 1 plastic mounting tab behind the fender liner connecting the bumper and fender, and then the few on the under side of the fender connecting the under tray to fender. After that the bumper slides off. There is a bracket under the light with 4 10mm bolts, take those off and undo the light harness. Light will come right out. Reverse for install. I still need to aim the light as it aims high right now.

 

Now my other light looks like $hit though! I tried cleaning it once a while back. I think im going to try once more with the 3m cleaning kit. If that does not work ill buy a left light from TYC. Drives me nuts them not matching perfectly.

 

Overall yes there is a difference between the OEM Subaru and TYC light, it is very very slight though, basically the mounting tabs medium hardness vs hard. Install is easy, no ghetto modifying to get it to fit. Fits nice right out of the box. All the lines line up and no gaps that were not there on original light too from the factory. If insurance was buying it due to accident would I ask for OEM Subaru part, yes, paying out of pocket $133 shipped, vs $350 from the dealer I would say the TYC is a amazing buy.

How is the TYC holding up a year on? Will probably be replacing both of my headlights soon and the TYCs are looking like the best option.

 

Also came across these on Amazon but not seeing any mention of a manufacturer... [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Subaru-Legacy-Replacement-Headlight-Assembly/dp/B002NAOHW2/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_i]Amazon.com: Subaru Legacy Replacement Headlight Assembly (Black) - 1-Pair: Automotive[/ame]

 

Anyone know anything more about these?

I've had my passenger TYC since May of '13 and it is still working great! Holding up well against scratching and pitting. Only problem is someone backed into me and smushed my front cover and cracked the top mounting tab. Didn't see it happen though, so I just left it as it is. The paint is peeling and whatnot, but nothing is broken except that tab. Even still, the light beam doesn't bounce around at all.