2014 jeep grand cherokee hid headlight replacement

A couple days ago I was driving at night and thought the headlights looked a bit dim. I got home and checked them and the driver's side was glowing a somewhat dim amber. Uh-oh. I knew HID bulbs aren't cheap and neither are ballasts (Especially if the dealer fixes it!).

So after some research it seemed like if the bulb still glowed, it was probably bad vs. a defective ballast. A way to check would be to swap the bulbs from side to side but since they are accessed through the wheel well, I didn't want to go through all that and just ordered a new one from Amazon for about $80.

Fortunately, the bulb was the problem and all is good now. The bulb I ordered was a Philips D3S and it turned out that's what was in the car from the factory. It wasn't too hard to change and I just took three screws out of the inner fender liner and pulled it back without pulling the wheel. I also wore a latex glove to help avoid touching the new bulb. There was stuff in the way but it was manageable.

The old bulb showed a bit of a frosted area that probably shouldn't be there, but who knows. (See pic of old bulb)

I tend to use my high-beams for various traffic signaling (Like to let someone out, let a pedestrian cross, etc.). Apparently this is bad for HID's (Except at night when it only operates the shutters). The Cherokee is 2-1/2 years old with 60,000 miles, mostly driven in the day. I have an '09 Dodge Challenger R/T and its HID's have been fine, but it only has 32K on it.

Anyone else have to replace an HID bulb? Can't search the forum for HID because it's only three letters.

A couple days ago I was driving at night and thought the headlights looked a bit dim. I got home and checked them and the driver's side was glowing a somewhat dim amber....

Anyone else have to replace an HID bulb? Can't search the forum for HID because it's only three letters.

Thanks for the information. Will likely come in handy since my plan is to keep the Cherokee for at least 10 years.

The passenger side went amber on mine at about 22K miles and just short of two years, mostly day time driving and not much flashing. I suspect it may have been a bird hit, even though it was daytime and the lights were not on. No damage to the vehicle, but the bird flew across the highway at headlight level and got nailed while I was moving at 55 mph; there was quite a thud. The dealer replaced it under the bumper-to-bumper warranty.
http://jeepcherokeeclub.com/65-electronics-audio-lighting/163234-factory-hid-replacement-bulb-2.html#post2189249

I'm glad to hear the bulb is a relatively easy swap.

To piggyback on this post, has anyone upgraded the stock hid bulbs? Looks like there are a decent amount of D3S bulbs to choose from.

Array: Both of us had bulbs turn amber when they went bad. I wonder f that's a safety feature rather than have them go completely out? In my case I didn't hit any birds or anything.

I checked later and my local auto parts store would have sold me a bulb for about $100. It seems prices on HID bulbs (at least ours) are going down, unless you buy at a dealer where you can expect to pay $200 or so.

I had checked Rock Auto and their price (They offer three brands) was about the same as Amazon but Amazon had free next day shipping since I'm a Prime member. I also checked Rock Auto for the price of HID bulbs for my '09 Challenger. It uses a D1S and they are even cheaper - $48-$60.

Incidentally, I believe the installation process for HID bulbs is identical to that of a standard halogen bulb. The HID connector had no fussy latch, though. I just had to wiggle the connector until it came off.

Array: Both of us had bulbs turn amber when they went bad. I wonder f that's a safety feature rather than have them go completely out?

That's an interesting thought. Not sure about the safety aspect since the amber glow does almost zero for illumination; except oncoming vehicles can still see something, so that's better than nothing. It also might help in diagnosis (just guessing ), if it fires up and then goes amber, that might indicate the ballast and other circuitry are still working. From what I've read, HID bulb failure is preceded by dimming light and then bluish or purplish color.

D3S is the replacement bulb.

I upgraded my Wife's Cherokee to Osram Xenarc Nightbreaker Unlimited. Huge increase from the factory bulbs. They run about $100 each on amazon.

Dang, you need to go to the RetroFit Source, you can get 2 for $70 of the Morimoto brand, which are very good bulbs. Osrams are 160 a pair. Phillips are 215

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/bulbs/oem.html

Those Osram CBIs look like a great upgrade. I think i'll go that route eventually. I had a pair of Osram xenarc 66240 in an older Jeep and they were fantastic.

I had my bulbs go out and then my alternator fried on my 2014 grand Cherokee, before the recall was sent out. I was wondering if it could have possibly been related?

Changing HID bulb on 2015 Jeep Cherokee

OK, dealer wanted $330 to replace one Xenon HID headlamp on the Jeep Cherokee Limited. The Limited and Trailhawk all use HID, some of the others models use Halogen. They are not compatible.
Steps to change which I hope help someone:
1. Turn the front wheels all the way to right or left.
2. There are 8mm hex bolts holding the wheel well cover (black vinyl cover inside the front fender). Remove the 3 on the front side of the car rear ones and snaps can remain.
3. Pry the cover out of the fender so you can get behind the headlamp.
4. I did it mainly by feel but if need be you can peer in there a bit. There is a round black plastic cover over the headlamp, look from the front to get an idea where it is. Rotate left a little, grab one of the fins and pull it off, don't remove the silica gel pack that stops the headlamp from fogging.
5. Reach inside the hole grab the square back of the bulb and twist left and pull straight back so you don't break the old headlamp.
6. Get a new D3S or compatible bulb (D1S connector is not the same and will not fit). Reattach the connector, helpful hint, remember which way the connector was relative to the headlamp since it is keyed and you can only put it on one way. Keep any protective cover on the bulb so you don't break your new expensive bulb through this step.
7. Feel where the smaller square hole is in the big round hole where you removed the cover. Don't touch the bulb with your fingers and also be careful to slip it straight into the square hole. Quarter turn right should lock it. Pull gently to make sure it is locked in place.
8. Place the black cover back on with a quarter turn right.
9. Snap wheel well cover back in place, make sure holes line up with fender and plastic well liner. Snug the 8 mm screws back in, not too tight, just until ratchet stops.

Good luck.

OK, dealer wanted $330 to replace one Xenon HID headlamp on the Jeep Cherokee Limited. The Limited and Trailhawk all use HID, some of the others models use Halogen. They are not compatible.
Steps to change which I hope help someone:
1. Turn the front wheels all the way to right or left.
2. There are 8mm hex bolts holding the wheel well cover (black vinyl cover inside the front fender). Remove the 3 on the front side of the car rear ones and snaps can remain.
3. Pry the cover out of the fender so you can get behind the headlamp.
4. I did it mainly by feel but if need be you can peer in there a bit. There is a round black plastic cover over the headlamp, look from the front to get an idea where it is. Rotate left a little, grab one of the fins and pull it off, don't remove the silica gel pack that stops the headlamp from fogging.
5. Reach inside the hole grab the square back of the bulb and twist left and pull straight back so you don't break the old headlamp.
6. Get a new D3S or compatible bulb (D1S connector is not the same and will not fit). Reattach the connector, helpful hint, remember which way the connector was relative to the headlamp since it is keyed and you can only put it on one way. Keep any protective cover on the bulb so you don't break your new expensive bulb through this step.
7. Feel where the smaller square hole is in the big round hole where you removed the cover. Don't touch the bulb with your fingers and also be careful to slip it straight into the square hole. Quarter turn right should lock it. Pull gently to make sure it is locked in place.
8. Place the black cover back on with a quarter turn right.
9. Snap wheel well cover back in place, make sure holes line up with fender and plastic well liner. Snug the 8 mm screws back in, not too tight, just until ratchet stops.

Good luck.

Thanks, this helped me too! But i broke the bulb when taking it out :-(

The next model up is the Osram Xenarc Nightbreaker Laser which is double the light output!
Very expensive in Australia!!!!

Crash486

My dealer wanted more than $600

My dealer wanted more than $600

Welcome to the forum ! :smile:
So tell us... what did you do ??

Both of my HID lamps burned out on my 2016 Cherokee at 19,400 miles. Jeep dealer charged me $984.00 to replace.

Both of my HID lamps burned out on my 2016 Cherokee at 19,400 miles. Jeep dealer charged me $984.00 to replace.

Yikes.

^^ Those are the OEM bulbs. Job can be done at home, 30 minutes per side (roughly).

Thanks for this post was very helpful. My 2015 limited Cherokee left headlamp is out. I managed to take the bulb out and it seems OEM was Phillips D3S. I was going to order new one from Amazon Australia. Any suggestions which one to buy , I can’t seem to buy exact same one here in NeW Zealand as Amazon US deliveries take ages. So my best bet is what is available on Amazon australia. Dealer quoted me 400 for one bulb replacement and it seems it wasn’t very hard task to take it out and put a new one. Osram xenarc 66340 D3S is available for 100 bucks, my question is would that one be compatible with my light as I read in manual OEM are bi xenon. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Osram D3S is good for you, don't get confused by the bi xenon, it just means the headlamp uses the D3S for both hi and low beams...

Osram D3S is good for you, don't get confused by the bi xenon, it just means the headlamp uses the D3S for both hi and low beams...

Thank you for your reply. I will order that one then. Cheers

Thank you for your reply. I will order that one then. Cheers

Friendly advice : order a pair. When one goes... the other usually follows shortly.

Osram is a good quality bulb like Philips, no worries.

As @AtlCade69 said, "bi-xenon" only means you have one bulb for both Low and High beam ; there is a mechanical shutter inside the projector which moves down when you request High beam, allowing the bulb to project with no obstruction (obstructing the bottom part of the projector = Low beam).