This all started with an itch to get the headlights upgraded with better illumination ones, basically a retrofit. My many drives are at night and the roads are poorly illuminated. I had seen lots of videos of XP on Instagram and was impressed. Moreover I was already using Micro Fogs for last 2 years and hadn't faced any issue. I was in touch with XP on Instagram and with Mr. Karan Soni of Autobots. I was given the options of the upgrade. After lots of deliberations, I planned a trip to Gurgaon. Mind you, to drive 1100kms for a family man with a 2 year old kid takes a lot of planning and of course, permissions from parents. All was set for June end and I embarked on my trip. Details here -
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post4617907 (Muzaffarpur to Delhi via Gorakhpur-Faizabad-Lucknow-Kanpur-Agra-Palwal (NH2 & 71B))
Dates were finalized for the fitment, and I visited them casually on Sunday, 23rd June around 1pm. I met the owner Mr. Karan and spoke about everything required, time taken and other stuff. He asked me to come by 12pm on 25th as I was busy on 24th. On the 25th, I reached at their location around 12pm and to my horror, there was no one there other than a cleaner. I asked him and he said that people will come by 12:30. It was a hot day, and I was waiting patiently. First person to come was a co-owner at around 1:15. The technicians came at around 2pm and work finally started after 2pm.
The headlights need to be opened up for changing the stock projectors with the Mini V3 of XP. Headlights of Brezza have some different material used to seal so opening it up was not that easy. The technician worked on it and after a couple of hours, the headlights were opened up. Since I was really unaware of how things would proceed, I was watching it closely.
Stock projector. Stock projector.
Work in progress.
Work in progress.
The projectors were installed in another few hours. Point to note is that the social media posts show that the projectors are handled with cotton gloves, wasn't the same here. My projector lenses have many smudges as they were handled with bare dirty hands.
Right one with fingerprint marks. Left projector with smudged lense.
Then started the waiting game. Apparently, they did not have ballasts for it. I mean who would start working on a project without having all the necessary stuff? After patiently waiting for nearly 3 hours, I was getting irritated but at that point of time, my only concern was to get the work finished. I asked the technician how much time will it take and he bluntly said that he is not on talking terms with the owner so I should go and ask him. The ballasts were brought by the same cleaner I met in morning. They were in a polybag, not packed in a carton or cover with no documents whatsoever. This has actually confused me whether they are original ones or some cheap local stuff. After the ballasts came, the headlights were fixed temporarily for alignment. They use a DC converter to do the alignment without starting the car, I thought that's good. He showed me the alignment and it was fine.
Good alignment before headlights were sealed off.
By this time, it was about 9pm and I was concerned with many things. My phone battery was going down, I was hungry and there was no sign of the work getting completed. Since Wednesday is a holiday for them ,I couldn't get it done next day and I couldn't even leave my car overnight. Moreover, they were already getting in holiday mood and partying, with the technician getting angry as he was not getting his share. This was irritating him. Then he got his share and started resealing the headlights. Before I could make out what he was up to, he fixed 2 screws in each headlight saying that it will keep the headlights properly sealed and in the process , screwing my headlights permanently. So much for professionalism. They've used a butyl based sealant which is still soft even after nearly 2 months!
Screw for sealing!!
After resealing the headlights, he fixed it back and then proceeded with wiring. The ballasts were fixed using double sided tape on right side to the headlight's side and on left side it was fixed over the fuse box! I told him that it won't hold but he was adamant that it'll not fall even after few years.
Ballasts came loose within a week after the 2 sided tape gave way.
Then he went ahead with the connections and used the electrical tapes to seal it. I told him it won't stay, he said that it's waterproof and doesn't require anything else. Thankfully wires were not spliced.
I wonder why they call themselves professionals. Electric insulation tape which would have come off in a few days.
Once the wiring was done, the headlights were switched on first time after resealing and the cut-off and alignment was way off. The technician tried to adjust it but it wasn't happening so he said that this is perfect. By that time, it was 11pm and the owner was busy partying, the technician was in bad mood as he was not given his promised share, and I was aghast! One of the co-owners came and we settled the bill. During the entire crucial period of alignment, only the technician was there and no one else was there to oversee what was happening.
I was scared with the wiring and drove home with a prayer that there shouldn't be any short circuit or fire. Next morning, I checked the wiring and fitment and was dejected. It was not at all the way it should have been as claimed on their social media sites. I was wary of visiting them again, once you lose trust, it's just not possible to do anything. Moreover, I was tied up for next few days till my return and there was no way I was going to waste my 8-9 hours with them. The headlight cutoff was off as you'll see in snaps I'll share, the left side high beam (Brezza has a separate one) was shooting to the ground and the right side beam was tilted in such a way that it wouldn't illuminate the road more than 20 feet.
I came back home and discussed this with
a4anurag and
Dr Parvez (X-roaders). I was told that they should have also provided me with a relay for wiring. When I checked with XP guys, they said that the technician may not have felt the need to use it. I was surprised. Their kit also mentions this. I was really not happy. Then I started sending them the cut-off images and other snaps to which they agreed that the work was below expectations and they asked me to come back so that they can get it fixed again at Autobots. Till this time I had not contacted Autobots and seriously I was in no mood to do that, moreover XP guys asked me that they'll themselves deal with Autobots and do a refresher training sort of things, I need not contact them. I told them politely that its not possible for me to drive another 1100kms just for this. I asked them what else can be done? They asked me to get in touch with a local technician who can open the headlights, which is not available here sadly. They asked me to do the alignment by the knobs on the headlights and that's when I realized that their technician had broken those on both sides.
I was really helpless. I had a botched retrofit with broken alignment knobs with a very bad wiring. I was really worried so with help of
Dr. Parvez, I procured the relay and over a period of 3-4 days, did a thorough redo of the wiring with sealing all joints with waterproof tape. This also gave me an opportunity to open up the front bumper myself thereby sealing the open points of fog lamps as well anything else that I thought required waterproofing.
Fixing up the relay and securing the wires and wiring.
Since I was in touch with XP guys over Instagram & Whatsapp , I asked them for a resolution. They again asked me to either get the vehicle to Autobots or send the headlamp to Autobots and they'll do it. I was also in touch with Autobots as they were contacted by XP guys. Autobots also offered me the same solution. That would have been good had I been near NCR and many may feel that's it's an acceptable solution, I did not agree to this solution. It is not justified in my case. Driving down again is not possible and I can't send the headlamps because of 2 main reasons, firstly I can't leave or use my car without headlights for the period when they do some correction. Secondly, I don't trust the guys at Autobots now. The moment they started giving more importance to their drinks rather than the work at hand, I understood that they're glorified FNG electricians and nothing else. If they can screw headlights of a first time customer, why would they do a better work when that customer has complained against the bad work? I know I might be just a miniscule part of the people who have faced issue and I may be sounding harsh but that is not a way to handle a customer. If you mix work with drinks, you'll lose my trust immediately.
The lights by XP are great but their partner is not good. This post is just to let others know about my experience. I'm sure there would be many who would have had great experience with them. The XP guys have offered me a set of new ballasts as a compensation for the inconvenience I've faced or is it because they are also not sure of the ballasts used! But that does not absolve them or Autobots of the botched retrofit.
The options that I have now,
- Sending the headlights back to them or someone else for correction.
- Driving down to Gurgaon to get it rectified by them or someone else.
- Leaving them the way they are.
- Picking up brand new stock headlamps and fix them up.
I'm planning to stick to 3rd and 4th option as of now.
I waited for 2 months for posting this as I was busy and I wanted to fix the relay and secure the wiring, and also use and see how the headlights behaved.There were other issues that have been taken care of. Lastly, I made peace that the last option that I have now is to replace both my headlights to stock ones and if need be, I'll do that. This very fact calmed my nerves and then I decided to write this up.
The take home message as per my experience is - - Do not jump the gun for such an upgrade till you are very sure of the outcome.
- The snaps on social media look much better than naked eye real world results, mainly because camera captures more light.
- Try to get such work done at a local level so that you can visit them for any issue arising out of it.
- Keep ample time at hand, one cannot rush through it.
- There should always be a backup plan.
- Always check with an expert or someone who has got it done or did a DIY.
Will I recommend Xenon Planet for their lights?
Yes and No. Yes, because I've been using their Micro Fogs for over 2 years and they're working fine. Plus the Mini Super V3 also has a fantastic light output.
The output is fantastic if I use Low beam of Micro Fogs as well as the Low and High of main headlights.
No, because they have very very poor communication with customers. That can lead to chaos. Plus they claim many things on social media which is not correct at all. The bills are without any mention of GST or TIN number. The bulbs or ballasts don't carry their name, only the project has their named etched. They despise TeamBHP which I found out over a few chats.
They did send me a pair of ballasts as a gesture for inconvenience caused but still that doesn't help with all the mental trauma I had to go through. Moreover, I'm confused whether the earlier ones are original/better or the new ones? The earlier ones had no carton cover or marking. But as per them, both are original and it all depends on batches.
The blue one is the one they fixed, the black one has just arrived. Now I really don't know if both are fine or one is of poor quality or both are like that!
They claim that their dealers have everything available which is false, atleast in my case because they didn't have the ballasts. And this was inspite of taking an appointment 2 days in advance. Will I recommend Autobots?
No way. Well, I may be less than 1% whose install has been improper so I'll leave it for others to judge. The work is shoddy, the handling of lights was very bad. The place where they open up the headlights is cramped, with lots of dust. It's a storage of waste where this work is carried out. It maybe a place for people looking at bling without any care for electricals or safety but an enthusiast needs to stay away from here. Till the time they improve their work ethics and handling of customers, I'll prefer to stay away.
And finally, am I being partial to Autobots and XP without them getting a chance to clarify here or even after they sent me ballasts for the inconvenience caused? Well, I dont think so because firstly, I paid for it and secondly and the most important factor, it would have been my life if something untoward like a fire had happened. I know they would read this post and curse me and if they are reading this, I have a message for them,
Please be truthful to your work and do it religiously. If you are running a business, you must oversee the work being done and not leave it at hands of a technician. You guys should be more concerned with the work being done rather than sit in your office and watch crazy car videos. I hope someone posts praise for you guys and negates my words.