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Opening USDM/NA MK7.5 Headlight Assembly; has it been done?

MKVIIS R

Passed Driver's Ed
Curious question, would like to know if it has been done or if there is a guide on how to open the front headlight assemblies.

I know the amber reflectors are a safety feature and DOT for USA, but it's such an eye-sore (for me). I am also aware there are "overlays" to hide the amber, but I would like to remove them.

Another option is to get a set of Euro OEM headlights, but the projectors will cut off opposite to the USDM one, and would also be costly.

Tried looking for a manual/guide but no avail.

Any insight on how it can be done would be great.

Thanks!
 

Tooly

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Kelowna, BC Canada
Car(s)
2018 GTI Autobahn
Another option is to get a set of Euro OEM headlights, but the projectors will cut off opposite to the USDM one, and would also be costly.

Why would the cutoff be opposite of NA headlights? The pattern will be different (and better) but as long as you got headlights from the continent you'd be fine.
 

MKVIIS R

Passed Driver's Ed
Why would the cutoff be opposite of NA headlights? The pattern will be different (and better) but as long as you got headlights from the continent you'd be fine.

Well I'm not 100% certain on these cars, but from my experience, RHD drive cars have cutoff that are the opposite from LHD since they drive on different sides of the road (so it won't blind on-coming traffic). The cutoff will dip on the right side for RHD, as where for LHD, the cutoff dips on the left side (basically which ever side the driver is seated, the beam dips in that direction).

Since NA drives on the right side of the road, RHD cutoff will potentially blind on-coming traffic since the highest point of the beam is aimed towards the left side (on-coming traffic).

This is just an example of a Toureg, not exactly the MK7.5 Golf, but I would imagine the same logic applies since it's DOT regulated.
 

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Tooly

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Kelowna, BC Canada
Car(s)
2018 GTI Autobahn
But the only part of Europe that's RHD is England. Just buy lights from Germany, Denmark, Spain, France etc etc. who are all LHD just like North America.
 

MKVIIS R

Passed Driver's Ed
Thanks for clearing things up. Still would be an expensive option, and if I were to put forward the cash, I don't think I could find a set of OEM at the moment. Maybe for the future!

Still would be great to know if the headlights are sealed or if they can be opened!
 

Acadia18

Autocross Champion
Location
The Greater Boston Metropolitan Area
Car(s)
2019 Golf R
I haven't heard of anyone doing it on an MK7, but don't see why it should be different than any other headlight. The most common method is putting them in an oven set to low heat, low enough to soften the glue so they can be pried apart. Do what you need to do, heat them back up, and press them back together until they cool. If you search "Open headlight assembly", you'll find tons of generic videos showing the process.
 

AdamSheikh

Autocross Champion
Location
FLL
Car(s)
15 GTI | 24 RS 3
But the only part of Europe that's RHD is England. Just buy lights from Germany, Denmark, Spain, France etc etc. who are all LHD just like North America.

Also, our lighting package headlights are able to swap between LHD and RHD due to the AFS and auto leveling features. You can change this on the fly through the vehicle settings menu in the car.

OP, just get E codes - it's the most foolproof and OEM method. Totally cleans up the look of the car (and the beam pattern is slightly wider and sharper as well). The headlights are plastic-welded and stapled shut, so opening them up isnt as easy as you might think. To my knowledge, it hasn't successfully been done (and I've been keeping an eye on these things for 5+ years now).

Do note that all E-codes are supplied by Valeo, so you'll need the compatible AFS modules if your doesn't already have Valeo lights. 2015's have Valeo, 2016+ has Hella. (Twist off cap = Valeo, rubber cap = Hella).

 

Tooly

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Kelowna, BC Canada
Car(s)
2018 GTI Autobahn
Also, our lighting package headlights are able to swap between LHD and RHD due to the AFS and auto leveling features. You can change this on the fly through the vehicle settings menu in the car.

Never seen this setting on my mk7.5 with LED headlights. I can turn AFS off but nothing about LHD to RHD. Is it a ROW setting you need to enable through VCDS first?
 

swcrow

Autocross Champion
Location
Virginia
Car(s)
7.5 GTI
These lights are SO expensive, I'd hate to even try to crack mine open...it was a different story on my MKIV GLI, but these......no way
 

AdamSheikh

Autocross Champion
Location
FLL
Car(s)
15 GTI | 24 RS 3
Never seen this setting on my mk7.5 with LED headlights. I can turn AFS off but nothing about LHD to RHD. Is it a ROW setting you need to enable through VCDS first?

Nope, my 2015 has had the option since day 1. I believe the option is called "travel mode" or "direction of travel" (something like that). You can select right or left and see the beam pattern change accordingly.
 

Adurm

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Fl
Google how to open permaseal headlights. It sucks. You'll need some cold glue tools and a lot of patience. If you're opening them, you might as well drop some d2s projectors in place of the stock.
 

DiscusInferno

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Kalifornia
These lights are SO expensive, I'd hate to even try to crack mine open...it was a different story on my MKIV GLI, but these......no way

The MKIV's have soft adhesive, so they can be easily baked and opened.

since the MKV's, the Hella headlamps have "permaseal" which is very heat resilient. You can open them, but it requires a lot of time to slowly remove the adhesive on it. Then you can reseal with the butyl adhesive later (such as from www.theretrofitsource.com)
 

Sparklebeard

New member
Location
Bay Area
Not game to open the headlights on mine, but I dream of replacing them with the euro headlamps for this reason (and because I’d love to upgrade from AFS to DLA...). It’s nice that it’s easy to turn off the orange LEDs, but those damn orange reflectors....

Even harder to get parts in my case since I’d need to get them from an e-Golf or GTE if I wanted to keep the blue stripe :/

Not Even sure if the modules in my car could do DLA even if they had the right headlamps...
 
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