I've noticed on quite a few of the newer Audi's they have a very white light on the rear number plate and just wondered if anyone knew if it was LED's or just some kind of very expensive bulb.

I'll have a look tomorrow when I get my new one :-)

LEDs. Also used by most of the premium manufacturers for stop, tail, indicators, front position and DRLs. Headlamps will be on their way into the mainstream before long.

Two arguments for it are energy efficiency and bulb life, not sure if they really translate to real life ---- as saving 40 watts on a vehicles electrical load won't make much difference and the life of LEDs in these high brightness applications dosen't seem to be anything like as long as claimed.

Incidentally LED lights loose a lot of brightness after the first 6months use.

So how do you go about replacing them? Do you have to replace a small PCB or is it all a sealed unit? Either way I bet the dealer bends you over!

Another plus point for LEDs (for headlights) is that the light they produce is at almost exactly the same frequency as daylight. As a result they are less straining on the eyes.