WARNING: Toms Taillight owners, check for melting!

[eSOLOR]

I had the clear toms for about two years also. Car is always parked outside. Left taillight started melting but I still kept them on. One night it rained and the right taillight randomly filled with water I loved the lights but they really are a POS.

[BoxRZ_86]

Originally Posted by _search

Yup. Same thing here, bought them about two years ago and got out of my car this morning to this:



Of course the warranty is only one year.

so i actually fixed my condensation issue. i took my tail lights out and lets them dry up. i bought the gasket ninja kit. and reinstalled the lights and then like he suggests on his site. i used tape to covert the top gaps between the body and taillights and i have had zero issues since. and we have had heavy rain. i have washed the car numerous times.

[_search]

Originally Posted by BoxRZ_86

so i actually fixed my condensation issue. i took my tail lights out and lets them dry up. i bought the gasket ninja kit. and reinstalled the lights and then like he suggests on his site. i used tape to covert the top gaps between the body and taillights and i have had zero issues since. and we have had heavy rain. i have washed the car numerous times.

Dude, first off thanks for this. For some reason finding straight forward info like this on this site can be... a challenge sometimes.

And while I probably will do this fix, it really does bother me that after spending $400+ on tail lights I have to use tape on my car. Not to mention spending more money on something that in all honesty should just work. It's not like this is a complicated part, it's that they were cheaply made with bad materials.

I think that either in this thread (which is now 15 pages long!) or in a new one we should try to make a list of every user who has had problems and see where that gets us.

Anyone agree?

[_search]

Originally Posted by BoxRZ_86

so i actually fixed my condensation issue. i took my tail lights out and lets them dry up. i bought the gasket ninja kit. and reinstalled the lights and then like he suggests on his site. i used tape to covert the top gaps between the body and taillights and i have had zero issues since. and we have had heavy rain. i have washed the car numerous times.

Dude, first off thanks for this. For some reason finding straight forward info like this on this site can be... a challenge sometimes.

And while I probably will do this fix, it really does bother me that after spending $400+ on tail lights I have to use tape on my car. Not to mention spending more money on something that in all honesty should just work. It's not like this is a complicated part, it's that they were cheaply made with bad materials.

I think that either in this thread (which is now 15 pages long!) or in a new one we should try to make a list of every user who has had problems and see where that gets us.

Anyone agree?

[BoxRZ_86]

Originally Posted by _search

Dude, first off thanks for this. For some reason finding straight forward info like this on this site can be... a challenge sometimes.

And while I probably will do this fix, it really does bother me that after spending $400+ on tail lights I have to use tape on my car. Not to mention spending more money on something that in all honesty should just work. It's not like this is a complicated part, it's that they were cheaply made with bad materials.

I think that either in this thread (which is now 15 pages long!) or in a new one we should try to make a list of every user who has had problems and see where that gets us.

Anyone agree?

oh i agree with you. i was really pissed when there was a half inch of water just sitting in my toms taillights. i was happy a $30 solution fixed it. but you are right. it shouldnt have been an issue in the first place. but then on the other hand. its an issue even with factory taillights. so its really a design flaw with the body of the car. there is too large of a gap between the body and the taillight that lets water run down the back of the taillight as drainage. but that gasket is cheap and breaks down.

[_search]

Originally Posted by BoxRZ_86

oh i agree with you. i was really pissed when there was a half inch of water just sitting in my toms taillights. i was happy a $30 solution fixed it. but you are right. it shouldnt have been an issue in the first place. but then on the other hand. its an issue even with factory taillights. so its really a design flaw with the body of the car. there is too large of a gap between the body and the taillight that lets water run down the back of the taillight as drainage. but that gasket is cheap and breaks down.

Yeah I hear you on there being a design flaw with the body, but that doesn't account for why these taillights are melting.

Plus, Subaru replaces leaking tail lights for longer than one year.

Oh also, do the other brands of aftermarket tail lights have the same problems?

[treminaor]

I just put on a brand new set from the warehouse two weeks ago and the right taillight already has condensation in it. TOM'S should send you a noose in the same box as the taillights.

[civicdrivr]

So I only put about 200 miles on my car last year (yes, that's not a typo...), so it sat in the garage on a battery tender. No sun, no light, no rain or anything touched the car. Yet somehow, that little piece on the top of the taillights melted even more. So I'm left wondering how...and why. There is one LED out on inner cluster of the left taillight, but I've had these lights since they came out, so I need to see what sort of warranty options I have.

And I have the USDOT clear lights.

[86Boyz]

Originally Posted by treminaor

I just put on a brand new set from the warehouse two weeks ago and the right taillight already has condensation in it. TOM'S should send you a noose in the same box as the taillights.

this is why i never pulled the trigger on getting aftermarket tail lights because i don't trust their build quality despite how cool they may look compared to the OEM ones which actually don't look to bad i'd say

[civicdrivr]

Originally Posted by 86Boyz

this is why i never pulled the trigger on getting aftermarket tail lights because i don't trust their build quality despite how cool they may look compared to the OEM ones which actually don't look to bad i'd say

In defense of some aftermarket taillights, the OEM lights have condensation issues too.

[86Boyz]

Originally Posted by civicdrivr

In defense of some aftermarket taillights, the OEM lights have condensation issues too.

is this on the older 13-14 models or on all of them?

[8RZ]

Originally Posted by 86Boyz

is this on the older 13-14 models or on all of them?

I think it was only on the 13s from what I've read, my 14 has not had any issues.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by 8RZ

I think it was only on the 13s from what I've read, my 14 has not had any issues.

My 14 has had it a couple of times but it was minor and only after a very heavy rain. Cleared up each time though. Never bad enough or long enough that I worried about it.

[treminaor]

Originally Posted by 86Boyz

this is why i never pulled the trigger on getting aftermarket tail lights because i don't trust their build quality despite how cool they may look compared to the OEM ones which actually don't look to bad i'd say

The pair I had before these lasted over 8k miles with zero issues, but I had to replace one because it cracked in an accident. These brand new, straight from the factory replacement ones only lasted about 200mi, so there's a great example of how widely their QC varies.

Also the OEM tail lights suffer from the same issues so it's not really an excuse to avoid aftermarket ones. It's more about the luck of the draw and how carefully they are installed. For all I know, my bodyshop overtightened the bolts on the back of the light when they reinstalled it, but I can't prove anything.