Quote:
Originally Posted by Rampage
I am not saying it is a defect with the body of the car but it is possible that it could be a defect with the body of the car. It could be an issue with body flex in the area of the rear lights which could cause pressure from the trunk or bumper to crack the tail lights. Obviously, something is causing a problem on this guys car and Toyota/Subaru does not seem to know how to fix it. Also, everyone knows that this is not an isolated case. Others have had tail lights replaced multiple times.
And if you think that this body does not flex (a lot) there is a video on here somewhere that I watched of a guy running the car through pylons or on a track. The Go-Pro was mounted right behind the drivers door and you could watch the seam around the door get bigger and smaller as the car changed directions. Watching that led to the moment when I said "Aha!" and understood why TRD made the door brace add ons. It is not too big of a stretch to think that similar forces may be damaging the tail light housings. Just sayin.
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Sure, all cars flex. But the body around the taillight housings (basically, the hole in the body for the taillights) aren't going to flex at all. And even if they did, you'd need a micrometer to measure that flex. What you're talking about is general chassis flex, which is more of a concern around the doors and such.
I think others have basically nailed it. For the taillights to develop condensation inside, they absolutely have to be compromised as far as sealing. The lens and the housing are two separate parts that need to be sealed properly. Any compromise in that seal will allow condensation to develop. Or a crack anywhere in the lens or the housing will also cause the same problem. How can that happen? I believe that they could in fact be overtightening them, leading to the problems everyone is describing. Or maybe there was a big batch of taillights manufactured with defective seals....or maybe the seals are okay, but they lens and the housing wasn't put together properly during manufacturing. Either way, the problem absolutely has to be with the taillight units, not the car. If the car was somehow flexing enough to damage the taillight seals, EVERYONE would have condensation in their taillights.