Tail Light Condensation

[fistpoint]

Originally Posted by 31katys

I took mine to Toyota today. They called me with the update three hours later telling me that they dried out the lights and I can take the car. So I asked them what I do when it happens again. They said they would need to take photos and send them to Toyota. So I asked why they didn't do that before they dried them out. The guy basically bullshitted me saying that they didn't see any condensation and that there was no reason to warranty the lights. When I went in to pick it up I spoke with the service manager who told me that the only way they can warranty them is if water is actually pooling in the assembly.

Does any of this seem fishy to you guys? I'm wondering why some of you were able to get yours replaced without "pooling" water and I can't.

Call Scion, not the dealership. They will set them straight or recommend you go to another dealer, which you can do anyway.

[Mo707]

I have a set date for friday. 11/30/12 for them to "take a look." Im demanding new tail lights and i wont take no for an answer. I didn't pay for the extra 7 year warranty for nothing.

[brianbot5000]

Originally Posted by Deslock

I quickly read this thread and though YaX suggested not worrying so much about it, I didn't see the question asked: What harm will it cause?

No expert here, but it probably doesn't do much damage. My father's early 2000's Mercury Sable (yes, Sable - think Ford Taurus) had a good 2 inches of water sloshing around at the bottom of his tail lights. That is, until I gave him a hard time about it and he opened them up to drain/dry.

My guess is that it could cause light bulbs to burn out quicker, if water splashes up onto a hot bulb, or if condensation builds up on the bulb itself. Plus, if it really gets in there I would guess some corroded wire connections after enough time.

The bigger issue is... It's a brand new $30k car (counting taxes, but still - money we had to pay). It shouldn't do that. None of my cars have ever done this and I've owned some old cars. If the car was 10 or 15 years old, I'd chalk it up as character, but in a 6 month old car it's not good.

[davesrave]

Originally Posted by mikeg7827

Hey dave, didnt mean to use your picture but my whiteout fr-s tails look just like this almost every morning.

I told the Service Advisor Mo at Westbury Toyota about this and he said he already helped someone else on tailight condesation and he understood completely. he put in the request for 2 brand new taillights already. unfortunately no expected arrival date due to backorder?

LOL I copied the picture from this website after I posted it so I could send it to my dealer, Somerset Subaru. To their credit, they accepted the picture as enough evidence to order a new tail light. I just emailed them yesterday for a status update and they said it is on back order. Was hoping to get it replaced at the same time I get my first oil change, but, I'm running out of time. I can wait until the week after next, but that's about it. Not hopeful about that at this point. Anyone know what the timetable is for replacement tail lights?

[jaymeister]

getting mines next Tues. Passenger side as well.

[chate]

subd, just noticed it in one of my tail lights BAH!

[31katys]

Originally Posted by cnk

Based on the TSB, it's not that the lights aren't sealed, but rather an issue during installation where the nuts are overtightened resulting in a crack in the mounting boss. I pulled mine and there was no apparent cracking, but I still got some slight condensation and fogging in both of my lights. I have not gotten it again since it's gotten colder out, but my dealer put in orders for replacements anyways so I'll let them swap them out and see how it goes.

My dealer told me that if they dry out when the lights are on then Toyota won't warranty them. So they dried mine out and told me to come get the car. I was pissed. When it happens again I'll be taking photos myself and calling Scion customer care myself. I think the dealership I went to cut corners and didn't follow procedure and then lied to me when I caught it.

[vubaru]

Originally Posted by 31katys

My dealer told me that if they dry out when the lights are on then Toyota won't warranty them. So they dried mine out and told me to come get the car. I was pissed. When it happens again I'll be taking photos myself and calling Scion customer care myself. I think the dealership I went to cut corners and didn't follow procedure and then lied to me when I caught it.

I have the same issue plus apparently a small leak in my trunk. If you ask me, the likely cause for my car is being rear-ended by a F150. It looks like the body shop didn't replace the RHS tail lamp assembly like they did on the left hand side. I opened my trunk yesterday morning and there was 1 oz. of water at the bottom, which wasn't a nice surprise.

Of course, the local dealership, Diablo Mazda-Subaru (STAY AWAY, STAY FAR AWAY) refused to warranty the tail lamps due to the accident and blamed my body shop, so I am now trying to resolve the issue through Mike's Auto body, who apparently failed to seal my trunk during the repair.

I'm sure I'll be able to have the issue fixed, but not after more headaches.

[3_NA_HAF]

Ive had my passengers side replace, obviously no questions asked haha

[jaymeister]

^jeeeez! Need fishes in there!

[archaeauto]

I noticed tail light condensation on both sides during my first week of ownership. It wasn't expansive, maybe a couple square inches on the tail light housing ceiling, sorry no pictures. Slowly however, it has dissipated and is now gone from this area. I see a little bit of condensation on the edges/seal area of the tail light housings still. At the same time the weather has been getting colder and wetter. I'll keep an eye on it and see if it comes back, but with my car being number 4461, the tail light issue should have been taken care of in production, correct? Besides this and a few subtle/intermittent interior door panel rattles I have problem-free car so far (first 500 miles).

[mikeg7827]

I as well have experience the occasional dew like condensation on the inside of my tail lights since I first got it usually after it rained or the temperature outside changes from hot to cold over night and I told the dealer 2 weeks ago when I got my alignment done and they supposedly ordered a new pair of tails. Then this morning I go to my car and my right tail has about an inch of standing water in it .. Either it rained last night here or humidity temp etc was enough to cause it but its rained before and this never happened this bad I sure hope they ordered them.

I'll post a pic when I get home of the pic I took at lunch time when most of the water dried up but left a little puddle which is still there now at 7pm


How long is the average wait time on the replacement tails?!?

[cnk]

They're backordered so your guess is as good as anyone else's. I've been waiting for over a month.

[zkubidu]

Got condensation in my right side taillight this past weekend after the rain. I don't take my cars to dealerships or service shops for a number of reasons that I'll leave out. Anyways, read through the last 19 pages of posts for information to see what you guys have found if anything other than the claimed issue of overtightenting/cracking.

I removed my taillight and inspected the housing and cover to find no cracks. I did however find that the foam seal around housing was wet. This wouldn't normally be an issue, as this seal is meant to keep water and moisture out of the inside of the trunk. However, in my case the seal was completely soaked throughout and was actually dripping water onto the turn signal bulb connector. I noticed the side marker connector has a rubber seal around where it seats into the housing, however the turn signal bulb not only does NOT have a seal, but it's also got a couple openings where it seems water was intruding into the taillight. This was obvious to me as I removed the turn signal bulb connector, a significant couple drops came out with the connector and was all around the inside of the housing in that area.

Anyways, I'm going to try a couple things and see how it goes. First order of business will be to seal the turn signal connector except for a small portion. Contrary to most belief, headlights and taillights do need to have a vent to release pressure buildup. These vents usually are not designed to allow moisture or water into the headlight however. Second order of business is to add a layer of silicon sealant to the foam gasket and help to prevent water from seeping into the trunk area through the headlight openings.

I don't know how much this may help, especially since it seems that it's not going to be raining again down here for a while. Just wanted to share some ideas and observations with you guys.