Condensation in headlight

[Surebet]

Purchased car from Lexus dealership in March this year, in June noticed NS headlight had some staining( not condensation) on reflector.  Took car to dealership for advice, dealership duly replaced headlight , which I was very pleased about, however they never replaced  the bolts holding the plastic engine floor panels, only after getting the car home did I notice them hanging down. Took car back and was given the reason they did not have bolts in stock!!.  When I said surely a few cable ties would have been better than leaving a job like this , service manager was embarrassed and annoyed, I think more the fact that the bad workmanship had been noticed so quickly and no excuse could be given. While washing the car today ( not using pressure washer, I noticed the new replaced headlight has condensation in it. To say I'm disappointed is a understatement, has any other IS250 owners have had similar issues with headlights. I also have a 10 year old vauxhall astra van, never had an issue with headlights and never been renewed. Since buying the Lexus I have done only 1700 miles, approximately half of this since new headlight fitted. When not in use(6 days a week) the car is kept in a well ventilated garage. I have still to contact the dealership to see what can be done, however suffice to say all the hype regarding Lexus Quality and Reliability together with quality workmanship is starting to sound rather hollow, its a pity as I really like the car but have I made a mistake straying from the quality German brands. Any and all advice would be appreciated. 

[Texas]

Going from your recent experience of very poor standard of workmanship following the original replacement of headlight unit then I would take a guess that perhaps the access cover may not be fitted 100% correctly to the rear of the headlight unit and this has now come to light ( excuse the pun) after washing your car ( when you take a very much more closer inspection of the finish of all components)  by the presence of moisture which can't readily evaporate, this is of course if there is not any sort of failure ( stone chip damage ) of the exterior glass headlight unit.

 

paul m.

[madasahatter]

9 hours ago, Surebet said:

Purchased car from Lexus dealership in March this year, in June noticed NS headlight had some staining( not condensation) on reflector.  Took car to dealership for advice, dealership duly replaced headlight , which I was very pleased about, however they never replaced  the bolts holding the plastic engine floor panels, only after getting the car home did I notice them hanging down. Took car back and was given the reason they did not have bolts in stock!!.  When I said surely a few cable ties would have been better than leaving a job like this , service manager was embarrassed and annoyed, I think more the fact that the bad workmanship had been noticed so quickly and no excuse could be given. While washing the car today ( not using pressure washer, I noticed the new replaced headlight has condensation in it. To say I'm disappointed is a understatement, has any other IS250 owners have had similar issues with headlights. I also have a 10 year old vauxhall astra van, never had an issue with headlights and never been renewed. Since buying the Lexus I have done only 1700 miles, approximately half of this since new headlight fitted. When not in use(6 days a week) the car is kept in a well ventilated garage. I have still to contact the dealership to see what can be done, however suffice to say all the hype regarding Lexus Quality and Reliability together with quality workmanship is starting to sound rather hollow, its a pity as I really like the car but have I made a mistake straying from the quality German brands. Any and all advice would be appreciated. 

Could be as texas says mine condensate from time to time. I fitted after market hids but clear very quickly. Mainly happens with heavy rain, through the night.

My covers are on, i have had the lights off see if they are any drain bungs blocked.

[Surebet]

Thanks Texas for quick response, certainly no stone chips or damage to headlight glass , is the access cover easy enough to get into, I know to take the headlight out is quite a job, first  removing bumper. Madasahatter, you mentioned drain bungs, I was under the impression that all modern headlights are sealed units, is this not the case. 

[madasahatter]

18 minutes ago, Surebet said:

Thanks Texas for quick response, certainly no stone chips or damage to headlight glass , is the access cover easy enough to get into, I know to take the headlight out is quite a job, first  removing bumper. Madasahatter, you mentioned drain bungs, I was under the impression that all modern headlights are sealed units, is this not the case. 

Its a breather pipe more than a bung, condensation can happen with heat as well. Long time since i took my bumper off but its easy. Side panels are easy to remove 

but the front cover has to be moved first. Lexus headlights fail because of sealing issues. Look at Rx video on utube he hits the nail on the head.

It takes no more than half an hour for panel and bumper removal. Videos on tube for this seems daunting but is not.

Are yours Xenons or Halogen lights.

[Surebet]

Hi Madasahatter

Pretty sure the lights are Halogen . I'm amazed that the bumper can be taken off so quickly, it makes me wonder why the dealership had my car for 2 days when replacing the headlight, I wasn't that bothered at the time as I thought I would be getting a quality job, how wrong was I !!. I have looked at the RX issues on youtube, this solution would be ok for an ageing headlight however surely one which is only 3 months old with less than a 1000 miles should be covered by some sort of manufacturers warranty.

[madasahatter]

10 minutes ago, Surebet said:

Hi Madasahatter

Pretty sure the lights are Halogen . I'm amazed that the bumper can be taken off so quickly, it makes me wonder why the dealership had my car for 2 days when replacing the headlight, I wasn't that bothered at the time as I thought I would be getting a quality job, how wrong was I !!. I have looked at the RX issues on youtube, this solution would be ok for an ageing headlight however surely one which is only 3 months old with less than a 1000 miles should be covered by some sort of manufacturers warranty.

I agree have you tried a different dealer all are not equal. My car needs to go in for airbag i will be using lexus bradford. I could use leeds but was forwarned

about them when i had fuel filter seal replaced. Looking at where you are based may be difficult, Get in touch with lexus Uk .

[Texas]

Lots and I mean Lots of fixings but it doesn't look that a daunting a job!!

 

[Surebet]

Hi Texas

Fantastic video, as you say a lot of fixings however if all else fails looks do-able, I'm hoping when I contact the dealership they will make good and restore some of my faith in the brand. As Madasahatter correctly stated, try another dealer. Problem both dealerships in my area are owned by the same company, purchased the car from one and was rather disappointed in the way the way the car was prepared when picking up the car, a lot of messing about trying to get minor issues resolved. Received email from dealership PR team within days of taking ownership asking how I rated the Lexus experience. l highlighted  the basic issues which I encountered on picking up the car, still waiting for some sort of reply, not a good sign, hence took the car to the other dealership for the headlight issue. My initial impression with this dealership was extremely positive and everything appeared great until I received the car back and seen the complete lack of attention to detail on repair( seemed to do the hard bit and did not bother with the easy bit). My impressions so far is Lexus dealerships are predominately only interested in selling new cars and the service side is a byproduct which is not up to quality standard of the cars which are being serviced. I am sure there is great dealerships in the UK however in my experience, just not in my area. I'll keep my fingers crossed that my next visit to the dealership turns my negative views into a positive and makes me eat my words, I'll keep you posted, and thanks again for all advice and help.