newyorktoLA

I washed my car yesterday and the low beam headlamp cap was not on for the passenger side b/c after I switched out the bulb, I didn't put the cap back on. Anyways, there is now condensation on the lower edges of the passenger side headlamp, both where the low beam is and where the parking light is. I opened the hood and tried to let it dry, but it hasn't evaporated all of Sunday and all of today. There is still condensation on the bottom part of the lens! The worst part is that when the water evaporated from the top of the headlight, it left hard water stains on the inside of the headlamp (visible from a close distance).
Will the dealer not cover the headlights under warranty since I installed Philips Diamond Vision bulbs???

Has this condensation on the W212 happened to anyone else?

K-A

Did you forget to put the cap back on?

You better just hope that the Dealer doesn't notice or take into account your aftermarket bulbs, or else you're SOL.

Even if the water dries up, those headlights will probably look crusty prematurely due to the dirt and water that was in it.

hyperion667

aw man, that's lame.......nothing worse than that look on headlights.......

CEB

why do you think that the dealer should fix that for free? it is your fault that excessive moisture got into the housing and this should be fixed on your dime.

It is warranty fraud like tbis that makes costs go up.

It sounds like you got a significant amount of water into the housing and if it left stains then the housing will have to be replaced.

You've learned the hard way about unintended consequences and the fact that you have to pay to play. Now you have a choice - do you attempt to commit warranty fraud or do you suck it up and pay for the repair?

The way you handle this will tell the rest of the members here about your ethics.

Did you actually try to dry the housing out in a heated garage with the headlights on and the cap off or did you just wait for it to air out? A significant amount of moisture won't evaporate unless you add a heat source. On a dry day you could try driving around an hour with the lights on.

ImInPA

Remove the bulbs. Use a blow dryer to to dry out the inside throught the bulb holes. Once totally dry, insert the bulb and turn it on. The heat from the halogen is pretty intense so be careful not to burn yourself. After about 15 minutes, take the bulb out again. You may notice an "outgassing sound" as you remove the bulb while hot. This is likely the last of the water vapor escaping. Good luck.

newyorktoLA

CEB, what's your problem? Whenever I ask for advice or how to do something, all you do is complain and say that I should live up to some moral standard that I have trouble believing you even adhere to. I don't know what your problem is with me, or even if it is just me, but I honestly don't care about what you say and I'm sure a lot of people don't either. Get off this thread until you are willing to stop pretending you're the **** and tell everyone what to do because you're the only one who "KNOWS" what to do.

Headlight condensation is mentioned in the manual, so it is normal under high atmospheric pressure conditions. It's not like I should have to pay if the condensation doesn't go away. The manual says to take the car to the dealer if the condensation doesn't go away...I just wanted to know if I could fix it at home and not have to worry with the dealer.

If anything, I'll play dumb...haha; To the rest of the forum members, I'm so sorry that I just lost ALL of my MORALS because if anything goes wrong, I don't want to shell out hundreds of dollars for a new headlamp unit on a LEASED CAR!!!!!!!

To IminPA, thanks for the advice. I'll try that today

venchka

That must be how the headlight enclosure got flooded in the first place. There is a huge difference between condensation and running water. You should be able to boil the water off eventually.

Good luck.

Wayne

K-A

listerone

Going off subject a bit here...I've often wondered how easy (or difficult) it is to replace various "ancillary" lights...brake lights,turn signal lights,etc....even headlights,for that matter (halogen)...on a W212.Are one or more of these lights replaced by simply popping off a plastic cover (for example) rather than by the tedious process of dismantling a bumper (for example)? And while I'm at it I'll ask if there's any warning light (or visable error code) on the instrument cluster that indicates bulb failure?

CEB

So you've answered the question about your lack of ethics.

While a bit of condensation is normal, you clearly admitted in your initial post that you failed to replace the cap (intended to keep water out) when you swapped bulbs. Accordingly, your fault is not a manufacturers defect but a malfunction caused directly by you. This is no different than filling your car with water and expecting the dealer to fix it under warranty. You intentionally changed your bulbs and it is not MB's fault that you failed to put it back together correctly. Rather than attacking me, you should be looking at your actions a bit closer.

What your threads have done is point out some of the dangers of mindlessly modding your car. I raised the issue of warranty woes when you started the other thread and now you have it

Dealers aren't idiots. If you forgot to put the cap back on then I'm sure that you've left all sorts of other evidence of your tampering. If the dealer has halfway intelligent techs then they'll deny warranty service and give you an estimate for the repair.

There's a bright side though. You'll have an opportunity to come back here and complain about how mean your dealer is.

Both I and IminPA gave you advice on how to fix it. If that doesn't work then be prepared to pay for the repair - you broke it, you should pay to fix it.

CEB

Do you really it is good advice to suggest that he attempt to remove a hot bulb? Perhaps that will resolve his dilemma though. He will burn his hand ( hopefully not badly) and break the bulb off in the housing. After that he won't be able to play dumb since there will be glass shards in his housing.

Looking at the manual, it looks like there are some bulbs that are much easier to replace than others which may be why he didn't replace the cap.

Modding a leased car is trickier that modding one you one as you either need to return it to stock or hope that the dealer doesn't see the mod on lease turn in. This is also a prime example of why one should be very cautious buying an off-lease car

ImInPA

CEB: With all due respect, the advice I gave is something I have done myself. It has worked for me. You do have to be careful not to touch the bulb itself with your hand, but, the plug from behind is ok. you only have to break the seal around the bulb and let the vapor escape. This is a common thing and I learned it by watching a dealer work on a subaru I once had. My advice was intended to help. When riding a high horse, remember that the higher the horse, the greater the fall.

CEB

Even though you've done that before doesn't mean that it is safe, easy or the correct procedure - certainly not for someone who can't put the cap back on. Depending on which housing it is, the bulb isn't that easy to get to so extreme care needs to be taken to keep from breaking something or hurting oneself.

park423

I've changed the headlight bulbs on my W211 and it was pretty simple and straightforward, far from being unsafe as long as you use common sense. Changing bulbs should be a do-it-yourself and not require a dealer visit to fix. As for the condensation, hope the dealer fixes it for you.

K-A

Let's just get to the point and substitute "condensation" which insinuates a factory defect, to "accidentally hosed water into the headlights after I forgot to put the cap back on".

Headlights have gotten way too complicated to install in most new cars, i.e even my now-sold humble Chevy Malibu needed the whole bumper taken out to install new bulbs. I remember changing the bulbs in my '96 Mustang GT required nothing more than some odd hand motions and maybe some scrapes.

CEB

It may have been easier on the 211. On page 122 of the manual you'll find the following statement:

"Due to their location, have the bulbs in the left-hand headlamp changed at a qualified specialist workshop, e.g. an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center."

park423

Fair enough... Probably was easier... I have Xenons now and wouldn't let anyone but a pro touch those

newyorktoLA

Wow, I'm honestly amazed with the feedback on the W212 forum in comparison to the other forums. Thanks for the advice and quick responses!
Back to the topic: I'm not going to shell out money for stupid things like new headlights on a car with 3,000 miles, so I followed IminPA's solution and the condensation went away, leaving minimal to no staining! Thank you.
Trust me, I don't want the dealer touching my car even though they're the ones that swapped out the bulbs for me hehee
I'll take note if the condensation comes back when I leave for work as it was 44 degrees in L.A. overnight!

K-A

Wait, so the Dealer did the bulbs swap? Therefore they forgot to put the cap back on? That would be a whole different story and would in turn obviously render them responsible.

newyorktoLA

They only switched the driver's side bulb, the headlight without condensation. The condensation is on the passenger headlight, which they didn't touch.

PHML

Just a side note, so what type of bulbs did you replace the oem with?

Im very surprised the Dealer's tech did the swap out, they usually stay away from any kind of modification of aftermarket parts.

As for the condensation issue, its a leased vehicle..why worry? No biggie, right?

ImInPA

amaycg, I have had to repeat that procedure a second time as "one pass" may not evaporate all of the moisture. I am glad it worked for you.