cnolke

I have this haze on both sides (equally). The car is 18 months old and I picked it up CPO. The front end is completely Clear-Bra'd, but it doesnt seem like theres a layer over the headlights. Texture-wise, I think the haze must be on the inside. The exterior is very slick and this doesnt respond, even temporarily, to wax or very light abrasives.

I've searched the forums and can't find anyone else with anything like it. Has anyone had luck with the warranty on this or similar (like a very temperamental headrest-level switch)?

vdubpower

havent noticed any but i have clear bra on mine

ShocDoc79

I have had it on my 2011 since I bought the car. Identical location and have had no issues. I have forgotten about it the few times my car was in for routine maintenance so not really sure why it's there.

ace10

Is you car parked outside by any chance?

It reminds me of the damage that would occur on the early federalized Lotus Elises. Sun would hit that lens and melt the headlight cover.

Lots of info on the googs.

Vic55

I normally see things like this on much older cars--- Do you have a hole or leak somewhere where the sealed unit has been compromised? I think this should be covered under warranty as a defect of material.

Faris63

You might have clear-bra on the headlights because it looks light the bra burned from underneath. I had the same problem with my C63

cnolke

I tried rather hard to find clear-bra on the headlights... after 5 minutes I have up trying... I have to assume I dont.

The car has never sat outside except here at work... and since I live in Portland I don't think we are struggling against any kind of sunlight-based issue

I'd suspect a defect if it wasnt perfectly equal on both sides.

So weird. I'll check with the dealer... I need to pick up a rear mat that I ordered anyways.

Thanks for the help guys.

Vic55

They should want to help, they get to bill mbusa for hours of labor to repair and that wont require a factory inspection either.... just go in with the attitude that they MUST fix it. There could be a seal leaking on the inside too that you cant see.

Parking a car outside should not matter or this issue would be far more prevalent with tons of owners.

otakki

That's unusual looking. And on the insides?!...Now that's really strange. I wonder if it is due to a combination of failed seal and the headlight beam on that location to create that pattern. But failed seals on both sides?!... Are the patterns from both sides symmetrical, or mirror image

vdubpower

do u have any more pics of the right hand side light, hard to tell from the pics,

have u tried any if those haze removing products, usually meguiars has good stuff

ShocDoc79

Just took my car with similar headlight markings into my dealership which without hesitation agreed to replace both under warranty.

cnolke

Perfect! I'll try the same.

Vdub-
The "etchings" are mirror images of each other.
Treatments and light compounding made it quickly apparent that the issue was on the inside of the headlight housing cover.

vdubpower

i should check mine again in more detail

sikm3

This has been covered in a previous thread...not sure if it's in this forum or if it's in the W212 forum. You can pop out one of the bulbs and wipe down the inside with rubbing alcohol but the haze will simply occur at some point again in the future. It's a common occurrence unfortunately. I have it on my '10. Dealer said they were going to cover it under warranty but ended up denying it claiming it'll just happen again on the new headlights. I don't believe MBUSA views this as a manufacturers defect as it doesn't affect the operation of the light nor affect light output. It's still rather annoying to see the markings on the headlight.

cnolke

I'll search again... I couldnt find anything the first time around.

I stared at the housing for a little while and I'm not sure how it will be easy to get in there with anything. Rubbing alcohol isnt very destructive though, so it might be worth a try.

cnolke

So this is interesting...

I took it in and apparently as of the last week there is a Technical Services Bulletin. It says to...

Order/install special vented/filtered headlight panels.

(if that doesnt work)

Order special sealed panel and kit to seal headlight shut.

(if that doesnt work)

Replace headlight.


They ordered the vented panel for the first step.

vdubpower

well I ll be darned....ive got it too, right infront of the main beam, identical on each side, Looks like tulip leaves in the shape of a V,

the fact that they are identical is interesting i think..I wonder if it has to do with the heat of the light? Or has something to do with the pattern

does any of the NON amg cars have this or the ones that done have xenon

sikm3

Well that's good to know. Seems they've been getting more and more complaints about it since September when I took my car in. So they've finally stepped up to find a solution.

It looks like my aux battery is going bad on me so I'll kill two birds with one stone. Here's hoping my dealership is on top of the new TSB.

sikm3

Yes, non-AMG cars with bi-xenon lights have the same imprint. I stumbled across a thread in the W212 forum regarding this issue.

ace10

So perhaps a condensation issue on the inside of the headlight cover. The damage pattern likely is shaped similar to the range of motion of the active headlamp.

Intense light hitting the moisture might be causing a heat build up? Or doing something to the spectrum?

vdubpower

i dont think condensation would leave an identical imprint on each side....

cnolke

Condensation isnt pure H2O. All sorts of salts, sulfurs, etc. are suspended in the rain and probably stay suspended until the moisture works its way in the light housing. Given the high output/small beam inside the headlight, I bet bright light steams the moisture, leaving the contaminants behind, but only where the light is hottest.

Just a wild-*** guess, but if people can get rid of it with isopropyl alcohol, thats a pretty strong indicator it came in in the water.

vdubpower

Well lets see how this transpires

shardul

iTrader: (1)

if the car is CPO won't they replace them under warranty. I know BMW does that .

sikm3

I'm still under manufacturer's warranty and they wouldn't.
So here's hoping the new TSB changes all of that