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New 2017 R--Moisture inside headlamps

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gr53716

New member
Location
New York NY
I just picked up my 'new' 2017 R today (dealer demo with 2500 miles on it, so it is almost new.) I noticed moisture on the inside of the headlamps. I'm thinking there should be no moisture inside the headlamps no matter what. Am I correct?
 
A

adam1991

Banned
Location
USA
gr53716 said:
I just picked up my 'new' 2017 R today (dealer demo with 2500 miles on it, so it is almost new.) I noticed moisture on the inside of the headlamps. I'm thinking there should be no moisture inside the headlamps no matter what. Am I correct?
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No.

Your owner's manual, page 146, right column, the Information paragraph in the middle:

In cool or humid weather, the insides of the headlights, the rear lights, and turn signals can temporarily fog up. This is normal and does not affect the service life of the vehicle's lighting system.
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If you take it in to the dealer because of this, you will be wasting a trip.

Now, ask me how (a) I knew this, and (b) knew that it was in the owner's manual in the first place, and (c) knew WHERE to find it in the owner's manual.

It's not because it's happened to me. It hasn't. No, I simply took the time to read the owner's manual and understand it and the functions of the car.
 
vj123

vj123

Autocross Newbie
Location
The Detroit
Car(s)
19 & 16 GTI - sold
I had condensation inside my headlamp assembly and later it threw DRL and adaptive headlight errors. I took into to the dealership and eventually headlight assembly and module was replaced under warranty. And i was told that the condensation inside the assembly was due to a defective seal.



A trip to the dealer might be well worthy.
 
T

TheWombat

Go Kart Champion
Location
Vermont
I have not noticed this in mine, but then, I don't really look that closely as half the year the lights are covered in road salt or dust, the other half in mud. Living on a dirt road has its perks.
 
A

adam1991

Banned
Location
USA
vj123 said:
I had condensation inside my headlamp assembly and later it threw DRL and adaptive headlight errors. I took into to the dealership and eventually headlight assembly and module was replaced under warranty. And i was told that the condensation inside the assembly was due to a defective seal.



A trip to the dealer might be well worthy.
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A trip to the dealer without codes will likely result in them doing nothing.

You had codes. Their answer was, something went wrong and we know what needs to be replaced.

I think what you're suggesting is that he go to the dealer as a preventive measure, or as a check against a TSB or something. That's fine, but he should be aware that likely nothing will come of it without a trouble code.

Well, not true. At least he'll get his complaint registered. Should problems happen down the road, that could be important for many reasons.
 
vj123

vj123

Autocross Newbie
Location
The Detroit
Car(s)
19 & 16 GTI - sold
adam1991 said:
A trip to the dealer without codes will likely result in them doing nothing.

You had codes. Their answer was, something went wrong and we know what needs to be replaced.

I think what you're suggesting is that he go to the dealer as a preventive measure, or as a check against a TSB or something. That's fine, but he should be aware that likely nothing will come of it without a trouble code.

Well, not true. At least he'll get his complaint registered. Should problems happen down the road, that could be important for many reasons.
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Yes i do understand OP does not have a code. But it doesn't hurt to stop by the dealer and check the issue. If several of these issues were reported, VW might have issued a diagnostic procedure to the dealers. You will never know this unless you stopby the dealer. And not all issues brings up an error code.
 
S

ssaylor

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
AZ
Urlik said:
Lots of people had moisture that went away after a few weeks. Nothing like VJ123 had though.
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I had what I thought was normal moisture in one of my sealed R8 lights, so much it finally rolled down the lense and left water marks. It was determined the seal had failed and was letting water in while washing the car. Replaced under warranty. If it evaporates and leaves no trace it’s probably normal.
 
MK7GolfTDI

MK7GolfTDI

New member
Location
Montreal
Car(s)
2015 Golf TDI 6spd
vj123 said:
I had condensation inside my headlamp assembly and later it threw DRL and adaptive headlight errors. I took into to the dealership and eventually headlight assembly and module was replaced under warranty. And i was told that the condensation inside the assembly was due to a defective seal.



A trip to the dealer might be well worthy.
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You are lucky it was replaced. My MK7 Golf TDI with xenon lighting package has the same issue. There seems to be a lot of MK7 Golfs with failed seals. Mine Its not under warranty as its more than 4 years old, but failed just before 73K. The VW dealer quote is $4100 for a new headlight assembly, plus the AFS and DRL ballast and all labour. It was 1 hour of labour for the diagnostic. I'm contacting a lawyer and the consumer protection act to get this dealt with. There is no service to be done on a headlight and it shouldn't have water buildup like this.
 

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S

ssaylor

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
AZ
This has been going on for a long time. The sealed headlights on my 2009 R8 were also defective necessitating replacement. Fortunately, under warranty. If I were spending that much for headlights, I’d replace them with Newer LEDs.
 
Golfs everyday

Golfs everyday

Autocross Newbie
Location
USA
My old MK7 GTI had moisture often in the headlamps and tail lamps, but they both eventually went away with no visible trace when warmer weather came.

For me the rule of thumb is if there are no water droplets collecting at the bottom of the lamps, then chances are the lamps are okay.
 
M

M3LV

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Slidell, LA
For what it’s worth, I had this in my MK6, MK7, and MK7.5 it’s always been light and evaporated quickly. Never been an issue and only occurred on rare occasion
 
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