Condensation in Headlamps

[greenman]

Originally Posted by GerryG

They claimed the headlights are a maintenance item and therefore weren't covered. I mean I know the headlights themselves are a maintenance item but they were giving me the run around saying the lamps were as well.

Headlamp housings are a maintenance item???? That's a stretch.

I get condensation in my tails as well as the heads. But I live in a pretty damp climate.

[GerryG]

Its not even a stretch its just a downright runaround. I called another affiliate dealer today and they put in a message for the regional manager to get back to me about the issue, and I will get through to him. Its rediculous that they offer a warranty on any used vehicle covering and I quote "Any mechanical parts or safety related parts/issues." I expect them to honor that whether it puts a big dent in their profit or not thats not my problem. Another argument I have is the fact that they replaced a door speaker for me free or charge under their "warranty" which does not qualify as a mechanical or safety issue so theres no legit reason to not cover defective headlamps. We shall see.

[Malibu25]

GerryG, My dealership replaced both of my headlight with no questions asked.

[GerryG]

Malibu25- I assume yours was probably covered under the bumper to bumper which is why they replaced yours no problem because GM was the one paying for it. In my case mine is out of the 3/36 and just under a dealer warranty therefore they don't get reimbursed by GM and its all on them. Basically what it all comes down to is the dealer knows if they replace the lamps it is going to cut deep into their profit on that car which is not my problem and is the reason I am getting the run around. If they don't want to take responsibility then they shouldn't offer the warranty in the first place. Funny thing was when I bought the car the lights were dry as a bone and over the last couple of weeks have gotten worse. I had to use my brights the other night on a dark road and I swear it took 10 minutes for the heat to get rid of the water in the lense before they actually put out their maximum light output, and that was just in the path of the light beam. Doesn't matter how long I leave the lights on, it never gets rid of all the moisture.

[tremain.roseman]

Gerry G - At any point that you have owned (assuming you bought it new) did you ever have the headlight housing removed ( I.E. Modifications, Changing bulbs, Dealer doing other work?) Those headlights are a pain to get back into position and I have a bit of condensation on my 2012 Malibu. With that said, I also keep my car in the garage at home and it is outside 99% of the time less that 10 hours a day. The weather striping on your 09's headlight assembly may be worn or torn somewhere causing such an access build up. Does it ever clear up after driving it or warming the car up for an extended period of time

[GerryG]

Actually I have only owned the car for about 6 weeks and in that time I haven't done a thing to the headlamps. Good news is that I got them replaced a couple of days ago since I called the higher ups of the dealership. I don't know what was wrong with them but even after driving with the lights on for an extended period of time, they never fully cleared up. There was just too much condensation in there for them to clear. Il tell you what though, after having my new lamps for a few days I will go as far to say that my light output has doubled. It was like night and day and I am so glad they replaced them because I didn't realize just how bad the last set were. I had to fight them over it but they gave in.

[greenman]

Please update us with reports of how they perform over the long term.