I had the headlight replaced in my 2008 Toyota Prius and now after the first rain condesation is building up inside. The dealer is telling me it has nothing to do with the bulb replacement and they want $500 to replace the seal.
If you had the headlight replaced through Toyota, you should still be covered under warranty. That's just ridiculous for it to wear out that quick.
Who replaced the headlight? Was it from Toyota? Or was it an eBay special? This should be a warranty item, unless you passed 36k and did not buy the extended warranty!
The '07 I just bought has this on both headlights as well. Have you guys ever had this issue resolved? And is there any risk to the headlight components if left alone?
If you have moisture inside if the headlamp housing, A- it's going to leave white schmutze on the inside of the housing when it finally evaporates, B-Corrode the bulb contacts, which is a BAD THING Egon! C-Water on a HOT Halogen bulb will cause the bulb to explode, and if you have the HID, it gets even more expensive! It sounds like the seal on the housing has become corrupted and is allowing water to seep in. Best fix is dealer under warrenty. Second best is you pull the housing and try to find the area where the seal went bad, and try to reseal it with some clear Silicone Sealer. Third option is buy a used unit from a salvage yard and install it yourself. Leaving it, and not doing anything will eventually lead to complete failure of the lamp assembly itself. Get it fixed!!! Good Luck, let us know how it turns out!!!
Water in the headlight assembly is a bad thing as noted above. I have had this in other cars due to cracks in a headlight assembly (your dealer pointing at the seal is probably telling the truth - this time). You could look at getting a salvaged part (with a short warranty) to resolve the issue.
07' V my driver side headlight housing has condensation also, have replaced HID bulbs once and while I had the bumper and headlight housing off inspected it rinsed it out and dried it with a Cpap machine to blow cool dry air in to it on a cold day, 15 minutes later it was dry. I found a crack that appeared to be caused by heat along the edge of the clear plastic just beyond the black glue that holds the clear lens to the housing. I was going to seal it with silicone but did not have any in the garage at the time and had be on the road quick, so I reassembled the front end and will get back to it some day(Soon). I have photos of the process and detailed photos of various headlight parts, pieces that I will post someday(maybe never).
Headlight condensation was an issue on one of my 2007 Prius(s). In an effort to spruce her up prior to selling, I replaced the headlamp. Since I don't have the ability to do this myself, I ordered the part from Toyota (it was not a HID). The housing cost was $200+ and install was $160! But, I know the new owners don't have an "issue" with which to deal and that makes me happy. I want them to really enjoy the car and not have any "used car headaches". After reading some of the posts, I'm glad I did it.
just for the record...our dealership called toyota extended warranty and the headlight assembly for my 09 is NOT covered under extended warranty...they quoted me $350 for new assembly ...i said "baloney"...i will fix this myself...ive already replaced my HIDs in my 04, so i will reseal this myself...and of course the dealership "has never seen the condensation issue in a prius before"...Yea Right!!
There is a TSB for this issue. Go back to the dealership and raise hell. http://priuschat.com/forums/toyota-...75-headlight-condensation-t-sb-0188-11-a.html
I just noticed my drivers headlight has condensation on my 2008 Prius purchased new in December 2007. I've read the TSB but the car is almost two years out of warranty. I notice Toyota didn't come out with this TSB until Dec 2011 big help for 2007 and 2008 owners. Looks like 2.1 hours to remove and replace the headlight assembly so I'm looking at $200 labor and the cost of the part. Has anyone ordered a headlight assembly from part stores on the internet then have a mechanic do the work? Here is one company that sells a headlight assembly. 05-09 Toyota Prius Headlight Assembly Left Driver Side Lens 81170-47160 There is a youTube video showing a mechanic taking the headlight assembly out in 5 minutes. I ended up breaking the small tabs on the fuse box cover last night trying to take it off so I'm not confident to to the work myself. Thanks for any advice Kelvin
