2010 headlight lens melting/frosted

[vcp]

I just got back from the dealership. They informed me that they have been notified by Mazda Canada that a Mazda recall is in the works. As well, corrected replacement assemblies are also in the works and should hopefully be sent out in the next few weeks.

[pacmann33]

That is fantastic news! Glad to hear they are working on/have already developed corrected headlights for our cars!

[JadeButterfly]

will they replace the headlight if there is no problem, and your VIN falls under the recall?

[vcp]

Barry, others may correct me if I'm wrong but I am pretty sure that as long as your VIN falls under the recall they should replace them.

[pacmann33]

You are correct, even if there is no visible problem, every car with a VIN that falls under the recall WILL recieve the new headlights.

[BeEvil]

Hi all,

So I had my headlight replaced yesterday. They are ordering the other side for me and should be in next week.

I only have one complaint. It has to do with the service advisers. When talking to them, while dropping off the car, I made the comment about the Transport Canada safety recall. They basically laughed at me. And said that there was no such thing and that it was only condensation in my headlight. I told them no, that it was due to melting of the lens. Again they snickered.

I don't get it. This isn't the first time they have done this. I try to help or point something out and they just ignore what I'm saying and make me feel like an idiot.

Prima Tech Aaron. What the F... is their problem? I don't have an issue with the mechanics, they seem to do a great job. But your service advisers are a bunch of twits. Especially Nevil. They really piss me off and I'm seriously considering taking my car elsewhere for any service. I'm sure they have ticked a few other clients off as well. Not good for business.

Prima Tech Aaron. Did you get to have a look at the melted headlight lens? You commented that you hadn't seen one yet.

BeEvil

[pacmann33]

That is really unfortunate about your experience. Just get satisfaction on knowing that shortly they will be flooded with people coming in for the impending recall, they will feel kinda dumb for laughing lol.

The funny thing is, unless your headlights are the redesigned ones you will likely have to have them replaced again. Imagine the look on their faces when you mention the transport canada bulletin LOL!!!

[BeEvil]

That is really unfortunate about your experience. Just get satisfaction on knowing that shortly they will be flooded with people coming in for the impending recall, they will feel kinda dumb for laughing lol.

The funny thing is, unless your headlights are the redesigned ones you will likely have to have them replaced again. Imagine the look on their faces when you mention the transport canada bulletin LOL!!!

Yah, I'll probably rub it in their noses. But really that's not my style. I just would like some respect. This is the second time they have snickered at me and in the end they end up doing exactly what I asked them to do in the first place. It's just disappointing. I want to feel comfortable dropping my car off with these people and when I get treated like this I just don't. I feel like I'm being treated like a child not an equal. Respect goes a long way, and right now I'm not feeling it.

BeEvil

[2010M3Owner]

Just noticed the exact same thing on my 2010 this morning. Passenger side in just about the exact same spot as vcp. Called the dealership and according to my VIN, I am not under the recall notice issued for the HID problems. I have an appointment on Thursday to have the techs check the light, but it appears to me that the issue is ongoing........
I will post an update after my appointment on Thurs

[2010M3Owner]

Went in on Thursday and they are replacing under warranty, no problems. Even they were a bit surprised as my vin is outside of the recall numbers but it is obviously the same issue. Wouldn't be to shocked to see the recall expanded.....

[BeEvil]

Went in on Thursday and they are replacing under warranty, no problems. Even they were a bit surprised as my vin is outside of the recall numbers but it is obviously the same issue. Wouldn't be to shocked to see the recall expanded.....

Awesome news.

BeEvil

[vcp]

Glad to hear they are covering it for you!

[TheMAN]

think of how much money mazda would've saved by using the HIDs as DRLs instead of this halfassed separate bulb deal that brought this problem in the first place!

[McGuyver_3]

think of how much money mazda would've saved by using the HIDs as DRLs instead of this halfassed separate bulb deal that brought this problem in the first place!

that would have been stupid even though higher end cars are starting this trend. Cheaper for mazda under warranty but more expensive for the customer in the long run.

[TheMAN]

why do you think this? HID bulbs last a long time, and much longer than a halogen bulb that half the people out there don't bother replacing (especially the dedicated DRL ones)

[McGuyver_3]

why do you think this? HID bulbs last a long time, and much longer than a halogen bulb that half the people out there don't bother replacing (especially the dedicated DRL ones)

There is absoloutely no need for the xenons to be running all the time. I work at a dealer where HID's are standard on almost every car and I see my fare share of problems with them especially the ones out of warranty. Customers fork out big money to replace these broken parts. Why would they keep them on so as customer comes back to the dealer and pay 200$ for 1 lousy stinking xenon bulb? where a halogen is worth what 25-30$ granted ebay has them for 60$ but guess what, your average customer doesnt know that. As a delaer you are not allowed to tell them ooo by the way go to ebay or pacific mall and get them as you can get a pair for a fraction of the price that we sell one at. What makes you think that if people are not willing to pay to get the halogens replaced that they will want to pay more for xenon repairs

[TheMAN]

by your logic, there's no reason to run any headlights on all the time either, because as you said, people don't want to spend any money replacing their bulbs

[McGuyver_3]

DRL's imo are pointless thats what we have auto lights for. Make that feature standard as a huge percentage of cars already have it and you solve all your problems. In many states in the US they are not required DRL's. IMO they are just as useless as front plates which ruin the look of a car and aerodynamics

[TheMAN]

yes, but the "D" in DRL means "daytime"... they are not meant for night time use... therefore, auto lights and DRLs are mutually exclusive.... are DRLs useless? pretty much for the populated parts of canada, and all of the US save for alaska.... only those few areas of the world that experience winter twilight/darkness for months on end really need DRLs (such as far northern europe and russia)... DRL fanboys need not reply as the studies shown in north america are pretty inconclusive as to whether they provided any real safety improvements or not

[2010M3Owner]

Went in on Thursday and they are replacing under warranty, no problems. Even they were a bit surprised as my vin is outside of the recall numbers but it is obviously the same issue. Wouldn't be to shocked to see the recall expanded.....

Got the work done. All seems well, but it was quite a big job in the end. I think I saw somewhere else that it was a pretty big deal to replace the lens so I was expecting it, but they had to pull the entire bumper off and then re-wire the whole works as the replacement was basically just the lens......... Took them about 2-2.5 hrs. I certainly hope this fixes the problem though. I REALLY don't want to get stuck replacing these outside of warranty. The bill came to about 900.00 (of course after the warranty deduction it was 0.00)!

[vcp]

Yeah they also put a resistor inline to lower the power output of the bulbs. I noticed a pretty big difference in light output at night after the lenses were replaced. They haven't fogged again though so thats a good thing!

[TheMAN]

big difference? for better or for worse?
the resistor is only for the DRL bulbs

[vcp]

Not what the dealership told me. Yeah, there are lots of roads in my area without street lights. I definitely noticed the headlights were not as bright when compared to pre lens and recall fix. I'm not a mechanic but I do know light. My headlights are not throwing the same brightness of light that they used to.

[McGuyver_3]

good possibility they changed the projectors up from the older style to the newer style. Infinity had a huge recal on headlights because they were "to bright" and they updated with lower light output ones

[2zoom]

Same thing is happening on my 2010 speed 3 went to Mazda and they are replacing both light assembles on Monday no questions asked.... They are aware of the problem already