Ice Frosted Headlights

[bbviper]

Hi, I am new to the forum. I recently bought an 08 Touring CX-9. I LOVE this vehicle. But I live in a very cold climate and when I drive with the headlights on when it is cold, 10 degrees or colder, the headlights condensate on the inside then freeze. So then I have this ring of frost on the outside perimeter of my headlights. And the thing is it is not just one of them, it happens to both! I took out the bulbs and blew some warm air into the housing to melt the frost, checked the vents and they were unplugged, took a 100 mile trip, and it did it again. When the temp warms up, it melts inside the headlight and now I am beginning to see streaks inside where the frost melts and then freezes again. I called the dealership and there are no TSB's as of yet. I think it is a design flaw in the headlights. ANyone else have this problem who live in a cold climate?

 

[jabba]

This is definitely not supposed to happen. Headlights are designed to vent out humidity, any sort of condensation on the inside means that something is wrong with the way it was sealed.

I lived in Ottawa, Ontario, for many years and never saw that happening with our cars (and it got into the negatives in the winter).

Will the dealer swap headlights?

 

[bbviper]

I called the dealer and I have to bring it in. He told me to note temperature and humidity levels when it happens. He said that he has to give Mazda all the info possible. He said he will probably order new headlight assemblies. RIght now it is -13 F. I took a 20 mile trip and they began to again frost up again.

 

[jabba]

At least the dealer is willing to take another look...that's a good sign!

I work for a company that sells plastic for these headlights, and it's amazing the amount of design that goes into these things. One of the main criteria is to ensure that moisture/condensation don't hang around inside the lens, I believe they have some sort of membrane (like gore-tex) that keeps things breathing. Obviously something is wrong with your headlights--which makes me think that there might be a bad batch that went on on several CX-9s...

 

[bbviper]

I was putting gas in the CX-9 and noticed that both rear taillights have condensated on the inside too! So both my headlights and both taillights have moisture in them. I haven't brought it in yet but I snapped pics of everything in case dealer doesn't believe me. Hopefully new sets can be ordered without any hitch-ups. Makes the CX-9 look cheap IMO, like some low quality altezzas you would get for $50.

 

[wakblak]

I noticed this in the rears as well.
Will take pics the next time it occurs.

 

[Marin Mazda]

This would definitely be covered under warranty... Pictures are a good thing to have... let the dealer know before hand... they'll more than likely have to be ordered... so keep that in mind... it should take a few days to come in... so if you can manage a drive by... for confirmation at the dealer, that'd be good. They're way expensive so most wont want to order them unless they're needed for sure. ( Costs us to send them back if we have to ).

 

[wyocx9er]

I live in Wyoming and it's cold here also, I have noticed this moisture in the rear lens also