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Mist in XC90 Headlamp lens

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Old Oct 11th, 2008, 13:38   #11
RoyMacDonald
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When the plastic lenses came out in 2003 on the XC90 i was wondering how they were going to last for 20 years it turns out they are showing signs of deteriorating after only 3 years , if you keep them polished the cloudy appearance can be held at bay . The minute cracks are probably more on cars which are used in town or at low speds so the lens overheats with no cooling airflow .
It's not a VOLVO problem as most if not all manufacturers use plastic lenses now ... Volvo's problem is using headlamps for day running lights they should revert to the separate dedicated running lights which they got right first time on the 240 from 1976 to 1988 . Volvo got most things right first time then , unlike today ...
The XC90 has an ideal location for dedicated running lights , where the front parking light is ,. I think we have a bunch of 23 year olds sat behind computer screens designing cars these days ...
Mmmm.....I'm not so sure Clan.

If you want to save weight which must have been in the design brief given how much trouble was gone to in every other aspect of the car a good thing to get rid of is the glass in the headlights. Probably cheaper to produce as well given the shape of the XC90 lights. Lovely car though the 240 is, flat headlights wouldn't look so good on a 2003 car.
I repaced all the lights, back and front, after about 15 years on all my previous Volvos, because of deterioration of the reflectors inside, not the outside part which was still acceptable.

AB-UK....It could be the plastic is softer when hot in that area and is getting the scratches from stones bouncing off them. I don't know how fast you drive or how close to other vehicles but all the high milage cars I've seen have a shot blasted appearance if you look very closely at the front and windscreen. Take a close look at your windscreen and see how many tiny marks are on it.

All the best.

Roy
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Old Oct 13th, 2008, 00:11   #12
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Roy,
I don't drive all that fast, and much of my normal week is the short run to work and back.
If it was stone and chip damage I would expect there to be more marks on other areas of the front of the car, as well as elsewhere on the lenses.
I have to say I was already thinking along the lines of overheating causing the plastic to deteriorate, although they are the normal non-Xenon lights, and as I implied above, they will not be on for very long each day.
The scratches are in a hatch pattern on the whole and on the very top part of the lens, so the plastic breaking down might be indicated by that - I am not a chemist though. Doesn't interfere with the forward throw of the light so not a big worry - just a little unsightly.

AB
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Old Oct 13th, 2008, 16:55   #13
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Default water in headlamp

it happened in 2004 when car was nearly new , any pressure washer can give 110bar output , some of them more which obviously will find its way through any small gap and looking at the seal on the lens maybe could even blast its way through if left in one position for long enough ? it was the Volvo main dealer who admitted they shouldnt have pressure washed the headlamps from the front , they checked the headlamps and couldnt find a fault with them , since then havent had water inside them and have driven a further 100k miles sometimes in serious amounts of rain for long journeys . The replacement zenon would have cost £75 so would have been really annoyed had they not replaced it.
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Old Oct 13th, 2008, 21:43   #14
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Roy,
I don't drive all that fast, and much of my normal week is the short run to work and back.
If it was stone and chip damage I would expect there to be more marks on other areas of the front of the car, as well as elsewhere on the lenses.
I have to say I was already thinking along the lines of overheating causing the plastic to deteriorate, although they are the normal non-Xenon lights, and as I implied above, they will not be on for very long each day.
The scratches are in a hatch pattern on the whole and on the very top part of the lens, so the plastic breaking down might be indicated by that - I am not a chemist though. Doesn't interfere with the forward throw of the light so not a big worry - just a little unsightly.

AB
I don't think it can be heat alone because I have higher ouput bulbs in my lights but they are still fine after nearly 6 years. It's more likely to be something they've been cleaned or polished with reacting more with the plastic in the hotter area. Will they polish out?

All the best.

Roy
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Old Oct 20th, 2008, 16:12   #15
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Roy,
I'm not sure what to use to polish them with - obviously I don't want to make them look worse.
Some mild abrasive will suffice I suppose. Any suggestions / experience?
Cheers,
AB
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Old Oct 20th, 2008, 18:14   #16
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try just car wax polish first this should do the trick .. failing that T-CUT then wax polish ...
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Old Oct 20th, 2008, 22:45   #17
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Roy,
I'm not sure what to use to polish them with - obviously I don't want to make them look worse.
Some mild abrasive will suffice I suppose. Any suggestions / experience?
Cheers,
AB
From my earlier post....
Quote:
You can restore the lights with Meguiar's PlastX. I had a motorbike run into the back of my XC90 and make a long scratch on the rear light and the PlastX got rid of it in no time.
All the best.

Roy
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Old Oct 25th, 2008, 22:47   #18
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Roy,
Not inside (or at least I don't know whether the "scratches" are inside too).
I was wondering whether the heat from the bulbs might be causing the plastic lenses to break down and create the scratched appearance).
I thought that if many owners had the same experience it might point to a manufacturing problem which Volvo should be made aware of.
Perhaps this thread should be reposted under the heading of "Scratches on headlight lens" to attract more attention to this specific occurrence.
AB
Hello Roy,
I've had exactly the same problem on my 05MY. I have posted about this previously too as I noticed a few others has seen a similar issue. The symptoms I found were as you say a fine 'crazing' on the face of the lense - and also the appearance after a while of cracking round the corner towards the orange area. It was nearly identical on both sides - so no possibility of it being a random stone or chip from something. My car was slightly less than 3 years old at the time - i convinced the dealer to replace both under warranty as it was obvious it was not impact damage.
The replacement lenses are now showing signs of similar crazing on the faces - so I suspect that it IS a design or quality issue and sooner or later I'm going to have exactly the same problem with cracking again.
My theory is that it's hot/cold shock effect from the headlights getting dowsed with screenwash everytime you use the washers for the first time on any trip. I must admit I try now to just lightly flick the screen wash stalk which stop the headlamps getting an unneccessary dowsing.
I'd try and go down the warranty route - I doubt this now an isolated case even though my dealer had only seen it on an S40 previously.
Cheers
Ian.
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Old Oct 27th, 2008, 00:24   #19
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Hello Roy,
I've had exactly the same problem on my 05MY. I have posted about this previously too as I noticed a few others has seen a similar issue. The symptoms I found were as you say a fine 'crazing' on the face of the lense - and also the appearance after a while of cracking round the corner towards the orange area. It was nearly identical on both sides - so no possibility of it being a random stone or chip from something. My car was slightly less than 3 years old at the time - i convinced the dealer to replace both under warranty as it was obvious it was not impact damage.
The replacement lenses are now showing signs of similar crazing on the faces - so I suspect that it IS a design or quality issue and sooner or later I'm going to have exactly the same problem with cracking again.
My theory is that it's hot/cold shock effect from the headlights getting dowsed with screenwash everytime you use the washers for the first time on any trip. I must admit I try now to just lightly flick the screen wash stalk which stop the headlamps getting an unneccessary dowsing.
I'd try and go down the warranty route - I doubt this now an isolated case even though my dealer had only seen it on an S40 previously.
Cheers
Ian.
Hi Ian.....I think your post is meant to be to AB-UK....But having read it I am wondering if it could be some chemical in the screenwash.

Could everyone whose had the problem post what screenwash they are using to see if there is a common denominater? As I've said before, my headlights are 6 years old now but are not showing any signs of cracking.

All the best.

Roy
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Old Oct 27th, 2008, 22:24   #20
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Hi Ian.....I think your post is meant to be to AB-UK....But having read it I am wondering if it could be some chemical in the screenwash.

Could everyone whose had the problem post what screenwash they are using to see if there is a common denominater? As I've said before, my headlights are 6 years old now but are not showing any signs of cracking.

All the best.

Roy
Thanks Roy
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