Its probably not the dealer you'll be having to convince. I had an issue with mine in that my headlights were incorrectly adjusted and the adjuster mechanisms were loose enough so that they could not be brought into line - even with the dealer's special alignment equipment. We had to try three times before we were able to convince the insurance adjuster (VW DriveEasy Platinum coverage administered by Fidelity) that when the policy said bulbs were excluded that did NOT exclude the shell and the adjustment mechanism! They finally replaced both headlight assemblies (MINUS bulbs of course)!
In your case the adjuster might get stuck on the same type issue "we do NOT cover bulbs" and turn you down. Keep trying though the empty headlight assemblies are EXPENSIVE and water enough to cause condensation is NOT supposed to be inside them.

 

Not moisture fogging he is talking about. It is like some sort of haze. I have it on my '10 and DRL's have been off since the day I got it. So I don't think it has anything to do with that. It is not real bad on mine, but enough it just bothers me esthetically more then
anything with me.

 

Correct - not moisture, "some sort of haze" is actually a better description than I can come up with.

Are you guys sure this is fogging and not just the surface of the lens being scratched by sand and other debris on the road? If so, turtle wax make a product for that.

It's on the inside, not the outside. Turtle wax won't help this.

Correct - it's not on the outside, it's on the inside of the lens.

I took my lights out of the truck, removed the bulbs and used a hangar with paper towels attached to it and dipped in windex... sort of rubbed around on the inside of the lens and was able to clean some of it off. The lights are better but there is some streaking now in certain places.
The lights are made by hella and I contacted them but they could care less!

This is an interesting idea although, because it's not moisture, I'm not sure if this will work. I may give it a shot though, just in case. Thanks for the suggestion.


If I can clean them myself and get them looking good again, I'll be fine with that, but my truck is in such excellent condition otherwise, making the headlights look new again would really complete the package.

I may not be attacking this for another couple of weeks, but when I do, I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

Thanks again for everyone's assistance...

 

Are you guys sure this is fogging and not just the surface of the lens being scratched by sand and other debris on the road? If so, turtle wax make a product for that.

 

It's on the inside, not the outside. Turtle wax won't help this.

 

I took my lights out of the truck, removed the bulbs and used a hangar with paper towels attached to it and dipped in windex... sort of rubbed around on the inside of the lens and was able to clean some of it off. The lights are better but there is some streaking now in certain places.
The lights are made by hella and I contacted them but they could care less!

 

I took my lights out of the truck, removed the bulbs and used a hangar with paper towels attached to it and dipped in windex... sort of rubbed around on the inside of the lens and was able to clean some of it off. The lights are better but there is some streaking now in certain places.
The lights are made by hella and I contacted them but they could care less!

Do you have xenons or halogens?

 

bi-xenon

 

Just looking at my headlights again last night. First, I just realized that even if I do pull them out and pull the bulbs out, it doesn't look like I can get anything in there to get to the housing lens - the bulb lenses are in the way, are they not?

Also, why wouldn't a dealer agree to replace them under warranty? Doesn't the dealer make money on a warranty repair, i.e. Fidelity would pay them in this case? I would tend to think they'd be on my side and help me to make it happen, no?

 

if you have a warranty definitely go for that.. I don't have any more warranty on my car.
there is a lot of stuff in the way when you pull the bulbs.. thats why you need the coat hangar with something on the end... sort of bend it and work it around.

 

The inside of that lens is incredibly incredibly soft and easy to scuff and scratch. Be careful with the coat hanger and cleaning it.

 

Thanks again guys, but I really don't see how I can get anything to the lens through the bulb holes. Are you positive this is even possible? Aren't the other lenses in the way?

 

moisture and a moth

My 2004 with bi-xenon lights also has the drivers side headlight with some moisture on the inside. Recently when we had a number of days of rain. Since the car lives outside not covered it's exposed to the elements. I took it to the dealership who looked at the unit and said the plexiglas/plastic lens cover was starting to separate from the back of the unit so there was room for moisture to get inside. It has to be a decent sized opening since there's a dead moth in there also. $700 to put a new unit in. I'm thinking I might take it out (found some nice videos online) and just silicone seal the unit until i'm ready to fork over 7 big ones.

 

I pulled mine off, gave it a good clean and resealed using silicone.
Been a few months, all good!

 

I'd pull them out, heat them in oven at 175-200˚F for a few and pull off lens. Clean with lens cleaner (or distilled water/white vinegar,best IMO) and a lens soft cloth. Do not scrub hard and do not touch any of the headlamp painted parts inside. Your oils will kill it. I have done this on many cars. It's a combo of outgasing and heat from xenon. Make sure headlamp is sealed up and vents are clear from any debris so it can breath too.

 

Baking & pulling apart sounds a bit drastic & risky to me. I suspect that's a quick way to nullify my warranty as well…

 

It's not! It releases the bonding agent on the lens. You are only heating up to 200. Nothing more that it already deals with on a normal basis in the summer. How the hell can you nullify your warranty? Most of those VW people don't know their ass from third base let alone figure out that you pulled the lens off. Trust me, not even their top mechanic would ever suspect anything. But do what you will. Trust me it's the easiest way to get them cleaned properly. Then heat them for 5-10 minutes again and re-seal the lens to lamp. Let it cool. Make sure there is enough original sealant around the lens area.