Have not posted here in a while as all is going well.
Today a friend told me he canceled a night trip because he noticed a headlight was out.
I asked him why he did not just take it to the nearest oil change place and pay maybe $25. It would be a fifteen minute delay.
He told me that would void his car warranty.
Before I blast him for being an idiot thought I'd ask here if he was being a fool.
Won't void his warranty but if they screw something up THAT would not be warranted. If he has HID or LED headlights I would not let an oilchange place touch it. Not even with normal bulbs on some cars where access is not VERY SIMPLE.
Yeah, he's an idiot. Typically, lights are wear items and at most coverage is one year.
Now, let's say the car is 6 months old. If he changes the bulb at his expense he is out the cost of the bulb. Maximum. Changing one part has no effect on the warranty of any other part and is assured by law under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty act. It is permissible to use third part parts.
I read an article yesterday about changing the whole light assembly, with lens, when the lens is so cloudy it doesn't light up the road well enough.
But that looks like a real pain to do, complete with booby traps. Or is it easy? 2005 Toyota Camry/Solara.
It's an easy job, even a service manager could do it.
Clouded lenses can be polished clear. All auto stores sell kits. Some body shops will do it for you for about $100.
I've done my 2008 Ford twice now. $20 + an hours time.
Dunno about a Toyota but it wasn't a big deal on my Honda. just a lot of screws and the new one needs to be realigned. It still only buys you a few years. My headlights are foggy again. This contoured headlight thing might save a few pennies a year in fuel consumption but it changed a headlight from a $5 sealed beam that was held in with
3 screws to a $300 "headlight assembly" that takes almost an hour to install and aim.
The significant part of that is "twice now". It seems the more you clean them the shorter time they stay clear. The plastic is UV damaged and any fix is temporary.
So too is painting a house, sealing a deck, etc. I've used the 3M kit and it lasts many years. Went from looking totally cloudy to bright and clear. Like anything else, then it slowly degrades again over the years. I think the UV damage is the very outer surface that you grind away.
Surprisingly the headlight bulbs in my 1996 Ford Ranger were still the original factory fitments when I replaced the headlights due to deterioration of the reflector and lens 2 years ago - when the truck had about 360000km on it - all of that driven with the headlights lit
- either as DRL or head lights - - - - -
Polish them. Many of the aftermarker replacements are pretty shiity (from personal experience)
RFeplacing with low cost third party replacements is ALSO temporary. When I sanded mine with 2000 grit whet-n-dry dandpaper and sprayed them with automotive clear-coat they lasted longer than the replacements. When the silvering went bad sanding and clearing was no longer an option. The new ones are already flaking
On 12/11/2019 12:55 AM, micky wrote: ...
...
The switch from glass to plastic was a terrible move...just to save a few ounces and maybe a few pennies.
With gravel roads it's impossible to keep any clear more than a year or so. The UV damage is also a pita.
I've had very little luck with the polishing kits.
Yet the sealed beam in your 51 Chevy is as good as it was the day you installed it. Yeah, progress. There is absolutely no reason why we couldn't install HID bulbs or LEDs in a sealed beam. LED sounds like a natural. They just don't look cool I guess.
Thanks for the reply ...everyone...
I guess if he wants to take it back to the dealer, then that's his problem.
I just could not imagine changing a bulb would void his warranty.
One of the guys who worked for my wife was polishing lenses as a side gig. He did mine and I didn't get a year out of them. The sun here kills anything made of plastic.
On the other hand it's been YEARS since I've had a stone through a headlight - which used to be a very common occurrence - and they are a lot cheaper than the old lead crystal aerodynamic headlights the europeans used in the seventies - - - - -
By definition if the bulb is replaceable it's not a sealed beam - and there were many replaceable bulb glass lensed "optiques" in years past (not legal in much of the USA even with E stamp) I've had Bosch, Lucas, Hella, marelli, and Cibie - on my cars in the sixties to eighties - replacing the stock sealed beams. Those Cibie Z Beams were some of the best headlights I've ever driven behind before the current LED headlights.
If you don't coat them they don't last. I found automotive clearcoat worked good - and rubbing Armour All on them monthly makes a big difference too.
I think I only had one broken sealed beam in well over a million miles of driving my old cars. I really don't even remember that many burning out. If it did, it was a 5 minute fix for about $5. They sold the sealed beams in drug stores and 7-11s.
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