A2 Headlight condensation

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I've read of quite a few complaints about condensation in A2 headlights and mine are particularly bad in this respect. Audi UK replied to my query about this saying condensation is quite normal and has no detrimental effect, which I find hard to believe. My Audi garage has dried it out once and say they can drill a hole in the housing to let the air circulate "If I insist" but they don't recommend it and won't be held responsible for any further problems if they do this.
Does anyone know of a real cure yet please?
 
Mine only get a slight misting when I wash the car (cold water/hot inside the light=a slight misiting but nothing major). Trouble is once they get wet inside will they ever be the same and will they always fog up (like in your case). If you can prove it only happens in a very small number of cases then why doesn't your dealer admit it and replace the headlight units?. But saying that even if we all suffered it, if it is that bad then for safety reasons the light unit should be replaced. With the A2 lights you need all the help you can get when they are on dipped beam (I once said the A2 had a good light set - the more I drive it the more I disagree with myself-I check a number of times to see if the lights are on because you can't tell in a lot of conditions if they are on/working ok)

Steve - 2003 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior
 
Oh and Chris just noticed your a new member (got you confused with someone else!). Welcome!. Tell us more about your A2-we a just a nosey bunch of people!.

Steve - 2003 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior
 
Chris,

Is it a new A2? We had one of our headlights replaced within 3 weeks of picking up the car, due to excessive misting/condensation. We now have very minor misting and will put up with it.

I also have a Fiat Punto with the all-in-one style lights and have never had any problems with condensation. Audi will tell you that this is a common problem on VW's, BMW's, all Audi's. Balls.

Don't take any stick. Keep hassling them for a new light if it really is that bad and still under warranty.

1.4SE petrol in Merlot Red, Biege interior, 16" 5 spoke alloys, DIS, Open Sky, Elec rear windows.
 
The lights are Good on the A2.
I have to disagree with the submission that they are anything other than excellent.

icon_smile_cool.gif
 
I have noticed that the headlights are getting worse for mist. Not sure if this is just down to cold damp weather. I will ask for replacements while the warranty still applies.

Paul
1.4TDi, leather, Open Sky, BOSE, 6 CD, alu trim, cruise, DIS, etc. etc.
 
My hadlight unit got changed at the first time both sides and later one on the driver´s side again.
It was all done under warranty.

Greetings,
Wolfgang

2001 A2 1.4 TDI/black/open sky,sport seats, cruise controll,16" alloys, radio symphony+bose +++
 
maersk-I relly must wash the car from time to time, that's the problem! (joking-keep my lenses nice and clean). Plus I don't drive around like a lot of twits these days (young because it looks "cool" and old because they don't know their rear from their elbow) with my front fogs on.

Steve - 2003 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior
 
I had the problem when I had my A2 newly, but now it doesn't accure anymore.

Some think I am genius,
Others just can't think...
 
Chris,

I find it absolutely scandalous that you have a genuine problem and in seeking a solution your dealer will only try to resolve it if you accept full responsibility for the outcome. What a diabolical and hilarious nonsense this is. In fact I would start off writing to your dealer asking for written confirmation of their “stated offer” – explaining that you need it in order to pursue the matter legally, and to get such facts published in the media.

Many owners have listened to the old tosh that Audi UK come out with, but I found they were completely incapable of answering my specific questions which sought to undermine that the condensation problem was not purely an act of God. Indeed I questioned that if this were so then all owners would suffer from the complaint – which they do not. I also challenged that if the design principle of using acrylic (instead of glass) was the problem, then why were all cars using such materials not affected – why only A2’s ? I also asked that if the problem was impossible to overcome, then why or how have owners with replacement headlights reported that the problem has disappeared ?

For your info my headlights were eventually replaced, and I had no further problems. Please feel free to use my name in any of your arguments, following which you can ask why are some owners receiving replacement headlights and others are being denied them. Indeed you can fairly ask if you have the wrong colour eyes, because somewhere there is a form of prejudice going on.

Btw, don’t forget to tell your dealer and Audi UK that you visit this forum, and more than understand from other A2 owners the nonsense which does exist. For sure I see some entertainment value that your dealer wants you to accept responsibility when they and Audi UK are not intent in honouring their levels of responsibility. Perhaps if your doors drop off you will be forced to accept the responsibility of fixing them back via the use of string ?

Regards
John Disdale
 
Some of you out there will remember that I submitted a longish letter to my dealer prior to collecting and paying for my A2. One of the points on the letter was the condensation issue. My dealer (who shall remain nameless - reason will be obvious in a short while) listened to my concerns and handed me a two page document on the subject when I came to collect my car last month.

The letter is a photocopy of an internal Audi memo issued by Audi Product Technical Section in MK. It's entitled AUDI Misting Lamps - Particularly Healamps and is addressed to Service/Workshop/All Customer Facing Staff.

In effect it's a very detailed FAQ list explaining what procedure to take with a customer complaining about their headlamps misting up. At the top is a summary section and I now quote...

"Summary

1. Misting is NORMAL, and has always happened. Current lamp design makes it more noticable
2. Changing undamaged lamps will NOT help. The new lamps will mist in a similar way to the old ones after a short period. Note that warranty will not generally pay for replacement lamps unless there is evidence of damage.
3. Report each customer complaint with a detailed QCR (quality control report??)
4. Check TSH (technical service handbook) for latest information.
5. Audi pride themselves on technology, but cannot defeat the laws of physics!"

The report then goes on to deal with several FAQ's and lists what the dealer should do. Finally it goes on to give some further references in the TSH which seems to indicate that this is a problem with the A2, A3, A4 rear lamps, A8 and TT. The report ends with a plea to dealers to submit properly filled in QCR's as "with very few QCRs, the problem is often perceived to be minor by the factory".

Should anyone out there want the full copy of the letter then I shall try to arrange to have it scanned if there is sufficient interest. There are some real gems in it - anyone been told it's all due to parking too close to trees?

By the way - mine are fine after 745 miles. Fingers crossed.....and I've just recently chopped down all the trees in my front garden!;)

Take Care

Kit




Dolphin Grey 1.6 FSI SE with Red Leather, ECC, DIS & Symphony 6 CD
 
When I first had my A2tdi in July 2001 you could have kept goldfish in the headlights, both the lights were changed under warrenty and the problem has gone away. I know that John Dinsdale and Steveo both suffered this problem, we even discussed if the car would pass the MOT with water in the headlights.

I think there may be different levels of misting, if you have a quarter of an inch of water in the headlights then I would class that more of a flood than just misting.
 
Perhaps it’s a clever trick that Audi UK use the word “misting” when the majority of us have suffered what I technically call condensation – this being when countless drops of water are visually evident.

Audi have stated that they cannot overcome the “laws of physics” – but how come my VW Golf can ?

At one stage I did challenge my dealer in terms of whether heavy internal condensation would make the car unfit to pass an MOT test, and they replied they did not know but it would be dependant upon the amount of condensation. For sure if they had not replaced my headlights I would have been down the MOT testing station to check it out. Can you imagine a new car that would be unable to comply with a MOT test ?

Regards
John Disdale
 
But then Audi would reply "well you can live with it for three years until your car needs it's first mot...".

My SEAT Leon has the perspex covers and clear lense set up like the A2 and it never suffered even a haze.......let alone misting or flood. But then neither does my current A2. Which is back at the dealers today having the dodgy ignition barrel looked at.

Steve - 2003 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior
 
Again thanks to you all for your helpful replies. My wife had had a reply from the Customer Service Manager of Audi UK when she first noticed this problem back in January of last year which reads:
"The lenses on headlamps regularly steam up, this natural phenomenon of condensation is particularly obvious in cold or damp conditions and is due to a physical fact, cooler air not being able to contain as much water vapour as warmer air. Further examples of when this can happen are after a car wash, steam cleaning of the engine or the front end, overnight temperature changes and so on. Especially in the after heating phase, even the slightest humidity settles on the lens, since the back of the headlamp is heated up while the lens is cooled by the cold outside air.
Whilst Audi appreciates your concern with this aspect of the vehicle, this humidity does not lead to corrosion or any other damage of the headlamp parts. Further it is felt that the advantages far outweigh the negative of minor condensation on the inside of the lens which will in any case clear as the temperature of the light unit increases by, for instance, changes in the ambient or turning on the headlamp bulb."

Rather arrogantly dismissive I thought at the time but since the dealer had 'dried' the headlights out and the problem seemed to have gone away as spring turned to summer we forgot about it. But this winter the problem is back with a vengeance! You can tap the headlight glass and water droplets run down the inside!

Interestingly Audi's reply seems to infer that all headlights do this. They didn't answer my query as to why my A6's (which is parked alongside my wife's A2) don't. Or why my previous A4's didn't. Or why my brother in-law's current A4's don't. Or why my neighbour's A3's don't.

Anyway the car is now booked in to have this looked at again but the dealer has already said that they don't know what they can do about it as although the problem is well known since Audi rarely sanction replacement of headlamp units.

I'll keep you all informed of progress or otherwise.
 
If I receive my new A2 in November 2003 at my AUDI garage, the brandnew car had on both sides water condensation inside the headlight- cover glasses.[xx(]
After my reclaim, the local AUDI garage show my an special AUDI gudieline for solving the problem during german inspection activities on this area.
The AUDI garage had an check list an must fill up more then 20 points. This checklist and fotos of the condensation and the situation after drying (was done by AUDI garage within 20 minutes), the AUDI garage had transmitted to the AUDI service center in Ingolstadt (Germany).
After two days came the desicion by AUDI: no changing of the headlights, but the retrofit of the rearside cap of the headlight reflectors. For this exists an AUDI rubber cap, to protect the complete rear-sides of the headlights (not on the after sales market):(.
After the repair under warranty, I had no further condensation, also not in the actual winter weather with snow and ice.;)

Regards Ulrich
(A2 see Europ.Qwners Gall. No. 24)


Alu2000
2003 1.4 SE cobalt-blue with all german packages (HighTech, Advance and Style), winter pack, ABT front design, removable trailer-dock, sport-seats, complete ISOFIX, space-floor-and multibox, OpenSky, GSM an so on ...
 
Sorry, there was an mistake at the date.
It was in November 2002[:p].

Regards ULRICH

Alu2000
2003 1.4 SE cobalt-blue with all german packages (HighTech, Advance and Style), winter pack, ABT front design, removable trailer-dock, sport-seats, complete ISOFIX, space-floor-and multibox, OpenSky, GSM an so on ...
 
Juat for the record our A2 is effected too. Like others, our Golf too is able to 'defeat the laws of physics'. In addition to all the good points raised in this topic by everyone (possible MOT failure being the main cause for concern) the 'fogging' looks blumin' awful!
I will be in touch with our dealer Monday, we'll see what we get :)
 
Hi John,
this is an replacement part (I think, it is modified to the original rear side rubber cap). I have seen it only for some seconds during the replacement at the AUDI garage.

Regards
ULRICH

Alu2000
2003 1.4 SE cobalt-blue with all german packages (HighTech, Advance and Style), winter pack, ABT front design, removable trailer-dock, sport-seats, complete ISOFIX, space-floor-and multibox, OpenSky, GSM an so on ...
 
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