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Unless you regularly park in a covered area (or have a high end vehicle), your headlight lenses will deteriorate or turn dingy dirty looking. This happened to many vehicles I see on the road including Honda, Toyota, GM, Chrysler, Ford, and others. Headlight resurfacing kits will improve the headlight lenses but no matter what the claim, they aren't permanent. I used one kit on my car's headlights. The light from the headlights did become whiter but still not like new. When in the sun and headlights off, they look clear. When in the dark and headlights on, you can see the imperfections that reduce the amount of light leaving the lenses. I just did some searching online at brick and mortar stores and they do sell the lenses but they come with all the bulbs resulting in a cost of about $200 per lense assembly. NONE of my light bulbs are burnt.
Has any automaker begun making headlight lenses that don't degrade from the sun?
Is there a protective film that can be applied to the new lenses to extend the life of the lenses?
Is there aftermarket lenses (not OE part) that survive longer without degrading and yet cost less than OE parts?
My car is a 2003 Malibu. Will I have to replace my lenses every 5 to 7 years? We had to do this with my wife's 1997 Mazda Protege' and she could see much more clearly at night right up until a Jeep ran a stop sign and totalled her car a few weeks after getting the new headlights. Salvage yard headlights are out of the question since they're in worse condition than my own.
1. Keystone makes sells aftermarket parts.
2. Not to my knowledge
3. Aftermarket probably last you as long as OE
Get 1500 grit wet sand paper and fill a spray bottle with water. wet the headlight and put the paper in the palm of your hand to keep it straight and sand the headlight lightly until it becomes dull, do not add pressure. Make sure the surface is wet the whole time you are wet sanding.
Dry the water off. Get a sponge and buffing compound and buff the headlight by hand until it becomes clear. it will take you 15-20 min per headlight.
Simply put, SailorDave . . . this entire scenario sucks.
Why are most, if not all, newer vehicles subjected to this inferior system . . . style? Here in the Desert Southwest, it is common to see relatively new vehicles with headlights that look more like candles due to the frosting of the plastic lenses.
Call me crazy and/or old fashioned but I feel all vehicle manufacturers, yes, ALL including the high-end foreign manufactures, are sacrificing the basic safety of practical, inexpensive glass headlights for aesthetics and style.
Around here we have the additional problem of love bugs. These are small black bugs that attach to each other and fly when mating. They swarm twice a year for about a week or two at a time. Their body juice is acidic. There is no getting around driving through clouds of these nasty bugs. My car is parked in the sun when at home. These new lights and lenses do shine better than the old all in one bulbs but those all in one bulbs never discolored, were made of hard chrystal glass, and were easy to replace. To replace my bulbs I have to remove the entire lens assembly to get to the bulbs and do so while wearing latex gloves. Those old rectangle solid glass bulbs were also the lens and directed light to the road. When these smaller bulbs came out I ignorantly believed they would be cheaper since they were smaller and used less material. Boy was I wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bummer
Simply put, SailorDave . . . this entire scenario sucks.
Why are most, if not all, newer vehicles subjected to this inferior system . . . style? Here in the Desert Southwest, it is common to see relatively new vehicles with headlights that look more like candles due to the frosting of the plastic lenses.
Call me crazy and/or old fashioned but I feel all vehicle manufacturers, yes, ALL including the high-end foreign manufactures, are sacrificing the basic safety of practical, inexpensive glass headlights for aesthetics and style.
I don't understand why the things are so damned expensive.
Once they make the mold, or however they tool up to make them, it seems like they could spit 'em out cheap. Especially since they don't last long....there will be plenty of demand for them well after the ones they put on the car originally.
I don't understand why the things are so damned expensive.
Once they make the mold, or however they tool up to make them, it seems like they could spit 'em out cheap. Especially since they don't last long....there will be plenty of demand for them well after the ones they put on the car originally.
No expert on this one, Car54 . . .
However, I have a feeling it may be due to each and every model requires a unique headlight system mainly because of styling changes. Nothing like the good ole days when most replacement headlights could be picked up at the local auto parts shops.
Around here we have the additional problem of love bugs. These are small black bugs that attach to each other and fly when mating. They swarm twice a year for about a week or two at a time. Their body juice is acidic. There is no getting around driving through clouds of these nasty bugs. My car is parked in the sun when at home. These new lights and lenses do shine better than the old all in one bulbs but those all in one bulbs never discolored, were made of hard chrystal glass, and were easy to replace. To replace my bulbs I have to remove the entire lens assembly to get to the bulbs and do so while wearing latex gloves. Those old rectangle solid glass bulbs were also the lens and directed light to the road. When these smaller bulbs came out I ignorantly believed they would be cheaper since they were smaller and used less material. Boy was I wrong.
I know about those nasty little buggers from time spent in Florida.
As for the new lights and lenses shining better, possibly but only when they are relatively new and unaffected by the elements. My '86 CJ-7 (pictured in my profile) has a 10 plus year old set of Delta's (made popular by the older Mercedes) and I'd gladly compare them to any new headlights on the road today, especially after a few months of exposure.
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restore headlights yourself
