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Water in the Tail Lights

7K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  SubieDoo 
#1 ·
Early build Ascent and just now noticed both tail lights on the rear door show moisture inside. Keep an eye on those. Also just had a clip fail on the left side panel on inside the rear so that panel is being replaced. What other issues are coming up lately?
 
#3 ·
In the light housing itself or the part that’s on the lift gate? I noticed moisture in mine the other day and since I’m coming up on my 2nd oil change I’ll probably have them look at it while I’m there
 

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#4 ·
I noticed a similar situation with our Forester and brought it to the attention of the dealer. They stated that this will occur on occasion depending on a variety of factors (temperature, dew point, humidity, etc.), and was not anything to be concerned about, and he was correct as it dissipated quickly. In my case it wasn't excessive - nothing was sloshing around. But if you're concerned, show it to the dealer the next time your there. A walk around the lot will probably show many of the cars with some condensation in the rear taillights.
 
#5 ·
^^ I hope that’s not the final answer. I feel like moisture inside is a problem no matter the climate conditions.
I did look again today and there’s no visible condensation. Since it’s not in the part that has electricity I’m not too worried; it just doesn’t look very appealing when it shows up.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Tips...

Water is not normal, occasional condensation is. The housings are not sealed in a vacuum or zero humidity area, so, even with the best bulb seals, when temperature changes reach a certain difference (in relationship to the humidity and temperature when the bulb was installed), condensation will form. It should NEVER result in an actual collection of any appreciable amount of water - unless perhaps your car was manufactured in an Amazon rainforest and then brought to the New England region or Alaska (or the northern part of the country last week).

This company makes and sells bulbs of all sorts:
https://www.jwspeaker.com/blog/headlight-condensation-3/

This is a problem that's randomly prevalent across all vehicles without entirely vacuum sealed/dehumidified and sealed assemblies, including Teslas. If your car was made on a humid day, this happens more often. If you changed the bulbs on a warm and humid day, this happens.
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/thr...on-on-my-taillight-normal-pic-attached.12669/

NOW, just so you didn't think I'd leave you with this undesirable looking artifact of how dew point and humidity and temperature work, here's some tips:
  1. WATER:
    Assuming your car wasn't made in a rainforest (the Ascents were made in Indiana) or you changed a bulb there, see your dealer. There's likely a crack or bad seal.
  2. Moisture/Condensation:
    On a dry, cold day, remove the bulb from the socket, use compressed air with the can facing NORMALLY and blow out the housing. Re-install the bulb after checking the seal. For added protection, put a thin layer of petroleum jelly on the gasket.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Dealer installed a new set of tail lights and now the issue is gone. BTW our car had this other issue, the rear left interior panel had a bad clip where it meets the light grey upper panel. Dealer said the entire panel needs to be replaced. Went the next morning to see how it was going and found them just preparing to finish the install. The new panel was damaged and the had to re-order. Requires taking the 3rd row seats out an everything on the floor. Fun, fun...not!
 
#10 ·
When the rear tali lights were replaced the dealer had no instructions on how to do it and ended up denting the tail gate. When I took it in for them to repair that damage they put a 8 inch crease in the lower passenger rear door. A week in shop to repaint the rear door. That repair had defects. Another week int eh shop to redo the fist repair. Now the door and the rear quarter has been painted. About 7 areas of over spray including inside and on the stereo. ALL BECAUSE THE SUBARU TAIL LIGHTS ARE CRAP. One of the salespersons at the dealer mentioned that there may be a recall coming.
 
#11 ·
And power liftgate piece of "art" too. You can tell that even by hearing the noise when it operates. Shocks? No way! It's like they are 19th-centure- made. Now, i've noticed that Ascent's liftgate operates faster than, for example Lexus power liftgate, but if it takes that much i'd rather have slower gate but more consistent. For two month that i have this car , i have gate jammed twice (with constant beeeep) or it's opening half way so i have to manualy close it and then open it. I mean i understand we could have glitch on new transmissions, engines and stuf like that, but power liftgate? I mean come on Subaru, you gotta be better than that.
 
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