STi taillight condensation

geebutbut · 10-01-2006, 06:01 PM

I'm wondering if anyone else on this board has had a problem with condensation forming on the inside of their taillight(s). When I brought it to the dealer for warranty, they contacted Subaru of Canada, but SOC just came back and said it was normal.

Anyone else had any experience with this problem?

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chopchop · 10-01-2006, 06:06 PM

I seem to have the same problem, not totally sure whether its condensation or not though because I just feel that the plastic is blurry.

Dalton · 10-01-2006, 06:10 PM

No problems with mine. Has the previous owner done something stupid with the tailights previously? Might want to peel back the trunk liner and see if everything's fastened tight behind the tail lights.

semaj · 10-01-2006, 06:15 PM

My '04 tails never get condensation...and neither did my '06 tails.

bezerk · 10-01-2006, 06:15 PM

No issues here either.

geebutbut · 10-01-2006, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chopchop

I seem to have the same problem, not totally sure whether its condensation or not though because I just feel that the plastic is blurry.

They're totally stock AFAIK. The dealer even took a look at them and they look totally normal. The dealer (Alain at Richmond Subaru) is supposedly emailing SOC for me asking if anything can be done, but I'm doubtful anything will come of it.

Here's a pic of the condensation.

civilone · 10-01-2006, 06:36 PM

Keep fighting them because those are obviously condensation. If they insist on saying that it is normal, bring someone else's with no condensation and show them.

geebutbut · 10-01-2006, 07:08 PM

the dealer said that he's had several sti's with taillight condensation come in and they all get the same answer from SOC...it's normal.

semaj · 10-01-2006, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geebutbut

they all get the same answer from SOC...it's normal.

Well, then so is the blinding pain they will get when you have to kick them in the nether region...normal.

ShawnRS · 10-01-2006, 08:21 PM

It is not normal. After given the "normal" answer, Richmond Subaru, I contacted (email) SOC myself. Withing a week I had a new set of tails lights waiting for me and installed at Richmond Subaru. Not by my choice.

Plus after my wagon was fixed (rear end, hit and run) one of the delays for the repear was a recall on tail lights. I never personally recieved a recall letter though letter.

Good luck

Shawn

Picard · 10-01-2006, 08:35 PM

That's not normal because mine doesn't do that.

geebutbut · 10-02-2006, 12:14 AM

I just emailed them. Let's see what they have to say...

Quote:

To whom it may concern,

Good day! I am writing this letter in regards to the warranty coverage
on my 2004 Subaru WRX STi (VIN: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX).

I recently purchased this car second-hand from a family-friend. As a
proud new owner, I was concerned when, after washing the car, I found
condensation forming on the inside of the passenger-side taillight lense
assembly (see attached JPEG). I promptly scheduled a visit to my local
Subaru Dealer - Richmond Subaru, http://www.richmondsubaru.com - to have
the taillights serviced (under warranty). There was still condensation
in the taillight when I showed it to the service manager, so he was able
to witness it first-hand. He informed me that he would have to contact
(email) Subaru of Canada (SOC) and request authorization to service the
taillight. After a few days wait, we received a response from SOC. To
my surprise, the letter stated that the condensation inside the
taillight was not a problem, and that it was a *normal* condition. The
letter also made a reference to a service-bulletin pertaining to a fix
for taillight condensation on the Subaru Forester (or some other wagon,
unfortunately, the name slips my mind at the moment). Alain proceeded
to schedule a 2nd visit for my car, in an attempt to fix the problem
using the instructions included in the above service-bulletin.
Unfortunately, the instructions in the service-bulletin do not apply to
the 2004 STi. Seemingly, I am out-of-luck.

Note: the taillight assembly has not been modified in any way. It was
inspected by the staff at Richmond Subaru and had no cracks/chips, and I
am sure they can confirm this if necessary.

Suffice it to say, I am not satisified with this situation. My car is
low-mileage (20xxx kms in 3 yrs), has not been abused, and has been
regularly maintained (see service records at Richmond Subaru). I find
it hard to believe that a $50000+ car that has been dutifully maintained
should suffer from such maladies. I also find it hard to believe that
the taillight assembly would be engineered in such a way that
condensation inside the assembly would be "normal".

I have spoken to several other local STi owners and condensation inside
the taillight is *not* the norm for them. I suspect that the driving
and weather conditions my car is subjected to are comparable to theirs,
so I would assume that my experiences should be comparable to theirs as
well.

This car has been my first experience as a Subaru-owner. I have friends
that are Subaru owners and they swear by them. I dreamed about the STi
for some time before I was finally able to purchase one. I sincerely
hope that it will not be a car-ownership decision I come to regret.

With your help, I hope that we can come to a resolution that is
satisfactory to all parties involved. I await your response with
anticipation.

Regards,

Christopher Mark

PS. I would like to say that Alain has been friendly and helpful in all
our dealings. My dissatisfaction in no way stems from the service I
have received from him.

geebutbut · 10-02-2006, 12:18 AM

BTW, who did you email? I just sent my email to contact@mysubaru.ca (i got the address off the subaru.ca website)

veightkiller · 10-02-2006, 02:24 AM

i can help you out removing that moist on your tailight if you want to and you might want to check the O-rings on your taillights bulbs maybe one of em is missing.

just my .02

itachi1314 · 10-02-2006, 03:01 AM

Did u do the JDM tails mod by any chance?

-KC

edit: well u stated that you didn't mod it in anyway so i guess no then. stupid me XD.

clsmooth · 10-02-2006, 07:24 AM

Take the tail lights out, and drill small drain holes on the underside of the chambers.

Necromancer · 10-02-2006, 03:56 PM

Option A: keep fighting

Option B:
1. Stop fighting
2. Remove tail light
3. Dry out with hair dryer
4. Grap some butyl rubber from me (I have some extra) or Lordco or whatever
5. Seal up and drive happy

semaj · 10-02-2006, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itachi1314

Did u do the JDM tails mod by any chance?

-KC

edit: well u stated that you didn't mod it in anyway so i guess no then. stupid me XD.

I did the JDM tail mod...no issues here!

chopchop · 10-02-2006, 06:18 PM

^I want JDM tails too but gotta extend the wires

Anyways, my tails are somewhat similar to that but it seems to cover the entire area where the reverse light is at, however none of my blubs blew yet..*touchwood* and I am not sure if they are water or not, seems dry to me.

Drizzie · 10-03-2006, 03:34 PM

I had moisture in both my tail lights when I bought it. Had them both replaced and then the right had condensation in it again. Had it replaced about 2 months ago and have not had problems since. Subaru didn't seem to have a problem replacing them. Only issue I had with wolfe is that they wouldn't take my word for it, I had to go and show them before they would even order new ones 3-4 weeks both times!). I said I'm not an idiot, I know what moisture inside looks like. I was told that they need to check to make sure it wasn't smacked or bumped and that has caused it to leak.

itachi1314 · 10-03-2006, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SubieDrift

I did the JDM tail mod...no issues here!

well... i am not saying the mod itself directly caused the problem, more on the line of not sealing things up properly after doing the mod and water vapor got in there afterwards. hehehe

-KC

gte123v · 10-03-2006, 04:27 PM

^ but you wouldn't take out the backup light and the blinkers to do the mod, that's where the condensation is.

semaj · 10-03-2006, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chopchop

^I want JDM tails too but gotta extend the wires

No you don't.

I can help you...I moved my bulbs around with any cutting, soldering, etc. Very easy!

Dalton · 10-03-2006, 06:24 PM

I think that in some cases a wire MIGHT have to be extended no matter how you flip/arrange/route the wires for the mod. Some cars just seem to have shorter wires.

Yes, the asian cars...

...

..

.

Necromancer · 10-03-2006, 09:28 PM

Boy, I'm glad my car has long wires. Maybe because it's black.

10-01-2006, 06:01 PM	#1
geebutbut Scooby Newbie Member#: 118451 Join Date: Jun 2006 Chapter/Region: VIC	STi taillight condensation I'm wondering if anyone else on this board has had a problem with condensation forming on the inside of their taillight(s). When I brought it to the dealer for warranty, they contacted Subaru of Canada, but SOC just came back and said it was normal. Anyone else had any experience with this problem? * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

10-02-2006, 03:01 AM	#15
itachi1314 Scooby Newbie Member#: 91304 Join Date: Jul 2005 Chapter/Region: VIC Vehicle: 05 impreza 2.5RS Aspen White	Did u do the JDM tails mod by any chance? -KC edit: well u stated that you didn't mod it in anyway so i guess no then. stupid me XD. Last edited by itachi1314; 10-02-2006 at 03:31 AM.

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10-01-2006, 06:06 PM	#2
chopchop Scooby Specialist Member#: 55630 Join Date: Feb 2004 Chapter/Region: VIC Location: Vancouver, B.C. Vehicle: 04 STi Stage 2 PSM	I seem to have the same problem, not totally sure whether its condensation or not though because I just feel that the plastic is blurry.

10-01-2006, 06:10 PM	#3
Dalton Scooby Specialist Member#: 90245 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Vancouver, BC Vehicle: 2004 STi Aspen White	No problems with mine. Has the previous owner done something stupid with the tailights previously? Might want to peel back the trunk liner and see if everything's fastened tight behind the tail lights.

10-01-2006, 06:15 PM	#4
semaj Moderatour Moderator Member#: 113533 Join Date: Apr 2006 Chapter/Region: VIC Location: Vancouver, BC Vehicle: 2013 Leafs Hatewagon	My '04 tails never get condensation...and neither did my '06 tails.

10-01-2006, 06:15 PM	#5
bezerk Scooby Specialist Member#: 44809 Join Date: Oct 2003 Chapter/Region: W. Canada Location: Northern BC Vehicle: 2008 BMW M3 SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!	No issues here either.

10-01-2006, 06:36 PM	#7
civilone Scooby Specialist Member#: 92473 Join Date: Jul 2005 Chapter/Region: VIC Location: B.C. Vehicle: 1997 WRX STI Silver	Keep fighting them because those are obviously condensation. If they insist on saying that it is normal, bring someone else's with no condensation and show them.

10-01-2006, 07:08 PM	#8
geebutbut Scooby Newbie Member#: 118451 Join Date: Jun 2006 Chapter/Region: VIC	the dealer said that he's had several sti's with taillight condensation come in and they all get the same answer from SOC...it's normal.

10-01-2006, 08:21 PM	#10
ShawnRS Scooby Newbie Member#: 18797 Join Date: May 2002 Chapter/Region: VIC Location: New Westminster, BC, Canada Vehicle: MY06 WRX Wagon Black	It is not normal. After given the "normal" answer, Richmond Subaru, I contacted (email) SOC myself. Withing a week I had a new set of tails lights waiting for me and installed at Richmond Subaru. Not by my choice. Plus after my wagon was fixed (rear end, hit and run) one of the delays for the repear was a recall on tail lights. I never personally recieved a recall letter though letter. Good luck Shawn

10-01-2006, 08:35 PM	#11
Picard Scooby Specialist Member#: 100204 Join Date: Nov 2005 Chapter/Region: VIC Location: Vancouver, Canada Vehicle: 2006 STI (retired) WRB	That's not normal because mine doesn't do that.

10-02-2006, 12:18 AM	#13
geebutbut Scooby Newbie Member#: 118451 Join Date: Jun 2006 Chapter/Region: VIC	BTW, who did you email? I just sent my email to contact@mysubaru.ca (i got the address off the subaru.ca website)

10-02-2006, 02:24 AM	#14
veightkiller Scooby Guru Member#: 78967 Join Date: Jan 2005 Chapter/Region: VIC Location: vancouver B.C Vehicle: 2011 335i Black	i can help you out removing that moist on your tailight if you want to and you might want to check the O-rings on your taillights bulbs maybe one of em is missing. just my .02

10-02-2006, 07:24 AM	#16
clsmooth Scooby Specialist Member#: 86394 Join Date: May 2005 Chapter/Region: VIC Location: North Vancouver Vehicle: 2000 RS Coupe Blue Ridge Pearl	Take the tail lights out, and drill small drain holes on the underside of the chambers.

10-02-2006, 03:56 PM	#17
Necromancer Scooby Specialist Member#: 477 Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Vancouver Vehicle: GC4 -> GGA -> GM6 Yeah, that's about right.	Option A: keep fighting Option B: 1. Stop fighting 2. Remove tail light 3. Dry out with hair dryer 4. Grap some butyl rubber from me (I have some extra) or Lordco or whatever 5. Seal up and drive happy

10-02-2006, 06:18 PM	#19
chopchop Scooby Specialist Member#: 55630 Join Date: Feb 2004 Chapter/Region: VIC Location: Vancouver, B.C. Vehicle: 04 STi Stage 2 PSM	^I want JDM tails too but gotta extend the wires Anyways, my tails are somewhat similar to that but it seems to cover the entire area where the reverse light is at, however none of my blubs blew yet..touchwood and I am not sure if they are water or not, seems dry to me.

10-03-2006, 03:34 PM	#20
Drizzie Scooby Specialist Member#: 119988 Join Date: Jul 2006 Chapter/Region: VIC Location: Pacific Douglas Vehicle: 2006 2.5i Wagon SGM	I had moisture in both my tail lights when I bought it. Had them both replaced and then the right had condensation in it again. Had it replaced about 2 months ago and have not had problems since. Subaru didn't seem to have a problem replacing them. Only issue I had with wolfe is that they wouldn't take my word for it, I had to go and show them before they would even order new ones 3-4 weeks both times!). I said I'm not an idiot, I know what moisture inside looks like. I was told that they need to check to make sure it wasn't smacked or bumped and that has caused it to leak.

10-03-2006, 04:27 PM	#22
gte123v Scooby Specialist Member#: 114481 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Atlanta Vehicle: 2006 Sti WRB	^ but you wouldn't take out the backup light and the blinkers to do the mod, that's where the condensation is.

10-03-2006, 06:24 PM	#24
Dalton Scooby Specialist Member#: 90245 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Vancouver, BC Vehicle: 2004 STi Aspen White	I think that in some cases a wire MIGHT have to be extended no matter how you flip/arrange/route the wires for the mod. Some cars just seem to have shorter wires. Yes, the asian cars... ... .. .

10-03-2006, 09:28 PM	#25
Necromancer Scooby Specialist Member#: 477 Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Vancouver Vehicle: GC4 -> GGA -> GM6 Yeah, that's about right.	Boy, I'm glad my car has long wires. Maybe because it's black.