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TSB-- Forte lights come pre baked.

6K views 28 replies 16 participants last post by  Kia Forplay 
#1 ·
After day number 2 of owning my forte, i noticed both my headlights were fogged up. I went to the dealer.. the service manager grumbled that its normal, and walked off. I got super uber freaking mad and went to the GM. 50 minutes later, walks up to me and hands me a Technical Service Bulletin from march of this year. I will scan it and post it when i get home.

IT states that this is normal and can be eliminated by turning on the headlights. I was livid. I told the GM of course it will dry out by the heat of the bulbs!!! I told him i drove 50 miles to get there in the rain with the lights on. And they are still foggy. He basically says hes sorry, give me a tank of gas a puts me on my way.

*NOTICE
Headlight fogging is a normal occurrence and headlamp assembly replacement WILL NOT be necessary to resolve this issue. Applies to all models of Forte


But then they go into detail that if water pools in your lights to change them in the same TSB. Not so good for day number two. You know how serious i take my lights........:rolleyes:
 
#2 ·
wait till you wash it and they all fog up. Tail lights too. how do you feel about those:D
 
#8 ·
TSB: Body 055 Date: March 2010 Model: All Models
Subject: Headlamp Fogging /Moisture Condition

This bulletin provides information relating to some Kia models that may experience fogging or condensation inside of the headlamp assembly. Generally, this condition is considered normal and can be eliminated by turning on the headlamps with the engine running for several minutes or during normal driving conditions. In most cases, this will clear the headlamp fogging condition. Headlamp assembly replacement WILL NOT be necessary in most cases.
 
#10 ·
Are you mocking me? Thought i was a fibber?? lol I need to scan that so everyone can see......
Bottom line, they aren't sealed right. I will get them replaced shortly and see how many pairs actually fog up. Do the tails really fog up also?
 
#18 ·
The 2 minutes i had the hood open, all my attention was on the intake, intake mani an exhaust mani, and the coolant overflow bottle. I didn't even look at the lights. My salesman said the service department will void all electrical if they find wire splicing. He could of been full of it... cut yours up and go see. :)
 
#15 ·
No problems here as of yet. But if you want you can go to the auto store and pick up some headlamp sealant. Bake the lights, take them apart, apply as much as you want then put them back together again. While your at it may as well paint the inner plastic black too and do some eyeline mods if you haven't yet. ;)

Side note though, that being claimed as "normal" sucks.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Used to work at a dealership and sadly it isn't a design. What it comes down too is technically it should be a recall but the pro's vs cons on such a thing don't add up enough to make it worth so.

Basically lets say enough condensation builds up in there to fry the head unit. In that case Kia replaces it under warranty since more developed within the head unit than is specified as "ok" in their latest info to dealerships. No big deal.

The reason you won't see a recall on this is because it's not something that has a high human injury possibility if a headlamp goes out as compared to say brakes for example. So Kia ways the options.
Chances are they will have to replace a few but overall by deeming such a thing as "ok" not all headlamps on the road will go bad and need to be replaced. So no big deal on their cost warranty wise.

If they were to admit fault on such a thing then every single forte on the road could go get new headlamps. Thus the cost to Kia goes up quite a bit because pretty much everyone who gets the recall notice would bring their car in for a brand new set of headlamps.

So as it stands it's not "working as intended" but when weighing the cost vs chance of human life loss or injury a faulty headlamp doesn't justify the cost factor or issuing a full recall. It sucks but that's the way it works.
 
#21 ·
The only way this would reasonably cause shorter bulb life would be if the bulb were to get splashed with water while operating, and cause a quick temperature change.

However... for this to happen you'd need to have a quantity of water accumulate in the bottom of the housing, and THAT is reason for replacement so where's the problem?

A little light condensation inside a headlight housing IS normal for all housings, from all manufacturers. Housings are not sealed and due to changes of humidity, temperature, and operation times condensation is a simple scientific fact of life.
 
#22 ·
A little light condensation inside a headlight housing IS normal for all housings, from all manufacturers. Housings are not sealed and due to changes of humidity, temperature, and operation times condensation is a simple scientific fact of life.
Please show me the scientific fact of life. And Tell that to my other car....and every other car i have had. I usually see it in cheap after market "clears" or altezza's. Its almost 100% humidity all year long here. Im about 40 miles from that BP oil spill. So moisture is aplenty.

Im looking at them right now. They are fogged. The other 53 cars in my parking lot aren't. I just went for a smoke and a look. Like i said. I'll let my wife decide.
 
#23 ·
I agree, like come on, my week old sedan has it too. To me the fact that the condensation was almost gone then right after a wash it came back says something to the integrity of the housings. It cheapens the whole look of the car. I feel your pain.
 
#26 ·
I always am worried my headlights will have this problem. When I installed my hids I cut a hole a little to big but no problems with it yet. It is very frustrating especially with a new car.
 
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