Excessive condensation in my rear lights of my Cayman GTS

[Fizzbomb]

Porsche refused to replace my rear lights under warranty, they condensate quite badly and it never totally disappears, were they right?

[Fizzbomb]

[ellesmereFNC]

I certainly wouldn't be happy with that! Is it a safety issue as it's obscuring the lights?

[Cblair246]

Mine condense as well but maybe only 1/3rd to 1/2 of that and it goes away quite quickly. I believe they are designed to condense but yours does seem excessive. Is there a vent hole or breather port which allows them to normally clear that is blocked?

[Cheib]

Noticed in my new Cayenne that the LED headlights get condensation in them. Anyone else get that ?

[Fizzbomb]

ellesmereFNC said:

I certainly wouldn't be happy with that! Is it a safety issue as it's obscuring the lights?

Absolutely, I use my cars mainly at night, anywhere between the hours of 2am - 6am, I travel from Leicester to London and back, that is when it's quite worse.

[breadvan]

Cheib said:

Noticed in my new Cayenne that the LED headlights get condensation in them. Anyone else get that ?

not mine, but the inside of the glass isn't clean and it does my head in!

[Fizzbomb]

Cblair246 said:

Mine condense as well but maybe only 1/3rd to 1/2 of that and it goes away quite quickly. I believe they are designed to condense but yours does seem excessive. Is there a vent hole or breather port which allows them to normally clear that is blocked?

I have heard that they are breathable, but mine seem rather excessive, I have had many other 981 series cars, they all seem to have moisture, but it quickly went away. If Porsche are not listening, I suppose I will just have to buy new ones myself.

[Twinfan]

I believe the "rule" is condensation is fine, pooling of water is not. If you're just getting condensation that disappears then that's perfectly normal.

[anonymous-user]

Fizzbomb said:

If Porsche are not listening, I suppose I will just have to buy new ones myself.

I too would say it's normal on modern cars, mainly affected by weather, how the car is used and where it is parked. I think you'll be wasting your money to replace the lamps.

If this condition ever bothers me I simply remove a bulb and use a hair dryer (not hot) to clear the lamps.

The other possibility I've wondered about but never actually done is to drill more holes to improve ventilation of the lamp unit. Polycarbonate is tough but quite easy to drill. The reason I've not done this is the risk of insects getting into the lamp.

The old-fashioned answer was just to drive with the lights on and let the heat from the bulbs deal with the condensation....

[Fizzbomb]

rockin said:

I too would say it's normal on modern cars, mainly affected by weather, how the car is used and where it is parked. I think you'll be wasting your money to replace the lamps.

If this condition ever bothers me I simply remove a bulb and use a hair dryer (not hot) to clear the lamps.

The other possibility I've wondered about but never actually done is to drill more holes to improve ventilation of the lamp unit. Polycarbonate is tough but quite easy to drill. The reason I've not done this is the risk of insects getting into the lamp.

The old-fashioned answer was just to drive with the lights on and let the heat from the bulbs deal with the condensation....

Firstly, my cars are either garaged or under one of Porsche official outdoor covers, it gets really bad at night because of weather conditions, however this is the exact time I use my Porsche cars. Furthermore, I highlighted this because my others don't condensate to such an extent.

[Fizzbomb]

Twinfan said:

I believe the "rule" is condensation is fine, pooling of water is not. If you're just getting condensation that disappears then that's perfectly normal.

The condensation if really bad turns into 2/3 streaks of water running to the internal base of the light, no pooling though.

[PhantomPH]

I (and others looking at my car) have noticed similar levels to you. I thought it might just be a case of 'TADTS' - which it sounds like - but mine have been better now spring is starting to spring. If it stays an issue, I will raise it with my OPC.

Doesn't look very nice, tho.

[srfs981]

Hi everyone, been following the cayman/boxster thread for a while but my first post!
I have this problem witb my cgts when I wash it or get caught in the rain...front and rear...the rears being the worst. I have complained to my OPC (Silverstone) several times...Porsche say they are not sealed units and would not solve the problem. The OPC suggested I don't use my jet wash around the lights!.. it's a karcher k2 so not powerful and I never blasted them directly anyway.... I just use the sponge on them now but it makes no difference...not sure what I'm supposed to do about the weather. Poor show Porsche for an otherwise excellent car

[Fizzbomb]

srfs981 said:

Hi everyone, been following the cayman/boxster thread for a while but my first post!
I have this problem witb my cgts when I wash it or get caught in the rain...front and rear...the rears being the worst. I have complained to my OPC (Silverstone) several times...Porsche say they are not sealed units and would not solve the problem. The OPC suggested I don't use my jet wash around the lights!.. it's a karcher k2 so not powerful and I never blasted them directly anyway.... I just use the sponge on them now but it makes no difference...not sure what I'm supposed to do about the weather. Poor show Porsche for an otherwise excellent car

Hi, since opening this thread, I have had a response from the Customer Assistance Centre at Porsche GB, to put it bluntly, its suppose to happen and nothing can be done about it...

[HighwayStar]

srfs981 said:

Hi everyone, been following the cayman/boxster thread for a while but my first post!
I have this problem witb my cgts when I wash it or get caught in the rain...front and rear...the rears being the worst. I have complained to my OPC (Silverstone) several times...Porsche say they are not sealed units and would not solve the problem. The OPC suggested I don't use my jet wash around the lights!.. it's a karcher k2 so not powerful and I never blasted them directly anyway.... I just use the sponge on them now but it makes no difference...not sure what I'm supposed to do about the weather. Poor show Porsche for an otherwise excellent car

I don't suffer this problem at all... the car lives outside in all weathers, mainly driven at the weekends and I don't avoid the lights with the pressure washer. Perhaps not being locked in a garages helps....?

[srfs981]

HighwayStar said:

I don't suffer this problem at all... the car lives outside in all weathers, mainly driven at the weekends and I don't avoid the lights with the pressure washer. Perhaps not being locked in a garages helps....?

Your probably right...I keep mine in the garage, it is ventilated ( well enough for the mice to get in!) but not like being outside