Porsche 981 headlamp condensation

[AF10]

Hello.

Is anybody else experiencing issues with condensation in the front headlamps of their 981?

I'm getting nowhere with Porsche. Constantly being "fobbed off" by Chris Craft the MD, with the excuse that technical say it's normal. See pic. This is not normal!

[Zeddsded]

Mine mist up too, but the handbook also says it's normal (page 239).

To be fair though, I would expect similar degrees of misting in both headlights as they would presumably be experiencing similar temperature/humidity conditions.

[Webdunk]

Was a classic issue in E36 BMWs and I'm sure it's affected many cars before and since. Solutions never involved the manufacturer that I can recall. DIY options were to :

- remove the headlight, bake it lightly in the oven and then seal using an overkill of silicon
- drill a hole in the back of the light to let it breathe
- use the lights more to heat up the unit / insert a higher rated bulb

None really very palatable for a new/newish car and all have potential issues but you may struggle to get any dealer/manufacturer action on something that doesn't affect the operation of the light unit.

[av185]

Never experienced misting of headlamps on any 981...2014 Cayman S, 2015 Spyder and 2015 GT4.

Rear light clusters of 991 GT3 constantly misted up but cleared.

Porsche generally take the view that if there are no visible water droplets on the lens then it is normal acceptable condensation and will therefore not replace the unit.

[LunarOne]

I saw fogging in my headlights for the first time this evening on my 2014 Boxster S. It's been raining almost constantly and the temperature is around 14C. Half of the posts I see around the web say it shouldn't be happening, and the other half say it's normal. Do we have a consensus yet?

Thanks!

[anonymous-user]

[quote=LunarOne]I saw fogging in my headlights for the first time this evening on my 2014 Boxster S. It's been raining almost constantly and the temperature is around 14C. Half of the posts I see around the web say it shouldn't be happening, and the other half say it's normal. Do we have a consensus yet?

Thanks!



Condensation is normal. The units are vented and it should clear. I drove or rather 'swam' back from Wales in my 981 a couple years ago. I think it rained from start to finish and had similar levels of fogging to your pictures. Car was in the garage overnight and by the morning, had all but cleared. If it is permanently like this or persists, that points to a venting issue or seal failure.

[LunarOne]

It has cleared from both overnight, so I’ll try. It to worry about it. I thought that perhaps whatever linkages there are for PDLS might allow water ingress. Perhaps there are no external actuators and everything is inside the headlamp housing. Recently when I had my front bumper off to repair my radiator grille I did try to remove a headlamp unit to familiarise myself with it, but I couldn’t figure out how to release it from the car with that tool they provide. I could have persisted but I figured best leave well enough alone in case I can’t get it back in!