Tail light water leak

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LindaK

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 16, 2010
Messages
135
I gave Sally her first bath yesterday after driving in the rain (done the old fashioned way with a hose my driveway). As I finished drying her I noticed some moisture had gotten inside the leading edge of the plastic that surrounds the tail lights. It happened on both sides.

1) Has anyone else seen this?
2) Should I be worried?

I plan to mention it at the dealers next week.
Linda
 
LindaK said:
I gave Sally her first bath yesterday after driving in the rain (done the old fashioned way with a hose my driveway). As I finished drying her I noticed some moisture had gotten inside the leading edge of the plastic that surrounds the tail lights. It happened on both sides.

1) Has anyone else seen this?
2) Should I be worried?

I plan to mention it at the dealers next week.
Linda

You mean under the "lip" (for want of a better word)?

If so.....

1) Yes.
2) No. Except for knowing that it's gonna look real crappy eventually.
 
bowthom said:
I haven't washed mine yet :oops: My bad.
Same here. In Seattle - somehow it doesn't seem to make sense to wash cars since it would be ruined the next day anyway when it rains. I'm thinking about an actual driveway wash - now that I nolonger have to worry about oil leakage :)
 
evnow said:
bowthom said:
I haven't washed mine yet :oops: My bad.
Same here. In Seattle - somehow it doesn't seem to make sense to wash cars since it would be ruined the next day anyway when it rains. I'm thinking about an actual driveway wash - now that I nolonger have to worry about oil leakage :)
Still have to worry about brake dust even though the Leaf doesn't use it's friction brakes much...
 
drees said:
Still have to worry about brake dust even though the Leaf doesn't use it's friction brakes much...

Brake dust levels are EXTREMELY low compared to any other car I've had, even those I've fitted with low dust pads like EBC "Green Stuff". Either it's less friction braking, low dust pads fitted, or some combination of both.
 
Hey LindaK,

IMHO, If the moisture/condensation showed up suddenly after you washed the car, you should definitely take it to your dealer. The headlight and tail light assemblies should be waterproof, to prevent rust/corrosion on the electrical contacts. The rubber seal around the tail light assy is probably not seated correctly. It should be easy for them to correct. Frankly, I'm surprised by this. It points to shoddy assembly/poor quality control at the factory.
 
I have seen this in at least 2 Leafs so far, so I think it's normal. Water just gets under the clear edge of the light assembly, but not inside where the LED's are. It seems to dry out quickly.

-Phil
 
I think I'll take it in - if only to register it as a problem. I'm not so sure they will reseat anything, but it is a bit irritating. I've never had other cars with this problem. And it really isn't in the actual light housing, but in a clear plastic trim piece around the light. Weird design!

Thanks all,
LindaK

PS. Yes, I have pictures, but I can't seem to figure out how to post them here. All I get is a text description of where the pic is on my hard-drive. Operator error, no doubt! :(
 
Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep an eye on my lights after a wash (or rain).

Reading your post made me think of a car I was behind the other day. I thought it was quite funny. The drivers tail light was HALF filled with water. I could see the water sloshing around inside the light and it was halfway up... seriously. I was surprised that the bulb did not short out (it might have been just below the level of the bulb). At least we don't have it that bad! :lol:
 
Ingineer said:
I have seen this in at least 2 Leafs so far, so I think it's normal. Water just gets under the clear edge of the light assembly, but not inside where the LED's are. It seems to dry out quickly.

-Phil
Well----that doesn't seem to be a major problem then; I thought the moisture got inside the housing and fogged up the inside of the tail light lens.
 
HI again. Talked with the lead Nissan tech at my dealership today. He confirmed that we would see moisture under that clear plastic trim around the taillight...but not IN the taillight. He also mentioned we might see a small amount of condensation at the bottom of the large plastic housing of the front lights. Time will tell on that one. Any of you WA LEAFers see that on your car in a wetter climate?
 
And now that it's a non-issue, here are the two snapshots I took:

Right tail light (one drip about 1/2 way down the image)
http://img130.imageshack.us/i/imag0034m.jpg/

Left tail light (water about 1/5 and 3/5 the way down)
http://img813.imageshack.us/i/imag0036r.jpg/

Hope this works, thanks for the tips!
lka
 
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