Condensation in rear lights

[Westville]

If you look closely at the clear perspex light covers you will find small drilled vent holes - were the same on my Freelander2

[Edge of Reason]

5 hours ago, Westville said:

If you look closely at the clear perspex light covers you will find small drilled vent holes - were the same on my Freelander2

Is that the same on the central light section that goes across the boot lid ?

[simonb65]

11 hours ago, Edge of Reason said:

Is that the same on the central light section that goes across the boot lid ?

I can't see any holes in the centre section (at least not rearward facing), but if you look at the inside seam, there is a bead of sealant down the side and bottom edge, so there are no visible water drains or breathers from outside of the car!

[Edge of Reason]

Cheers. There weren’t any obvious breathers when I had it off the car. Only a central bulb plug but that’s sealed when the bayonet bulb holder is inserted.  I’ll take another look when I get a chance. It doesn’t take much to remove it now I know where things fix. 

[Westville]

On 9/3/2019 at 10:18 AM, simonb65 said:

I can't see any holes in the centre section (at least not rearward facing), but if you look at the inside seam, there is a bead of sealant down the side and bottom edge, so there are no visible water drains or breathers from outside of the car!

Just been tinkering with the car and had a close look at the rear light perspex covers - Unlike my Last car (Freelander2) which had holes drilled through for ventilation my Edge has mould markings but the actual holes have not been punched out!

SORRY if I mislead anyone - now I'm wondering why the markings are there but the holes have not been drilled through? It seemed to work well on the Freelander to keep them clear of condensation

[simonb65]

3 hours ago, Westville said:

now I'm wondering why the markings are there but the holes have not been drilled through? It seemed to work well on the Freelander to keep them clear of condensation

Marks like that are usually where the mould has push out pins to eject the part from the mould.

[Westville]

33 minutes ago, simonb65 said:

Marks like that are usually where the mould has push out pins to eject the part from the mould.

No these are definitely more distinct than push out marks and much more like the actual holes in my last car - I'll try and get a pic (which is likely to be easier said than done)

[Westville]

Here's the Land Rover one with the vent hole I am on about 

[Westville]

Here are the marks on the rear light perspex covers - they are just too sharp and deliberate to be a by-product of production processes - did the designer intend them to be drilled out like the Land Rover covers?

First O/S tail light:

Then the tailgate cluster (there are several of these indents I have shown the N/S one here):

[Trent Edge]

Apart from needing a clean, my lights are the same, sharp edges to the hole and not drilled out...

 

 

 

 

[simonb65]

Their location makes no sense for a drain hole. Maybe it was a riser in the mould in order to guarantee the plastic flowed onto the mould without distortion due to cooling and flow. Not saying it is, but I would have expected a breather/drain to be at the bottom where water would drain and there was no chance of it flowing in as the water beaded down the outside surface!

[Westville]

I think it is a simple breather - hot air rises

Putting the "hole" in midway position does not allow easy ingress of further moisture

i know on my Landy if there was condensation at all it soon cleared away

[Edge of Reason]

1 hour ago, Westville said:

I think it is a simple breather - hot air rises

Putting the "hole" in midway position does not allow easy ingress of further moisture

i know on my Landy if there was condensation at all it soon cleared away

Surely if there is a hole on the mid surface of a light unit and it rains, water droplets will run down the surface and into the hole. I would have thought that would be easy ingress.  A hole  underneath the unit would perhaps work as it’s difficult for water to go uphill. 

[Edge18]

On 4/16/2019 at 2:47 AM, KugaEdge said:

Hamster, I  know for many it isn't a fault, a small amount of condensation is the norm and is acceptable.

However this really isn't acceptable and in my view is a fault:

Do u happen to have a picture of the other tail light with condensation , I need a passenger side picture as I also have the same problem but I'm expected to wait to have a good picture of both but I only have the drivers side right now and we have the same colour Edge ! They had the pictures of both but they got lost in the system and now I have to wait until it gets bad again to get a replacement to prove this once again ! 

Thanks 

[KugaEdge]

20 hours ago, Edge18 said:

Do u happen to have a picture of the other tail light with condensation , I need a passenger side picture as I also have the same problem but I'm expected to wait to have a good picture of both but I only have the drivers side right now and we have the same colour Edge ! They had the pictures of both but they got lost in the system and now I have to wait until it gets bad again to get a replacement to prove this once again ! 

Thanks 

Sorry I don't that's the only picture I took

[R&J-H]

 

2017 Ford Edge Titanium.  Just hit 36,000 miles. The rear light bar beneath the rear window is full of condensation. And Ford says it is not in warranty, even with our extended VIP plan. I have had Fords for over 40 years. 

And the service has gotten worse. 

There are many other cars manufactures now to choose from. I hope I find one that really cares about their customers.

Sad, does Ford even read these complaints or Care???

[Tekno]

On 9/17/2019 at 2:18 PM, Trent Edge said:

Apart from needing a clean, my lights are the same, sharp edges to the hole and not drilled out...

 

 

 

 

these look more like manufacture marks IE injection points from a plastic moulding machine 

[Edge of Reason]

Took my Edge to my dealer on Wednesday, having booked it in for the condensation in rear lights issue. I was told they would need to remove the lights and fully dry them out before they could tell if they would need to replace them, so they needed the car in for up to 3 days to ensure they were fully dried. I wasn’t expecting much but got a phone call yesterday late afternoon saying the car was good to go. Couldn’t pick it up til first thing this morning, where I was told they had replaced all rear light units, that’s both sides and the central tailgate strip. I didn’t think the nearside or offside units were bad at all, but was more concerned about the central unit. All done under warranty with no quibble. Once again I cannot fault my dealership. 

[bobfather]

I suspect this is why they replaced the centre lamp unit with a non-lighting black plastic panel on the 2019 model

[undercoveredge]

My centre lamp has been pretty much misted up since October last year - was due to go into the dealers in March before the 3 year warranty ran out but got cancelled due to Covid. Ford called and booked it in again and because of the dry spell the sodding thing had finally dried up in the last week.  I ran a hose over the back for a while so it misted a bit ( I told them and explained why ) , but printed a load of pictures over the months to show how bad it had got at times.  I offered to email them more if required.

To my surprise they just called and said they have replaced it - just like that , no quibble.  I was shocked they had one in stock, but perhaps this isn't the first one they have seen....

Thumbs up for the dealer in Colchester

[Edge of Reason]

Having had all read light units replaced under warranty in February, my offside rear light unit is badly misted up again with droplets of water inside. I discovered this in March just after lockdown. Car was in at last, just last week and the dealer are replacing the light unit again next Friday. 

[Hamster]

I don't want to upset anyone but what is the point of replacing the light unit, once again. It's almost certain that the replacement will mist up and it's just a waste of time and Warranty money for the Dealer and Ford. They mist up from from new, the replacements mist up and any replacements which replace the replacements will mist up.

They always dry out.

H

[Edge of Reason]

No upset here. My (replacement) unit was replaced in Feb, misted by March and has showed no sign of drying out and it’s now July. My previous units had water droplets inside and looked terrible. If I can get them replaced for free, then I’ll do that as it’s unsightly with misting and water inside. The other replacements have yet to show any signs of misting. I appreciate it must be a design fault but why should I accept a shoddy product ?

[Tammy A]

I have moisture in my rear reflector bar. 
How can you correct this and I’m a firm believer Ford should cover the repair.

[Hamster]

It doesn't need 'Correcting', there is nothing wrong. The trouble is, when a Dealer incorrectly accepts this as a problem and starts replacing things the end user sees this as confirmation of a fault and then the repairs never stop.

Condensation is a natural phenomenon. Exterior lamps are designed with a venting system to reduce increase in pressure and allow air circulation inside the lamp. Air naturally contains moisture and when this moist air enters the lamp through the vents, condensation can occur if the temperature is cold enough or if there is a large difference in temperature and humidity between the inside and the outside. When normal condensation occurs a film of mist can form on the interior of the clear plastic lens in the coldest areas. The mist will clear and exit through the vents during normal operation.

H