Fogging headlamps on 98 & up Intrepids

Is you new generation Intrepid suffering from condensation buildup in the
headlamps? If so I would like to hear from you. My '99 passenger headlamp
is severely fogged up and Chrysler refuses to replace it because according
to them they haven't received enough complaints to warrant a recall. I
removed the lamp assembly to bath it in CLR and was blown away by the number
of leaks. It is supposed to be a watertight assembly. So I would like to
hear from anyone experiencing this problem. Please e-mail me direct at
and tell me the year of your car and a photo if possible. I
am going to collect enough names and send the information to Chrysler. At
$400 CDN I don't feel I should have to pay for their shoddy workmanship. I
am only interested in hearing from Intrepid owners. I know the Neon's also
suffer the same fate, but a recall for a Neon will not help me.

Thanks for reading

Max Donoghue
Kingston, Ontario

 

Great way to ruin the headlamp...

No, it's not. This headlamp, like most others, incorporates a system of
vents and drains the object of which is to allow the headlamp to breathe.
The "semi-sealed" headlamps that were the first generation of North
American replaceable-bulb headlamps had MUCH worse problems with water
accumulating and refusing to go away. Sometimes the vents and drains
aren't good enough at the job they're supposed to do. After you remove all
the existing water, one way to help reduce the problem is to remove the
rubber O-rings from the bulb bases before reinstalling them, which
improves headlamp breathing and therefore reduces condensation problems.

The headlamps on your car were designed in Belleville, Ontario. Perhaps
you ought to take a swing by (not a swing *at*) the company that designed
them.

In all seriousness, if you feel the problem is significant enough to
impact safety, you need to write to the US National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration ( www.nhtsa.dot.gov ) as well as to Transport Canada (
www.tc.gc.ca/en/menu.htm ). The US agency has no legal authority in
Canada, of course, but most North American safety recalls are triggered by
that agency's actions.

DS

 

1998 Intrepid ES with 150K miles. No fogging. Sorry!
Bob

 

Thanks Bob,

Looks like I got the dud again. How's the tranny holding up?

 

If you can demonstrate that yours is repeatedly fogging, it sure seems
like the dealer *should* replace it for you. Even if there's no recall,
warranties exist to take care of the occasional bad part.

At the very least you can try Dan's suggestion of getting it dried out
thoroughly (assuming the reflector is not damaged from the persistent
water), making sure all the vents are open and any vent tubes are in
place, and additionally removing the O-rings around the bulb to improve
ventilation.

 

Was wondering if one of the vehicles gets treated to a garage
overnight and the other doesn't.

 

Interesting point Art. Mine is outside overnight, no garage here. Wonder
if you park yours in a garage Bob??
Went to Belleville over the weekend and was really pleased to see the
"ventilation" hole the dealership drilled into the lamp assembly did nothing
but make it worse. Driving in the rain caused the lamp to fill with lots of
water. Droplets were clearly visible the next morning. I think I am going
to remove the o-rings around the lmap holders as prescribed and run a bead
of silicone sealant around the entire assembly. And plug the hole the
dealership drilled in the FRONT of the lamp!!

 

EEK! This is *NEVER* the correct fix. Shame on the dealership. There is a
vent kit that can be installed on problematic headlamps, but just drilling
a hole is never the right way to do it.

That'll help, but only if you plug that "ventillation" hole the stealer
drilled...

No no, don't do that. The reflector "shiny stuff" isn't compatible with
silicone, which outgases and can severely attack the reflector. If you
must apply goop to a headlamp, the correct stuff is windshield *urethane*,
available from an auto glass shop.

DS

 

hey dan you forgot one thing, people go to the dealers expecting free work so
when they start whining they have to PAY for it they get free holes or the
insurance company required cheap asian parts for front end damage repairs

 

I was experiencing heavy fogging of my left headlamp on an Intrepid. It
would appear in the fall and disappear in the late spring, gradually
getting worse over time. The heat from the light would help evaporate
the water in front of the bulb but as it got worse this was less
effective and it began to affect the light. The high beam was affected
more, since that bulb isn't on much there was always a lot of water in
front of it.

At one point I tried to dry as much of the inside with a towel, and
gently blew in lukewarm air with a hair dryer. It didn't last long.

The manual says that occasional fogging is normal, so I expected
resistance when I took it to the dealer for warranty work. They
replaced BOTH lamp units (even though I had not had a problem with the
right lamp. I'm glad they did; the warranty expired about 2 weeks later.