I think one more variable would be the age of the car, mine is almost 1 year (Aug 31) which might mean that it happens over time or to early cars. I noticed the cracks a while back but like with other problems (window streak, seat movement....) I am waiting for a fix.

 

Somehow, I don't think it correlates w/age or rough roads. I recieved my LS Oct. 29 and I have over 36,000 miles across the USA on all kinds of roads and I have no cracks. I also have 3M 40 mil covering over them as well.
DJ, as I also live in Phoenix I can't blame the heat. I wonder if the initial installation has stressed the covering in one direction or another on particular cars only? Regards, Jim

 

You are right, plus we are assuming they were all built the same. There could have been assembly issues or a bad batch of plastic. I am sure Nissan will stand behind it.

 

good point Jim... I forgot that yours has no cracks... definatley not the heat.

I have no idea.... my best guess would be like westpak says... bad batch maybe??

what disgusts me is the dealer saying "he'll cover it out of his own pocket as a gesture of goodwill"

 

Well my skepticism of dealers is very high, so I apologize if this one is not like the others, but the light assembly list price is 775 and the housing assembly list price is 500, if they can replace just the housing, their cost is probably in the 350-400 range (based on numbers I got for the rear tail light 375 vs 250), so I boubt your dealer has 700-800 dollars of goodwill, but hell let them think you think they are good guys but you know the reality.

Dealers put in for a lot of stuff, when I had my Pontiac in for service one time they busted the front windshield and put it in under warranty as "customer complains windshield is blurry", I didn't say anything but did remind them of this fact later on when I was having problems with tires and they were not cooperating

 

yeah but what ticks me off is the dealers attitude was such that he was trying to make me feel guilty because of it...

he said the cracks were my fault and that Nissan would not cover it.... and to make me happy for my mistake they would cover it themself.

total BS.

 

Nissan understands that there are issues with dealer customer satisfaction. Once the cause of the problem is understood I'm sure they will formalize a TSB. Dealers do not represent the best interest of the auto manufacturer. They represent their own best interest. So until Nissan releases a TSB many dealers will refuse to handle this.


Also, the uniform directionality of the hairline cracks suggests that it is not caused by a cleaner alone. If this were the case then one would likely see the cracks in multiple directions.

 

Hmmm...guess it depends on the dealership. I had these cracks on one of my lights. My dealer looked them over, sent away for a brand new full headlight kit, and replaced the whole thing. Cost (if I had to pay myself, rather than warranty work) would have been over $500.00!

Ken

 

The cracks are typical of a stressed polymer which has been exposed to a depolymerization agent (UV light is typical household soaps are not). HIDs emit much more blue/UV than typical halogen. I bet this is not observed on any base model Z's.

BTW are the enclosures Lexan or some other polymer?

 

Mine's a base model, and has the cracks on both assemblies. The dealer will be replacing both next week.

Also:
no rough roads
no high temps
no film on lights
no harsh soaps

I think its just a bad batch of plastic.

 

So much for the UV theory. Anyhow, where can I get the 3M clear bra film? I bought a Nissan nose mask but I'm taking it back. It doesn't fit because the gaps between the nose and the headlights are too narrow in some places. Overall it doesn't have a good fit.

 

any update on this matter?? I just washed my car and noticed I am getting same thing on R front light??

 

nothing new other than dealer replaced headlight assemblies.

 

Well, add my name onto the cracked headlight list. Both of my headlights have gross cracking all around the edges and some in the middle of the lens.

I do have the clear bra on the headlights, but I know this is not the problem. I also only wash the headlights with car soap and nothing else.

I have had my car for one year now and did not see any problems with the headlights until it started to get like 90+ F here.

I have seen this problem before on many types of clear plastic. The technical term for this kind of cracking is called "crazing". The cracking is caused by stress and strain on the plastic lens which over time causes these small stress cracks. The stress and strain has many sources --- heat, cold, UV light, physical jarring (suspension ride), high wind force at speed, etc.

Hopefully this is something that is an early production issue. I am going to get my dealer to replace the lamps, but if this is a design flaw they will do it again.

 

The plastics that are used for these assemblies are poly-carbonate (not plexi or lexan, but closer to eye glass plastic). They use this because it is highly resistance to solvents and damage, just like eye glasses.

One of the major draw backs of poly-carbonate plastics is that they are very sensitive during molding. If you pop them too early, they show these cracks. As a good example, look at Apple Computer. When they started to use a lot of clear plastics (also poly-carbonate) for their computers, they had the same issues near compound bends, such as the handles. They had to service a lot of computer cases because of this.

My guess would be that this is cause by either stress (strain on the assembled headlight) or that Nissan is popping them out of the mold too early (seems pretty likely). I highly doubt this has anything to do with solvents (they would fog the plastic, not crack).

 

Would it be funny if the cracks were caused by the bouncing ride of the stock suspension over some pavement types?

Anyway, for those of you who are having issues with your dealership stating its the ClearBra that's causing the issues, remember the burden of proof is on them. They have to proove something you did to the car caused the issue.

 

N74DV and all
0) Plexiglas is an acrylic polymer, Lexan is a polycarbonate. They are very different materials.
1) the cracking is a stress-related problem.
2) they have nothing to do with a bra or other cover.
3) they have nothing to do with cleaners (the cleaners will craze the plastic, not cause cracks).
4) this is common to plastics of the Lexan polycarbonate family (peptid- not to flame, but Lexan is a polycarbonate) - the same properties that make the plastic so terrific also make it subject to these types of internal cracking.
5) it is not crazing- crazing is breakdown of the plastic surface layers typically caused by ultraviolet light from the sun (common to many cars- look at Ford products and Volvo's from the mid to late 1980's- the headlight plastic becomes almost translucent instead of transparent... they picked the wrong formulation, but might have saved a few cents per headlight...) OR crazing can occur from solvent based cleaners or some polishes that contain too high a solvent content (NOT soap and water...)

N74DV- Earnhardt is a ridiculous operation, my sincerest sympathies for you. I once ended up losing my temper in the showroom talking with the sales manager -they were just so full of the bull that Tex speaks about.

The problem of the lamp covers- these are strain cracks, which generally indicate the direction of the stress (probably from fasteners being overtightened in conjunction with vibration) and also can indicate the flow direction when the plastic is molded. If you want to experiment, go to Home Depot or Lowe's, and buy a small piece of LEXAN (just get the thin stuff). This will cost you a few bucks.
Then, put the plastic in the sun for a few minutes, then flex it hard in two directions. Look for thin whitish lines in one direction or the other- this is the same problem as in the lamps. If you do not over flex the sheet until it turns white, you can discern the direction of the flow of the raw Lexan as it was rolled into sheet.

Fix- I would think this is a warranty item, personally. I do not have them (yet) after 4800 miles.

 

I noticed the stress cracks on both of my headlights, but it's not that serious like some picture shown. I did have the clear bra on the headlight, but have since removed it.. I will try to take it to the dealer and see what they say....

 

Add me to the list. After 6500 miles mine are showing multiple cracks on both sides. I also called NNA and they said this was the first they had heard of this. The dealer said I would need to come back and have the Nissan regional rep look at the lights. Give me a break. I guess some dealerships are more accomadating than others?

 

I thought I noticed something funny detailing the car last week. I've got 3M on the headlights, but I've got several cracks along the upper edge of the driver's side light. I wasn't sure if it was the 3M or the light. Since reading this, I went and double checked, and sure enough, several about 1/3 of an inch long. Will be watching this closely...