For those of you w/ RS, check your headlamps...

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

My car is approaching 4 years old. Got it in September of 2010 and it is daily driven and stored outside in FL.

If anyone meets this criteria, you'd do well to check your RS headlamps for a very light haze on the lenses.

For mine, it has been noticeable for about a year now and until yesterday, I put up with it.

At first I thought it was a simple matter of the headlight armor I had installed - I figured after the years, the armor was fading, so I just bought a replacement set for $40 - wasn't the case. That's when I discovered the haze was on the INSIDE of the lenses.

Then I wondered if it was condensation, so I took the rear access panels off and kept them off for a few days (the weather has been relatively low humidity), and even with the headlights operating, the haze didn't budge... if it was condensation, it wouldn't evaporated at SOME point from the ventilation/heat.

So yesterday I finally opened the f*ckers up (courtesy of my good friend LIM3 for letting me use his oven) and discovered there was a light film that formed on the inside surface of the lens. It wipes right off with a microfiber and some alcohol, and now the headlights look new again.

Opening the headlights is very difficult, not to mention you gotta make sure they are sealed correctly so that they're air tight - I used Butyl Rubber glue.

I've searched allover the internet and the general consensus is that the film occurs from impurities being heated by the headlamp and settling on the surfaces inside the housing, including the lens. Could also be residue from past bouts of condensation inside the housing, since most modern cars w/ vented headlight assemblies such as ours will get an extremely minute amount of condensation from time to time that is just about unnoticeable.

The film reminded me a lot of the same stuff that accumulates on the inside of the windshield when it hasn't been cleaned in a couple months.

Either way, make sure to check your RS headlamps and see if you have this issue. If you do, there are other solutions that aren't as invasive as what I did. A lot of people have fixed this issue by pouring a small amount of undiluted methyl alcohol into the headlamp, making sure it reaches the lens, and then swish it around for 4-5 minutes, pour out, and repeat until the film dissolves, and then dry it with a hairdryer. Won't leave a residue and makes it clear again.

Otherwise, you have to open your headlights up. Anything's better than spending $1,000+ on new RS headlights, that's for damn sure.

[Omaha]

I had the same issue with my new 1LT/RS that I bought new. I also thought it was the film from getting my entire front bumper and headlights covered with a clear bra. When I traded it in on my SS I had the same issue. Thanks for the heads up. I'll try the alcohol method to see if that works.