When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
@ 40k miles the cc is starting to fail already? The car is and has been garage kept since I got it with 8k miles. It sees maybe 5 hours of sunlight 4 days out of the week.
Shame Nissan. I wish I could have had this looked at when I had my B2B since these headlights are $1k+
I think im going to get them professionally resurfaced and properly coated (local guy will do it for $80 w/ ceramic coating)
Then I'd get rid of the MF'ing mitts! By the way the poly/acrylic lenses do not have clear coat. That is for paint finishes. But it does look like someone has been sand-papering your lenses. Yes, I'd go for a professional fix up, unless you are a DIY'er. I would think you could make those lenses look almost new by using a Mcguire's polishing ball and plastic polish. Makes short work of stuff like this. Personally, I just use auto body polish, a clean rag, and some elbow grease. Finish up with a wax/polish.
Last edited by compyelc4; Nov 13, 2018 at 05:06 PM.
No its oxidation, i hand wash my car with the best car wash and have the same thing. Also on mine, one light has more oxidation than the other. Im surprised more people don't have it.
What year is your car? I have 17 but I have replaced my right headlight with 2016 used due to crack that was caused by minor accident. In any case my left is ok but my right have the same scratches.
In any case I bought this clear coat in Autozone. It’s 10 bucks and I applied it onto my headlight drove for a week and than polished it. Try it... it will fill up the scratches and make it go away for sometime but you have to repeat it once a year or twice. They say headlights housing also need to be taken care of.. even when they are new it’s still good idea to apply it on new headlight to protect them.
Meguiar's G17804 Keep Clear Headlight Coating, 4 oz. – Maintain the Clarity of Your Headlights https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M4RVVX6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7sT7BbEB8MMWB
I’m having this exact same problem with both of my headlights on my 2016 maxima. Were you able to fix it? If so, what method did ended up working the best?
@ 40k miles the cc is starting to fail already? The car is and has been garage kept since I got it with 8k miles. It sees maybe 5 hours of sunlight 4 days out of the week.
Shame Nissan. I wish I could have had this looked at when I had my B2B since these headlights are $1k+
I think im going to get them professionally resurfaced and properly coated (local guy will do it for $80 w/ ceramic coating)
Is anyone else's coats starting to fail?
There is no clear coat on stock headlight lenses. The lenses are poly-acrylic plastic. The acrylic tends to lessen ultraviolet (think sun) damage such as yellowing and/or hazing, and the poly lessens damage from stones and other small road debris, although poly tends to yellow more. With poly-acrylic you get a balance of toughness and anti-fading, but nothing can hold up to Mr. Sun. Your damage is a combination of ultraviolet fading plus maybe some contaminents in the air. Do you have any factories near where you park your car? Also, I'll bet either you or maybe the previous owner did not keep the car in a garage during extremes of sun or weather? I realize we all can't do this. My second hunch is that the scratching is due to wiping off the lenses while the things are dirty. Doing this is akin to sand papering your lenses. My 2 cents worth. I keep my '17 garaged and I use an ultraviolet protectant such as "303" not only on the poly-acrylic lenses but all over the inside leather and vinyl surfaces to keep ultra violet damage to a bare minimum. I even do my black plastic wiper blades! Really helps.
It almost looks like someone, perhaps the previous owner, tried polishing the lenses with the wrong stuff, a solvent or a chemical of sorts. I typically use a Plexiglas polish, very fine abrasive, barely strong enough to take of only light oxidation, but I do that about 2-4 times a year on every car I've ever owned, and they hold up, lenses look new. These pictures, it's almost like someone oxidized/scratched them by applying a chemical, a solvent of some kind. I've heard people use WD40 to remove bugs from the front of the car, perhaps whoever had the car before was doing that, but wasn't rinsing it off quickly enough. That said, Never use solvents on plastics, if that's what was indeed the case.
I just googled "WD 40 damage headlights", and there's quite a few articles that suggest that it melts the surface of the lenses and other plastics, but that WD 40 is OK on paint because of it's silicone base. So, That's my theory, someone used WD40 on your lenses at some point.
Yep! My 17 with 65000 miles is starting to do the exact same thing... They must have used a pretty lousy UV rating on the Polycarbonate they used to mold the lenses with.
Same issue. Also looks like there is something seeping or condensing on the inner surface as well. I’m the only owner, never messed with the lights, even to change a bulb. Unfortunately it has never been garage kept, I have no option for that. Any thoughts on what might be going on with the interior of the headlight? I’ve been trying to take a pic but none of them are coming out in enough detail to be worth it
Nissan agreed to replace my headlights on my '16 SR with 40K miles and just had them installed this morning. I'd tried various headlight cleaning methods but the fading was coming from the inside.
Do you have a photo of what your headlights looked like and what you said to them? I'd like to try to get them replaced too if possible but wanna gather some intel before I try
@ 40k miles the cc is starting to fail already? The car is and has been garage kept since I got it with 8k miles. It sees maybe 5 hours of sunlight 4 days out of the week.
Shame Nissan. I wish I could have had this looked at when I had my B2B since these headlights are $1k+
I think im going to get them professionally resurfaced and properly coated (local guy will do it for $80 w/ ceramic coating)
Is anyone else's coats starting to fail?
I think you have the right solution in mind. Not a real common issue for most of us so far. Let us know what you end up doing.
Just redone my headlights 2016 Nissan Max SR, they looked terrible used Turtle wax headlight lens restorer kit. with clean coat. cost 9 dollars autozone.
took about 45mins to do pretty easy to do just some elbow grease. Don't waste money getting someone to do this.
Just redone my headlights 2016 Nissan Max SR, they looked terrible used Turtle wax headlight lens restorer kit. with clean coat. cost 9 dollars autozone.
took about 45mins to do pretty easy to do just some elbow grease. Don't waste money getting someone to do this.
Great post and also understand you might have to repeat this process as the car ages but a great way to solve the initial issue.
Just redone my headlights 2016 Nissan Max SR, they looked terrible used Turtle wax headlight lens restorer kit. with clean coat. cost 9 dollars autozone.
took about 45mins to do pretty easy to do just some elbow grease. Don't waste money getting someone to do this.
My headlights looked like the OP's on a 2017. I bought it second hand, and it seemed like it was tortured by its previous owners, but I've taken care of it since I've owned it.
I spent a couple hours today fixing my headlights on my own. I bought some sanding discs, but I ended up not using them.
My process was as follows :
1. Clean with dish soap to remove any wax / sealant.
2. Claybar the remove any contaminants.
3. Use a micro polisher with compound and a microfiber pad for heavy defects
4. Use same polisher with high clarity polish and a foam pad
5. Wipe down with alcohol to remove oils
6. Coated with Adam's ceramic paint coating to keep the oxidation from occurring again anytime soon.
My headlights looked like the OP's on a 2017. I bought it second hand, and it seemed like it was tortured by its previous owners, but I've taken care of it since I've owned it.
I spent a couple hours today fixing my headlights on my own. I bought some sanding discs, but I ended up not using them.
My process was as follows :
1. Clean with dish soap to remove any wax / sealant.
2. Claybar the remove any contaminants.
3. Use a micro polisher with compound and a microfiber pad for heavy defects
4. Use same polisher with high clarity polish and a foam pad
5. Wipe down with alcohol to remove oils
6. Coated with Adam's ceramic paint coating to keep the oxidation from occurring again anytime soon.
This guy knows what he's doing, great step by step.
I have a 19 in black that I'm getting ready to two stage polish with a dual action and ceramic coat. (already sanded and buffed out the scratches last week) I will be doing the glass and the headlight lenses as well with the ceramic and refreshing it once a summer if necessary. These new ceramics are the bees knees. You could get away with one of the cheaper ones on Amazon that has good reviews and has been around for a while if you are just doing the headlights. Like a lot of things you get what you pay for though, it probably won't hold up as well as the better name brand ceramic coatings.
water sand it with 1000 then 1500 and buff it out
ive never seen new cars lights with clear coat,,did you buy it used as it looks like advance store clear coat junk
By the way the poly/acrylic lenses do not have clear coat. That is for paint finishes. But it does look like someone has been sand-papering your lenses. Yes, I'd go for a professional fix up, unless you are a DIY'er. I would think you could make those lenses look almost new by using a Mcguire's polishing ball and plastic polish. Makes short work of stuff like this. Personally, I just use auto body polish, a clean rag, and some elbow grease. Finish up with a wax/polish.
