Was washing my 17 Lariat today and noticed that both headlamp lenses had developed a network of micro cracks. There are hundreds of them across the entire polycarbonate lens on both sides. Each crack is about 1/4 inch long and since I can catch them with my fingernail they are on the outside of the cover. The same situation is starting on the fog light lenses as well but not quite so bad yet. I've seen similar situations on old vehicles but they're usually 10+ years down the road, not 18 months.

I guess I'll make an appointment with the dealer and let the battle begin since according to Ford Parts the covers aren't available separately. The entire headlamp assembly goes for about $1,100.00.

Anyone else have any experience with this?

 

Isn't it something you could polish off? Ford's been really bad at that. Also, only 18 months? Could it be the soap in the car wash? I'm surprised.

 

Don't think this will buff out...

 

 

Thanks different than what i pictured. It's like somebody banged all over it with a rubber mallet. I looked at mine, nothing like that.

 

Quite sad that Ford or any manufacturer would allow such wrong grade plastic or whatever be used. I would imagine that may become a safety issue in a short time. When I pay what I paid for a truck I really don't expect it to self destruct simply by being in the sun.

 

At the rate this is progressing, I'm hoping that it fails completely within the remaining 18 months of the warranty. Ford will have a hard time denying that it is defective material if it falls apart.
There's no way I'm paying for replacement parts for obviously defective equipment.

 

 

My 3-year-old F150 has no cracks whatever. Still crystal clear (knock on wood). Checked my SO's 2010 Tacoma, and it has no cracks either. A little surface fog that is not widespread. Pretty sure that hers will buff out.

 

Don't use Windex or any cleaner containing ammonia on Polycarbonate!

 

So the 3/36 B2B won't cover this? I can see Ford trying to wiggle out of paying and saying that it's due to environmental things but, how does Ford prove that it wasn't defective? Are the rear lens covers doing it too?

 

Something of an update - made an appointment and took the truck into the dealer today. They were ready for me. Apparently this is common enough that Ford doesn't let the individual dealer make the decision. They had to take pictures of the headlights, record the odometer reading and forward the information to the powers-that-be at Ford who will make the final determination in three or four days as to whether they will cover it under warranty.

We'll see......

 

 

I would have to agree that it might very well be environmental due to the fact it's happening to the fog lights too.

"Polycarbonate (PC), one of the leading engineering plastics, suffers from deterioration under harsh environmental conditions. It is sensitive to the effects of light (UV) radiation, to thermal degradation, and to the attack of hot water, due to hydrolysis. By exposure of various commercial PC grades—at various molecular weights and stabilization—to either natural or accelerated conditions, a maximum lifetime of three years was predicted for the best‐behaving grades. The criterion for failure was mainly based on loss of ductility in tensile tests, as well as loss of optical clarity and chain scission. Hot water has a significant effect on the performance of PC samples, and this is considered to be its greatest weakness. Degradation after exposure at various temperatures (without UV or humidity) leads to the estimation of a temperature‐endurance index, that may serve as a practical limiting criterion for polymer life expectancy."

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/.../pen.760250905

Also, did you change the bulbs to anything to create additional heat within the housings?

 

They're LED headlamps. Since I live in the city, I rarely use my fog lights and they're starting to show signs of cracking as well.

As far as the engineering evaluation of polycarbonate goes, they seem to be referring to bare PC. Worldwide, car manufacturers have been using polycarbonate for headlight lenses for quite some time. Headlamp lenses have a clear UV protective coating coating on them. That's the reason why when you buy one of those kits to polish cloudy headlamp lenses on your old clunker they look terrific for about 2 months. You've polished off what little remains, if any, of the coating. The really good kits provide a spray can of coating to use after you polish the lenses. It helps, but only for a while.

If headlamp lenses were only expected to last 3 years, as the engineering study of PC indicates, the auto manufacturers would have a marketing disaster on their hands, particularly since the lens is not replaceable. You have to change the entire headlamp assembly, which in my case with LED headlamps means $1,000+ each.

If, as some have suggested, the cracking is being caused by chemicals used in car washes then virtually every modern car on the road would be having the same problem and car washes would be sued out of business.

I generally wash my truck by hand in warm weather. The one headlamp lens that I included a picture of went from perfect to the condition shown in about 30 days. On an 18 month old truck.

When I made my on line appointment with my dealer all I stated in the reason box was that the headlight lenses had developed hundreds of small cracks. When I showed up they were ready for me. No surprise. No "lets take a look at that". Just "we have to photograph it and forward it up to Ford for a decision". The fact that the service department can't make a decision and their obvious familiarity with the problem means they've seen it frequently. When I asked the service writer if he had seen much of this problem he wouldn't give me an answer.

I had my last F350 for 8 years and when I traded it the headlight lenses were perfect.

Ford has a problem.