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Recently, I noticed a crack in the top of my passenger side taillight. I didn't hit anything so, I am not sure where the crack originated. Could this be a manufacturer defect?
Attached pic.
Is it normal for OEM taillights to be this fragile?
Tough to say, it's not impossible for it to be a defect. I would at least try to see if Ford will warranty it. That will be a tough one though. They will look for any point of impact, if none is found you might get lucky.
I wouldn't necessarily say it's normal for the factory taillights to be fragile, but I do think alot of the plastics used on these trucks are cheap.
1. Perhaps it's vandalism or an encounter with a runaway shopping cart?
2. Considering the cost of replacing that housing/lens, and the minor damage it really is, I think I'd just run a bead of super glue over that. I wouldn't be happy about it, but that's what I would do.
Thanks All. I can't find any impact marks on the housing/lens.
At this point, $800 to replace the taillight housing is making me re-think even keeping the truck.
The truck might become a money pit with repairs.
The tail lights are extremely fragile. I was loading 2x4's and I bumped the pass. side tail light. Blew the whole side out of it. I mean I barely touched it. Found a lot of threads on here about the same thing.
With the price of an OEM replacement, I just opted to get Recon tail lights. The Recons are a lot tougher than the OEMs. Then just sell your OEM drivers side to recoup some of the cost.
Thanks All. I can't find any impact marks on the housing/lens.
At this point, $800 to replace the taillight housing is making me re-think even keeping the truck.
The truck might become a money pit with repairs.
Any modern vehicle is going to be the same way. Parts are getting more expensive and harder to get ahold of. Your only option would be to get something like a Wrangler or a Tacoma where there's very strong aftermarket support, meaning parts can be found cheaper. You can try places like LKQ also and look for used parts.
I have a brand new non bliss standard bulb passenger side tailight in my shed. Bought it and never used it. I paid $400 for it 2 years ago. Does your tailight have bliss?
1. Perhaps it's vandalism or an encounter with a runaway shopping cart?
2. Considering the cost of replacing that housing/lens, and the minor damage it really is, I think I'd just run a bead of super glue over that. I wouldn't be happy about it, but that's what I would do.
I'd be wary of using any cyanoacrylate (sp??) glue on plastics. It could develop a haze/cloud the plastic. Running a bead over the crack is a great idea, I just wouldn't use super glue. Maybe a plastic safe model glue? I've used scotch tape over a paint line to help flatten it out while it dried. Maybe something like that would help too?
