Heated Headlamps

[DrTaras]

Plucked these comments out of another thread about "Where they now" so that we could follow timely progress of others who get the FREE upgrade...

#47 is doing fine in S. Florida. Just had my fogged headlamps replaced with heated ones (under warranty). Still waiting for an upgrade for A/C.

Also need rear tires and would like to hear if anyone has changed from the factory originals to a longer wearing type.

And in winter, even in Northern California, if the car is parked outside while temps drop from above to below freezing in moist weather overnight, they get frosted over so badly as to provide nearly no lighting at all. Heated headlights would be the "hot ticket"

Last week, I took my car in for minor maintenance of the sound system and fogging headlights. I was told I was the first to receive the new fog-free, heated headlights. From my understanding, they have been in the works for a long time. I have been "complaining" about the problem for over a year now.

Looks like the new solution worked. Now I am hopeful they have an equally effective remedy for A/C.

 

[TEG]

I suppose heaters could take care of frost on the outside, and fog on the inside.

 

[daghb]

I have been experiencing temperatures down to -35C with my Roadster, and this kind of frosting is seen on every car here, Roadster or not. What I use is a simple plastic scrape to remove the frost. Frost will settle during few hours if car is parked under the open sky. You can avoid the frost entirely by putting the car below a simple roof or carport.

While driving, frost will never settle on my headlights. However, things get foggy - but normally only surrounding the glasses, and not on the part that the lights are shining through.

Here is a picture of the car taken today - minus 14C:

 

[TEG]

Fog on the inside of the headlight is a problem in some climates, even when it doesn't get below freezing.

Brand new 2010 Roadster Sport just coming off of the delivery truck:

 

[j-g]

New heated assemblies fog too. I gues they are still a work in progress.

 

[DrTaras]

Sorry to hear that j-g!
Bob in service (LA) told me that they are WAY back ordered and that even Elon's car(s) don't have them yet!

 

[vfx]

Tesla is putting them on the new cars as they come out but the supplier can't make them faster than that.

 

[mpt]

Are they the same light assembly but with heaters or are an upgraded unit; lord knows we need an upgrade!

 

[DrTaras]

Headlight Cover Peeling & Flaking

Reincarnating this thread to post about a new headlight / headlamp problem that again has nothing to do with the actual light, but with the cover. Last time was from the inside, now from the outside.
Apparently there is a chemical covering on the outside of the cover that has, for the last few months, slowly been peeling off VIN# 5 (Randy's - RLJ327) as seen below.
It flakes off like pieces of wax paper and Tesla is stiff-arming him. :cursing: Any ideas?

 

[AnOutsider]

Stiff-arming? That's a shame. I would expect Tesla to go above and beyond for their early adopters as they are the evangelists for the next generations of their cars.

 

[Mycroft]

It should be fairly easy to strip or polish off the rest of the film and have new protective film applied. If the car is still under warranty, I would present that solution to service. If not, then any high-end detailing shop should be able to take care of it for $100 or less.

 

[vfx]

There was another exact example of that at the TMC meet. The anti-Martin car (orange with silver stripes) has that going on too.

 

[sauhlir]

I had this happen on my car (#109) and Tesla replaced the headlights under warranty.

 

[MDR]

Saw this one at Menlo Park Saturday. Didn't get the vin. #




[Moderator's note: cleaned up photo embed. Click for larger image.]

 

[TEG]

Saw this one at Menlo Park Saturday. Didn't get the vin. #

...268...

 

[Dragon]

I heard from a ranger there are 3 different types of headlight producers they were using. Hope this issue is appearing only on a few cars and they changed to a better producer. Although he too said my April 2011 car had the "worst" (I think in terms of fogging, so unrelated to this issue) of them installed. Maybe they are just cycling producer.

 

[DrTaras]

I had this happen on my car (#109) and Tesla replaced the headlights under warranty.

So when I saw Randy it had been over 2 months of him trying to get Tesla to replace the unit(s) and being stone-walled. Randy, as opposed to me, is a quiet mild-mannered, well-intentioned (ok, I'm well intentioned) guy, but I sensed the frustration. I took the picture but 2 weeks to get around to posting it on 10/9/11. Then everyone's replies started coming in, aka-waves were being made... publicly, and I don't want to say explcitily that someone from Tesla might be trolling, but today, Randy got the call that they will replace them & not only will they be replaced, but a service appointment in LA that usually takes a few weeks to get was given to him for this Friday 10/14! Thank YOU TMC!!! :wink:

 

[TEG]

Hopefully DH#440 gets the same instant gratification...

 

[VolkerP]

So I can actually book service appointments via TMC forum? cool. :wink:

 

[Warrenbonz]

Very happy for Randy that this will be taken care of for him under warranty as it should be. Disappointed to learn about his experience and the need for "waves to be made". IMO, it seems that often Tesla's customer service is extremely good but that sometimes they have some bizarre lapses in judgement. Why they didn't just cover this from the onset is beyond me especially in light of the fact that they had covered it for others. These kinds of issues can do a lot of damage to an otherwise very good reputation. I think Tesla needs to be very careful not to allow these kinds of mistakes to occur as this type of experience can really reduce someone's enthusiasm for the company and I believe this enthusiasm is such a great and incredibly important asset for the company. On the bright side, it's great that Tesla decided to cover the repair under warranty and it does seem like they usually end up making the right decision.