Stupid condensating tailight :(
 

So the inevitable has happened and with the warmish weather that we had which melted all of the snow, condensation has appeared in my tailight...

My dillema is do you think i will have problems getting it fixed under warranty which ends on april 14th? Also will it have to be like full blown fogged up for them to replace it? because if it gets a little warmer it kinda goes away, but reappears at night...

Sorry dealership isnt open until monday so i cant call and ask atm...

edit: in pics 1 and 2 some of that is partially frost, but up close you can def see the condensation under it.

mazda now consider this as normal ...

so u wont be able to get it under warranty

u can always fix it ur self tho. and its better than any mazda's solution

Seriously? dang that sucks i thought it was a tsb on the bumper to bumper warranty and they would pop another tailight/gaskey in before my warranty runs out :(

It's in the tbs 9th item down, http://www.finishlineperformance.com....php?pageid=11

Get it fixed now because it will only get worse. They are expensive lenses.

Mazda can't fix it so it is normal. LOL my dealership quoted me $143 to "fix it". I told them no way am I paying someone $143 to swap a gasket that is easily accessible. The price for the replacement gasket is ridiculous as well.

you can just trace the shape of the foam gasket on a sheet of paper and *make* your own replacement gasket

I just had mine done under warranty so....they do it for free.

Now the downside...condensation is back 3 months later....

There is a do it yourself fix. Here is how I fixed mine. Remove lenses. Drill a very small hole ,from the outside of the lense, at the very bottom corner of each lense. Drill at a slight angle through the lenses into the housing. An ounce of water drained out of mine. I let the lenses dry out and then reinstalled the lenses on the car. Then I spread a thin layer of silicone adheasive seal along the seam where the lense attaches to the housing all the way around. That is where the leaky gasket fails. I have'nt had fog or moisture since I did this repair 2 years ago and the cost was almost nothing.

Condensation (dealer wont fix) and water (which they will) are different. A little fog/condensation is normal and usually goes away as the weather gets warmer (my experience).

Also, I would never drill a hole in the lens. Gaskets arent that expensive either.

i drilled the hole to let the water out and create enough ventilation so fogging never happens again and it has'nt. The hole is indisernable. You would'nt even know it's there unless pointed out. But it is a delicate procedure when drilling . Must be carefull. My car is out of warranty otherwise the dealer would have covered it free.

I am aware of the diy options on how to fix it, i just figured a new tailight (even if it only lasts 3 months) would be an easy temporary fix to the prob, but if they wont fix it under warranty then i will just do one of the DIY in the next week or two.

I had this problem with my 2004. The first time was replaced under warranty. I did not get a chance with the second time as my baby burnt up. My new one is okay for now. Did you ever notice that after washing the car and opening the trunk the water drains are located right over the tail light. There is always a pool of water there and may or may not contribute to this problem. Now I always get this water out after washing my car. May mean nothing or could be a part of this problem with many 8's. Consistent pooling from rain???

Well i called up the closest mazda dealer (100 miles away), and the guy i spoke to seemed to think it would be covered no problem... granted i dont think they work on too many rx8s lol so i suppose we will see if push comes to shove whether they will or not.

Today I am going to pull both taillights and let them air out inside the house and then apply some silicone.

So get this, the mazda guy calls me up this morning, saying that the bulliten states that the condensation is due to improper placing of satelite radio antenna and is not covered.... i do not have satelite radio and i told him this and he said o, well maybe we are dealing with something different here, but he cant do much without seeing the car, so i think im gonna drive down there on thursday and have this guy take a look.

A new tail lamp would be total overkill. Really, the problem lies with really badly designed gaskets and poor water drain like PaPaBear said. Once you actually take the lamp out you can see for your self. I had to do it in my '04 last summer, and it was really really apparent the gasket was the problem.

Just tell your dealership to order up a set of driver and passenger side tail lamp gaskets. Shouldn't be more than $30 each (at least in Canada). Go pick them up, dry out the lights, and pop 'em in. Maybe in a year reinforce it with silicone. Or follow one of the other DIY's out there.

But honestly if my car was out of warranty, i would not even consider getting a new tailight, but if its covered, how is that overkill?* and when i will do the gasket replacement (which i will eventually)* i can do that myself and just order them online, but i figured i would give the dealer a try, as long as im not getting charged a crap load

If its replaced on warranty, then great, but your dealership would have to be pretty generous to give you an entirely new tail lamp. I was just saying its overkill because they're not exactly cheap and its most likely not the problem, judging from personal experience and everything on this forum.

And even if they did give you a new one they'd still have to put on a new gasket, so the whole point of a new lamp is moot, no?

Uh, good luck on getting a new tail lamp(s)..? :Wconfused

I didnt call them and ask for a new tail lamp, whatever the dealer chooses to do to fix it is up to them, im just assuming that dealer is going to do that because i cant imagine them air drying my current one, and then putting the gasket on (if thats what they acctually do then great), if you havnt noticed i rarely ever deal with dealers... my choices where i live are pretty much chevy, ford, and dodge... lol

silicone in between light and gasket ... worked for me

I agree on the silicone. Only takes a few minutes. Don't even have to remove lenses to do it. New gasket is not needed. Clear silicone seals it like new. totally worked for me.

Left was fixed under warranty but 3 years later it's starting to condensate again.

I fixed the right one with a silicon based gasket maker. 2 years later, no moisture in that one.

Take the light out.
Take it apart.
I used a shop vac on reverse to suck moisture out.
Then ran a bead of gasket maker around Mazda's shitty gasket that looked like it was made of paper- machete and reassembled. Fixed.

I fixed mine by siliconing the gaskets today by pulling the lamp out. Whoever tries this to make sure to not over torque the bolts when reinstalling. I broke one bolt today, and its cheap plastic holding it on...pissed me off, as I had to epoxy it back into place. hopefully it holds

condensation in tail light
 

Hi guys had this problem for the last 2 yrs but didn't fancy drilling holes in the bottom of the tail light so needed to find another solotion and this is mine.

First removed tail light & dryed it out . then soaked the gasket in WD40 .don't know if this is a known brand in the USA but here in the Uk it's a lubricant come water repelent then just refitted the tail light.

I did this over six months ago and still no condensation now i can look at the back of rex and smile .

Big rooster .

WD40 is a worldwide thing. they sell it even in Africa.

you can clean out water spots (its just mineral deposit) with vinegar first, then just ---

- buy a new gasket

or

- Seal it with gasket sealant around the area.

the sealant is a better solution.