Headlight Auto Leveling Sensor - Can it be rebuilt?
 

UPDATE: See DIY here - https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=131544


I've only got 34K miles but my bumper to bumper warranty is over based on time (7/28/07). Last month I had intermittent headlight auto leveling MILs that came and went while driving. I called Mazda to see if they could authorize repair on this TSB at no cost:
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...08-07-1729.pdf

They said no.

My cost through Mazda Motorsports is $370 each! :banghead: I haven't tested to see which is at fault but even replacing one is ridiculous. Has anyone rebuilt these or know what causes the failure (besides water). Can they just be dissassembled and cleaned? Etc, etc..

Thank you in advance.

Man that sucks. I had mine replaced just prior to the warranty ending.
My beams would "fall down" and I only had ~10ft of visibility in front of me (which was scary doing 70MPH on the interstate).
The rear sensor was corroded and the front was shorting intermittently.
What you read in the TSB was the exact problem I encountered and I had the old style connector.
Only way to find out if its repairable is to look at the wiring going into the harness. You might find that you'll need to remove the wires from the harness and do some soldering/heat shrinking followed by some waterproof sealer.
And that still doesn't guarantee that the sensor itself is OK.
If I was out of warranty I would check the wiring first to see if its a "simple" fix. But for the sensor itself, I personally would purchase a new one.
Good luck!!!

The TSB makes it sound like they only replace the bad one with the updated connector. The other they just put some silicone on.

I'm putting snow tires on today so I'll give it a look-see. I find it amazing that according to dealer price these two sensors are worth 1/26 of the car's value. :) It might be cheaper just to buy an extended warranty!

Yep, same with any car. Spec one from the parts bin and it will run you about a million bucks. ;)

Abbid, where are the reading skills? :) See first post. My 4yr/48K warranty is up - the one that would cover this. It expired due to time on 7/29/07. Also mentioned in the post is I called MNAO and they said no.

Now for the good news.... I FIXED IT!!!

That's right I pulled one of these things apart and started the car back up... no light! I haven't gone for a spin but the MIL always surfaces as soon as the car starts. Cross fingers and look for my DIY.

Now for the bad news...

I saved a boatload on the part but we were getting Christmas decorations down from the attic and one fell and kissed the drivers fender. Keeps me humble I guess.

Good to hear!
Did you take apart the sensor or the harness?
What did you notice when you took it apart?

The sensor. I'll post a DIY tomorrow and link it here. You'll cringe knowing they charge so much for nothing.

Here you go! Continue dialog in the DIY thread to help out everyone else.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-headlight-auto-level-sensor-rebuild-aka-headlamp-leveling-131557/