fastinfiniti

I have an 09 G37x. Picked it up June 10. I noticed yesterday as I was having a 3M clear bra installed that both headlights have cracks. It looks like some type of film over the lens has cracked, can't tell if its the actual housing. Driver's side has 1 horizontal crack about 1/2" long. Passenger side has about 8 horizontal cracks each about a 1/2" long. Anyone ever seen or heard of this before?

I plan to take it to the dealer to see if this is covered by the warranty for replacement.

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

Closeup hi res photos would help. I can't recall anyone posting anything about such an issue before this. The plastic of the actual lens seems pretty difficult to crack accidentally. Perhaps there is some sort of film on yours that you're not aware of? Like I said, we need pics.

terrycs

iTrader: (37)

Maybe stretch marks on the film?

fastinfiniti

Here is a photo.

terrycs

iTrader: (37)

Hard to tell, but they look like stretched bubbles under the film. I think cracks would be more random and not all oriented in the same direction.

HamstersG

iTrader: (5)

Almost looks like you already have a film on them?

bobmcc

Could it be the protective plastic film that the manufacturer puts over the headlights for shipping the car and the dealer forgot to take if off when they were prepping the car for delivery? See if you can find a loose edge and pull it off.

HTP AutoWorks

That is called "crazing" and I have seen it with numerous cars... mainly Nissan/Infiniti and Corvettes. You need to remove the film and take the car in to get them replaced. it will get worse over time... and the dealer will blame the film for whats happening. I have been installing kits for 6 years and have never had a car get this issue. Yet I have seen numerous headlights without film get crazed... and every single time the dealer tries to blame film as the cause. I personally beleive it has to do with what is used to clean them. You havent used rubbing alchohol on them have you?

Kwang

iTrader: (1)

What does rubbing alcohol do to the headlights?

HTP AutoWorks

It causes the lights to dry out. I have been discussingthis very issue with the Corvette guys this morning. many of them are runnin into the same problem even though they dont have any film on their cars. My advice is to use soap and water on the headlights for cleaning and stay away from any alcohol products. There is alot of info out on the web if you type in "crazed headlights".

dbg37

After looking at the close up version of the posted picture, it looks as though the film was installed over the headlights and it was not installed correctly. The points at which the film was stretched and forced down looks to be the edge of the blister. Heat from the lights probably magnified the blistering. It does not look like a flaw in the headlight bezel itself.
The exaggerated shapes of the headlight bezels make it extremely difficult to cover them with a film and get it applied evenly. I would also worry that the plastic would in fact deteriorate quicker with film application due to the heat retention. The 2 main factors in headlight bezel crazing is heat and UV exposure. If a film offers UV protection, it is in fact increasing the heat retention on the plastic when the lights are on.

SaMaster14

looking at the close up. it does look like bubbles in a film or something.

Have you tried scratching the edge of the light to see if anything comes off. Or calling your dealer or the place you got your car to question if they put any film on it.

Other than that, I'm not sure how the light would just scratch, unless someone did it intentionally...

good luck!

fastinfiniti

Thanks for the input. Just to clarify, I didn't have any film installed on the headlights. Whatever is peeling off is what came from the dealer. The 3M clear bra was only put on the hood and bumper. I've never cleaned with rubbing alcohol, not sure why anyone would. I'm not sure what the clear bra installer used during his process. He just pointed the issue out out to me.
I've been pretty **** while washing and waxing the car and never noticed it, even up to an hour before the 3M installer showed up. Doesn't mean it wasn't already there. He's a pretty reputable guy in this area (Rick with Body Skins in Elgin, IL) so I don't think it was anything he did and not sure how I could prove it anyway. I wasn't out there watching his every move.

netmag

Since you can touch it, is it on the outside of the headlight or the inside? If it's on the outside, is it hard plastic or does it feel like peeled film?

Don't they use a heat gun and a spray bottle to install those bras? If the heat was excessive or there was something different about the spray he used, could that have accelerated the issue?

Either way, all you can really do is take it to the dealer and try to have them replace the headlights. In a car that's pretty much brand new, this really shouldn't be happening anyway and they should fix it. I wouldn't even bother mentioning the film job because there's no solid evidence that it had anything to do with it and also it would just give the dealer a chance to try to get out of fixing it under warranty.

SkyMG37x

Looks like a defective headlight housing to me. Infiniti should immediately accept that there was a quality problem that caused those cracks.