Cracked taillights

[DarkHorse5.0]

Hey fellow Mustang owners!

I own a 2015 GT equipped with the 50 Years Edition package. I had covered them with a tinted vinyl but I realized when I removed the vinyl that the taillight lenses were cracked. One of them isn't too terrible and is barely visible because of its location on the lens. The others however are really bad, enough that moisture gets in them during washes and although it doesn't rain much here in sunny CA mother nature would probably have the same effect. :tsk:

I took my car in to a dealer for a non related issue and asked them while I was there if warranty would cover cracked and possibly faulty lenses. To my dismay the service manager told me that Ford had declined warranty on my poor lenses.

I have a buddy that had some issues with his 50th tails cracking as well. He's on the East Coast and kept his car garaged during the snowy months. His cracked while being parked in his garage!! :frusty:

I am trying to see if anyone else has experienced a similar problem. If so or if anyone knows anything that could help me and others out please respond below. Right now Ford is stating that they will not warranty this but if there is enough people that have had the same thing happen maybe there is a way to get this fixed without having to shell out over a grand for new parts when it's possible the product came to us defective.

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[Nick]

Sorry to hear this Bryn. Seems Ford is hit or miss. I have a really strange bubbling issue between the layers of my windshield and they approved warranty work to replace the windshield. I haven't heard of anyone else having the same issue so as far as I can tell it's isolated. Hopefully they make good on your tails!

 

[Zemedici]

I would get a second opinion, them cracking from stress seems like a warranty item.

Check with another dealership

 

[The Great Gazoo]

I have a 50th trim package. I just checked my lights and there is no sign of cracking. Can you post some pics of yours?

 

[15Black3.7]

My drivers side tailight cracked for no reason whatsoever. No scratches or any signs of contact with anything. Took my tailight tint off and brought it to the dealer only to find out they wouldn't warranty it. They told me I hit it with something even though there was no damage. Two dealerships declined to fix it. Luckily I found someone selling a light for $225 so I snagged that up. I wish the best of luck to you man! Them lights are expensive as heck. And just so you know, I had moisture getting into my tailight as well and eventually the outermost bar stopped working. I'm assuming the other two bars would have gone eventually as well.

 

[ralph13]

The cause of the cracking is the tinting film. The adhesive on the film is crazing the plastic.

 

[15Black3.7]

I've never heard of that before. Do you have any proof?

 

[ralph13]

The adhesives contain petroleum distillates, which will attack the plastics used in tail lamps and other plastic lenses. It can also occur when using bug/tar removal products, as they contain similar solvents and why these products recommend not using them on plastics.

 

[DarkHorse5.0]

The cause of the cracking is the tinting film. The adhesive on the film is crazing the plastic.

Mine is cracked not just on the lenses but also on the taillight surround bezels. And I have never altered the outer part in any way. I understand if there is something about the vinyl that is cracking the lens itself but there is no other explanation for this bezel to crack other than faulty product. I only say this because my car has never been hit or introduced to extreme temperature

 

[DarkHorse5.0]

I have a 50th trim package. I just checked my lights and there is no sign of cracking. Can you post some pics of yours?

I will post some pics later today. My car is still at the dealership for the unrelated issue

 

[DarkHorse5.0]

I would get a second opinion, them cracking from stress seems like a warranty item.

Check with another dealership

Thanks for the tip. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion or just start sending emails like crazy until I get a legitimate response. I also should have mentioned perhaps that the service tech at the dealer I took it to seemed less than interested in my concerns and for lack of a better description treated me like a POS. He obviously didn't care at all

 

[15Black3.7]

That's exactly how I got treated. I had to force them to look at the light, otherwise they didn't give a crap about it. Completely ridiculous

 

[DarkHorse5.0]

Sorry to hear this Bryn. Seems Ford is hit or miss. I have a really strange bubbling issue between the layers of my windshield and they approved warranty work to replace the windshield. I haven't heard of anyone else having the same issue so as far as I can tell it's isolated. Hopefully they make good on your tails!

Thanks Nick! Yeah I hope so too. Bummer about your windshield but at least they covered it. I have a sickening feeling that I'm just gonna be up the creek with no paddle on this one and have to buy a set of tails :(

 

[Stangman21]

I've noticed on my tail light a very small but noticeable crack. (driver side) But I didn't put any tints on them. I've used Adam's cleaning products on it. I'm not sure that'll make a difference.

 

[DarkHorse5.0]

I've noticed on my tail light a very small but noticeable crack. (driver side) But I didn't put any tints on them. I've used Adam's cleaning products on it. I'm not sure that'll make a difference.

Yeah I'm starting to think removing the tint was not such a good idea. At least with the vinyl on they were protected :shrug:

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