So I'm a bit peeved and was wondering if there's something I might be able to do still that I haven't thought of.

Long story short, passenger clear tail lamp has condensation (mind you the drivers side just had to be replaced for this back in June). I first noticed it back on 10/2, thought the warranty didn't run out til November and I was busy traveling. Well, I was wrong and it ran out last week on 10/12.

I called my local Aston dealer about it, and they said they'd inquire. I sent them a time/date stamped picture of it from 10/2 to help. They emailed back today and said no dice, no warranty replacement.

 

Go straight to Astom Martin in UK,I have seen similar problems on Pistonheads and they call up head office and things get sorted pretty quickly,you have nothing to loose,good luck

 

Take advantage of the weak pound?

 

I used their contact form to send a msg explaining the situation, I guess if that turns up nothing I can always call.

 

I hear a lot of these condensation in lights happening. What year and model is your car?

 

the car is an '07 but the clear tails were purchased on 10/12/15. for a set of OEM lights that cost $1600 to have both sides go bad in under a year is unacceptable, and surely they know this is an issue.

 

The tail light problem is not only ridiculous, but the condensation often knocks out the LED's working which can pose a danger - and since this has been a problem known for over a decade and continues to be a problem, I think it's logical for the next step to send Aston corporate a formal complaint and a fix for ALL Aston owners as this problem will eventually show up on most of their cars. It's not a question of if, but when.

If you agree and wish to be named on a letter to AM corporate in UK and in US, PM me.

 

It's very well-known to them. They even updated the tail lights (including new part numbers) to try to prevent the condensation issue from continuing.

 

any idea when they updated this? it's a concern since I'm experiencing this on lights purchased in October of last yr, so it was either old stock they were still sending out at the time, or the fix isn't exactly working...

 

I'm not sure when, but I ordered some in May for someone. New part numbers are 4G43-37-11459 and 4G43-37-11458.

 

sorry to dredge up an old one but finally took the tail light out enough today to drill some holes in it. sad thing to say is the mfg date on that stupid light is 2014. to think it didn't even make it 3 yrs of its life, only half of which it was installed on a car, is truly pitiful. shame on aston for sourcing these poorly made pieces.

 

Something I learned with Nissan is they would change the part number, but nothing about the part. So when the first one got enough NTSB complaints to issue a recall, it only affected the original part number. Enough would have to complain to have a recall issued on the next part number, and so on. I had a steering lock go that had 3 previous part numbers, the part never changed, and only the first part number was issued a recall.


Not that Aston would ever have enough volume of complaints to warrant a recall [not that I know if that's a total number or a percent of units sold], but manufacturers have lots of tricks to game the system.

 

What's the part number on that tail light?

When I ordered the set in this comment quote, I specifically asked about the difference and was told they changed it to reflect a different sealant that's supposed to fix the condensation issue.
Whether or not it was actually resolved is yet to be seen, but the part number change was for that reason.

 

Is the condensation issue only on V8 Vantages?

 

It is also how they are installed. Too tight with not enough of a gap at body contact, and it will apply pressure to separate the lens from the backing. Mostly on the outward edge, then it's like a funnel come wash time.