head light cracks

[Hashslinger]

Hello, I recently purchased a 2014 R1200RT LC. While Inspecting the bike prior to purchasing it I noticed a half dozen hairline cracks on/in the headlight lens. They appear to be on the inside of the lens and not caused by a exterior impact. Is this a defect? I looked up the cost of replacing the headlight after purchasing the bike and to say the least was shocked at the price. It looks like I will be living with this cosmetic imperfection for a very long time ( which is fine, I am cosmetically imperfect as well ;)  I am really happy with bike, but curious what  caused the cracks and are there any solutions other than replacement.

 

[wbw6cos]

Welcome to the board.  Despite the issue, I hope you can enjoy your RT.

 

Do you know if you have the OEM bulb installed or some sort of aftermarket type that causes excessive heat?  Others may offer better ideas, but  it was just a thought.

[Corazon de Pollo]

Quick question #1: where do these crack appear?

Quick question #2: do you also happen to notice a dark "halo" at the sides of the headlight lens?

Quick question #3: did the bike had a clear headlight protector installed when you bought it?

Quick question #4: does your bike have the LED "angel eyes" or ordinary headlights, like the police ones?

 

There have been a lot of similar cases on cars since 2010 or so, with no clear relationship between them. Toyota and Porsche have been dealing with these cracks on a case by case basis but they generally replaced them even outside warranty.

I know dealing with BMW is almost as bad as dealing with Honda but inquiring at the dealership cannot hurt.

[APDDave]

I have a 2016 RT-P with the halo rings light in the front.  I have had the same issue with the cracks on mine.  I pointed them out to the dealer while the bike was still under warranty and they said probably due to impact and would not be covered under warranty.  I have cleaned the lens and there is NO visible indent or marks where it looked like anything hit the light to cause the cracks (over half a dozen of them) while I can see some other small marks on the lens where it looks like something has hit it causing a small mark but no cracking.  I am sure it is a defect but now that it is out of warranty I am probably stuck with it as it is very expensive to replace.

 

[Hashslinger]

7 hours ago, Corazon de Pollo said:

Quick question #1: where do these crack appear?

Quick question #2: do you also happen to notice a dark "halo" at the sides of the headlight lens?

Quick question #3: did the bike had a clear headlight protector installed when you bought it?

Quick question #4: does your bike have the LED "angel eyes" or ordinary headlights, like the police ones?

 

There have been a lot of similar cases on cars since 2010 or so, with no clear relationship between them. Toyota and Porsche have been dealing with these cracks on a case by case basis but they generally replaced them even outside warranty.

I know dealing with BMW is almost as bad as dealing with Honda but inquiring at the dealership cannot hurt.

The majority of the cracks are clustered directly forward of the center head lamp. There are are a few on front of the other lamp bulbs as well. The hairline cracks don't appear to correlate with any small chips on the outside surface of the lens. I don't see any dark halo, no headlight protector or evidence or attachment tabs. I'm not sure which style head lamp I have, but there are what appears to be circular led lights on before starting the bike up.

[Hashslinger]

10 hours ago, wbw6cos said:

Welcome to the board.  Despite the issue, I hope you can enjoy your RT.

 

Do you know if you have the OEM bulb installed or some sort of aftermarket type that causes excessive heat?  Others may offer better ideas, but  it was just a thought.

Thanks for the welcome, I am already enjoying the bike. My first ride was on Calif Hwy 1 and Skaggs Springs Rd to lake Sonoma. I was amazed how well RT handled in the twisties.

The bulbs are OEM.

[Alfred02]

I have got a 2014 and no apparent hairline cracks at all. And it does have stone chips before I went ahead and installed a headlight protector.

 

[strataj]

Could the sun do this type of damage?  Do you know if the bike was left outside or garaged?

[dirtrider]

26 minutes ago, strataj said:

Could the sun do this type of damage?  Do you know if the bike was left outside or garaged?

 

Evening strataj

 

Yes, the Sun's UV  could but it depends on the lens plastic composition & how UV stable it is.

 

Probably more damaging is using headlight bulbs that are not UV protection rated. Lots of headlight bulbs (especially cheaper ones) do not have UV protection.  Good (UV safe) bulbs will usually state UV protected on the box.  

 

The UV can cause crazing or light cracking but it usually also shows clouding so a very clear lens with just light cracking might not be UV related. 

 

 

[Hashslinger]

1 hour ago, strataj said:

Could the sun do this type of damage?  Do you know if the bike was left outside or garaged?

The bike was stored in a covered patio with a cover over it. The bike has 8000 miles on the clock. Because the majority of the hairline cracks are clustered directly in front of the center bulb I am guessing that heat from the bulb caused the damage on the inside of the lens. It seems like a defect to me. It's only noticeable when the headlamps are on, so not a huge deal unless it fails sometime in the future and I have to buy a $1200 replacement.

[Corazon de Pollo]

On 11/12/2019 at 9:32 PM, Hashslinger said:

The majority of the cracks are clustered directly forward of the center head lamp. There are are a few on front of the other lamp bulbs as well. The hairline cracks don't appear to correlate with any small chips on the outside surface of the lens. I don't see any dark halo, no headlight protector or evidence or attachment tabs. I'm not sure which style head lamp I have, but there are what appears to be circular led lights on before starting the bike up.

 

It sounds a whole lot like either a defective unit, such as the ones Toyota has been dealing with on some models, or the previous owner installed a high wattage/very temperature lamp such as the Philips Diamond or PIAA Hyper. Those things can really do a number even on good quality polycarbonate lenses.