Hi,

I have a 54 plate skoda superb, with absolutely filthy headlights inside, which is seriously affecting the level of light coming out, I would like to know if it's possible to get inside them to clean them? Otherwise where can I get some new headlights for fairly cheap ( or second hand ), they seem very hard to come buy without spending 900 euros from superskoda.com!

Thanks guys,

Josh

Remove them from the car, Stick them in the oven @ 200c, Gas 6 for 5mins split them and clean and polish, Back in the oven for 5 and rebond! Re-fit. 900euro or an afternoon of your time, Your choice.

Forgive my naivety, but will this not destroy my headlights completely

No... you just put them back together....

Ok, Thanks guys will get this done over the weekend

I take it you have had a look on ebay? There is sometimes some on there. Failing that maybe a local breakers yard?

Good luck in your search, let us know how you get on.

I take it you have had a look on ebay? There is sometimes some on there. Failing that maybe a local breakers yard?

Good luck in your search, let us know how you get on.

Yeah i've had a look on there, but they never really have any, and all the breakers on there say the headlights have already been sold, Will give this "baking" the headlights a go, and if it doesnt make a difference I guess i'll start checking the scrapyards

I would be interested to know how you get on with this. I have a couple of dirty spots in mine which irritate me but as the units are xenon (expensive) I really dont want to take them apart and damage something.

Loads of taxi's around here (all makes and models) have very dirty front and rear lights.... I wonder why? Do taxi drivers change bulbs and not bother replacing the covers on the backs of the lights, or is it caused by very long periods of use?

Will keep you posted on it, and if you're interested I could do some before / after photos

Not sure about why the taxi ones are so dirty, my rear lights are good as new ( ex-taxi with 150,000 miles ) but the fronts are terrible, probably just neglect.

Loads of taxi's around here (all makes and models) have very dirty front and rear lights.... I wonder why? Do taxi drivers change bulbs and not bother replacing the covers on the backs of the lights, or is it caused by very long periods of use?

Head lamps have to breathe and therefore have vents all around them to help with air movement within side the lamp, the only way that dirt will get inside is if the back caps have been removed, following a bulb change and been replaced incorrectly, or alternatively some of the vent tubes have been 'knocked off'........... :no:

Not sure about why the taxi ones are so dirty, my rear lights are good as new ( ex-taxi with 150,000 miles ) but the fronts are terrible, probably just neglect.

Rear Lamps on the Superb are enclosed by the rear wing so the only way to get dirt inside them is from within the boot compartment, which is why in most cases you will see more insects in them as opposed to in the Head Lamps.......... :no:

Edited 4 February, 201016 yr by Baker21

unless of course yu do a lot of night driving , and you will have more insect impact on the headlights rather than the rear lights

Will keep you posted on it, and if you're interested I could do some before / after photos

Not sure about why the taxi ones are so dirty, my rear lights are good as new ( ex-taxi with 150,000 miles ) but the fronts are terrible, probably just neglect.

Hi: Did you attempt the heat treatment to separate the light unit, was it successful?

might have a go at this myself

my passenger side headlight looks a little discoloured, but its definately on the inside of the light. the drivers side looks brand spanking new, so im guessing it probably is! (probably as a result of minor damage it got replaced)

its not so bad as to severely affect light output though, from the drivers seat they seem to perform the same. its just an aesthetic thing because one light looks yellower than the other.

Yeah i've had a look on there, but they never really have any, and all the breakers on there say the headlights have already been sold, Will give this "baking" the headlights a go, and if it doesnt make a difference I guess i'll start checking the scrapyards

did you get your lights cleaned using the oven method?

I've the same issue - and in fact my bulbs were ****e as well...............Halfrauds were doing these super mental 90% brighter bulbs buy one get one free with free fitting the other day..........got them to lob some in and they're about three times better than before

Cracks me up that they can get away with claiming 90% brighter - that would be like daylight then

Would still like to get the insides clean though

Hi,

I have a 54 plate skoda superb, with absolutely filthy headlights inside, which is seriously affecting the level of light coming out, I would like to know if it's possible to get inside them to clean them? Otherwise where can I get some new headlights for fairly cheap ( or second hand ), they seem very hard to come buy without spending 900 euros from superskoda.com!

Thanks guys,

Josh

I had a similar problem with an old Audi once.

I removed the headlights from the car, removed the bulbs and sprayed a nice amount of window cleaner fluid inside the unit. Then moved it around, to be sure the fluid reached all parts of the reflector and glass.

Next step I filled it 1/4 full with warm water, still with the window cleaner inn, and shook the whole thing for a while, trying to hold my hands over the openings. The water/window cleaner mix getting out were showing that dirt indeed were present in the headlight.

Next step was getting out the window cleaner, filling up partially with clean, warm water, shaking and pouring it out again. I repeated this till I was sure the window cleaner was out.

Last step I put the headlights on a warm surface (not too warm), letting it stay there till all moisture were dried out. Might be smart to have the front of the headlight up, so the remains of water will get out, not gather at the front glass before it dries.

This procedure really helped, lights were as new, and I had the car with these headlights for five years after this operation, with no signs of problems related to this cleaning. How ever, this were on more old fashion headlights, with prisms in the glass, have no idea how this will work on more modern headlights.

Myran