Now winter has arrived with cold and wet weather just noticed a 2 inch circle of condensed moisture/

water on the inside of drivers side circular fog light (car stands out and not garaged).

My first Skoda (Sept 2010 reg) so not sure if this is normal or a warranty item

requiring a new light (or can it be cleaned out and resealed)??

Not a good start after switching brands and 8 years of Honda trouble free motoring.

Any feedback appreciated.

As the bulb can be replaced, I am not sure it can claim to be sealed. Have you tried leaving the fog lights on for a few minutes to see if the heat removes the moisture? It may be that the reflector and front glass are not sealed and have let water in.

You still have two years of the three year guarantee left so, if you are not satisfied, get it replaced.

I've noticed one of mine doing the same, so I shall keep an eye on it and mention it when it goes for it's first service.

Now winter has arrived with cold and wet weather just noticed a 2 inch circle of condensed moisture/

water on the inside of drivers side circular fog light (car stands out and not garaged).

My first Skoda (Sept 2010 reg) so not sure if this is normal or a warranty item

requiring a new light (or can it be cleaned out and resealed)??

Not a good start after switching brands and 8 years of Honda trouble free motoring.

Any feedback appreciated.

From page 53 of the manual:

In the event of cool or humid weather conditions, the headlights can be misted up

from inside.

 The temperature difference between interior and external area of the headlight

lenses is decisive.

 When the driving lights are switched on, the light outlet surfaces are free from

mist after a short period. The headlight lenses can possibly mist up at the border

areas.

 It also concerns reverse light and turn signal lights.

 This mist has no influence on the life of the lighting system.

Thanks Dave.

Perhaps I should follow my own example and check the book!

Thanks Dave.

Perhaps I should follow my own example and check the book!

No problem, it just happened to be one of the things I remembered for some reason

Thanks for information on p53.

As 'foglights' are not specifically mentioned it is a bit ambiguous in wording.

It mentions the edge of the lens and my problem is basically in the centre of the drivers side foglight.

All the other lights including passenger side foglight is unaffected...suggests a leaking/failed seal in

this particular light.

Should affect all lights in identical weather conditions if this is a design feature/characteristic surely??

In general I find the manual a dogs breakfast of unclear descriptions. It even takes an age to read how

to top up the oil between the max and min mark!!!

Will bring it up with Dealer on next visit as surely black/green mould can build up inside lens.

I assume life of bulb would not be affected???

Never had a car with a 'built in mist in light' feature before (LOL).

Edited 24 November, 201015 yr by kibby

I had a new Seat Leon a few years back and the fog lights used to have condensation droplets on the inside of the lens.

Went away after they had been on but soon came back in the cold.

Dealer replaced them under warranty with no arguments.

Rather than starting a new thread, I thought I'd resurrect this one as I have had condensation in both my fog/DRL and headlight units from time to time but most noticeably in recent weeks to my offside headlamp unit to quite an extent covering about 1/3rd of the headlamp lens.

Usually, the condensation would clear in a day or so but this time, after the heavy rain of 10 days ago it wouldn't; car stands outside day & night.

Difficult to know whether the amount of condensation I've had is 'normal' or indication of a problem but nevertheless I decided to deal with it yesterday.

Very simple solution was to open the bonnet, remove the caps on the headlight unit (headlight and fog/DRL light units seem to be open to each other for airflow) giving access to the sidelight and headlight bulbs, get my wife's hairdyer set on medium blow/heat and rest this such that it blew air into the headlight unit via the sidelight access. Placing a hand by the headlamp access I could feel a nice waft of warm air coming out.

I left the hairdryer running for 30 mins or so and lo and behold, all condensation was cleared. Repeated on the other headlight unit. Job done.

I'm off to the North York Moors in the morning for a week's holiday and the weather forecast appears to be suitably wet; so I'll be watching careful for any condensation build up over the week.

This has been around for years. Skoda explain it as above in the handbook. Many other cars do it as well at this time of the year, my MG TF does it as well.

The units are not sealed (as in old sealed beams) and water vapour is free to get in and out depending on atmospheric conditions and use of the lights. It is not a problem, does not affect the lighting efficiency or cause corosion problems, nor is it a warranty issue.

I'm struggling to comment diplomatically how this is a non issue. Headlights, foglights, any light where there is a large expanse of clears lens which is subject to heat change, sunlight or filament, will experience this very minor occurence.

Perhaps I should have explained that the point of my post was;-

1. I thought the condensation I had was a 'bit too much' but

2. there is an easy solution to get rid of it.

.... just trying to share the benefit of my experience.

I'm struggling to comment diplomatically how this is a non issue. Headlights, foglights, any light where there is a large expanse of clears lens which is subject to heat change, sunlight or filament, will experience this very minor occurence.

I think these words are very harsh and unnecessary. Whilst many people on this forum are very knowledgeable and in tune with cars and Yetis in particular, not everyone is, especially recent owners.