Tesla still delivers cars with moisture in reverse light housing!

Here's my March 2013 car taken just the other day. I've had it back several times, and each time they tell me some "new and improved" technique has been applied which should alleviate the problem. It usually clears up in dryer weather, and I am just resigned to live with it.

Mine is the same way. Replaced once (or twice), I cannot remember. Another one of those "broken-by-design" issues with the Model S in an otherwise wonderful car. There is no fix.

Yep. The right reverse light housing on my new P85D has moisture inside, too. Funny enough, my old P85 never did, even after 2 years. Local service center said it's an easy fix - they can pull the trim piece and redo the seal.

Problem is for me I have that rear chrome piece wrapped in gloss black, so the local SC can't touch it. I'll need to have my detailer coordinate with them to pull the piece and redo the seal. I'll probably skip it for now.

Torpedo Ted said:

I find it almost hilarious that Elon Musk have no problem figuring out how to send rockets to space, but moisture in the reverse lights is apparantly a challenge so hard that Tesla have given up finding a solution.

I took delivery of a P85 exactly a year ago, and it was delivered with moisture in one of the reverse lights. I was told there was no fix, and they would contact me when they had a fix. Reading up on internet, I turns out that most cars have this problem. The problem quickly got worse, and both the lights are completely covered with moisture.

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Just so you're aware, the moisture is not in the reversing lights. That's a decorative piece across the rear hatch that extends to cover the center casing of the lights. It's annoying but at least you know that the moisture isn't inside the lights. My service center fixed it by removing it and replacing the adhesive strip that holds it on.

NigelM said:

Just so you're aware, the moisture is not in the reversing lights. That's a decorative piece across the rear hatch that extends to cover the center casing of the lights. It's annoying but at least you know that the moisture isn't inside the lights. My service center fixed it by removing it and replacing the adhesive strip that holds it on.

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The chrome strip has been off, modified and re-installed at least 3 times now (the last time to replace a defective backup camera) and I still get moisture. As you can see from my photo, it's getting inside the tail light assembly too. I think part of the problem for me is the extremes in temperature we can get over the course of a day. When it's really cold, my headlights fog over too... something I've never experienced in other cars:

Yup, mine has been deinstalled/reinstalled 3 times. The double sided tape they use is not watertight. FWIW, about a year ago I ran into Jerome Guillien who had a prototype new applique on his sig red S with a different more recessed design of the clear lenses. Guess that they have not gone into production. At least the moisture is not inside the electrical assembly. Cosmetic issue.

I would recommend NOT having service fix this because you have even odds of the fix not working, and possibly making things worse.

I had mine "fixed" three times, and then dust started getting into the reverse light. Replace that moisture you see in the photos with red Arizona dirt. That's what was building up inside of my reverse lights. Finally after escalating to the regional manager, my specific dust issue was sent to engineering and a TSB was issued as a result. It involved a beefier seal, I believe. I no longer have the dust issue, but I still get moisture condensation and so I'm back to square one. At least where I live, the moisture evaporates within 5 minutes of washing the car.

Jerome Guillen was spotted last year with a different rear appliqué on his car. Someone at a supercharger asked him about it and he said it was redesigned to address the moisture issue. But apparently the revised appliqué never went into production.

My suggestion is to leave it alone because all cars have this issue, more or less. I wish I had not asked them to repair it because they made things worse.

mknox said:

The chrome strip has been off, modified and re-installed at least 3 times now (the last time to replace a defective backup camera) and I still get moisture. As you can see from my photo, it's getting inside the tail light assembly too. I think part of the problem for me is the extremes in temperature we can get over the course of a day. When it's really cold, my headlights fog over too... something I've never experienced in other cars:

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That's probably another reason we have soooo many Canadians in Florida. ;-)

Joking aside, I wouldn't be happy with fogging lights; the fogged trim piece is a minor annoyance but moisture inside the real light housing really needs fixing.

Ampera/Volt has a nice solution to the problem. There are tiny holes in the light assembly, so that the inside of the light assembly 'breathes'. It can get condensation inside sometimes, but because it's an open air design, it also evaporates quickly.

Same here. My wonderful service center has bent over backwards to try again and again to fix it but to no avail. I've given up on trying to correct it, but it happens when I wash my car. Every. Single. Time. :-(

Had this issue two years ago when the car was new. Fixed once and never came back as far as I recall. YMMV.

highfalutintodd said:

Same here. My wonderful service center has bent over backwards to try again and again to fix it but to no avail. I've given up on trying to correct it, but it happens when I wash my car. Every. Single. Time. :-(

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Yep, I get it too every time I wash the car. Since it's gone the next day, it no longer bothers me.

highfalutintodd said:

Same here. My wonderful service center has bent over backwards to try again and again to fix it but to no avail. I've given up on trying to correct it, but it happens when I wash my car. Every. Single. Time. :-(

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Same for me. This is really the only time it happens - when I wash the car. Fortunately it goes away within a day, so I've just learned to live with it.

I've got the same prob

I was at the SC picking up my car today, unrelated issue (the seat problem I posted on the TM forums) and was chatting with another owner while waiting. We essentially both said the same thing, this car is so amazing in so many ways, that we ignore/give a pass to the minor annoyances.

I had this in the reversing lights enclosure on my P85D at pickup back in late-Dec. When we pointed it out, the delivery specialist took it back into the factory and got the whole chrome strip replaced (and got a paint chip fixed) while we were finishing up the paperwork. No issues since but, we haven't had much rain around here and I haven't gotten the car washed in 3 months :sheepish:

pretty interesting to hear this. i thought fit n finish problems were only from the interiors...

NigelM said:

Joking aside, I wouldn't be happy with fogging lights; the fogged trim piece is a minor annoyance but moisture inside the real light housing really needs fixing.

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It has to be extremely cold before I get the headlight fogging and, so far, it doesn't seem to cover the part of the lens where the projector lamp shines through (probably the heat from the lamp keeps it off that section). No noticeable degradation of headlight power from the driver's seat either. I get it in both headlights, but it does clear up.

One thing that worries me a bit with any of the lights that have this problem is that there will always be a bit of contamination in the moisture and eventually you'll get water marks or stains on the inside of the lens where you can't get at it to clean.

mknox said:

It has to be extremely cold before I get the headlight fogging and, so far, it doesn't seem to cover the part of the lens where the projector lamp shines through (probably the heat from the lamp keeps it off that section). No noticeable degradation of headlight power from the driver's seat either. I get it in both headlights, but it does clear up.

One thing that worries me a bit with any of the lights that have this problem is that there will always be a bit of contamination in the moisture and eventually you'll get water marks or stains on the inside of the lens where you can't get at it to clean.

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Tesla replaced my headlights because the projector headlamps had fingerprints on them. You should have your headlights replaced.