Gonzo911

Ok, so my first Porsche was an '03 996. Other than having interesting looking headlights, they were yellowed from age or who knows what.

Fast forward to my '12 997 with 22K miles. Always garaged. Underground parking at the office. Hardly even drive it at night and the headlights are already cloudy and starting to yellow.

Of course, I would expect more from a car with this price tag and relatively little use. Anyone else experiencing rapid deterioration? If so, any love from Porsche?

I know there are DIY's out there, but I feel strongly that I shouldn't have to deal with this so soon. Warranty ran out recently...

St8haus

17k miles on my 2012 997.2 4-GTS Cab and do not have any issues with the headlights...that does not seem normal to me.

Bruce In Philly

My '09 is fine..... I am wondering if someone compounded them..... and took the coating off. Are you the original owner? Every have a "paint correction" or whatever that newagewave crap they are calling an old fashioned compounding.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

tomc_mets

Ditto. I have an '11 with 45K miles, and not a sign of yellowing, and my car lives outside, winter, summer, everything.
T

Gonzo911

I bought the car with 4500 miles and it was pristine. The headlights have started to deteriorate in the last few months. I am going to drop by the Dealer Monday and see what they say.

Shame, since the headlights are such a signature for our cars. It's certainly not something I plan to live with.

Update forthcoming.

Quadcammer

My 08 that sits outside still has clear headlights

TexPorsche

For $20 you can buy a kit from Sylvania. Did my headlights in my 05, they weren't in to bad of shape, I just wanted them to pop. Fabulous results. My wife had her Lexus done at dealership $170, lasted 6 months, used the kit and after 18 months they still look like new.

Dennis C

I had the same issue with my 996. I did not experience this with my 997, and I haven't seen it on my 991.

mreloc

Whatever you do, I'd recommend covering the new or restored lights with lamin-x film. Protects against road debris as well as UV damage.

ToniCarrera

Mine '10 lamps were starting to get a bit hazy, but not to the point of yellow. So I cleaned and polished them out with Meguiars Clear Plastic Cleaner & Clear Plastic Polish. Good stuff. Took out the haziness.

Hatzenbach

Cool, but why would you do that and not take the headlights out?

Gonzo911

I know there are some good DIY options out there, but I'm going to wait and see what the Dealer says. They shouldn't be looking this bad so soon.

You can see the fogging in the textured trim above the lens as well as the general hazing of the lens itself.

rodH

They say that once you use these treatments to take off the haze, that you are taking off any UV protectant and the haze will come back much much sooner. So the point is, only do this when you absolutely have to. And when you do, try and use some type of long lasting sealant and maybe even laminX or clear bra material.

I have 2005. 27k miles garaged lights look new

ToniCarrera

That looks terminal. Maybe previously owner or dealer swapped out the '12 factory fitted lamps which looked new for these from an older car. You could check the date stamps/labels on lamp body once lamps are removed

Gonzo911

Update. Swung by the Dealership this morning. Unfortunately, they would not take responsibility for the headlight condition since they could not be sure the previous owner did not do something that removed the UV coating. Fair point, since I can not be sure either. They offered to do a restoration starting at $600 for both lights. I told them I was going to try it myself.

So, I figured I would start small and bought a bottle of Meguiar's PlastX Headlight Polish and Scratch Remover. Took me about 5 minutes. As you can see, it worked really well...though still not perfect. Not sure if I am going to attempt the full restoration kit since overall I am happy with the results.

I am going to investigate what I should do for ongoing UV Protection. Thanks for all the replies!