Biarritz

The rubber seal or gasket around the headlights on my 06 Cayenne S seems to disintegrate. It is sticky when I touch it, and is so soft that it easily smears. Has anyone else had this problem? I find only one post in this forum that mentions the problem. What can cause this?

The warranty on my car is expired, but IMO this should be covered as it is a material defect.

Thanks for any pointers!

quattrotman

Yeah, mine did that too. It just turned to this tar/gooey substance. I actually peeled most of it off. It doesn't really seem to have that important of a function. It kinda looks like the same stuf that manufacturers use to glue the headlights together (the lense to the housing). Maybe it's just excess that after years of weather and sun has turned into goo.

airdiesel

My 04 became the same condition. The gasket is about twenty dollars per side at Sunset Import. You can easily replace it by yourself. You just pop the headlights out, take the rubber gasket off, and put a new one around. No tools needed other than the headlight removal wrench from the tool box in the trunk.

Mamut79

I completely removed mines.

Km1.8t

Dealer replaced mine when it was under warranty.

mudman2

easy job, they are needed

Stone43

It is an easy repair. However when you stretch the rubber around the headlight, don't pull it too hard or the little holes that "hook" onto the headlight assembly will tear and you are back buying another one. Ask me how I know. I blamed it on part defect and dealer gave me a mulligan on a new one.

It is a goofy design and gave me flashbacks from my 911 days.....

Biarritz

Thanks for all the feedback and tips. My dealer acted as though they've never seen anything like this. The car is less than 4 years old but over 50k mi, so out of warranty. They won't fix it under warranty, even though this is clearly defective material.

Boeing 717

Yup same problem here, 20 bucks from sunset is not bad though, i think they were like 60 bucks at my dealer........Pfff give me break.

joeyvaz

resurrecting an old thread, but does anyone have a link to the part that is $20? I've only seen them for $50 so far. I need to change both of mine.

Thanks!

mudman2

I got mine from SunsetImports but they were $38

joeyvaz

thanks mudman. I'll reach out to them today.

joeyvaz

seems as though the seals are now $50-65 each online. Local dealers wanted $68 and $80 respectively!!!! I'll just order two for $100 and install when they come in next week. Condensation in the housing looks terrible! Reminds me of all the Honda fans running around with aftermarket headlights and taillights that have water in them. LOL

This should never happen on a $60k vehicle in my opinion. But, the joys of owning expensive cars comes at cost. I guess I am a glutton for punishment having 4 Audis and now a Cayenne in the stable. LOL

mike hussey

The installation of gaskets is one of the most important aspects of rebuilding an engine. Gaskets provide a seal between mating surfaces so oil, coolant, vacuum and pressure don’t leak. As long as all the gaskets are installed properly, everything should be fine, and the engine shouldn’t leak. But, as every rebuilder knows, even a small leak can create an expensive warranty problem for you and your customer.

Nobody wants oil leaks, coolant leaks, vacuum leaks or combustion leaks, so in this article we’re going to review some basic installation tips and tricks that can help you minimize the risk of gasket failure.
http://rubber-sales.com/rubber_beedings.html

JFR-

Same disintegration with my 06 gaskets. The dealer said they didn't really matter and replacing them was optional. He made them sound more like trim pieces than functional necessities for keeping water out of the lights themselves. Thoughts on this? What purpose do they serve?