my ml350 headlamp has water

[archangelmigl]

Hey guys first time at benzworld and so far ive read pretty much all the forum pages for the suv class in search of a problem fixer. ive seen a few pages of the same questions but i gotta ask. i bought a 2003 ml350 and about three weeks later condensation started. at first it was fine, you know it would show up and then leave. just before winter time came it really got bad, to the point where there were water literally water drops on the headlamp. months went by and the water stayed. Drove it for hrs, left the hibeams and low on for HRS,and nothing. but during this winter it got so bad the water that was in it froze and when it melted it left a type nasty frost on the lense, it look so so nasty. every time it rains or i wash the car it happens so the only thing i know how to do is remove the all the bulbs and from the outside of the lamp i blow with a blow dryer. it sucks beacause i have to do this every time the truck touches water. tomorrow im gonna disasemble the headlamp and take out all the bulbs and try ckeaning the frost with a rag. but hey what else can i do? what do you guys suggest? What can i do to keep it from happening, dealers wont do anything saying its normal and it is not because only passenger side is messed up.. please help asap.oh ive included a picture of it, i know its horrible.

[BOY-6]

open the cover lead behind the headlights, you need air to circulate. leave it about an hour im pretty sure the moisture will dissappear.

i used to have the same problem then i jsut tried out remove the lids behind the headlights dont leave ur light on for hours. that would create more moisture specially when it rains.

[woodyww]

[/i]

...dealers wont do anything saying its normal and it is not because only passenger side is messed up..

Umm, hmm. The officially sanctioned excuse from MB HQ for this build-quality problem is that the condition is a “natural occurrence.� I guess my CLK is “unnatural� then. (BTW, does anyone advise that I take my CLK in to the service department to point out this “unnatural� phenomenon and ask for a fix so it will fog-up as it “naturally� should?)

Here’s my explanation for MB’s irrational rationale- Jurgen Shrempp is speaking:

"We at D-C are having our bottom line sucked dry by warranty-related expenditures for electronics and mechanics that either malfunction or don’t work the majority of the time. If we don’t do something soon to stabilize cash outflow our bonus pool will shrink. (Moment of panic here.) [i]Hey, here’s a solution -- let’s start explaining away some quality issues as ‘natural occurrences.’ Diedrich, go make up a list of possibilities and have it on my desk by Freitag.�

[S4toML]

[chris0055]

Hey archangelmigl
I have exactly the same problem as you have. what I do for this irritated problem is that I do the same way as BOY. I took whole headlamp unit out and took the high beam plug off which enable me to use a hair blower to dry it. The point was that I blow is really slowly and not in high temperature. I haven't check does the moisture still exist or not coz I am out of country without my ML now. I will check out wheather if the nasty problem still there yet or not. One of my friend who works at autobody shop told me that it might damage the headlamp bulbs if too much mosture inside of the units(passenger side as well), he recommand me to get a change of units with my dealer, but I haven't have a look of my car yet so I will post message wheather or not this is a solution. Thanks

[JimB]

First of all I would like to say I like your username[:)]its kind know where you from[;)]and welcome on board.

about the water, since your ML is under warranty, isn't supposed to be covered by warranty. Have you ask your dealer about it? I would suggest don't do anything to the headlight until you show them to the dealer and let see what they are are going to say. my .02 cent[:)]

[archangelmigl]

thanks guys ill try to see what i could do then ill let uou guys know how it goes. Thank u again.

[archangelmigl]

thanks jimb for the coment. and im happy to be onboard. its cool to help ot each other since the MB company is just exactly what woodyww described. (nice by the way). now as for going to the dealership and asking them is just pointless. i went to the dealership in route 22 in Union Nj and at first they told me over the phone to come in that its probablly a clogged vent, but wwhen i got there the guy just looked at it for a few seconds and then sent me on my, telling me that its NORMAL. lol some bull. they just dont want to do anything.

but i just want to thank everyone again for the help. Im going to wash my car now its kinda salty (with light caps) then imma just leave them off for the night and some of the day tomorrow, since its going to be a nice sunny day. (51F)

thanks again.[:)]

[bulldog]

It happened to my 03 ML 350 passenger headlight also & I talked to the dealer & they dont want to do anything about it as they said its a natural thing but then instead of raising my voice I kept calm & talked to the service manager that because of me 6 of my friends got their cars from them & more are coming to buy. So he told me to bring the car, we let it idle for 30 mins on high beam but the water never go away so they decided to change the whole light assembly. Right now its perfect no moisture or water of some sort. my question why it only happened on the passenger side..
Bulldog...

[LOCHS 2]

I'm bringing it in March 1st to have them look into "fixing" it. Previous posts have mentioned drilling a hole to create a place for the water to "escape" or dissipate more quickly. It's not air tight obviously but it is something that MB can and should correct. I'll let you know. It's funny--I never notice the issue on other MLs I see driving around Chicagoland. Anyway, Hella made the assemblies so hopefully they are fixing the issue for future applications. My old '94 Geo Prizm did not even have this issue...so...