I recently went through a car wash (touchless), and noticed there was some water mist in one of my head light housings. Have any of you had this problem? I'm thinking its a bad gasket, just wanna know what to expect in terms of repair costs.

 

If it was a humid/hot day, the cold water from the car wash hitting your headlights could have made the moisture in there condense. I would give it a couple days parked in the sun when its dry out to see if they clear up. If it becomes a persistent problem then I would worry about it. There is a TSB too:

Service Bulletin Number:
ITB-03-051C
NHTSA Item Number:
10032304

Summary:
INFINITI: EXTERIOR LAMP FOGGING. WATER IN THE EXTERIOR LAMPS. THIS IS GENERALLY NOT DUE TO A DEFECT. ALL CURRENT EXTERIOR LAMP ASSEMBLIES ARE VENTED TO THE ATMOSPHERE (NOT SEALED). MOISTURE IN THE AIR SOMETIMES TRAVELS INTO AND OUT OF THE LAMP ASSEMBLY THROUGH THESE VENTS. NECESSARY TO ALLOW FOR EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION OF AIR FROM TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS (WARMER OR COLDER) WITHOUT DAMAGE TO THE LAMP. CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS MAY CAUSE MOISTURE TO CONDENSE. FOGGING/CLOUDINESS SHOULD DISAPPEAR OVER TIME WHEN THE LAMP IS IN A DRY ENVIRONMENT. *PE UPDATED 7/28/10. *PE

 

here are some pics of what i'm talking about. not sure if this is what's described in the TSB above. anyone else have this happen?

 

I've had a little condensation in my headlights before.

Wash the car in Texas and move it into the heat and it'll happen. Cool water followed by direct sunlight. Bound to happen.

No problems from it. Ever. More of an annoyance than anything else. It goes away.

I never tried it, but I would imagine that running your headlights would speed the drying process - dunno.

Let it dry and you'll be fine. I never sweated it. Didn't like it, but didn't worry about it either.

 

That looks like a lot of moisture. IMO that is not normal. If you are still under warranty, I would definitely let the dealership know about it. That's what your warranty is for.

 

warranty is over.

it does seem like a lot of moisture, but, as stated in the TSB, if there are vents to allow moisture in, then i guess i can see how this much got in considering those touchless wash stations pump out that water prettty damn hard.

 

You know I asked the dealership about this problem when I first got my car and they said it wasn't a problem because the headlights were "ventilated". I wish someone would verify that with me or just tell me I got jipped.

 

^ well that seems correct considering the TSB posted by vdoh