This is a copy of a letter i have written to my finance company, the Society of car manufacteres and traders and trading standards.
Re: O/S Headlamp condensation
I purchased my
Seat Ibiza Cupra Reg No: ******* in August 2005 from Marshall’s Seat of Cambridge. Shortly after buying the car agreement it developed a
problem.
The O/S headlamp began to develop a very bad condensation
problem. I have seen this happen to cars before but only a minute amount that would normally clear when the headlamps are switched on. However on my car it was not clearing at all I would say it probably got worse.
So I did what any other concerned car buyer would do and booked it in with the dealership I bought the car from. They took a look at the car and told me that Seat would probably not do it under warranty. They had to write up a report and take photographs to send to Seat. I spoke to my salesman about the
problem and he informed me that this was a common
problem that occurred on
Ibiza’s and that Seat are very reluctant to replace the parts or own up to a design fault.
Other than speaking to my dealership I got in contact with SEAT UK and spoke to the customer services department. They informed me that it is in fact normal for cars to get condensation in their headlamps and that it was due to inclement weather conditions. I asked them why then if it is normal why was my other headlamp totally clear of condensation? They couldn’t really give me an answer except for it was a weather phenomenon!
I decided to send some of my own photographs directly via E-mail to SEAT UK. With that they agreed to fit a ventilation kit to the headlamp to
help drain the condensation.
After having the kit fitted to my headlamp at Marshall’s Seat In Cambridge the
problem was still occurring just as bad as before they had fitted this kit. The technician who had fitted the kit told me that this was a really bad case and that if it were his car he would not be happy and advised me to talk to SEAT UK again.
So when I got home I phoned SEAT UK again to tell them that the
problem was still occurring. They told me that they would have to open a new warranty case and have it looked at again. So I had to go back to Cambridge and have another report written up and more photographs.
I received a phone call a few days later from SEAT UK telling me that the service manager of the dealership in Cambridge had got in contact with them and informed them that it was not worth changing the headlamp because the condensation was within “Manufactures tolerance” which was halfway up the headlamp! as you can imagine I was not very happy so I complained to Seat and told them I want a second opinion.
By now the winter months were very very cold and the water inside the headlamp was turning to a sheet of ice.
Before I got the second opinion done from another seat dealership I took the car to an MOT test station for them to check the light pattern on the headlamp and see if it was disruptive. The pattern of light was ok but was very dazzling and a lot brighter than the other headlamp due to water inside.
The MOT tester told me that he would pass the car because he goes on the pattern of the light however he informed me that the condensation would over time corrode the working part of the headlamp.
I had the second opinion from another seat dealership called Autoway in Letchworth. They kept the car all day and dried out the headlamp. Speaking to the guys at that dealership they said that the condensation was not normal and that a lot of
Ibiza’s suffer from this
problem. Anyway when I picked the car up the headlamp was clear and I thought that things were looking up. However when I got home I looked at the headlamp and yet again the condensation was back halfway up the headlamp.
The next day I received a phone call from SEAT UK to tell me that the dealership in Letchworth had not found any physical fault with the headlamp and therefore they were closing the case!
So four months on since my first complaint I am still in the exact same position I have an O/S headlamp full of water on a car I am spending £ 12,995 on and SEAT UK are refusing to rectify the
problem even though the car is covered by the manufactures warranty.
I hope this gives everyone who is suffering with the same FAULT some insight into what they are up against!
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