Headlights Dilemma

[GEE-TEE]

The headlights on my GT have a residue like film inside and in the sun looks horrible. It looks like when the lights were assembled somone took a towel with Armorall and wiped the inside. Shelby has confirmed this has been the case with some cars. The ford dealership also confirmed this has happened in the past. So my dilemma; since my waranty was going to expire this week, I took it into my local dealer ( Vista Ford) and had this documented. They have ordered the lights and said it would be a while before they get them. Also the guy said they will have to take down the front end and the fenders and involves at least 3 days of work. I hate to think of taking the car apart for such silly thing but the guy promissed the car would be put back togetr right. I and on the fence about doing it but then again, it really lookd crappy and if ever in the future, he said I would have to pay 2K per light... Please tell me what you guys would do.,ack

 

[Fast Freddy]

is that 2k per light just for the part or does that include the labor?

 

[GEE-TEE]

Not sure he did not clarify and I did not want to ask too much as its covered under waranty now. He kept the ticket open til tomorrow as the warnty expires Tuesday and I have to decide what I want to do.

 

[t32b]

To me it seems it boils down to your view of the competency of your dealers techs. If they are experienced and well trained GT people, I would surely do it. It needs to be corrected, you will be bothered by it forever, and you'll have to pay quite a bit for someone else to do it out of warranty. If the dealer is not worthy, perhaps you could find another who could do it under the coverage. GL.

 

[GEE-TEE]

Thanks GL. I am thinking the same. It will always bother me. I beleive the dealer has a couple of GT certified techs and the advisor seems to be very up and up on them.

 

[PL510*Jeff]

Please keep in mind that GT's are dis-assembled, repaired and re-assembled everyday.

Doing the headlight replacement is not all that difficult, time consuming yes, but difficult it is not. I venture a guess that your dealer overestimated the time to do this work. It certainly does not take 24 hours to perform a headlight replacement.

Suggest you have the dealer order the replacements, which are currently a long lead item, and do a little research to find someone who has done this before. Then take the lights to that dealership for the install.

That's my $ .02.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Thanks GL. I am thinking the same. It will always bother me. I beleive the dealer has a couple of GT certified techs and the advisor seems to be very up and up on them.

There are two supposedly certified techs in my area too. But, after talking to one of them for a couple minutes, I realized I knew more about how to do what I was going to have done (1/2 shaft bolts) than HE did. 'NOT a good sign.

'Don't know where you're located, but, if you're uncomfortable doing it yourself, I'd consider having the Gt Guys, or Kendall, or Shadowman, etc., do it depending on where the heck you are.

 

[nota4re]

That work estimate is way over-estimated. The front end DOES NOT need to be disassembled - nor do the fenders need to be removed.

The inner fender liners do need to be removed and admittedly sometimes they are a pain. However, with the fender liners removed there's just some straightforward dis-assembly of some evap components and finally the headlight bucket can be accessed. The headlight assembly will remove DOWN and out through the front wheel arch.

I work ~1 mile away from Vista so if you'd like me to go talk to someone when the time comes, let me know.

 

[AlohaGT]

There has been only one gentleman who has worked on my car (with terrific support from Cobrar1339) and that is this fellow right above, nota4re. Other than all of the good folks and sponsors on this Forum, I, personally, wouldn't let anyone else touch her.

Too few qualified techs...too many horror stories.

 

[Empty Pockets]

there has been only one gentleman who has worked on my car (with terrific support from cobrar1339) and that is this fellow right above, nota4re. Other than all of the good folks and sponsors on this forum, i, personally, wouldn't let anyone else touch her.

Too few qualified techs...too many horror stories.

Bingo.

 

[t32b]

I just want to offer a counterpoint. Per the thread in which members rated their dealers, I've been pleased with the work performed by the Ford dealer in my area. Granted it was only the basics - oil, interior bits recall, axle bolts (less basic), and from what I can tell, the FGT certified tech did an outstanding job. Further, they provided absolutely first class customer service from start to finish.
I mention this only because I don't want the OP to feel like all dealers are hacks, and that there is no chance that the headlight problem, which is a relatively straightforward piece of work, cannot be dealt with under warranty. Like I noted earlier, it really varies based on the establishment.
Now all that said, for major, complex or enhancement work, I would rely solely on that world famous hand-model, Shadowman.

 

[Spirit]

GT Headlights?

Replacing the headlights is not the issue.

Getting them is the problem.

Rumor has it that the vendor has gone out of business.

I suggest you get a warranty ticket opened before yours expires, then worry about the replacement if we can ever get them again.

Good luck, I have been on the list for more than 8 months.

 

[GEE-TEE]

Thanks a million guys. I will have the guy at vista put them on the ticket under my wararnty which will expire Tuesday. If and when he gets them I will screen them and touch base with you guys once again. "NotA4RE" I live near by too and we should try and get together somtime. Thanks, Arya

 

[fjpikul]

Effer - like Spirit, I have been waiting 6 months for a new left headlight under warranty. Cost of a new headlight is about $1700, but there are none in stock and on long backorder. Please call the Ford GT hotline and complain like I did. Maybe enough complaints and they will do something about the lack of this particular part.
fjp

 

[Fast Freddy]

Effer - like Spirit, I have been waiting 6 months for a new left headlight under warranty. Cost of a new headlight is about $1700, but there are none in stock and on long backorder. Please call the Ford GT hotline and complain like I did. Maybe enough complaints and they will do something about the lack of this particular part.
fjp

is the $1700 price for this part a result of a lack of availability? in otherwords if there were 10,000 headlights sitting on the shelves at Ford dealers parts departments would this part still cost $1700???

 

[HHGT]

Here is a crazy alternative.

A friend of mine buys S550 MBs and then does his SoCal thing to them - wheels, tires etc... One of things he routinely does is to bake the headlight with enough heat to get the seal to come apart. He does this so that he can apply a paint treatment to the inside of the assembly. If he screws up, he just orders a new headlight assembly. Sadly, that is not the case with the GT, but if successful, you can clean the inside of the lens. It is an option. Kendall, are you up to it?

Here is a hit I found on google under baked headlights

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=384488

 

[Empty Pockets]

Here is a crazy alternative.

A friend of mine buys S550 MBs and then does his SoCal thing to him - wheels, tires etc... One of things he routinely does is to bake the headlight with enough heat to get the seal to come apart. He does this so that he can apply a paint treatment to the inside of the assembly. If he screws up, he just orders a new headlight assembly. Sadly, that is not the case with the GT, but if successful, you can clean the inside of the lens. It is an option. Kendall, are you up to it?

Here is a hit I found on google under baked headlights

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=384488

I'll be darned! Those instructions almost appear as though Shadowman wrote 'em! :lol :thumbsup

 

[fjpikul]

Freddy, that is Ford's charge. Originally they were about $1100 in '05. I don't know know how Ford determines prices, but the GT tax is very costly.