I was doing my weekly car wash today and noticed I had picked up a rock and broke the drivers side fog light lens.

I did a quick google search for the light and all I got was aftermarket kits. And chance anyone on here has one for sale?

If not, any suggestion on who may have one cheaper then the local dealer?

I'm assuming I'll be replacing the whole thing.... or can I just replace the lens?

 

You are not the first!

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ght=light+lens


https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ght=light+lens

 

I've been known to pull the fogs on other cars, have new lenses cut by a glass company and re-assemble them with high-temp silicone sealer. Even did a DIY post on the Infiniti M forum (the fogs on both sides of my M got broken at different times).

Trouble with the RL is that the lenses aren't just clear glass - they have a pattern etched into them. I guess you could still replace them with clear glass, since they're so low on the bumper it probably wouldn't show.

The DIY cost about $35 total, versus close to $300 for the OEM.









.
.

 

Mike,

Thanks for the idea. I never use the fog lights so I would most likely not be bothered by the missing etching on the lens (which is used to control the light pattern).

As it appears that you have removed the light yourself, would you mind a quick outline on how to remove the light itself....

FWIW, I like the look of the plain glass front element.

 

FWIW, after you replace it, get that 3M paintshield material to cover the lens. The Xpel is only 8 mils thick, but I recall there are other places on the web that sell similar patterns with a much thicker film. It cannot hurt.

 

Sorry I can't help on removing the RL's fogs. The one shown was on my '06 Infiniti M45. Their fogs don't have the pattern etching, so it was almost impossible to tell I had repaired them ... it even passed the lease inspection.

So far, I haven't broken one on my RL. [fingers crossed]

.
.

 

I've replaced 3 of them...units...lens is integral.

Just chipped my 4th one...road construction...can't even drive around it...I'm hemmed in by it. Let's see, 4 fog lights and 1 windshield and not quite 95,000 miles. 2 of the fog lights and the windshield were taken out my current work project...I'm singing the Mississippi Delta Blues 'cause that's where the project is located...sheesh.

I once had a job requiring travel along Highway #84 in South Mississippi...drove a Volvo back then...road work...busted out all the headlights and both fog lights...not all at once, of course...just one after another...carried boxes of spares in the trunk. Never got out of the car without making a casualty count.

 

UPDATE...

Ok, I stopped by the dealer on the way home yesterday and picked up a new light ($130). Looking at the complete unit it it appears it would be pretty simple to just replace the front lens, if you could find them. After I'm done I'll take the old one down the street to a glass place and ask them if they can come up with a replacement. So... stop throwing away the old broken ones.

Now to my next question. Who has replaced one of these themselves? How do you gain access to the light? I'm guessing it's from below but that really seems like a lot of work to simply replace the bulb (assuming you access the bulb from the same process as replacing the light).

 

The Infiniti's lens was integral to the unit, too, but it was basically just cemented to the housing. The part of the repair that took the longest was chipping off all the shards of broken lens from the housing and getting it cleaned up to accept the new lens.

Now, I don't know about the RL's since I've been fortunate enough not to break one yet. But I figure the lens has to be separate from the body, if for no other reason that it's clear and the housing is black.

.
.

 

The owners manual has a section on how to change various lightbulbs. I'd start there.

 

Correct! Page 376-77 of the 06 manual has the foglight bulb change procedure

 

READ THE MANUAL guys don't read manuals.....

I'll bet you guys even stop and ask for directions



Thanks for the information, I really never even thought that it (the manual) would have that information. I'll go look right now.

 

Bump.

Did you manage to replace the foglight unit yourself? Did you have to remove the bumper? All in all was it difficult to do?

Our RL now has a broken passenger side foglamp lens, hence the interest!

Thanks!

 

I just had my right fog light replaced at the dealership. I had a huge board fly up from the slow car in the fast lane that took the fog light out. Thank goodness for 3M Clear Bras. The paint wasn't even scratched but the fog light glass was barely hanging on from the 3M on it.

Total was $200 for dealership to replace and install.

The bumper was removed. The whole unit is mounted in a metal frame that is actually bolted to the bumper plastic fascia, not the body of the car, hence the reason for removing the bumper.

I had to remove half the bumper to get it snapped back in the right place, since the dealership found the whole process to hard to do.

You will have to remove the push snaps(expanding snaps from under the hood) under the front end, 2 Phillips screws bolting up inside the fender well at the corners of the bumper, and about 8 torque screws underneath the bumper, along with many more push snaps. The bumper has hook/snaps around the headlights that pop out when you pull out on the bumper. Since I was only correcting the right side, I didn’t remove the whole bumper, but process appears quite simple and now I see how Acura maintains the smooth equal distant lines between body panels.

Needless to say, if it happens again, I’ll remove the bumper, and reinstall it correctly.

 

Buy these on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ACURA...spagenameZWDVW

 

Found this one on eBay today:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...183229220&rd=1

 

Man I hate winter,

With all the salt and rocks on the road here in Canada I got one right in the middle of my drivers side fog light.
I have a few questions,
1. Can you buy the lens buy itself or do you need to buy the whole fog light assembly?
2. Are the driver side and passenger side foglight the same? The reason I aks is becuase I read that some people just get replacement lenses made from a glass company, if I decide to do that I want to make extras just incase my passenger one breaks one day.
3. Does anyone know of anyone who sells or makes replacements lenses?

Thanks for the help.

 

I was not able to find just the lens.... but the lens is flat and appears to not have any optical lines cut into it. You should be able to get a piece of glass cut and then siliconed in place of the plastic one.

The lights are different from side to side, but I'm thinking if you had a glass blank cut for one side if you simply flipped it over it would work for the other side.

Did the salt and stuff get inside and create a problem with the inside (reflector) of the light?


FWIW, this is a fairly easy DIY. I was afraid to do it as I didn't understand how the bumper cover comes off but once you see how it's held on it's pretty easy.

 

Same thing here...just noticed my driver side fog light glass was cracked. Not sure when it happened, but this sucks!

I wonder if this is a known issue and if Acura will cover this under warranty? It's very hard to notice unless you really look close. I might just seal the crack so water can't get in there...and hopefully no more cracks in any other fog lights.

 

Sorry, didn't see this post. Just in case you haven't done anything yet. I did replace it myself. I really don't like anyone else working on my car so I try and do everything I can myself. The stuff that requires specialty tools or skills that I don't have I send to the dealer or the appropriate repair center.

Yes, you have to take the bumper cover off. It's very easy. There are a handful of pushpins under the hood that locate the cover/grill and then a dozen or so pins under the car. Please note that these appear to be the same but are indeed different lengths. I don't think it would matter if they went back in to different holes but I keep them separate (Acura must have made them different for a reason). Well, I put them back in the right holes as the person that had them out before me had them in the wrong places. Ok, enough about that. There are also a few bolts under the car toward the outside and then one philips head screw out at the far edge of the cover just in front of the tire. And there is a screw under the little trim strip on the corner of the bumper. That should pry out from the outside edge and then come free as you move toward the center of the car. Then simply remove the screw under the cover.

Once all of the screws are out, the cover is held in place by simply being inserted (tension) into groves. Grab the cover just in front of the tire and pull it out to the side. That will release the cover from the slot under the bottom edge of the fender. You can then pull the cover forward to release the cover from the slot under the lights. With the cover free, there is a set of wires that need to be disconnected and then you can take the cover over to a bench and remove the fog light.

Take a few minutes to clean the bumper where it would normally be in the slots and then the area around the slots. AS the manual says, installation is the reverse of removal.




I’m pretty sure broken plastic, and glass, lens from rocks and other debris is a know issue. I’m also pretty sure it’s not covered by warranty. Nor should it be….. But it is covered by your insurance if you’d care to file a claim.

 

Thanks for the advice. I try to not claim anything with insurance...don't want my premiums to go up. It's probably not worth it.

 

FWIW, I was washing my car one weekend, and notice a ragged divot in the 3M clear bra coating applied over one of the fogs. I have the full XPEL clear bra kit applied to my 06 RL. As far as I can tell, the divot does not penetrate to the lens surface. I can only guess that the 3M material did its job protecting the lens. Makes me want to consider the thicker 20 mil coating for the fogs instead of the standard 8 mil stuff.

 

I also had this mystery crack appear on my 2006 RL after about one year. No idea what caused this. I am interested to hear if you learned more. Were these covers over tightened during factory assembly? Just one turn too much and I bet the plastic lens would crack after a year of normal driving.

Anybody else experience this problem?

 

The lenses are glass, and it's likely yours cracked from a road debris impact. I'm on my third lens on the left side, but I applied 20mil 3M film to both over a year ago and haven't had any damage, since.

 

I've had the problem as well. If you're a "do it yourself" kind of person, here are a couple of links to replace it yourself. If you go the glass route, definitely put some 3M film on it after you replace it so you don't have it crack again.

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-2005-2012-76/g-009-diy-rl-fog-light-glass-replacement-769528/

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-2005-2012-76/diy-broken-foglight-repair-782927/