jhal

DIY - RL Fog Light Glass Replacement

I noticed the fog light on my driver’s side had cracked a couple weeks ago. Instead of just being able to buy glass to replace the broken glass from Acura, I was told the whole assembly (which cost around $130) would need to be replaced. It sounds like this is a rather common problem on our RLs, so rather that footing the $130, I thought I’d see how difficult it would be to replace the glass myself and provide what I did in hopes it might benefit others on this forum. Replacing the lens itself isn’t too difficult and costs less than $20. The most lengthy /difficult part of the process is removing the bumper to remove the fog light assembly. I used the instructions found <here> to remove and install the bumper and by following steps 1-3.

Here what my cracked lens looked like.

The fog light assembly removed from the bumper.

The fog light assembly with all the broken glass removed.



I went to The Home Depot and found an 8”x10” piece of glass, a glass cutting kit, and some silicone sealant, all for under $20!


I had never cut glass before, but it really wasn’t too difficult. Basically you just score the glass with the glass cutter and break the glass off. The 8”x10” piece has enough glass for 3 replacement lenses. In my case, it let me mess up a couple times before I had the final piece I wanted to use.

What ended up working best for me is I cut a rectangular piece that was slightly larger than the fog light and taped this to the assembly.


I then used the glass cutter to trace the shape of the lens. After doing a small section, I would break this piece off and then re-tape the glass so that it was a little more secure. After scoring the oval shape of the glass, I found running scores perpendicular to this helped me take off the small sections more easily.


After having the glass completely cut, then applied the sealant to the groove in the light assembly where the broken glass was previously attached.


I then placed the glass on the assembly and secured it with tape while it dried.


I then reattached the fog light assembly to the bumper and then reattached the bumper to the car.


Hopefully, this is helpful to some of you DIYers out there!

robarsan

Nice job and good information. **this thread should go in the garage sticky for future reference**

My driver's side fog has a perfects horizontal crack in the center. Not ready to replace it yet but will probably follow your method when I do.

1HOT NSX

Thank you very much for taking the time to post this fix. This is one thing I need to do to my car and I've been procrastinating it. I might try to find a glass shop to cut the glass for me since I don't think I would be as successful as you in cutting my own.

jfprl

You may want to think about putting some 3m film over the lens. Might provide a little protection and will keep it from shattering when it gets hit again. Nice job though!!.

plastikman

Nice job, let us know how it holds up after you get some rain.

neuronbob

Awesome job. Garaged.

Chas2

You may wish to put an Xpel foglight cover on it. No cracks on mine (knock on wood) yet, though one of them has a pretty big gouge in the vinyl which I presume was a rock hit.

http://www.xpel.com/products/headlight.asp

jhal

Great advice! I am definitely going to get some 3m film or an Xpel foglight cover to help protect from future cracks. Can these be installed on the foglight while it is still in the bumper or does the light need to be removed before putting these on?

Chas2

You do not need to remove the foglight. The film is laser cut slightly smaller than the exposed glass

jhal

It's been snowing and raining all day here and after driving an hour to work, being parked outside for 8 hours, and driving home for another hour, it seems to have a good seal on it. I don't see any moisture inside the foglight. Here are some pics:

Neekaleek24

Where did you get the glass from?

tnobori1

Look at Home Depot or Lowe's. I bought Lexan because of the strength, but I haven't had a chance to install it yet.

911Joe

I found this thread to be excellent. Both of my fogs are cracked. I went to HD this morning and bought everything you did for the replacements. Unfortunately the link didn't work for the bumper removal and after searching through this forum, I can't find any DIY instructions for it. Does anyone have a link or instructions on how to remove the front bumper? Sorry if this has been asked to death.

oo7spy

There is a thread that has been posted in recently that shows it, but I can't find it on my phone right now. Go to the garage and look for accessory installation instructions. The Aspec lip kit instructions tell you how. Oemacuraparts.com may have the instructions as well. I would love to see a DIY with pics if you do it and have the time/camera to post one.

911Joe

After some searching, I found them. Many thanks. As soon as I can dedicate some time to this, I'll definitely take some photos as I begin the process. Looks like a lot of screws and clips!

theNHBRL

hey can you post the link for bumper removal here. also i herd if you dont have them cracked, which i dont yet cause i recently got my rl but they sale a cover for them you just place it over the fog light. do you guys think that will work?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lamin...item41581d4533

911Joe

Crap, I don't have it saved. I downloaded them into a PDF file but cannot figure out how to paste pages 2 & 3 (which are the two you need). I finished replacing both of mine yesterday. I took my time and it was about 2.5 hours total. Take your time with the glass cutting. I kept the glass rectangular since it was easiest to cut it that way and there was plenty of space inside the bumper. I took a bunch of pics but need to download them to post DIY for the bumper removal. Simple to do. A film protector is highly recommended unless you want to do this often!

Jelousz

Great job for DIY. I am suprised the replacement glass is or could be as strong as factory. Keep posted if repair holds up.

Tony Torque

Great thread I'll be doing this soon!!

MrKev

Great DIY, props!

2005WhiteRL

Just did this today, the bumper does not need to be removed for the pass side, I am not sure about the drivers since there is an air box and may be less space to work with. In order to avoid removal of the bumper you must remove the tire and a few of the clips holding the plastic fender trim and bend it out of the way, I used lexan instead of glass since you can cut it with metal shears and is more shatter resistant, I am yet to find out if it will withstand the heat from the bulb but I will keep you guys updated

Maintenanceman

I will try lexan also, if you dont have any heat issues.

2005WhiteRL

I have no driven the vehicle for a few hours with the fogs on and no issues for me yet! , lexan is awesome , they also claim it will never yellow , and i have a feeling it will be easier to restore then the glass ones once it becomes all beat up

2005WhiteRL

I can't see how to edit my post but I forgot to mention there is a h11 led bulb on Ebay, an led would not cause damage to lexan

Maintenanceman

I saw them also, just wondering that how much light those give on the road?
Also on thing with replacing the glass is that sometimes when making that yearly inspection for the car here, they might look for e-markings of the lights. If you dont have them - fail. I think that i will play lottery with that, it will happen also if you have put aftermarket xenons (hids) in your lights.

oo7spy

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-2005-2012-76/cheap-fog-light-look-818309/

I took mine out when I got the HIDs and installed my DRL/Fog switch.

Tony Torque

Thanks to this great thread, I replaced the glass on my right fog light it was cracked. It came out great and I also installed hids. I also seen the lexan at home depot but since I installed hids I wasn't sure how it would hold up to the heat. I might end up doing both in lexan in the future if good feedback comes from it. The bumper was very easy to remove takes about 10-15minutes tops!

CanadianRL

awesome! this will come in handy one day.
thanks,

rkiazim

I replaced both of mine today. I used Lexan. I have 8000K HIDs for the fogs. I will update if there are any issues...

Maintenanceman

Strange thing btw, my fog lights dont have those metal parts inside them, place for the screws are there thou, maybe some "european" thing?
Bulb is H11 like yours have.

Maintenanceman

Photos added.



When i have repaired that broken glass, i will change bulbs, i dont want to put xenons yet in fogs because i have to do yearly inspection in few months, Legend will fail if i put them in before that.

rkiazim

Going on 2 weeks now with Lexan replacement lenses and 8000K fog light bulbs and no issues. I also made note of any extensive heat at lens and no issues there either...

humbleinla

Both of my fog lights were creaked. this is an outstanding idea, but can I replace the glass with clear plastic?

Maintenanceman

Sure, i did it like that. I used "lexan" and it is more easier to cut and shape than glass.
Here is some more info about using plastic.
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...maintenaNCEMAN

jamesdcarrillo

Thank you so much for your insight. I finished doing the same thing thanks to your great instruction. I saved about $150 for a new OEM fog lamp.

KB1_EJ6

Going to have to try this. Have one cracked lens and didn't want to get a new one cause it wouldn't match the condition of the other fog. Also 007spy mentioned fog/drl switch. Have to look into that...

oo7spy

Good luck. I have a redesign (v2.0) that fixes observed flaws in the prototype. However, it's in beta mode since I don't have an RL to test it on.

You can have it if you want. (The new design.)

JFK

I cracked the glass on my fog light last week and was told it cost about $250 for the part.
Really appreciate the info posted at this web site.

GASKICKER

I followed this process 6 months ago, I thought...to the tee, but the lense is now gone. Not sure exactly how long its been missing but for sure a few hundred miles. Anyone else have this happen after replacing the lense? What couldve caused it to fall off? The bulbs are stock.

GASKICKER

Tell me about this 2.0 design please. Thanks