GREEN MOULD/ALGAE AROUND THE EDGES OF THE CLEAR TAIL LIGHT L

I HAVE A 2015 OUTLANDER AND HAVE NOTICE QUITE A BIT OF GREEN MOULD/ALGAE AROUND THE EDGES OF THE CLEAR TAIL LIGHT LENSES LIKE YOU GET ON REALLY OLD CARS THAT HAVE BEEN LEFT SITTING AROUND - HAS ANYONE ELSE SEEN THIS? TIM

TimClarke said:

I HAVE A 2015 OUTLANDER AND HAVE NOTICE QUITE A BIT OF GREEN MOULD/ALGAE AROUND THE EDGES OF THE CLEAR TAIL LIGHT LENSES LIKE YOU GET ON REALLY OLD CARS THAT HAVE BEEN LEFT SITTING AROUND - HAS ANYONE ELSE SEEN THIS? TIM

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I had meant to post on this last weekend, noticed while washing car. It appears as if there is a small channel that water/dirt can get into, for me evidence was a small pine needle which i managed to get out using the hose.

Edit to add that you probably don't realise it, but using all upper case when posting isn't everyone's cup of tea. You might want to turn the caps lock off

I haven't noticed anything, but I have to admit to not having washed it since last October!

If there's a problem, I would recommend spraying the offending area with some fairly concentrated Patio Magic - that should stop it for a while...

Funnily enough, I looked at the other Outlanders at the dealers this morning and ALL of the ones with clear white lenses (there were 3 other cars there) had some level of mould (all 15 plates), the 2 with red lenses which were also 15 plates didn't

Yup mine's got it too.

I was thinking about removing the lights, cleaning out the gap and filling with clear silicon sealer to stop it happening again.

I dropped it into the dealers today to get the aircon mended as it's all under warranty and they regassed it and said that all the gas had come out but they didn't know why but they weren't very helpful about the mould as they say it's not a fault.

It clearly is though as all the red lensed cars seem OK and the clear ones not.

Guess i'll have to start grizzling to Mitsubishi as i don't expect to start cleaning and removing lenses on a car thats done 8k miles.............

I think its the weather this winter - wet & mild. The glass roof on my kitchen is covered in it - first time in 10 years

iT'S A MANUFACTURING FAULT

nONE OF THE OTHER CARS IN THE YARD, AND THERE WERE LOADS HAD ANY MOULD THERE........

I've had mine since October 2015 and the car has clear rear lights and it DOES NOT have any sign of mould. The car is washed regularly, but has not been polished other than by the dealer before delivery. The car is hand washed but a power jet is used to soften the dirt before using a furry glove with a lot of soap.

Jeff

Mine has no green mould or algae...

Of course, the mould will only grow in very specific circumstances - depending on sunlight, moisture, warmth etc. in a particular location. BUT I would still argue that it is more likely to occur due to the unusual weather this winter.

Whilst I understand that red & clear lenses might produce different results in the same circumstances (different wavelengths of light), I don't understand why there are the same cars at the dealers with different colours lenses, as described by OP. :?

I think the OP is referring to the clear lights on the rear of the my14 compared to the red rear lights on the my16. I've owned (leased) the my14 and currently have the my16 and neither had / have mould although the old car did trap water around the rear light cluster .

Many thanks for the feedback.

I have looked at loads of Outlanders now and have seen NO signs of mould on any red lensed cars, and ALL white lensed 2015 cars I've seen DO have mould/discoloration to some degree.

The dealers want me to take photos to send to Mitsubishi now......

Yes mine has the green mould developing inside the rear light lens too.

Just saw the same on mine at the weekend..the condensation inside the rear light cluster is going green

my 2014 has the mould starting to grow, good for the eco credentials.

So ours has the clear tail lights and the mould around both of them is quite obvious.
It appears to be between the lamp casing and the bodywork, since it is darker and denser further away from the edge of the lamp, where it penetrates the body work. It looks just about where some form of silicon seal of gasket would be. The type of seal that should be resistant to mould, like bathroom silicone.
However, if this is the case, it is not resistant.
We have a pearl white model, and this mould really stands out. It looks horrible on a 38k vehicle!!!
Since the mould is set so far down, we cannot access it for cleaning, without removing the lamps. Not sure how that may affect the warranty - anyone done this?

I work away a lot. Its predominantly the family/wife's car.
It was purchased with service package, so along with the included warranty, my wife should have no hassle while i am away.(like now).

So she takes it in for the service last week, points out that this mould issue needs sorting under the warranty.
Dealer is surprised, and say he's never seen it before, until he notices the same on just one of his three demos.
So he takes some photos and assures my wife he'll approach the warranty department.

We are later told it is NOT covered under warranty. Since the mould is due to "EXTERNAL INFLUENCES".
That is a generic cop out!!! ITS A MANUFACTURING/ASSEMBLY DEFECT!!
I am in dialogue with dealer, and UK customer services, still trying to get a satisfactory answer for the following:-

- What specific external influence has caused this? Surely they have not built a vehicle which cannot cope with damp weather and marketed it in Western Europe?
- Why was I not warned of the consequence of this external influence when I bought the car?
- Why is there not info on how to avoid it in the user manual??. Because if they are claiming I have exposed my car to an external influence, I need to know what we have done wrong. My wife was actually asked if our driveway was level!!!!!
- It looks bad now, will it continue to get worse? How do I stop it?
- How do I clean it? Mitsubishi offered to sell me parts and labour. Of course.
- What effect does it have on the paint warranty?

The car is a year old with 5500 miles on the clock and is kept on a driveway. Not under trees. Not been off road.

Rational explanations of external influences might be living on the coast where salty air increases corrosion, stone chips from road mileage, parking your car near a sand yard in high winds, floods, bird poo, etc etc.
These could affect all cars fairly equally.
But if there's only a few affected out of a large batch in these circumstances it's got to be a fault, and it's got to be in the interest of the dealer and manufacturer to find out why.

Apologies for my first post being a very long one!! But I'm not taking this lying down!

Loads. June 14 car.

My 2014 Outlander has this mould as well. The reason for it is quite obvious, the light cluster is not sealed at its edge, it is sealed a little further in. This leaves a nice little greenhouse around the edge of the light. A bit of traffic film remover and a quick pressure wash shifts the slime. But the cause is just bad design.

Mine (just under two years old) has it. I unscrewed the light assembly on an impulse and managed to wipe most but not all off.
Clearly we should not need to be doing this and unscrewing the assembly is quite fiddly.