So I'm going to tackle the water in my headlights. Seems like a lot of people have this problem. I was wondering if anyone has a step by step description of how to take the front bumper off. How to remove the headlights and check the seals, how long to put them in the oven to open them up and where do I drill the small holes in the headlight. Any help would be appreciated. This should probably be a sticky considering it happens to everyone with these lights, STS, CTS, SRX.
Just did mine while the front bumper was off to do the best exchanger install. Pull all 40-odd plastic fasteners out of the top of the bumper cover (over the grill), the front piece of the inner fenders, and the bottom of the bumper (might be easier to have it jacked up and the front tires off! But can be done without). Slide the inner fenders down and out. Over the side markers are the actual bolts hiding on the bumper cover. Remove the bolt closest to the fender edge totally, and then loosen the nut on the stud towards the front. Tap the bumper forward on each tide with a shove, but watch the paint on the front quarters when you do it. I masked mine. Once both sides are loose, disconnect the lights on each side. Then go under the front end, to each side of the lower grill, and release the four plastic grommets (2 on each side) holding the lower grill to the rubberized plastic wind reflectors directing air toward the radiators. That'd be it to get the bumper cover off.
The three bolts holding on the headlights are now clearly visible: one on top, and two underneath. Remove the bolts/nuts, and unplug the lights as you remove them.
I followed Timmy C s advice, and drilled four 1/4" holes through the black plastic of each light at the corners for drainage. Be careful NOT to drill through the chromed plastic inside. Supposedly, that's all you need to do to rid the condensation. The vents were all clear, and the headlight gaskets good, so I cannot really explain the water buildup. If you are confident in drilling depth, and you aren't going to check the seals/disconnect the peanuts, you could probably just drill the lights in place. I wanted to do both, and since I don't have the hands of an 8 y/o to get in there to replace the peanuts without breaking the clips and stuff, I just disconnected and electrical taped the leads to each other on each side to keep them from banging around.
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Earlier in the thread there's a link to a step by step process with pics that someone posted to the sts forum.
You don't have to remove the fender wells I've done this a few times it takes me about 30 min alone
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