I have a 2010 base Boxster. Rear turn signals have faded (corroded lenses) to the point where I'm in imminent danger of being rear-ended because the guy behind me can't see the turn signal in daylight. Does anyone have a recommendation for an LED aftermarket taillight unit--or something to avoid. Thanks for any help you can provide.
The rear turn signals are LED on a 2010 Boxster.. can you post a picture of your corroded lights? I do know there were some replacements for the 987.1 series lights meant to make them look like 981 lights, but those wouldn't be interchangeable with the 987.2 lights (which you have on a 2010 Boxster.)
Wow Mark. I've never seen that happen on one before. Was there any sign of water intrusion into the lights? I really can't imagine what would cause that.
If they came apart I would try cleaning them, and maybe coating the inside with a clear-coat which should lessen the foggy effect, but damn, that's really odd.
Anyone else seen this? I had one of my lights replaced last year after a parking lot ding - and it looked absolutely identical to the 12-year-old one on the other side of the car. No sign of any age-related deterioration. Has the car been consistently garaged?
I'm the second owner and have had it garaged for 2 1/2 years I've owned. Prior owner was meticulous, so I'm pretty sure it was always garaged. The distortion/corrosion is on the inside. The outside of the lens is smooth and clean. I've experienced fogged light lenses and this is not that.
No, I've never seen that on a Porsche product. Is the car garaged / stored in a musty or damp building? Has the car been in an accident and cheap Chinese replacement parts used?
No, no and, as far as I can tell, lights are original factory.
hey there Mark.
I've seen many 987.2 Boxster and Cayman suffer from this issue to varying degrees. Your light lenses seem to be quite degraded. I think they may be affected more by tropical heat/sun and its also possible some batches of plastic didn't last very long. They are one of the main reasons owners upgrade/swap (at least in my neck of the woods and nearby). Good news is that there are options for the 987 range.
There are several options for you to consider and links with pictures by several contributors with more details:
1.Original/OEM replacement of the rear lights
click here #7,182
2. aftermarket 981 style replacement lights
click here #16
3. aftermarket 718 style replacement lights
click here #1
Since you mention the brightness/clarity of the lights are important, it would be useful for you to consider when shopping. Watch some videos and look at the pics in the links for comparisons.
This topic is of interest to me as well (and convenient since I have a 2010 base as well). My taillights aren't as bad, but they aren't fully clear either (see attached images) but aren't as bad as the OP's. You can also see (in the closeup, particularly) that there is some debris in there.
I'm not so concerned with these lights at the moment, but my bigger issue is overall visibility outside. For example, when I lock the doors, if I'm to the side of the car, I pretty much cannot see the flash of the light at all. I have to move to the rear of the car in order to see it... sometimes, on sunnier days, I even have to lower my head to be sure to see it (particularly since it's a quick flash and it's delayed from the button press).
I like the idea of better lighting to improve this somehow. I'm not sure a brighter bulb is the answer, but maybe it is. I do like the idea of LED setups where the LED panel is near the outside surface, so that the light is more visible on the outside. Alternatively, a knurled or prismatic surface (on the inside, for example) would help disperse the light better as well, to help address my concern. Of course, neither seems to be a stock option...
In the end, I think visibility from behind is fine... and even on the OP's assembly it may be ok. I would like to see if they can be cleaned for both our sake (the OP's lens simply looks dirty in there, and since I also have debris, maybe both of ours have leaked water or something).
EDIT: For example, I like the ones shown here on this post:
Led tail light assembly upgrade - ******** - Porsche Discussion Forums
- you can see the light is on the "surface" of the tail, which makes it more visible and visible from the side. I don't see the turn signal shown, but that's what I'd like to see for the turns, because the current recessed-bulb setup is hard to see from the side...
Unfortunately, from my quick searches, it seems the 987.2 has a different assembly from other models, and there aren't many options for these. 987.1 is more common. Maybe I just need to try brighter/LED bulbs and see if that works on the stock housing.
I will check this out. Thanks!
Schwinn do check out the links provided - there are several options for the 987.2 rear lamps which seem to fare slightly worse than the 987.1 lights. Porsche must have made some changes to the plastics over time. On the 981/718 models,- the issues are with the front light lenses rather than rear.
