Having a look through the forums i don't seem to be the first person to mention this issue with the headlights cracking in the top corners near the wings. This is the second issue i've had with lights on this car in the last being the rear light bar failing due to wiring. Seat not seeming to want to do a warranty claim and saying the headlights damaged/chipped but externally it's completely smooth and no damage whatsoever. Where do i stand with this as it seems to be a frequent fault? they have quoted at over 1K as needs light and module.
Failed headlamp water filled
- Thread starter Zap
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Just an update on my previous post regarding a failed headlamp. Still fighting customer services and the dealership after its finally been fully dismantled to investigate and they came back with the conclusion of no external influence and the crack was internal. This is a known manufacturing defect with this vehicle and results from the headlight sitting tightly against the wing causing a stress crack allowing water ingress giving you a lovely cost of £1,500 to replace. The internal communication by Seat is extremely poor and have pushed for escalation or i will proceed with Motor Ombudsman and seeking legal advice. Do let me know if you are having the same issue and If anyone else is currently going through this let me know and can support with a case and a load of images/posts i have compiled.
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Good luck with customer service; it's pretty useless, especially with Dominic Ndukaihe. That guy should be kicked in the butt! Without a proper independent report about the headlight, you have no chance in this case. I had an issue with my seat constantly slowly reclining, and it took me around 2 years to have it sorted, so be prepared for a long journey with the Ombudsman. Then the dealership damaged my vcar while replacing the seat frame and that took another year and half with ombudsman long story short I won both of the cases but have to back everything up with independent report so I spent around £500 from my pocket ombudsman either the SEAT refused to cover any of this I would have to take them to Court and that would be another 2 years at that stage I just give up with that money. I asked for £150 compensation, and let it go as the amount of stress with these idiots wasn't worth it
Goodmorning,
Ik have the same issue with the headlight. Lot's of contact with Seat dealership and importer of the car. I live in Holland, they keep saying it's an "external" issue and that there are no similar issues know within Seat. What did you do in the end to get this done under warranty?
Hope to hear from you.
Greetings Michaël
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Hi Michael,
The short version is that I ended up paying £700 and then traded the car in for an Audi. My partner had just given birth and we needed something bigger, and honestly, we’d completely lost faith in SEAT as a brand — their customer care and aftersales were dreadful.
SEAT refused to accept this as a manufacturing defect, even though there are numerous reports of the exact same issue in the exact same location with some people being successful in a warranty claim and others not so lucky. There was no external damage or influence on my car at all. It’s clearly a stress point in the mounting bracket, which causes internal cracking, lets water in, and ultimately fries the modules. I even gave SEAT the contact details and descriptions of the other owners with the same failure, but they insisted every case was “confidential” and wouldn’t discuss them.
SEAT dismantled my car at their expense and confirmed there was no external factor. But after months of back-and-forth they turned around and said I wasn’t within the manufacturer’s warranty, so they wouldn’t uphold it as a defect. This was despite both the dealership and customer services repeatedly telling me to pursue it as a manufacturing defect in the first place. They should have known from my details that I wasn’t within warranty, yet they still pushed me down a completely dead-end route. It felt like nobody wanted to deal with it, so they were just passing me from department to department. I spent hours on calls and emails, and the car was stuck at the dealership for three months because I refused to take it back broken.
Eventually I was dealing with Liam Baldwinson (Customer Relations Manager, SEAT UK Executive Office) and Tony Hunt (Team Lead), which as far as I know is as high as you can go. I pushed for another escalation but was told it wasn’t possible. With my partner days away from giving birth, I ended up accepting their offer — half the cost covered — under protest. I simply didn’t have the energy left to keep fighting it, even though I asked them directly how many times this exact failure needed to happen before they acknowledged it as a fault. All I got were generic, copy-paste responses.
For reference, my vehicle was MC70 PNY and it was the front driver-side headlight. I still have the old headlamp as evidence. Like another owner with the same problem, because the car has now been sold I can’t take it to the Motor Ombudsman, who would normally handle aftersales disputes. I’m planning to repair the old light myself — it looks like it’s just the water-damaged module, and the light still technically works, but unless the crack is repaired the water will just get back in and kill it again.
I really do wish you the best of luck with yours. I was as persistent as possible and still ended up boxed into a corner. Hopefully you have a smoother experience than I did.
Yes, the car was still under the extended warranty, but I was told they don’t cover manufacturing defects because it’s not the original manufacturer warranty.
They would’ve found a way to refuse it regardless. Every time I questioned their reasoning, they had a new excuse ready, but still couldn’t explain how the headlamp had actually failed. Instead, they kept pushing me to prove something had happened. The first rejection was blamed on “external influence,” like someone reversing into it, but once it was inspected, that was ruled out.
I also had the rear light bar fail about a year earlier and had to pay £350. £700 originally but they reduced the cost by half, but again avoided full responsibility by claiming it was a wiring issue — something the warranty conveniently doesn’t cover under their terms and conditions.
Sorry for you and all the people that have to deal with this... I've been tracking several posts about this issue the last few days. I haven't checked if this is happening on mine yet, but will have to asap tomorrow.
Since you said this also isn't covered by the exteneded warranty, I can take swing in the dark and be confident enough this might also be an issue in my country, I presume extended warranties don't differ that much here and there..
That said, do you, or anyone for that matter know if this issue can potentially be prevented if it didn't occur yet? Like for example retigthening the screws of the assembly or just moving the compomnents in that area a bit to alleviate the pressure thats happening on that specific point?
This looks like it can be preventable for anyone that isn't experiencing this (yet).
Since you said this also isn't covered by the exteneded warranty, I can take swing in the dark and be confident enough this might also be an issue in my country, I presume extended warranties don't differ that much here and there..
That said, do you, or anyone for that matter know if this issue can potentially be prevented if it didn't occur yet? Like for example retigthening the screws of the assembly or just moving the compomnents in that area a bit to alleviate the pressure thats happening on that specific point?
This looks like it can be preventable for anyone that isn't experiencing this (yet).
That’s a great point you’ve made. It’s definitely something that could be avoided by adjusting the fixings, but realistically it’s a bumper-off job because there are several mounting points, and the crack actually forms from the back of the headlight — the part that’s hidden behind the wing — so you won’t see anything until it’s already too late.
In my case it only happened on one side, the other side was completely fine, but I’ve also seen cars where both sides were affected. To me it’s clearly a assembly fault where the unit is either overtightened or pushed too hard into the wing during installation. I noticed my affected headlight sat higher and tighter in the corner compared to the other side, and with vibration, heat cycles and general driving, it creates a stress point. That eventually leads to an internal crack, allowing moisture to get in and ultimately causing the module to short out or become water-damaged.
I have exactly the same issue (2022 Leon). Swansway Crewe have been no help at all. Their comment today was ‘we are convinced it’s a stone chip’. It’s so frustrating as this is clearly not the case. Has anyone tried drying out the headlamp. I am due my first MOT next week and I’m sure its a fail at the moment and the dealers are quoting nearly £1500 to replace.
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Same again — exact same place, exact same issue. Mine was with Listers SEAT Coventry, and they tried to say the car had been reversed into or something. That didn’t hold up for a second because the paintwork was spotless and they had nothing to back up the claim.
I pushed for a proper investigation, and they eventually agreed to do a full dismantle at no cost to determine whether it was a manufacturing defect.
Their final conclusion:
No external damage whatsoever. No impact marks. The crack had clearly formed from the inside out, exactly like so many others here have reported.
One thing to watch — they scratched the headlamp on both the original and the replacement during removal/refitting, so be careful with that.
After confirming there was no outside influence, they changed the story and said it wasn’t covered because the car was out of manufacturer warranty — and this was after 3–4 months of back-and-forth emails. Really poor service all round.
I’ve still got the old unit. It was full of moisture and has mostly dried out, but the internal modules are water-damaged. In theory it could be repaired, but unless the whole thing is properly resealed, it’ll just come back as moisture/water gets inside.
Honestly, I’d skip the dealership — they just play dumb — and go straight to the executive team. This is the highest level I found and only one step down from Marcus Gossen (Director of SEAT). Feel free to include him on the email as well; you never know, he might actually see it.
[email protected]
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[email protected]
Make sure you highlight how often this exact problem is popping up in the exact same spot. Plenty of owners have had claims accepted or goodwill gestures, but others are paying because they don’t realise they can challenge it.
Best of luck — definitely let us know how you get on.
Yes still in factory warranty but only by a couple of weeks (hence the upcoming MOT test). To add further insult to injury the front left shock absorber has just started making the dreaded rattle over uneven roads (reduces when in Cupra mode).
I love the car but am rapidly falling out of love with Cupra.
If there's no evidence of an external influence as the cause then it seems pretty unreasonable to reject your claim.
That’s my thoughts as well but they are adamant that they will not complete this work under warranty. I’m fuming
Exact the same here in Holland with Seat Customer Care. I have sought legal counseling. After 15 calls en roughly 30 e-mails. All they do is pointing the problem as an external cause.That’s my thoughts as well but they are adamant that they will not complete this work under warranty. I’m fuming
It makes you very angry. I even pointed out, with photo's, what the issue possible is with other users. It seems like they don't want to know anything about it.
What's the reason given?That’s my thoughts as well but they are adamant that they will not complete this work under warranty. I’m fuming
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