Tips to Fix Cloudy Headlights

STROUD TOWNSHIP, Pa.  -- Normally during this time of year, drivers are worried about snow tires and car batteries.

But another part of your vehicle that deserves a look is your headlights.

"Plastic fogs up after years and you can't see. It's like a blockage, kind of like a cataract. When you get a cataract, you can't see out of your eye but when you get it fixed, you can see. It's basically the same concept," said Orlando Ramos, Advanced Auto Parts.

AAA released a new study that found that drivers who had been driving with cloudy or yellowed plastic that covers the bulbs, produced significantly less light than what a new headlight would.

Orlando Ramos is the general manager at Advanced Auto Parts near Stroudsburg. He says a lot of people come in to buy the cleaning supplies that fix the problem. He even has a demonstration headlight to show the differences.

"What you do is you clarify them with any of the products that we sell, and you get a longer distance with your headlights. It's much safer and it's better to see," said Ramos.

Managers here say there are a number of different reasons why a headlight clouds up, but the number one reason might surprise you.

"It's just the sun. The sun takes a toll. The sun is number one, number two is the salt and grime and everything else," said Ramos.

Cleaning your own plastic covers on the headlights will run you anywhere between $10 and $30.

While experts say these solutions are good for a quick fix, replacing the headlight is better in the long run.  Though that will cost you a little more and some time in an auto shop.

