Modern Vespa

I have a 2020 vesp liberty s
My husband has a 2019 liberty.
Both have melted headlamps.
We have never changed the bulbs.
Is this a covered Vespa issue?

Contact your dealer they would know what the warranty covers and the amount of time from purchase.

From what I read Piaggio is tight with warranties and service bulletins but at least Liberty H/lamps assemblies are cheap

Hey and welcome to MV!

The 2019/2020 Piaggio Liberty has a headlight with a 12v 35w halogen bulb. Halogen headlights become very hot during operation. Under unfavorable conditions, when the headlight is on when stationary (without airstream) and then when the sun shines directly on it, it can become too hot for the plastic housing, the reflector and / or the "glass". This is a problem with all closed headlight housings, so also with Vespa or Piaggio. The manual also warns against covering the headlight (e.g. with clothing), regardless of whether it is switched on or off.

So do not run the engine for a long time when stationary, because the headlight can not be switched off. I don't know about the Liberty, but on some Vespa/Piaggio vehicles with automatic start-stop, emergency stop (Run off) and/or side stand, the headlight stays on even when the engine stops running.

Regardless of whether there is a defect or an operating error: the warranty has probably expired (usually 24 months from purchase or registration).

Melted headlights are often because people have loaded up a front rack covering them.

Are front racks available for the Liberty?

would love a pic

also could take the opportunity to switch to led bulbs

These scootere were stored in our un heated garage for the winter. I dont understand how the light could have melted the casing when they weren't on or running.
So if we replace them it will happen again?
We do not have racks or anything covering the lights.
This is a terrible design flaw and Piaggio should fix it.
I will take pics tomorrow and contact my dealer..

These scootere were stored in our un heated garage for the winter. I dont understand how the light could have melted the casing when they weren't on or running.
So if we replace them it will happen again?
We do not have racks or anything covering the lights.
This is a terrible design flaw and Piaggio should fix it.
I will take pics tomorrow and contact my dealer..
Thank you everyone for your input.

Well, melting or deformation can only occur due to the effect of heat from inside or outside, reasons we have explained to you. To be honest, I don't see a flaw in the design, rather this is design-related in halogen lamps and is technically not otherwise to solve.

I would be really interested in photos. Feel free to keep us posted on what the dealer has to say about it.

Unless I'm missing something, you're saying both headlamps melted when stored in an unheated garage doing the winter without the bikes being run?

That sounds an impossibility to me.

John

Yes. That is what I'm telling you.
That's why I don't understand how it could happen

You didn't by chance start them up and leave them running for a while at some point?

Or was a riding jacket tossed over the handlebars, or hanging from the windscreen, covering the headlight, while the engine was idling for a while during winterizing, or with the key left on in the ignition….

You have to worry about this a little with LEDs (a worthy upgrade for many reasons). You have to worry quite a bit with old-school incandescent bulbs. You just can't do it with halogen bulbs.

Or was some sort of solvent used to wipe down the scoot that messed up the lens…

We need pix. These things don't spontaneously combust.

If the lights melted from the heat of the halogen bulbs, then it is a design problem. They should have used a material that could withstand the heat from the oem halogen bulbs. Anyone know what the lenses are made of? There are a lot of chemicals that will destroy polycarbonate. And I had two oem plastic Honda dirt bike tanks destroyed by ethanol gas.

This is one of the lights.
There was a light sheet draped over each bike.
But the bikes were not running at all over the winter so I don't understand how this can happen

As I (and others) explained: the problem is NOT the heat in NORMAL use (while driving, etc.). Problem only occur while halogen bulb active a long time without driving (e.g. idling on center stand) + exposed to sun and/or headland is covered.

OK, so you say:
- stored in an unheated garage
- during winter
- without the bikes being run
- same issue on 2 different bikes

I agree with Scooter John: that is not possible.

There must be a heat source. Or it is the light bulb (meaning the engine is running) or it must be a short circuit.

It seems to me highly unlikely there is a short circuit in the headlamp on 2 different scooters at the same time, and furthermore, then you would have found both batteries dead at the end of winter.

This does not look like melted but more like a chemical reaction…

Is that deformed or "just" blind? Is the upper, mirrored part wavy or is it just reflective?

What does the spot on the "light sheet" on the inside (where this was on the headlight) look like?

It feels ruff and melted and on one of the scooters the chrome above the light is bubbled up.

That does not look like heat damage to me. I'm assuming the chrome is plastic. did you have any kind of chemicals stored near the headlights? I don't know what caused it, but it obviously IS possible since it happened. Both my 2006 GT200 and 2009 Genuine Stella have plastic headlights, they never got melted, but they are not as clear as they used to be. My other 5 bikes have glass headlights. Plastic is not a good material to make headlight lenses out of.

Have a picture search on Google on melted headlights:
https://www.google.de/search?q=%22melted+headlights%22&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwil0c-NiKX-AhWsSfEDHa_CBeYQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=530&bih=901&dpr=3

All the pictures are showing a complete different damage: only a melted spot not the complete "glass".

IF yours is melted there will also damage on the inside of the headlamp.

Wr are going to have to take them apart and see

Was the sheet brand new? Does it have a smell to it?

Im wondering if it was soaked with something?

Edit: Even petrol will melt some types of plastic

No it was a clean sheet. Nothing on it..

Seems like somebody puked inside…

Over the years, I've looked at quite a few bikes that were stored within close proximity of pool chemicals, like chlorine, which can do a lot of damage. Not saying that's the case here, but it's something to consider when storing chemicals and bikes close to each other.

Good to know.
The only other thing in this garage is a wood splitter and a snowblower.....

Moral - don't cover your scooters unless that's absolutely necessary for security reasons.

My initial thought was that someone put 55 watt bulbs in a 35 watt fixture, which happens from time to time with the LX50, but this is a first.
Are they Liberty 50 or 150 models?

and what type of sheet? cotton, polyester, etc?

often brand new sheets still have some residue on them and should be washed before use.

It's not uniformly distributed over the plastic. It's in the middle where the heat from the headlight beam would be.

but the texture of the 'melt' looks like it's from the sheet. maybe that's the part of the headlight where the sheet was in contact

Look at the wavy pattern at the top.

And maybe the sheet was placed over the headlight immediately after switch off, when the lens cover was hot, and the bulb still had plenty of residual heat. I can imagine a thin plastic dust sheet going all gooey at the thought...

ah yes, I see above the line. jimc's comment about residual heat might apply for that part of the lens

My theory:
Hubby went out tinkering with the scoots without wifey knowing.
Thinking of the long winter and let them warm up a bit.
Now not only is his damaged but so is wifey scoot.
Hubby says nothing to stay out of dog house and tries to let her think it is faulty housing and that is why it happened to both.

Was the sheet from Motel 6 ?

While it might seem like a design flaw to you, the only two Libertys this happened to were in your garage. If every Piaggio Liberty did this, due to a design flaw, there would be others that didn't winter in your garage that also looked like someone tried to clean the headlight with a rake. Something you did caused this, and if you don't figure out what it was, it'll happen again.