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Wales
by Joske Vermeule, September 1
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Jun 14th, 2026
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Talk Morgan Guru
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New Cars with cracks in the Headlight cowls...
The attached photos were taken of the headlight cowls on a brand new 2013 +4 after the car was parked in the sun for an hour.
Both headlight cowls developed a split in the same place along the join to the body big enough to slide a credit card into. When we examined the car a few day later in the cool of the evening the crack had substantially closed. Morgan claim it is to do with heat and humidity – sounds reasonable.
There have been 3 new Morgans (+4, and Roadster) in Australia so far with the same problem.
No doubt heat is a major contributor but if this can happen on a mild autumn morning in Sydney, I hate to think what may happen when we get some real heat.
As the northern hemisphere moves into summer (hopefully soon) this may be a real watch point for all owners of new Morgan cars.
Has anyone had any experience with this?
Last edited by OZ 4/4; 20/06/13 10:11 AM.
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The one in Sydney was fixed under warranty. The rest I am not sure and I am still trying to track down the European story.  Surely MMC should pick up the tab for this- well below the quality one should expect for a new car. Gerry.
A Morgan Identified Fastidious Owner...
2011 4/4 Bespoke, 1981 Delorean, Auburn Boat Tail
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Seems it was fixed under the MMC warranty which is as expected -- It does however seem a pretty isolated incident and while regrettable, you cannot eliminate all faults. It's how the problem is dealt with that really matters and it seems it was correctly handled in this case.
Robbie
2021 Plus Four -- Helga
211-WX-1433
"Fettlebodge"--A chief of the PaddyMogs
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You are right on the money - Its not the issue so much but how it's fixed - I have been waiting some time for a response from Morgan to my letter regarding the warranty repair of my car or a response to phone messages.  Seems it was fixed under the MMC warranty which is as expected -- It does however seem a pretty isolated incident and while regrettable, you cannot eliminate all faults. It's how the problem is dealt with that really matters and it seems it was correctly handled in this case.
A Morgan Identified Fastidious Owner...
2011 4/4 Bespoke, 1981 Delorean, Auburn Boat Tail
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May get some more news today. The car has now returned after 5 weeks off the road in the repair shop while Morgan decided what to do.  It was fixed under warranty so the owners credit card should have no further participation  Thankfully the repairer stood his ground and insisted on a proper welded repair. Seems the root cause was a poor welding effort during construction in the first place and the glue was just smeared along the outside join. No news on the other two problem cars but will hear something soon I suspect. Wonder how many other new Morgans suffer the same curse?  As Charles said quite deliberately I think at the Talk Mog visit whilst ignoring the issue of failing windscreens. The cars are "hand assembelled" not you will note hand built.
Frankly as I head for retirement I wonder if I would exchange my car for a new one. I am sceptical seeing all these faults that the marketing dream (& incidentally always my dream) of a bespoke car that was loving hand built to an acceptabel quality can be delivered.
A Morgan Identified Fastidious Owner...
2011 4/4 Bespoke, 1981 Delorean, Auburn Boat Tail
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Looks like my contact will be away for a bit longer so I will have to wait for any report. May get some more news today. The car has now returned after 5 weeks off the road in the repair shop while Morgan decided what to do. It was fixed under warranty so the owners credit card should have no further participation Thankfully the repairer stood his ground and insisted on a proper welded repair. Seems the root cause was a poor welding effort during construction in the first place and the glue was just smeared along the outside join. No news on the other two problem cars but will hear something soon I suspect. Wonder how many other new Morgans suffer the same curse? As Charles said quite deliberately I think at the Talk Mog visit whilst ignoring the issue of failing windscreens. The cars are "hand assembelled" not you will note hand built.
Frankly as I head for retirement I wonder if I would exchange my car for a new one. I am sceptical seeing all these faults that the marketing dream (& incidentally always my dream) of a bespoke car that was loving hand built to an acceptabel quality can be delivered.
A Morgan Identified Fastidious Owner...
2011 4/4 Bespoke, 1981 Delorean, Auburn Boat Tail
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You are quite right Gajet. It would be good for all concerned to find out why this happened and how many are affected in other countries. . whatever happens you should find out the root cause. If there is an underlying issue and it is painted over it will happen again. I can hear my old lecturer shouting - "find out why" that was his answer to everything Is the headlight pod welded on properly ? Contamination ? Definitely a job for your supplying dealer under warranty. 2 pack water based paint should be able to withstand sunshine even down under. Just my opinion 
A Morgan Identified Fastidious Owner...
2011 4/4 Bespoke, 1981 Delorean, Auburn Boat Tail
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Hate to be cynical, but most likely they have changed the filler they use for one that costs less. In the end these decisions often cost more Peter. Like you, I am cynical about this. Rather too many recent faults which seem due to either cost cutting or rushed production. Sad Bud  Well this seems to be the case and there may be more appearing during the European summer 
A Morgan Identified Fastidious Owner...
2011 4/4 Bespoke, 1981 Delorean, Auburn Boat Tail
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Richard
1976 4/4 4 Seater
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On a slightly different note. Over 95 thousand fans at the MCG in Australia to see Liverpool V Melbourne Victory. Apparently this is the largest crowd Liverpool has ever played in front of. 
A Morgan Identified Fastidious Owner...
2011 4/4 Bespoke, 1981 Delorean, Auburn Boat Tail
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The final bit of feed back is that the fault is a factory issue due to incomplete bonding of the glued used to attach the headlight cowl. Let's hope there are not too many more suffering in a hot European summer. One of the big risks of outsourcing production of sub-components. If it is down to poor assembly at Superform, MMC may be able to recoup the cost of remediation, but the reputational risk is going to be hard for them to deal with...
A Morgan Identified Fastidious Owner...
2011 4/4 Bespoke, 1981 Delorean, Auburn Boat Tail
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