Why Do Headlights Turn Yellow and Cloudy?
Updated October 9, 2026 4 min readBy Dominick, owner of Slums Mobile Detailing
Almost every car over five years old has the same problem: hazy, yellow headlights. Here's why it happens.
Why do headlights get cloudy?
Modern headlights are polycarbonate plastic protected by a thin factory UV hard coat. Sun, heat from the bulbs, road salt and debris gradually break that coating down. Once it fails, the plastic oxidizes, turning cloudy, then yellow, then rough and peeling.
The three stages
- Faded: milky haze
- Yellowed: amber tint, dimmer light
- Damaged: rough, pitted or peeling coating
The fix
Slums restores both headlights at your home for a flat, condition-based price: $150 faded, $165 yellowed, $185 damaged — including a UV-blocking protective topcoat.