Rear lights water/mould

I

ihadablackdog

Senior member
Just asking for some up to date advice.

My car is a 2011 model that I got last March, AUC. The warranty runs out later this month.

It's going in for its MOT next weekend (to my local main dealer) and I also asked them to check it over to see if there is anything wrong that is covered under warranty.

I doubt they will do anything, but its guaranteed work for them if anything is found.

So, my rear lights let water in. Both condensate in the clear strip at the bottom for the indicator. One side has a dead bug in it and the other side is going green.

Are these still covered under warranty (i.e. am I likely to get them to replace them) and is there a new design, or will replacements be likely to do the same? Posts I've read are from 2012/2013 etc so not sure if they have been updated since.
 
i think they modified the later ones regarding the seal at the back where water got in.
if you can get them changed would be a bonus , because sooner or later the led indicator strip will fail which means a new unit that will cost about 130 from euro car parts or 200 from bmw fitted.
mine seemed dry when the led strip starting failing, so just unlucky and the joys of modern led strips :x
had to replace the unit as it just throws a bulb error warning , and you cant fix it.
i paid the 200 from bmw as knowing they are prone to fail, bmw give you two years warranty, so if it fails they remove and replace, rather than you remove, return unit to ecp and they hopefully order a replacement for you to fit.
 
Phoenixboy said:
i think they modified the later ones regarding the seal at the back where water got in.
if you can get them changed would be a bonus , because sooner or later the led indicator strip will fail which means a new unit that will cost about 130 from euro car parts or 200 from bmw fitted.
mine seemed dry when the led strip starting failing, so just unlucky and the joys of modern led strips :x
had to replace the unit as it just throws a bulb error warning , and you cant fix it.
i paid the 200 from bmw as knowing they are prone to fail, bmw give you two years warranty, so if it fails they remove and replace, rather than you remove, return unit to ecp and they hopefully order a replacement for you to fit.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Do you think yours is a modified one and has it been ok?
 
ihadablackdog said:
Phoenixboy said:
i think they modified the later ones regarding the seal at the back where water got in.
if you can get them changed would be a bonus , because sooner or later the led indicator strip will fail which means a new unit that will cost about 130 from euro car parts or 200 from bmw fitted.
mine seemed dry when the led strip starting failing, so just unlucky and the joys of modern led strips :x
had to replace the unit as it just throws a bulb error warning , and you cant fix it.
i paid the 200 from bmw as knowing they are prone to fail, bmw give you two years warranty, so if it fails they remove and replace, rather than you remove, return unit to ecp and they hopefully order a replacement for you to fit.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Do you think yours is a modified one and has it been ok?
Click to expand...
yes, i would guess its a modified one as is direct from bmw and seems fine, but only had it done end of december.
 
ihadablackdog said:
gwatson said:
Does the rear bumper need to come off to replace them?
Click to expand...

Everything I've seen it looks like the rear bumper stays in place and the lights can be removed by removing trim in the boot?
Click to expand...
correct, but access to some screws is made easier by having roof part open.
i beleive there is a thread on here somewhere explaining and also on youtube.
 
ihadablackdog said:
Just asking for some up to date advice.

My car is a 2011 model that I got last March, AUC. The warranty runs out later this month.

It's going in for its MOT next weekend (to my local main dealer) and I also asked them to check it over to see if there is anything wrong that is covered under warranty.

I doubt they will do anything, but its guaranteed work for them if anything is found.

So, my rear lights let water in. Both condensate in the clear strip at the bottom for the indicator. One side has a dead bug in it and the other side is going green.

Are these still covered under warranty (i.e. am I likely to get them to replace them) and is there a new design, or will replacements be likely to do the same? Posts I've read are from 2012/2013 etc so not sure if they have been updated since.
Click to expand...

Water ingress should be covered under warranty.

Ensure they replace it.

Don’t take no for an answer.
 
R60BBA said:
ihadablackdog said:
Just asking for some up to date advice.

My car is a 2011 model that I got last March, AUC. The warranty runs out later this month.

It's going in for its MOT next weekend (to my local main dealer) and I also asked them to check it over to see if there is anything wrong that is covered under warranty.

I doubt they will do anything, but its guaranteed work for them if anything is found.

So, my rear lights let water in. Both condensate in the clear strip at the bottom for the indicator. One side has a dead bug in it and the other side is going green.

Are these still covered under warranty (i.e. am I likely to get them to replace them) and is there a new design, or will replacements be likely to do the same? Posts I've read are from 2012/2013 etc so not sure if they have been updated since.
Click to expand...

Water ingress should be covered under warranty.

Ensure they replace it.

Don’t take no for an answer.
Click to expand...
absolutely, as they will fail at some stage if moisture is around the
leds.
if they bicker, point out thats its clearly an issue or you would not have modified the later units.
 
Good luck with getting BMW to replace them under extended warranty, I have noticed mine getting moisture in, and when it was in with BMW they agreed they had some condensation!! contacted the warranty dept, but apparently the lights are not covered under the extended warranty,,, if you do manage to get it done, love to know, then I can use it as ammunition and have another go
 
I know they are cutting back on what they cover from several years ago - they used to look at rattles, now its a definate no.

Does the AUC warranty class as extended? I know it is technically extended, as it's past 3 years, but I would expect it to be more comprehensive with these things than the normal extended, if that makes sense.

I'll see how the lights are when I go in, hopefully will have lots of condensation etc then put it to them that this is not correct.
 
You might be lucky with the AUC warranty as its supposed to be as the original warranty, unfortunately my lights only showed signs of it once I was pass that point and onto extended,, mine are not bad to be honest, but they are not going to get better, plus they tried to flob me off with all lights are prone to some condensation etc
 
I had to buy a new one off ebay, after several attempts to seal it.
It was the newer design, still with the same design flaw .
They tried replacing one fixing bolt with an extra screw on the housing, to increase the clamping pressure, but totally ignoring the fact that they still used the wrong rubber seal material. Only guaranteed fix is to take the rear cover off the lamp and glue up the seal.
 
My replacement was the newer version. With the screws, it last a few weeks before moisture appeared so off it came and got glued up.
I could see how they had modified the existing tooling to add the clamping screws and rob one of the mounting points, but still had the old open cell foam seal.
 
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