Water in headlights. What to do?

supremenyc1994 · 08-21-2011, 07:28 AM

There are some water inside of my 2008 E90\'s headlight. I have no idea what the hell was happened. Should I take the car to the dealer? (cover by the no maintenance costs?) Thanks!!!

Hooy · 08-21-2011, 07:36 AM

Quick, put it in a bowl of rice!!!

SilverII · 08-21-2011, 08:02 AM

if it is under warranty take it to the dealer

ceb · 08-21-2011, 10:31 AM

Depends on the amount of water. Headlights cannot be completely sealed so there will be a bit of condensation based on outside humidity and temps.

Large quantities of water indicate a sealing problem and are usually caused by someone swapping bulbs and failing to properly reseat the seal.

That said, this is never covered under the maintenance plan. If it is a manufacturer's defect then it will covered under warranty - if your car is still within the warranty period.

Dark_Knight_335 · 08-21-2011, 12:43 PM

You didn't happen to mess with them at all, did you? Honestly?

raleedy · 08-21-2011, 01:36 PM

Is the water in the headlight assembly, or is it condensation on the inside of the plastic cover? If it's the latter, it's completely normal. It'll dry out by itself. It's not a sealed unit.

ShinyRedCar · 08-21-2011, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hooy

Quick, put it in a bowl of rice!!!

Nugget64 · 08-21-2011, 06:11 PM

I had the exact same issue with my car when I first got it... both sides were fogged up bad and one side was filled with water..

If you look in your wheel well behind your lights you'll find 2 clip grates.. mine were missing and thus rain water was being picked up by my tires and ending up in the headlight housing. What I did was take it back to the dealer and get him to get the water out with an air hose and seal it back up.. then I found out that one side was missing again and took it into Toronto BMW and bought a new grate for $5.. my guess is that your missing yours as well.. look up the part # on realoem.com

If that doesn't work.. put rice in it

Quasimodem · 08-21-2011, 08:07 PM

Did you go out the night before and then you woke up in your bed the next morning without remembering anything from the night before?

If so, maybe on that evening you were so drunk, you let a friend drive you home and he was also drunk and you both ended up in a lake. He fought off an alligator and he pulled your lifeless body out of the submerged car gave you CPR bringing you back to life. He had a friend with a tow truck and they pulled the car out of the water. He also had a friend with a paint shop and he put the car in there for six hours with the heat on 300 degrees until it was dry.

The heat must not have penetrated the headlights. Dammit.

ceb · 08-21-2011, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDeFranco1

You didn't happen to mess with them at all, did you? Honestly?

He did inquire in another post if you had to remove the bumper to work on the headlights.

Dark_Knight_335 · 08-22-2011, 08:31 AM

Ruh Roh...busted!

fdriller9 · 08-22-2011, 09:08 AM

The only 3 places for water to enter the housing (on a AHL xenon housing) is at the back cover, angel eye cover, or the SMC (AHL) module.

I highly doubt the seal around the lens is faulty unless you messed with it.

Most likely culprits are the back cover or the angel eye cover. The SMC module sits on the bottom and is secured but torx screws.

Edward · 08-22-2011, 01:34 PM

hmm. so my car has built up a bit of condensation (about 3-4 square inches in surface area) on the inside by the high beam lens and against the edge of the lens cover that borders the kidney grills. Car is all stock and never messed with. Probably popped the hood a total of 5 times since I got the car new. Should I have the dealer swap my headlights out? It doesn't bother me that much but it definitely shouldn't have this water in there, especially when its this hot in the summer....

08-21-2011, 07:28 AM	#1
supremenyc1994 ****** 3 Rep 86 Posts Drives: 08 E90 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: East Market iTrader: (1)	Water in headlights. What to do? There are some water inside of my 2008 E90\'s headlight. I have no idea what the hell was happened. Should I take the car to the dealer? (cover by the no maintenance costs?) Thanks!!! __________________ I swear, my computer is playing games with me. U think you are so smart, don't U? I unplug U!
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08-21-2011, 07:36 AM	#2
Hooy Colonel 205 Rep 2,770 Posts Drives: E92 328i, E92 M3 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Houston, TX iTrader: (12) Garage List 2008 E92 328 [5.00]	Quick, put it in a bowl of rice!!! __________________
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08-21-2011, 08:02 AM	#3
SilverII Colonel 40 Rep 2,334 Posts Drives: '11 335IS Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: DFW iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 BMW 335IS [9.66]	if it is under warranty take it to the dealer
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08-21-2011, 10:31 AM	#4
ceb NHTSA Nazi 28 Rep 1,983 Posts Drives: 335ix Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: MD iTrader: (1)	Depends on the amount of water. Headlights cannot be completely sealed so there will be a bit of condensation based on outside humidity and temps. Large quantities of water indicate a sealing problem and are usually caused by someone swapping bulbs and failing to properly reseat the seal. That said, this is never covered under the maintenance plan. If it is a manufacturer's defect then it will covered under warranty - if your car is still within the warranty period.
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08-21-2011, 12:43 PM	#5
Dark_Knight_335 Came to the N55 Darkside 1112 Rep 12,740 Posts Drives: 2011 335 E93 M-Sport Join Date: May 2010 Location: NY/NJ iTrader: (28)	You didn't happen to mess with them at all, did you? Honestly?
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08-21-2011, 01:36 PM	#6
raleedy Colonel 160 Rep 2,248 Posts Drives: 2016 228i 6-speed Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Portland, Oregon iTrader: (0)	Is the water in the headlight assembly, or is it condensation on the inside of the plastic cover? If it's the latter, it's completely normal. It'll dry out by itself. It's not a sealed unit.
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08-21-2011, 06:11 PM	#8
Nugget64 Banned 19 Rep 282 Posts Drives: 325i Sport Pkg Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Toronto iTrader: (0)	I had the exact same issue with my car when I first got it... both sides were fogged up bad and one side was filled with water.. If you look in your wheel well behind your lights you'll find 2 clip grates.. mine were missing and thus rain water was being picked up by my tires and ending up in the headlight housing. What I did was take it back to the dealer and get him to get the water out with an air hose and seal it back up.. then I found out that one side was missing again and took it into Toronto BMW and bought a new grate for $5.. my guess is that your missing yours as well.. look up the part # on realoem.com If that doesn't work.. put rice in it
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08-21-2011, 08:07 PM	#9
Quasimodem Colonel 147 Rep 2,383 Posts Drives: 335d Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: California iTrader: (0) Garage List 2009 335d US [0.00]	Did you go out the night before and then you woke up in your bed the next morning without remembering anything from the night before? If so, maybe on that evening you were so drunk, you let a friend drive you home and he was also drunk and you both ended up in a lake. He fought off an alligator and he pulled your lifeless body out of the submerged car gave you CPR bringing you back to life. He had a friend with a tow truck and they pulled the car out of the water. He also had a friend with a paint shop and he put the car in there for six hours with the heat on 300 degrees until it was dry. The heat must not have penetrated the headlights. Dammit. __________________ Speakers: CDT Audio HD-42 comps--front doors (RAAMmat deadened), CDT ES-06 6.5" woofers--kickpanl Pods, Hertz EBX202R dual 8" ported trunk sub. Amps: Phoenix Gold RSd 500.4 (comps & pods). PG RSd 600.1 (sub). Power & Ground: 4AWG Streetwires w/RockFosgt RFDB1 distro blocks. Input: HU lineout--Kicker KISL RCA adapters--RockFosgt RFIT-6 cables--Audiocontrol Matrix--Monster cables--RSd 500.4--lineout Monstr Cabl to RSd 600.1.
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08-22-2011, 08:31 AM	#11
Dark_Knight_335 Came to the N55 Darkside 1112 Rep 12,740 Posts Drives: 2011 335 E93 M-Sport Join Date: May 2010 Location: NY/NJ iTrader: (28)	Ruh Roh...busted!
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08-22-2011, 09:08 AM	#12
fdriller9 Banned 253 Rep 7,089 Posts Drives: '06 AW 330xi Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: North Jersey/Philly/NYC iTrader: (4) Garage List 2006 330xi [6.44]	The only 3 places for water to enter the housing (on a AHL xenon housing) is at the back cover, angel eye cover, or the SMC (AHL) module. I highly doubt the seal around the lens is faulty unless you messed with it. Most likely culprits are the back cover or the angel eye cover. The SMC module sits on the bottom and is secured but torx screws.
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08-22-2011, 01:34 PM	#13
Edward Colonel 377 Rep 2,982 Posts Drives: 2013.9999 E92 Jerez ZCP Join Date: May 2010 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (2)	hmm. so my car has built up a bit of condensation (about 3-4 square inches in surface area) on the inside by the high beam lens and against the edge of the lens cover that borders the kidney grills. Car is all stock and never messed with. Probably popped the hood a total of 5 times since I got the car new. Should I have the dealer swap my headlights out? It doesn't bother me that much but it definitely shouldn't have this water in there, especially when its this hot in the summer....
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