F10/11 Headlight problems - what’s the solution?
Discussion
Afternoon all,
I’ve run my F11 for getting on for 3 years to around 100k miles and apart from the headlights it’s been faultless. It’s pre LCI with adaptive xenons.
The passenger side went crazy last year, throwing all sorts of issues of adaptive failure, indicator failure, side light failure etc. It does get condensation inside but doesn’t look too bad. I got it out (lowering bumper was a pain), dried it out, pressure tested it as best I could, no obvious leaks, changed the indicator, put it all back together and was ok.
Now the driver side angels have failed but no other issues. It can’t be both angel eyes bulbs so must be TMS module related, but there must be an underlying problem causing this so TMS swap and code won’t suffice beyond short term.
I’m not sure where to go from here, getting both lights out is a pain and I don’t have a garage so car needs to sit outside. I don’t fancy replacing both units at eye watering cost. Ideally I want to take it somewhere, get replaced what needs to be replaced and have it all put back together properly to prevent more issues.
Has anyone had this sort of thing successfully done at a reasonable cost? I’m based in the South.
Any assistance most welcome!
I’ve run my F11 for getting on for 3 years to around 100k miles and apart from the headlights it’s been faultless. It’s pre LCI with adaptive xenons.
The passenger side went crazy last year, throwing all sorts of issues of adaptive failure, indicator failure, side light failure etc. It does get condensation inside but doesn’t look too bad. I got it out (lowering bumper was a pain), dried it out, pressure tested it as best I could, no obvious leaks, changed the indicator, put it all back together and was ok.
Now the driver side angels have failed but no other issues. It can’t be both angel eyes bulbs so must be TMS module related, but there must be an underlying problem causing this so TMS swap and code won’t suffice beyond short term.
I’m not sure where to go from here, getting both lights out is a pain and I don’t have a garage so car needs to sit outside. I don’t fancy replacing both units at eye watering cost. Ideally I want to take it somewhere, get replaced what needs to be replaced and have it all put back together properly to prevent more issues.
Has anyone had this sort of thing successfully done at a reasonable cost? I’m based in the South.
Any assistance most welcome!
My F11 is a 12 plate non Xenon. Both headlights are prone to getting moisture in and I've not found any leaks . The LHS PCB can be removed and replaced without headlight removal but the RHS is blocked by a bar. I did my LHS about three years ago and the RHS in October for the MOT. Bumper removal is not fun but I found the BMW fittings are much better quality so come off and more importantly go back on without difficulty for getting the gaps right. Note I only pulled the bumper forward not completely removed to make it easier to realign without a second helper.
I had the condensation in my driver's side headlight (2013 F11) recently and found a few specialists who'll refurb and reseal the units for approx £3-400. It still requires you to remove the headlight, so I took the view that I had nothing to lose by removing it and attempting to seal it myself. The removal wasn't too bad as there's plenty of videos on YT showing exactly how its done and I dried it overnight in the house and re-installed the next day. I sealed it with a clear sealant from Halfords and so far, its been fine...
When I removed the light, water poured out of the TPS module but I just let that dry out and that's been fine too and thankfully all of the error messages have disappeared.
When I removed the light, water poured out of the TPS module but I just let that dry out and that's been fine too and thankfully all of the error messages have disappeared.
Edited by markcp on Monday 16th January 10:25
I've been through this - I changed the TMS module on the passenger side headlight last summer, which fixed the lights functionally. When I removed the module, the pins were corroded as the water had obviously been getting in and then making its way down to the lowest point in the headlight, which happens to be where the TMS module sits.
Before I changed it, I had a shed load of warning lights on the dash: indicator failure, DRL failure, adaptive headlight failure, side light failure etc - basically, every light failure that exists. The angel eyes wouldn't work unless dipped beam was on and the indicators weren't working on the passenger side.
After the TMS module was changed, it was good until recently but I had noticed that they were still doing their best fish tank impersonations so I was expecting to have to do a proper job second time around.
I got another TMS module on eBay for around £30.00, using www.realoem.com to check the part code.
I didn't really want to completely strip the headlights and remove the lenses so I took both of them out, removed the TMS module from the passenger side (corroded pins again, as expected), inspected the drivers side (which was fine) plugged a new TMS in to the passenger side, connected the light up (just to check everything was ok) and then properly dried both headlights. I put them in a cardboard box with a heater in front of it and cut an exhaust hole behind the lights. I gave them about an hour and they dried perfectly.
I then gave them a proper clean all over, paying particular attention to the 'gap' between the main 'body' of the headlights and the lenses. I used compressed and a blower to blast any crap out and then gave the area where they seal a good wipe over with brake cleaner to make sure that it was prepared for the next stage.
Using some trusty no-nonsense Screwfix special clear bathroom silicone, I basically filled the gap between the lens and the light. I started off with a really small bead of silicone, making sure that I properly penetrated the gap and smoothed it all over with a wet finger - there was very little silicone to be seen and I obviously made sure that there was none on the lens. After leaving them for around 20 minutes, I then applied another bead of silicone, this time a little thicker, just to make sure that I'd done the job properly.
I replaced the top inspection caps, just to make sure that the rubber seals were perfect and applied a little grease on the seals. I did the same on the caps that are on the back of the headlight and on the TMS modules.
This was around four weeks ago and since then, we've had a lot of rain. Both headlights are still absolutely perfect - not a single spot of condensation! I'm confident that it will be a permanent fix. They're working perfectly, no warning messages or annoying bongs, which were driving me mad.
If you're able to get the headlights out, it's a pretty straight forward and relatively quick fix. Certainly cheaper than sending them off or buying new. Mine has adaptive xenon lights and I couldn't find them new for less than £1,000.00 each!
Out of all the cars I've ever had, I've never had one with leaky headlights so it's obviously a very poor design and it seems to be something that most F10/F11 suffer with. I also had the (again, common) issue with the yellow grommet of doom letting water in from the engine bay - another poor design. Not sure why, but it would appear that BMW never expected the cars to be used in the wet.
Good luck!
Before I changed it, I had a shed load of warning lights on the dash: indicator failure, DRL failure, adaptive headlight failure, side light failure etc - basically, every light failure that exists. The angel eyes wouldn't work unless dipped beam was on and the indicators weren't working on the passenger side.
After the TMS module was changed, it was good until recently but I had noticed that they were still doing their best fish tank impersonations so I was expecting to have to do a proper job second time around.
I got another TMS module on eBay for around £30.00, using www.realoem.com to check the part code.
I didn't really want to completely strip the headlights and remove the lenses so I took both of them out, removed the TMS module from the passenger side (corroded pins again, as expected), inspected the drivers side (which was fine) plugged a new TMS in to the passenger side, connected the light up (just to check everything was ok) and then properly dried both headlights. I put them in a cardboard box with a heater in front of it and cut an exhaust hole behind the lights. I gave them about an hour and they dried perfectly.
I then gave them a proper clean all over, paying particular attention to the 'gap' between the main 'body' of the headlights and the lenses. I used compressed and a blower to blast any crap out and then gave the area where they seal a good wipe over with brake cleaner to make sure that it was prepared for the next stage.
Using some trusty no-nonsense Screwfix special clear bathroom silicone, I basically filled the gap between the lens and the light. I started off with a really small bead of silicone, making sure that I properly penetrated the gap and smoothed it all over with a wet finger - there was very little silicone to be seen and I obviously made sure that there was none on the lens. After leaving them for around 20 minutes, I then applied another bead of silicone, this time a little thicker, just to make sure that I'd done the job properly.
I replaced the top inspection caps, just to make sure that the rubber seals were perfect and applied a little grease on the seals. I did the same on the caps that are on the back of the headlight and on the TMS modules.
This was around four weeks ago and since then, we've had a lot of rain. Both headlights are still absolutely perfect - not a single spot of condensation! I'm confident that it will be a permanent fix. They're working perfectly, no warning messages or annoying bongs, which were driving me mad.
If you're able to get the headlights out, it's a pretty straight forward and relatively quick fix. Certainly cheaper than sending them off or buying new. Mine has adaptive xenon lights and I couldn't find them new for less than £1,000.00 each!
Out of all the cars I've ever had, I've never had one with leaky headlights so it's obviously a very poor design and it seems to be something that most F10/F11 suffer with. I also had the (again, common) issue with the yellow grommet of doom letting water in from the engine bay - another poor design. Not sure why, but it would appear that BMW never expected the cars to be used in the wet.
Good luck!
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