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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Cosmetic and Lighting Modifications (exterior/interior) > Has this happened to your LCI tail lights?



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      01-30-2013, 04:35 PM   #1
alexwhittemore
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Has this happened to your LCI tail lights?

I'm not sure how this happened, I'm quite sure it was from before I bought the car and I just never noticed, but anyway, in the attached picture, look at the upper light pipe. It's warped slightly away from the inner back of the light housing. I'm pretty sure it's un-fixable as well, since that cavity is sealed up with adhesive to prevent moisture from getting in (as opposed to behind that back wall, where you can open up the tail light to get to the two bulbs and the LED assembly for the upper piece).

Anyone ever noticed this? It probably requires replacing the whole tail light, which is obviously more money than it's worth, but now that I've noticed it, it's going to annoy the hell out of me every time I see it
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      01-30-2013, 04:40 PM   #2
keeedle
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Go on ebay and get a used one to replace it.
They usually go around $80 bucks shipped
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      01-30-2013, 04:47 PM   #3
alexwhittemore
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keeedle View Post
Go on ebay and get a used one to replace it.
They usually go around $80 bucks shipped
I guess, but I SO don't want to spend money on it.

I suppose it's not the type of thing that'd be covered under the factory warranty (which is still good on the car) being such a pedantic little thing. Although I don't see why it WOULDN'T, it's clearly not the result of an accident or mishandling or anything.

EDIT: Eh, covers "defects in materials and workmanship," which this pretty clearly is. I'll have to give the old SA a call...
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      01-30-2013, 04:55 PM   #4
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If it still under warranty, I don't see the reason why not to go first to the dealer.
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      01-30-2013, 04:58 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alexwhittemore View Post
I guess, but I SO don't want to spend money on it.

I suppose it's not the type of thing that'd be covered under the factory warranty (which is still good on the car) being such a pedantic little thing. Although I don't see why it WOULDN'T, it's clearly not the result of an accident or mishandling or anything.

EDIT: Eh, covers "defects in materials and workmanship," which this pretty clearly is. I'll have to give the old SA a call...
Since your car is still under factory warranty, then I would assume the dealer will replace the light free of charge.

This should the same as the common LCI leds issue, the dealer usually replace the light under warranty
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      01-30-2013, 05:01 PM   #6
alexwhittemore
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keeedle View Post
Since your car is still under factory warranty, then I would assume the dealer will replace the light free of charge.

This should the same as the common LCI leds issue, the dealer usually replace the light under warranty
Hmmm, "common LCI LEDs issue?" Can you elaborate? Common enough that a replacement light won't have the issue, or just common enough that it'll probably happen to me eventually? Getting at: should I probably wait until later in my warranty to get this addressed in order to buy time before failure on a replacement?
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      01-30-2013, 05:08 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alexwhittemore View Post
Hmmm, "common LCI LEDs issue?" Can you elaborate? Common enough that a replacement light won't have the issue, or just common enough that it'll probably happen to me eventually? Getting at: should I probably wait until later in my warranty to get this addressed in order to buy time before failure on a replacement?
As far as I know, there is a flaw in the 08-10 E90 lci tail lights LEDs which makes them turn dim or go out after some time.
I heard that lights produced after 2010 solved the problem.

I believe there is a service bulletin addressing this issue thus dealer replacing the light for free if your car is under warranty, but don't quote me on that lol
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      01-30-2013, 07:18 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keeedle View Post
As far as I know, there is a flaw in the 08-10 E90 lci tail lights LEDs which makes them turn dim or go out after some time.
I heard that lights produced after 2010 solved the problem.

I believe there is a service bulletin addressing this issue thus dealer replacing the light for free if your car is under warranty, but don't quote me on that lol
yes, there is a service bulletin for it. The dimming issue actually happened to me a few months ago and the dealer had replaced the whole housing for me on both taillights. BUT if OP is going in for the warped light tube or whatever, not sure what the dealer will do since that isnt part of the service bulletin that I think you are talking about.
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      01-30-2013, 07:44 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BRGmatthew View Post
yes, there is a service bulletin for it. The dimming issue actually happened to me a few months ago and the dealer had replaced the whole housing for me on both taillights. BUT if OP is going in for the warped light tube or whatever, not sure what the dealer will do since that isnt part of the service bulletin that I think you are talking about.
Huh, interesting. Looked into the SB issue a bit more (http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=769428) and it looks like it's a problem with solder joints on the LEDs. Which is, of course, relatively easy to fix, if the LED carrier PCBs weren't buried in adhesive-sealed plastic

Unfortunately, it looks like there's no sign of malfunction YET (so I can't make a play at getting them replaced), and worse it looks like they were checked off on in the CPO procedure, thus likely haven't ever been replaced.

Oh well, hopefully that problem just doesn't pop up. Guess I'll see about getting the one replaced.
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      01-30-2013, 10:45 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alexwhittemore View Post
Huh, interesting. Looked into the SB issue a bit more (http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=769428) and it looks like it's a problem with solder joints on the LEDs. Which is, of course, relatively easy to fix, if the LED carrier PCBs weren't buried in adhesive-sealed plastic

Unfortunately, it looks like there's no sign of malfunction YET (so I can't make a play at getting them replaced), and worse it looks like they were checked off on in the CPO procedure, thus likely haven't ever been replaced.

Oh well, hopefully that problem just doesn't pop up. Guess I'll see about getting the one replaced.
right, which is the reason why the dealer replaced both of my rear taillight housings
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      01-30-2013, 10:58 PM   #11
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Even if you could get inside and remove the LED boards without breaking plastic, I'd still expect it's way more cost and effort for BMW than just replacing the entire unit. That said, for a DIY, if you COULD get in there, it'd probably be worth the couple hundred dollars worth of replacement cost to hand reflow the bad joints, assuming electronics is your thing.
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      01-30-2013, 11:11 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alexwhittemore View Post
Even if you could get inside and remove the LED boards without breaking plastic, I'd still expect it's way more cost and effort for BMW than just replacing the entire unit. That said, for a DIY, if you COULD get in there, it'd probably be worth the couple hundred dollars worth of replacement cost to hand reflow the bad joints, assuming electronics is your thing.
i say you should go to the dealer, bring them that service bulletin and tell them you want then to fix it even though your's isnt broken. They have to replace it as per bulletin regardless.
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      01-30-2013, 11:26 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BRGmatthew View Post
i say you should go to the dealer, bring them that service bulletin and tell them you want then to fix it even though your's isnt broken. They have to replace it as per bulletin regardless.
Isn't that only true if it's a silent recall? Seems silly to automatically flag stuff for replacement if it hasn't failed yet. Certainly there's a possibility that my lights happen not to have any joint issues and thus never WILL fail.
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      01-31-2013, 11:22 PM   #14
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oh wow! wonder how common this is
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