[JonD]

Looks like some thieving tw@ has nicked the wash cover out the bumper of my car stealer wants £60 to supply and paint, can anyone tell me how it fits or direct me to a diagram so i can see how it goes in, I may get a independent body shop to paint and fit myself.

[willhollin]

Originally Posted by JonD

Looks like some thieving tw@ has nicked the wash cover out the bumper of my car stealer wants £60 to supply and paint, can anyone tell me how it fits or direct me to a diagram so i can see how it goes in, I may get a independent body shop to paint and fist myself.

Sounds painful.

What colour is your car?

[JonD]

Titanium Silver

[JonD]

To top it all off I've just been informed that there isn't any in the UK or germany and it could be months before they get them in FFS !

[JonD]

The day just gets worse, on further inspection the nozzel is missing so that's another £35 and if I can't fitted without removing the bumper then I'll get stung for that all so, the likely hooh is I'm looking at £200 bill !

[TMP]

Originally Posted by JonD

The day just gets worse, on further inspection the nozzel is missing so that's another £35 and if I can't fitted without removing the bumper then I'll get stung for that all so, the likely hooh is I'm looking at £200 bill !

May not help, but few years back missues Cooper S lost it washer cover. The dealer agreed to fit if we paid for the part....(13 quid!) as car was under warranty.

[JonD]

Not really, like I said not parts in the UK or Germany plus I bought it private and out of warranty not that it would cover theft.

[shane55]

If its any consolation, its possible it wasnt stolen! I've seen two Bm's today with their washers half popped out...this is due to the fact that they freeze shut in cold weather and are not heated...so when the mechanism pops up the cap can sometimes fly off and even the whole inside bit too! which leaves you with a nice hole in your bumper...and thats why the dealer cant get you any because every other Bm driver in Europe with xenons is looking for some after the cold weather we just had...use good screenwash to stop the nozzle freezing inside the bumper and just dont let the 'lamps wash in freezing conditions

[JonD]

Yeah I did think about that shane but it didn't freeze here last night also having pulled the other side up to see what is missing took a bit of force which make me think it was more likely to have been stolen.

Whats more anoying is the fact BMW can't even tell you when they'll come back in stock could be 'weeks or even months' I was told.

[TMP]

Originally Posted by shane55

If its any consolation, its possible it wasnt stolen! I've seen two Bm's today with their washers half popped out...this is due to the fact that they freeze shut in cold weather and are not heated...so when the mechanism pops up the cap can sometimes fly off and even the whole inside bit too! which leaves you with a nice hole in your bumper...and thats why the dealer cant get you any because every other Bm driver in Europe with xenons is looking for some after the cold weather we just had...use good screenwash to stop the nozzle freezing inside the bumper and just dont let the 'lamps wash in freezing conditions

You cant stop the headlights washing can you?

You aslo need to Wd40 the washer cover I reckon, keep the water out of the seal.

[M3-FAST]

You would have to turn the headlights to the 'off' position before washing the windscreen, this would then just spray the screen and not operate the headlight washers

[shane55]

You can wash the windscreen with the lights on without activating the headlamp washers if...you only pulse the wiper stalk towards you instead of holding it, I think you have to hold it for 2 secs or more before the headlamps wash...I do this all the time...never really wash the lights unless I'm sure its not freezing out!

[TMP]

ok, thats good to know....my washers have only thawed out this week, since freezing shut on the m62 week before xmas.

[jinjur]

It was the cold that did it chap.

And for what it's worth, Bavarian told me the same "months wait" but washer jet and unpainted cover arrived 3 days later. Unpainted mind. I'll get round to that some time.

£43 all in.

Just make sure to grab some BMW antifreeze washer fluid and get it in there.

I drained mine as it was pure water and this was no doubt the caue for my loss.

Cheers
andy - belfast

[NFS]

Originally Posted by shane55

You can wash the windscreen with the lights on without activating the headlamp washers if...you only pulse the wiper stalk towards you instead of holding it, I think you have to hold it for 2 secs or more before the headlamps wash...I do this all the time...never really wash the lights unless I'm sure its not freezing out!

I don't think this is correct. The headlamp washers are programmed to come on after a certain numbers of washes when the headlights are on. It's nothing to do with the time you hold the wiper stalk.

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by NFS

I don't think this is correct. The headlamp washers are programmed to come on after a certain numbers of washes when the headlights are on. It's nothing to do with the time you hold the wiper stalk.

+1 - mine clean the headlights on the first operation of the washers on a journey. Subsequent operations don't clean the headlamps until maybe the 6th or 7th wash, and then the headlamps get cleaned again

I can do a VERY short blip on the washers that seems to miss the headlamp wash but there is not really enough to clean the screen properly then

None of my washers have frozen up, and shouldn't if the correct concentration of solution is used during winter time

[RichJ]

Mine cleaned the headlights this morning with only the sidlelights on!!

[shane55]

Yes they can wash each time you start up and after that every fifth or sixth time...and mine will wash the windscreen only if you just blip the wiper stalk...for sure.....and if you have your wipers "on" speed 1 and not auto and you stop in traffic...they also stop...and when you move they start again...cool

[dinger]

About 2 weeks ago when we had the 1st heavy snow and ice we had the nearside headlamp washer cover along with the jet that directs it to the headlamp go missing ,so I closley inspected the area of the bumper it fits into and there are no marks or scratches to sugest it was prized out and stolen then about 3 days ago after the 2nd bout of snow and ice the other one has now gone,same senario no marks or scratches

Would this have made the alarm to go off if they had been stolen.?????????

Could this be a manufacturing fault.???????

[mwalimu]

I lost 2 washer jet covers and pump mechanisms over the recent cold spell. The dealer wants €280 to replace the lot and paint the covers.
How come this is not a warranty issue? Surely BMW should take some responsibility for designing a car with bits which fall off in cold weather. I can't find any warnings in the owner's manual advising about this risk. I know now that I should use anti freeze mixer in the washer pumps. What an expensive lesson.
Ultimate driving machine? Not yet

[amass]

Same thing happened to my coupe, the cover gone missing after the recent snow. Didn't want to pay such silly money to get it fix, I did some research and found that this problem is very common for BMWs.

I phoned local dealer today but they said repair/replacement is not under warranty. I then phoned BMW customer service explained the headlight washer cover is mssing and seems that the whole unit is not working anymore. She immediately gave me a reference number and said that ALL dealers should already have received an email stating that they can carry out repair for this under BMW Goodwill Budget for free.

So after all, BMW DO KNOW that this is a design fault but they are not openly admit it at the moment.

Come on guys, get your repair for FREE!

[F31-340i]

Quote today - parts £43. Paint and fit £100.

Not impressed. Guy in the dealer put in a goodwill request but wasn't optimistic, and said cars under warranty were being turned down. He mentioned some check about the screen wash concentration being within limits.

Has anyone removed the front bumper themselves? Is this easy? I feel inclined to do it myself as I totally resent the idea of giving these punks £100 to pay for a blantant design fault. I forgot to ask - can you get spray paint & laquer from the dealer, or is this halfrauds only?

Bottom line is the BMW / supplier engineers didn't design for or test the ability of the washer system not to break if filled with normal water under freezing conditions - should have been both in the spec and tested during development.