[grifficp]

I recently took in my 2006 E90 for service due to warning lights appearing in the dash for the reverse lights and one brake light (all in the trunk lid light panels).

Upon review the dealership said the wiring had broken and it would be ~$200 to fix. After repairing the wiring and testing the system they have told me the control module has been fried due to the broken wiring and it will cost $800 to repair.

I am curious if anyone else has had this issue? In addition I am wondering if this should be considered a design flaw since the apparent normal operation of a trunk opening and closing has caused the wiring to break and resulted in a $1000 repair expense.

Any insights are greatly appreciated.

[FVM3]

Never heard of that issue. Theres error code after replacing the reverse light bulb into leds but never had problem at all

[fdriller9]

If it's truly caused by the normal operation of the trunk lid.....then yes BMW should cover it.

[reaper335]

Originally Posted by *********

If it's truly caused by the normal operation of the trunk lid.....then yes BMW should cover it.

+1

[Moondog]

Originally Posted by grifficp

I recently took in my 2006 E90 for service due to warning lights appearing in the dash for the reverse lights and one brake light (all in the trunk lid light panels).

Upon review the dealership said the wiring had broken and it would be ~$200 to fix. After repairing the wiring and testing the system they have told me the control module has been fried due to the broken wiring and it will cost $800 to repair.

I am curious if anyone else has had this issue? In addition I am wondering if this should be considered a design flaw since the apparent normal operation of a trunk opening and closing has caused the wiring to break and resulted in a $1000 repair expense.

Any insights are greatly appreciated.

>> I am experiencing the exact same issue with my 06 e90 330i. Any update on your car or did you simply end up paying $1000 to the dealer for the repair? Thanks for any info! Rich

[Hdarkace]

wow that is BS

[silverado]

I have the exact same issue with my '06 E90! Dealer said it would cost ~$800 to replace a module (never mentioned the wiring).. Then an independent shop I consulted showed me the broken wiring and said that they're 90% sure it would fix the problem for a cost $150. I was thinking of having them do this but now that I hear this, I'm not so sure.

It certainly looks like a design flaw! What recourse do we have with BMW for such a problem?

[Moondog]

Originally Posted by Moondog

>> I am experiencing the exact same issue with my 06 e90 330i. Any update on your car or did you simply end up paying $1000 to the dealer for the repair? Thanks for any info! Rich

I took my '06 e90 to the dealer last week. Their assessment was that the wires from the chassis to the deck lid were "cut" due to something being closed in the trunk lid which (they said) cut the wires. I've owned the car since new, and have never closed anything in the deck lid. The estimate to fix the wiring was $350.00 - I declined the repair and fixed it myself. I had NO problem with the module.

Upon sliding the rubber sheathing back, I found one completely severed wire and four other wires with cracked insulation. All were broken in random locations inches apart (debunking the notion that something was closed in the lid).

I ended up receiving an email survey from BMW NA regarding my service visit. I gave the visit bad reviews and noted my discovery. The service manager called me and I explained my discovery, telling him I felt this repair should have been covered under the CPO warranty since it was NOT caused by abuse but defect in materials. He disagreed but did waive the $50.00 diagnosis fee they charged.

In a nut shell - I soldered in pieces of patching wire and wrapped with shrink insulation - lights work and warning indicator on dash is gone...

[GWS]

I have the same problem with reverse lights not working on my 06 330xi at 120k miles. I brought it to an independent technician and he found damaged wires, and found the control module is bad. The control module is over $300, and if he can't program it. the dealer wants $200 to program it. OUCH.

[alexb]

Reviving an old thread here! Thought I would contribute my story and information for the other 330 owners out there. The executive summary is as follows: The minute you get a bulb-out warning for the trunk lid, examine it right away. Figure out what lights are out and if that wiring is damaged. Here's why:

I randomly lost reverse lights and the running lights on the trunk lid. Curiously, my reverse lights would power up, then power out 5-seconds later. It would only do this upon the first start-up of the car. The remainder of the time driving, there would be no reverse lights until re-starting the motor. I left it like this for a while. That turned out to be a costly mistake.

My independent mechanic found a damaged wire in that loop that closes in the trunk lid. He cut out the broken wire and soldered in a new one, but couldn't spend any more time on it after that. Running lights were back, but no reverse lights. When I took it back to him for more thorough diagnosis, we found out that the Footwell Module was the culprit. He traced all the wiring back to that module, which controls all the lighting in the car, and found out that it was not putting out voltage when it was supposed to. IE, put the car in reverse, and the switch on the transmission registered the gear, but the control module was not actually implementing that command.

Our working hypothesis is that the Footwell Module was only willing to put up with bulb-out for only so long. For safety reasons, the module shut down that circuit. To prevent fires, I guess. My mechanic said that the module needed to be re-set/re-programmed at that point. He said it was a 50-50 chance that the module would re-set (accept re-programmed), or be bricked. My research into the topic suggests that you only get so many start-up attempts with busted lights before the module shuts down that circuit. Again, moral of the story, get it fixed asap.

What I will have to do now is purchase a new footwell module and have it installed/re-programmed. The module is $300-450, depending on where you obtain it, and the re-programming is 1 to 1.5 hr of Dealer Shop Time. My guy said that he could reprogram the module, but i'm sure not every mechanic has the same tools that my guy does.

The up-shot of this is that I could purchase a Footwell Module 3, the newest version of the module which would allow me to enable Welcome Home lighting. But I don't know how to do that. What does everybody think?

[300e]

Sorry for reviving an old thread but I am experiencing exactly the same symptoms as the last poster. I got the fault about a week ago and I've yet to locate what I suspect is a broken wire.

I've thoroughly checked the bundle where it goes from the trunk lid to the chassis without luck. For those of you who have experienced this can you give me an idea of where you guys found your break? Hoping to find this before the footwell module shuts down. Wondering how many starts I've got before that happens.

[Costex]

I have the same problem as described above and my parking sensor is working so I was thinking about a cheap fix for the reverse light.

Since the parking sensor works the control light module must get a signal from the reverse switch in the transmission. So if the problem is that the light module has shut down the "port" going out to the reverse light.
Should´nt it then be possible to just send the signal from the reverse switch past the light module and to the outgoing cables for the reverse light?
Or will this in some way contribute to more problems?
(I know this wont fix the light warning i get when starting the car)

[jppcortes@gmail.com]

on 2007 bmw 328i no reverse lights found broken wire (ground) and I did reset on footwell module with zeus scanner and fix the problem

[Madhurjot]

Hey, I have this problem also. The right side tail-mounted light module was not working due to a split wire but now that I have fixed the split wires, both of the reverse lights do not work. The one on the left used to work before me fixing the right-side assembly. Any ideas?

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by Madhurjot

... The right side tail-mounted light module was not working due to a split wire [WHAT wire (color & function) was "split", and WHERE was the "split" located (at trunk hinge plane?] but now that I have fixed the split wires, [NOW you are suggesting MULIPLE "wires" -- same questions] both of the reverse lights do not work. The one on the left used to work before me fixing the right-side assembly. [Please describe in detail all steps in the "fixing"] Any ideas?

Are you getting ANY Bulb Failure warning lights, CC-ID codes of Fault codes? Please provide.

Trying to diagnose an issue over the Web with NO photos and NO specific description of what was done or ANY voltage or continuity to ground tests is "Problematic."

I'm NOT trying to give you a hard time, but to simply have you understand why BS in = BS OUT when it comes to ANALysis of anything. So let's start with the proper TIS wiring diagram for "Reversing Lights" on 2006 325i:
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...lights/hw11Pwd

When NEITHER "Reversing Lamp" lights when car is in Reverse with Ignition ON, there are three (3) basic groups of cause of issue:
1) Input to FRM that triggers lighting is absent (Reversing Light Switch "Ground" signal to FRM if MT, or K-CAN signal to FRM from Gear Module if AT); since you had ONE light working and the other NOT, a NEW issue related to the INPUT is unlikely, so skip that.
2) Voltage Output from FRM to two different light sockets via two different wires and Connectors at the FRM; LESS likely than (3) below as it would require TWO simultaneous failures;
SO BEGIN WITH:
3) Bad ground wire, PARTICULARLY if the "split" in undefined wires you discovered was in the wiring at the Trunk Hinge. Broken wires due to repeated flexion is common in the wiring "sheath" at the trunk hinge plane.

NOTE in the wiring diagram linked above that BOTH the Left & Right Reversing lights share the SAME Ground Point (X498) which is on the rear of the right wheel well, NOT on the trunk lid. That means the Brown ground wire has to go from the lid to the Chassis. Check for continuity to CHASSIS (NOT Trunk Lid) Ground at Pin #3 of Connector X329 on Inner Light assembly on trunk lid, and also at bulb socket. Do the same for Pin #2 of Connector X328 on Right side of lid, Brown wire in BOTH instances.

ALSO, Need to test for 12V+ (with Ignition ON but engine OFF, and Reverse selected) at Pin #4 of Connector X329 on Left, AND at Pin #1 of Connector X328 on Right to determine if voltage is being provided by FRM when Reverse is selected. Make SURE you are putting the Black meter probe on good CHASSIS (NOT Trunk Lid) ground. If you don't know how to test for voltage, or continuity to ground, please ask. If you don't have a Multimeter, HFT has one that works perfectly well for $6, and you can even download a pdf manual that explains HOW to use it (2nd link):
https://www.harborfreight.com/7-func...g_q=multimeter
https://manuals.harborfreight.com/ma...3999/63759.pdf

Please let us know what you find,
George