[Nismo G]

Hi Everyone,

This will be my first post on this forum. I just picked up a used 2008 335xi Sedan this past weekend with 60,000 miles. The car is in great shape with an exception to a couple light scratches, needs new shocks (an excuse to get coilovers), and now i have noticed this issue with the adaptive headlight.

When i turn the car on the driver side headlight moves up and down and levels fine. The passenger side headlight will kind of move to the right and left, but barely to the right at all. When i got outside to look at it, the projector is stuck pointing all the way to the left. When i turn the wheel right, it will move a tiny bit, but really never gets back to center.

I've read a few post on the "lazy eye" and the projector being stuck all the way to the sky. I also read the post on the fix with the arm that has to go back in the socket, but that seemed to be a fix for vertical movement. Any input on this would be awesome!

UPDATE*** So I pulled the bumper this weekend and removed the headlight, but still couldn't figure out how to move the chrome piece...any ideas? I attached pictures of both the passenger and driver side. The passenger side is the one that is more or less "stuck" pointing to the left. It moves a little bit when the lights first turn on, but not much.




driver side with no issues

[glayala]

Anxiously await, I have almost exact same issue.

[Nismo G]

Originally Posted by glayala

Anxiously await, I have almost exact same issue.

What is yours doing?

[E92-Lighting]

a buddy of mine has the same issue, it seems to be isolated to the pre lci E90s

[Nismo G]

Originally Posted by E92-Lighting

a buddy of mine has the same issue, it seems to be isolated to the pre lci E90s

Any known fixes? I'm going to pull down the bumper and remove the headlight this weekend.

[bimmerdavid]

Strange you're not getting a warning. You may try reseating the adaptive module or try flipping the modules between the two headlights to see if it follows the module. Then you can try to figure out if it's an electrical issue or mechanical issue.

[Nismo G]

That is a good idea. I plan on pulling the headlight this weekend. I will post if I find a fix for it.

[Kid Eh]

Read this post. I had a similar issue and my answer is somewhere in that thread.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=494479

[Nismo G]

So i updated post #1 with pictures of what I am talking about. I pulled the front bumper off the weekend and remove the headlight assembly, but could not see anything that was wrong. It felt like the the parts inside assembly were pretty loose though, but they only moved up and down it seemed. Is it loose because they are adaptive and need to pivot or is something else wrong?

Below is the headlight that i am talking about. Pictured where the chrome piece and projector are aiming left and then from head on. I also uploaded comparison of the driver side.




driver side with no issues

[Nismo G]

Originally Posted by glayala

Anxiously await, I have almost exact same issue.

Hey Glayala, I was curious if this is the same issue you have? I uploaded pictures so you can see for sure.

[Nismo G]

Bump!

[Nismo G]

bump to see if anyone has run into this yet...

[badass335]

Ran into same issue when my headlights were replaced. It's a coding issue. As such, what I mean is you just have to re-program the lights. I plugged into ncsexpert and did a factory reset on the nfrm and it centered back up. In my case, only driver side would go left. The passenger worked fine. I have the AHL lights as well.

[mmmnot]

I had this same issues, but with a warning light. First replaced the module, then a few months later it repeated. Ended up replacing the entire unit. Apparently, it's a common problem in the plastic mechanic gears that rotate the housings. 1600 dollars later, my headlights work.

I miss my Honda.... Sometimes.

[E92-Lighting]

its a very common problem for all prelci E90s, as everyone stated, BMW coding

ncsexpert , BMWapp are perfectly fine, if all else fails, sorry but you would need to buy a brand new unit

[sismy]

I got the same problem. Could someone tell me how to fix the problem with BMWhat since I just got one. Thanks a lot!

[Nismo G]

So it seems as though this may be the fix. I haven't had time to really do it, but someone PM'd me and said this is what happened with his.

So to update you, I had my passenger side pointing to the left ALL the time, even when the car was off, it was just stuck.

Today I finally put in a used SMC II module I got on ebay and the light went to the center

The adaptive function is still not working because the module probably needs to be coded, but at least it's pointing straight again. Hope that helps

[siphor1989]

Before you buy a SMC module, try recoding your current one in NCS expert first if you haven't already done so. Sounds like a calibration issue.. There's even a diagnostic menu within INPA that allows you to manually test the movement of each headlight.

[combatcarry]

There are three torx screws holding the main adaptive assembly in the headlight. I stuck a nut under one of the screws as a shim and it straightened the headight close enough to allow for adjustment with the left/right main headight adjustments. Taking some timt to shim the adaptive part of the headlight saved me $1500. The shop said my headlight would no longer code straight and needed replacemebt.

[sarfraz95]

I apologise for re-starting an old thread

I've recently joined the forum and have bought a e91 bmw lci. I'm having the same problem with my adaptive xenons.

when the car is stationary with the steering straight, the adaptive lights go up and down, but then the driver side light swivels all the way to the outward position with the passenger side staying straight. I am in the UK if that helps.

When i start driving and building speed (approx 30mph), both lights centralise straight forward and move left and right with my steering.