[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by adi58

From the photos it looks like hard water spots. Go to your nearest 3M and get the headlights polished. If the spots are inside and the casing has not been tampered then BMW must and will cover this under warranty. And these LED headlight assembly cost over a lakh each. So get this escalated to BMW and if they reject then file a court case and make sure you claim extra for harassment. BMW have become very stingy with warranty claims lately.

It's not on the surface but the entire thickness of the lens. Besides you don't generally find hard water in Goa.

Originally Posted by Neelanjan

Hi Peter,
My friend's 2013 BMW 520d's headlights have similar issue. When he raised it with the authorised service centre during the scheduled yearly service, he was told that the old BMW cars came equipped with HID headlight bulbs which generates a lot of heat and over a period of time leads to cracks/scratches/crystallisation hence it is considered as a wear and tear part.

If it is wear and tear it should be replaced under BSI which I have.

I have seen quite a few old Porsche Cayenne's, Mercedes ML320's, Audi Q7's and W221 Mercedes S-class's with similar issues in the headlights as they came equipped with HID bulbs for the headlamps..

True but not after 4 years and 20K Kms. They should last longer. Specially when Celerio lamps don't have this problem after 6 years and 40K kms

Due to the issue of cracks etc in the headlights, most of the premium car manufacturers have moved to full LED setup headlights which don't generate heat thus minimising the chance of crystalisation/cracks/scratches. (THE LAST STATEMENT WAS SHARED BY A PERSON WHO WORKS WITH BMW).

I can understand the frustration you are going through after paying a huge price for the car but to be frank, the dealer will treat it as a wear and tear damage.

Regards

That's probably the cause. The purpose of my thread was to alert people of this and they should bring this up during pre purchase negotiations with the dealer.

Originally Posted by roamer012

If as per BMW it is a case of external impact, why not just claim insurance and be wary of becoming a BMW customer in future?

If insurance is a solution to this problem, I would take it and enjoy my car for couple of years more and then look at other premium badges for future replacement rather than letting my blood boil while dealing with nincompoops.

Problem is, it's not due to impact so insurance company will reject the claim. Even if they accept I will loose my NCB without having an accident.

[Neelanjan]

If it is wear and tear it should be replaced under BSI which I have.

According to BMW it's like tyres which are not covered warranty. Ideally the headlights should be covered under the BSI package.


True but not after 4 years and 20K Kms. They should last longer. Specially when Celerio lamps don't have this problem after 6 years and 40K kms

Your Celerio must be equipped with non projector headlights with 60/55 watts halogen bulbs which produce way lesser heat compared to HID. The projector increases the heat produced by the bulbs. That is why most of the cracks/crystalisation is at the place where the light is projected.

[ASP007]

Originally Posted by roamer012

If as per BMW it is a case of external impact, why not just claim insurance and be wary of becoming a BMW customer in future?

Claiming the insurance is a solution, but not in this case. The abrasion on the glass surface is minor and not hampering the headlamp operation, nor the spots are incurred by the user. Citing all these, high chances that the claim will be rejected. His main concern is about the internal spots all over the headlamp which is termed as a manufacturing defect or premature wear & tear. If at all the insurance claim gets approved, he'll lose the NCB for no fault of his own.

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

If it is wear and tear it should be replaced under BSI which I have.

I found this in the BMW extended warranty doc. Can you check your BSI/BRI document for the same? Looks like BMW is well aware of such instances and conveniently excluded them from the BRI.

[Sumanyu17]

It just occurred to me that this could have happened because of the headlight washers. If the headlights are on for quite some time and you spray cold water on them the lens might develop cracks. Just a possible explanation that popped in my head.

[pedrolourenco]

Update:

I was not able to update this thread as I was on board a ship for the last 7 and a half months with very limited internet access.
Anyway while I was away, the dealer said they would send the lights to Pune and get some treatment done to see if it resolves the issue. Lights were removed and sent. They came back as good as new. Not sure if they actually did some treatment or just replaced the lights. So far they are still good and I'm happy.

[Rahulk76]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

Update:

I was not able to update this thread as I was on board a ship for the last 7 and a half months with very limited internet access.
Anyway while I was away, the dealer said they would send the lights to Pune and get some treatment done to see if it resolves the issue. Lights were removed and sent. They came back as good as new. Not sure if they actually did some treatment or just replaced the lights. So far they are still good and I'm happy.

Any idea what treatment was done in Pune and how much it costed ?

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by Rahulk76

Any idea what treatment was done in Pune and how much it costed ?

I have no idea what exactly was done. Probably buffing and polishing. It was done free of cost.

[Rahulk76]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

I have no idea what exactly was done. Probably buffing and polishing. It was done free of cost.

Thanks..possible to find out the solution please ? It might be helpful to the forum members too

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by Rahulk76

Thanks..possible to find out the solution please ? It might be helpful to the forum members too

I'll do that when I visit the dealership next and update this thread.