[1Kurgan1]

Short of the story, my headlights leaked badly, it was my DD and they started leaking during a 3 week spell of never getting about 0F. By the time I got my DD out of a snow bank and access to a garage I fear it was too late.

Long of the story, TMS modules are most likely shot, level warnings (possibly shot), bulbs some how seem good, LED's for angel eyes are shot, and lots of corrosion.

I am trying to figure out next steps. I don't know why out of no where both headlights became so bad. They had the worst condensation I have ever seen, and both the headlights on the same car that a few months previously had never had condensation.

TMS: Any of these from my understanding will work, but even the cheapest are $200 a pop that I can find, but for other model cars I find many under $100 that say they will work for F10, but don't mention these numbers

Lens Seal Replacement: Tempted to tackle this myself with a razor blade and a head gun. It looks like a lot of work, but $600 - $700 for both to get done is a ton of money. And buying new headlights is even more out of the realm.

Anyone run into this mess? If I just threw money at it I could easily have over 2 grand into just replacing headlights. And maybe if these had been amazing headlights I wouldn't mind so much, but when the lenses were clear the Osram Nightbreakers in them were just lack luster, the $25 bulbs in my 08' Chevy Cobalt blew the F10's headlights away, which is very disappointing.

[M_Bimmer]

BMW headlights are a bear to repair. The rear black portion of the headlight is very "soft" plastic and fractures/breaks with even a little pressure, while the clear polycarbonate is exactly the opposite, very hard, very rugged, and very hard to cut.

If you end up replacing just the lens, use a Dremel cutting wheel and cut the clear polycarbonate as close to the rear black housing without compromising the black housing. This will leave a ring of polycarbonate inside of the receiving groove of the rear housing. Use a razor on both sides of the polycarbonate without cutting the groove in the rear housing. From the inside, pry polycarbonate out slowly, using a razor to trim adhesive as it is "stretched". Be careful, the razor can easily cut through the black plastic housing...and once you do, forget getting a good seal later on....

You will nick or bend the walls of the groove on the rear housing, but in order to ensure a good seal, the outer wall on the groove that receives the lens on the rear housing must not be compromised....if so, it will be very, very, very hard to get a good seal.

I did this once, and the polycarbonate made a horrific mess. Will NEVER attempt this repair...ever...I'll spend the $1500 per headlight for a new one, next time...

As far as TPMS, make sure you get the right transmission frequency (315MHz vs 433MHz) and recently built, as they have a built in, non-replaceable battery...so while a set of 4 off of eBay for $175 may look appealing, they are not guaranteed to outlast your tires.

[Surly73]

Something to consider.... These headlights are not sealed. There are significant temperature changes in the housing and outside air is free to move in and out. I see the Internet full of people seeking to "seal" them, often gooping them up with extra sealants, silicone all around the edge etc...

They have vents, and drains, and are intended to be open to the environment in some fashion. Look elsewhere other than the lens for water ingress.

All that being said - something clearly changed suddenly for you, and on both lights at the same time. I have seen that sometimes it is the access/bulb covers on the top not threaded properly and simply reattaching them properly is enough to solve the problem. A leak at those covers can take on a lot of water that is cascading off the body. Did anyone work on or "check over" the car in the weeks before you noticed the issue?

If I were in the same situation, and it sounds like you don't need the car every day, I would be tempted to remove them from the car, bring them to the workbench, and fully disassemble. Clean and dry everything - every module, connector, circuit board... Look for failed/broken/pinched O-rings and seals everywhere. Also, ironically check that the vents are not blocked or plugged and are allowing designed air exchange. Then reassemble and see where things stand.

If it was a week or two of 0F, there isn't necessarily any corrosion, but if water is still in there in any volume then things aren't going to work properly. If the water getting in was also salty (e.g. road salt) you might be less fortunate.

[1Kurgan1]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

If you end up replacing just the lens, use a Dremel cutting wheel and cut the clear polycarbonate as close to the rear black housing without compromising the black housing. This will leave a ring of polycarbonate inside of the receiving groove of the rear housing.

I did this once, and the polycarbonate made a horrific mess. Will NEVER attempt this repair...ever...I'll spend the $1500 per headlight for a new one, next time...

As far as TPMS, make sure you get the right transmission frequency (315MHz vs 433MHz) and recently built, as they have a built in, non-replaceable battery...so while a set of 4 off of eBay for $175 may look appealing, they are not guaranteed to outlast your tires.

I was watching a video of a guy who did exactly that, it's the method I was thinking about. Though I was thinking of using an oscillating multi tool.

And with the value of these dropping and the fact that I need an minimum the LED's for the angel eyes and TMS units, then possibly leveling motors. 3 grand for headlights, $200 - $300 for LED's, $100+ for leveling motors, and $320 - $1000 for TMS boards. I don't think I can easily justify 5+ grand into a headlight job, that's not an easy slip of a credit card to make happen.

Originally Posted by Surly73

Something to consider.... These headlights are not sealed.

All that being said - something clearly changed suddenly for you, and on both lights at the same time.

If I were in the same situation, and it sounds like you don't need the car every day, I would be tempted to remove them from the car, bring them to the workbench, and fully disassemble.

If it was a week or two of 0F, there isn't necessarily any corrosion, but if water is still in there in any volume then things aren't going to work properly. If the water getting in was also salty (e.g. road salt) you might be less fortunate.

So I already took them both off and have been trying to let them dry off. The pass side one, the TMS is not pretty. I'd say they both had about the same level of water in them, but the pass side is definitely worse.

I looked at all gaskets and the seals around the LED's and nothing stood out to me. And a leak test on them through those vents and soapy water revealed nothing... I am honestly not sure how they got so much water in there.

But now that I had time to dry them out I am tempted to try new TMS boards (I may only need that pass side) and see if water finds it's way back in at the same rate. If not, then it very well could have possibly been a loose top hatch on each of them.