Tail lights keep blowing

[Aimster]

will extended warranty cover this?

My left taillight is out and when I took it out of the socket I noticed the silver parts that touch the bulb were black (burnt).

[we350z]

i heard you can fix this with a little cleaning and soldering, i may have to as well.

[dkl]

Originally Posted by we350z

i heard you can fix this with a little cleaning and soldering, i may have to as well.

Yep...I ended up having to add a tiny bit of solder to the contacts of the bulb holder as a new holder didn't quite solve my problem. The solder help provide better contact between the bulb holder and the light assembly contact pads. It's just a bad design in the bulb holder itself as it could easily have been solved by just adding "dimples" to the contacts of the holder.

[JayX5]

Geez why can't BMW make at least reliable tail lights. Even kia can make tail lights that don't corrode and fail!

[[UNDFTD]]

Its the taillights. I see X5s ALL the time with them. The 'motherboard' (I forget the exact name) but it dies over time because of the vibration of the car and bumps. I have red/amber taillights so now I' get to upgrade to the sport taillights. Oh well, good reason. Hope that helps!

[Zulu95]

My Ford Explorer has had one bulb since new. I've said it before; For a $50K car it sure is full of cheapo parts that keep breaking. If KIA can offer a 100K warranty BMW should be able to offer a 150K warranty. But then all those $tealers would have to forget about the $110 per hour labor rates plus parts they charge us for all the time.

[DipnX5]

I agree I love my X5 and do not see driving a different vehicle (except for a newer, 4.4., 4.6, or 4.6). But there are little issues that keep bugging me that half to do with reliability. I guess you pay to play.

[grasan]

Mine is doing the same thing on the right side. i have to fiddle with the bulb carrier to get it to make just the right contact. i'm sure I'll have to replace the whole thing eventually. Poor design.
You'll need brake pads if not rotors. There is a great DIY resource on this site and it is very easy if you have some mechanical inclination...and tools. I'm a cheapskate and love doing it myself.

[we350z]

another thing i noticed is that once the cpu determines the bulb is out it seems to mark it down, and will not reset (even if the contact is good) until the car is restarted (seems like it will display once you put it in reverse). I had done a bad solder job on my left tail and had to redo it. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why it still wouldn't work! I had not turned the ACC off so it never reset the code!!!

[musali]

Originally Posted by we350z

another thing i noticed is that once the cpu determines the bulb is out it seems to mark it down, and will not reset (even if the contact is good) until the car is restarted (seems like it will display once you put it in reverse). I had done a bad solder job on my left tail and had to redo it. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why it still wouldn't work! I had not turned the ACC off so it never reset the code!!!

this is partially true, you can put it in reverse, or get a friend to keep pumping the brakes over and over while you playing with the bulb carrier. worked for me for a bit.

in the end i realized that it wasnt the carrier but it was the motherboard on the taillight assembly. i took it off the car adn saw that it was corroded. sanded it down a bit, soldered it and put it back on. works perfectly since then.

take care,
mustafa