Condensation in my headlights

[Naz24]

background: 2004 X5 4.4i, 75k CPO and Maintenance until 10/10

I have lots of condensation in BOTH headlights when it rains. I went to two dealerships (Morristown and Roxbury) and they both told me different things:

Morristown: the service guy said that if i had 70k he might have been able to work something out with me (70k sounds really random and strange, right?) and they also said if the condensation droplets were bigger than 2mm..i think?

Roxbury: Headlights cannot be replaced past 50k original warranty.

The funny thing is that at 67k i told my SA that i needed my headlights replaced due to the condensation (going by morristown standards, they should have been replaced)

Has anyone had theirs replaced after the 50k mark by the dealership, should i bring the case to BMW NA?

[Wagner]

BMW NA will do nothing, unless you have a good relationship with the SA, they probably will not do anything either. Condensation in a headlamp, especially as limited as your is, isn't worth replacing the head lamp.

[mark scheurer]

I wonder if there is anything one can do to prevent the water from getting in there -- is there a bad seal or something??

[Naz24]

Originally Posted by Wagner

BMW NA will do nothing, unless you have a good relationship with the SA, they probably will not do anything either. Condensation in a headlamp, especially as limited as your is, isn't worth replacing the head lamp.

well u cant really see it well in that picture (bad iphone quality) but the entire inside of the lense was foggy and there were those droplets on the sides... definitely bigger than 2mm

[X5rolls]

After a 3 hour drive in the rain last month I had condensation in the form of fogging on the inside of the main plastic cover of the headlights.

It went away overnight and I took it to the dealer but they couldn't replicate and therefore didn't do anything. The SA is a good guy and personally went out with a hose and tried several times to see if any water or moisture would appear. Nothing.

Hasn't happened again but I think it's just a matter of time, I'll take pictures next time it happens and show them.

[HPIA4v2]

Originally Posted by X5rolls

After a 3 hour drive in the rain last month I had condensation in the form of fogging on the inside of the main plastic cover of the headlights.

It went away overnight and I took it to the dealer but they couldn't replicate and therefore didn't do anything. The SA is a good guy and personally went out with a hose and tried several times to see if any water or moisture would appear. Nothing.

Hasn't happened again but I think it's just a matter of time, I'll take pictures next time it happens and show them.

Bought a new 535i a couple of years back, 2 weeks later it developed small fogging in the front headlamps. I was bummed, but didn't have time to take it to dealer but when I had time it wasn't there anymore. Till today it never fogs again
I'll say keep an eye on it and if it gets worse then it's a real problem.

[StanF18]

Very common problem with the entire E53 lineup. Luckily mine occurred before 50k. Took it to the dealer, they fixed it under warranty and the problem has not come back. You may need to go out of pocket on this.

[X5rolls]

Yes, it's fustrating. It was a driving rainstorm, very heavy and not likely I'll see one that strong again for a long time.

[primetime]

Frustrating...Well in any case I can tell you how to at least get rid of the moisture inside the head lamp cuz it happened to me too. Take the headlight assembly completely off the car, (not hard to do I'm sure you're aware, just 4 screws on each headlamp assembly, takes 2 mins) Take a blow dryer and blow the hot air into the holes where the bulbs would normally be. Do this until all the moisture is gone, then put the headlight assembly back in place. I did this once and the moisture never came back. Not sure why but anyway...The whole process took me about 40 mins, I had alot of moisture in my lens, it was halfway fogged over...

[FSETH]

I think there is also a small rubber drain on the assembly. Be sure it is pointed the right way. I am not 100% sure on this though.