..
 

How do you know this isn't related to any increased heat? Didn't you up the wattage on your bulbs?

Nope..

So that is the answer to the second question?

I guess I was confused by this:

Detective Ard at it again!

But really, what else could explain this from happening? I wonder if we'll see more AEs melting off from aftermarket lights--assuming that is what caused this.

I must admit, I'm one of those moths who is attracted by the LED halos, but I'm nervous about changing them out and having something happen.

As much as I hate replying to ard since he's such a negative person..... :rolleyes:

Previous bulbs were out of the car months before this happened.

When this happened the much cooler WeissLicht LED Halo bulbs were in the car.

One thing has nothing to do with the other.

Tens of thousands of BMW's with aftermarket bulbs and this is the first time my dealer has seen this, or me - after 10 BMW's!

This is a clear defect of the halo housing.

Not sure if the halo rings and/or the tabs that hold them in place are made of glass or plastic. If they (or part of them) are made of plastic, I'd have to side with ard on the fact that the 85w bulbs could have caused the failure. When you had the 85w bulbs in place, the extra heat probably partially melted or over-heated the plastic tabs, causing them to warp, deform, and/or become brittle. A few months pass by and eventually they failed.......

I think since you failed to remove the aftermarket bulbs before taking it in the first time, they MAY try to deny you a "free" fix (hope not for your sake). If you would have removed the aftermarket bulbs before you brought it in, I'm sure it would be replaced without question.....

Good luck and hopefully they'll take care of it!

It may well be.

But once they know you have aftermarket bulbs in it, the decision process is complicated.

I've been involved with my share of failure analysis, and surely this could be studied and a proximate cause determined...unfortunately there is no setting for this investigation to be performed- it is a car dealership, one guy will make a decision and that will be it. Without a knowledge of the part specs, and the tolerances of the molding process, as well as SEM views of any failed clips or parts, you will be unable to say 'it was the part' or 'it was the assembly' or 'it was heat'.

The really frustrating part is when a failure occurs and it is NOT the owners fault- but due to how the dealer & mfg holds all the cards, most owners simply cannot prevail.


Good luck

A

“Liars begin by imposing upon others, but end deceiving themselves”
 

One can not help but observe; Trainer posted a message that started this thread and after realizing his was being deceitful, he removed the message. As the saying goes, he was "Hoisted by his own petard".

Trainer knew that BMW would question the fact that a bulb that exceeded the specification was still in the light housing when he meant to remove the bulb and hide his deceit.

When questioned about using a higher wattage bulb, he said "nope" and his untruthfulness was soon outed.

With some luck BMW will not cover Trainer's misdeed, and you and I will not have to help absorb BMW's costs.

One can only wonder, does Trainer's field of expertise extend to teaching Business Ethics?

Can't disagree with that edit. Good luck with getting it covered.

Post back when it is resolved.

The bulb that is currently in the car is well within the specifications required by BMW.
The question ARD asked was if I raised the wattage on the bulbs – assumed that was currently in the car at the time of this defect – and again my answer was – nope. No one was “outed” and I find that incredibly offensive, along with your character assaults. YOU are the one that must stand corrected.
Personally I don't see how that old bulb that was in for a very short time, 3 weeks, could have caused this problem now. I could be wrong but I doubt it in this case.
Absorb my costs? Really? Are we talking about health care or BMW’s?
I just love these internet tuff guys, hiding behind their keyboards in the safety of their homes who sit back and type whatever comes to mind.
Accusations, personal attacks, character assaults, incorrect information..
All completely unnecessary and uncalled for.
Hey, the next time you’re in the NYC area let me know, we can discuss this further – would love to meet you, Dick.. That is your name, correct?

Owned him!! Nicely put trainer.

I'm with trainer on this one. I don't see how a different bulb could cause this. So many of us change our bulbs and not one has experienced this. Clearly a defect in the housing.

Irregardless of which "side" we are on, it's the dealer service that holds the cards, If they know you had an aftermarket bulb in there, whether or not it caused the problem, you'll not likely get it covered. Such is life, and the risk one takes with aftermarket stuff.

Please. This is pretty silly.

Trainer posted, thought better of it. Wisely.

NOBODY can make a definitive diagnosis of causality- not me, not BMW not Trainer...
I'll argue to death an issue that has an underlying truth, but this one cannot be proven, so why waste our efforts?

Personally I could pick either side and make an argument... and because of that lets let Trainer first see what BMW says.

Every service tech is already on my side and I have a very good relationship with the service mgr, I'm not concerned one bit.

Why did you delete your first post and thread title?

It is a little like looking at the aftermath of a train wreck, and not being able to see what caused the derailment.

I'll be picking up my X this afternoon with the new headlight assembly. Meanwhile I'll be enjoying the loaner convertible. There were no issues. Only question was if it's ever been in the body shop.

I'm also a bit curious about that...

Now you gotta make sure the other ones falls off too...can't have one new and one old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :p:

OP: Glad it's being taken care of.

However....you just made a comment about internet tough guys hiding behind their computers yet you also made a threat (sort of) to Richard in NC inviting him to "speak" in person next time he's in NYC. Isn't that kind of internet tough guyish? You and I both know you'll most likely never meet the guy in person. What's the point of making childish remarks like that - over a damn headlight? Really? Just be the bigger man, take a deep breath and move on with life. People have their opinions and they're entitled to them. If you don't like what one person has to say then just ignore them. That's the beauty of America. You're free to ignore anyone you please. Even Police. Unfortunately, ignoring cops can come at a shitty consequence.

Regardless, I'm in White Plains and frequent the city a lot. Would you have said the same thing to me if I shared Richard's opinion and my name here was Jeremy in NY? Seems kind of dumb and against the board's motto; "Come for the information. Stay for the friendships."

Just my two cents. Not that you asked :)


Edit: I meant rcasey above; not Richard in NC.

In the blink of an eye.

Then, sir, that speaks volumes about you. Good luck with your truck and future endeavors.

Jeremy

I'm with trainer on this one. He did not antagonize anyone or warrant an attack, he was simply defending himself. This forum is full of some regulars and people that we generally have high respect for. Trainer is one of them--by attacking him, you are in fact attacking the board. If you have an opinion about the issue at hand, then instead of lambasting the OP for ridiculous things, try to add insight and a possible solution.

Remember the old saying that our mothers always told us, "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all". We should all take a lesson from mom (I included sometimes). All in all, trainer was attacked for no reason and was defending himself (did it very well too). And who would wanna mess with a guy who's username is trainer--that can only imply one thing!

Have a good day, guys...

I agree with Naz24 1000%!!! This whole thread serves as a cautionary tale!

Well, not for many of us, because the original post content was deleted and we can only guess at the cause of the dispute.

I have no opinion on aftermarket lights, warranty being denied, etc, because I don't know the details, but I do think that once a post has been responded to, it is a poor move to delete the content. If a poster recognizes that they were wrong, go back and put an edit in, and show it as an edit, but don't remove the original content. In this thread I formed more of an opinion about the OP due to that issue than anything to do with his headlights or dealer dispute.

+1

I formed more of an opinion based on that ridiculous implied threat to rcasey. He should report him to the moderators. Or maybe take him up on it.

My apologies, OP, about misquoting who said what. I meant rcasey, not Richard in NC. I guess Richard and your "dick" comment got the better of me. Richard in NC as well...also my apologies.

That's where I'm coming from. It's one thing to say something like "ok, thanks internet tough guy" and ignore said ITG. To say the previous and then add in, a line or two later; "next time you're in NYC...." blah blah blah. That just screams hypocrite to me.

I don't question TRAINER's abilities or anything to do with him as a forum member. I just question his reply to rcasey. If he was that irked by rcasey's remarks, he should have just PMed him instead of making public threats. That's all I was saying in me previous replies as well. I just think it's over the top to a) be an internet tough guy and b) call someone an internet tough guy then make an implied threat right after.

Regardless, I think this thread has lost its track and that's that. TRAINER removed his OP. Our opinions are our opinions. Can we voice them? For sure. However, we're obviously not going to get anywhere. TRAINER, and others, think he's being attacked. My best guess would be to steer clear of this thread from here on out to avoid getting more involved in a wheel-spinning debate.

That's the smartest thing you said thus far.. :thumbup:

:locked: