Headlight vertical too high and all brackets broken

[awns729]

Hey everyone,

So I recently had a bunch of stuff done to my car (that I think is all unrelated) but I'll list anyway in case there's something I don't know. I had the passenger side seatbelt sensor replaced under warranty that involves taking apart the seat and not sure what else($2k repair otherwise). I flashed the Cobb Stage 1 aggressive map.

Before all this, my vertical adjustment on my headlights was perfect and has been for 2 years. Last year I hit a pothole that caused some strut tower damage and bent a wheel, and the headlights were still fine after that, as in they pointed exactly where I'd expect.

Recently, I noticed the day after I got it back from the airbag repair and did the cobb flash, the driver's headlight points much too high and higher than it ever has. I did go over a few 'rougher' roads this day, and I also noticed that it seems All the tabs on this headlight are broken. (The light wobbles almost an inch up/down if i open the hood and move it with my hands). The up-down startup sequence happens sometimes but I don't think it happens all the time. (The very last time I tried it, it worked). Left-right adaptive is all good.

Looked under the car, and didn't see any unplugged sensors height sensors on the suspension, although not entirely sure where the rear one is. Same for behind the headlight, doesn't look like any unplugged stuff.

My current theory is that most of the tabs on the headlight have been broken for a while, and the recent bumpy road was 'the straw that broke the camel's back' and broke off the last tab/clip. I'm guessing that when driving and with the vertical servo trying to adjust, the headlight doesn't always sit right in its housing and points too high up. I think this because I can giggle it to sit better, and then it points slightly lower (although not exactly where it should).

The good news is that there's a BMW repair kit to fix all the clips/tabs for $25. I think this should be my first step since the vertical adjust motors seem to work and I don't see any unplugged sensors. What do you guys think? How hard is it to remove the bumper and headlights? Will I have any water leak issues (like people sometimes do after installing angel eyes)?What else could it be?

Thanks!

EDIT: If anyone has pictures of a headlight assembly with all tabs intact, PLEASE POST IT HERE OR LINK!

[MuNkY6913]

I had to remove my front bumper to cut away most of the front support for my fmic. It's not real hard. The tricky part is where the point of the bumper hits the fender in the wheel well. This was super easy once I had a trim tool. Having a buddy to hold the sprayers up while removing/installing helps too. As far as removing the headlight, I'm not sure how hard that is. I had the ballasts from my led fall into the light and get in the way of the motor and break it. Then I got an error followed by no light and condensation. Luckily the dealer warrantied it. I think I was looking at $2k for parts. Most of the condensation happens from people not closing the back of the housing the whole way. I would try the tab repair kit and see what happens. Just make sure anything you open you secure again right. I would make a weekend out of it and take it super slow. I'm sure you can find tons of DIY that would help too. Lots of people on here are good at finding diagrams to help too.

[cheshirecat79]

Removing the bumper and headlights is very, very easy. It just takes a socket set and a flathead. IMO, you're missing some mounting hardware at the bottom of the headlight.

Just pop the pressure clips off the top of the bumper under the hood, turn your wheels and pull the front fender liner back to access a couple of bolts on each side, and remove the bolts on the bottom. Falls right off.

If you have the headlight spray nozzles, you'll need to remove the top covers. You can do this by prying them up (gently) and pulling them up with some pliars and holding them while unclipping the top plastic cover. They're spring loaded, so you won't be hurting anything.

[awns729]

Some pictures of the kit 63116924482 (63 11 6 924 482) sticker says "repair kit for headlight left and right" but getbmwparts specified left and right parts separately, so I ordered two kits. (once i do the install and i verify that the second kit is unnecessary, I may sell it for $20 shipped if anyone wants)

as you can see, there's 2 of each part. for some parts, both pieces are identical and for others they're labeled left and right. i HIGHLY doubt all this plastic is used for a single headlight, so this 1 kit likely covers both lights.

[awns729]

Still deciding if I want to put the effort to DIY or just take it somewhere. If I DIY I'll try and post a tutorial.

[TwinTurboXI]

I just had both of my headlights replaced.... for the second time. Dealer quoted me $5100 to replace both but I insisted it be covered, luckily they did.

Great step by step guide OP, I'm sure many will unfortunately need to follow it.

[awns729]

Originally Posted by TwinTurboXI

I just had both of my headlights replaced.... for the second time. Dealer quoted me $5100 to replace both but I insisted it be covered, luckily they did.

Great step by step guide OP, I'm sure many will unfortunately need to follow it.

Thanks. Yeah it was like $52 for 2 kits shipped, so now it's just the effort or $ to take off the bumper and lights and figure out how to fix them.

I'm assuming you're still under the 4 year warranty since you're a 2011? My CPO just expired so I doubt it's even worth the effort to ask to have this taken care of.

Also, I'm really getting the feeling that headlights are BMW's biggest cash cow. I see a bunch of stories of outrageous repair estimates for things that can be fixed by replacing only 1 piece out of the entire headlight system. I've seen people say that it's BMW's policy to replace the entire system, but it seems like people rarely actually need all of it replaced. And those who go to indie shops are able to get away with spending less. Glad you got yours done under warranty. For anyone else - if BMW won't cover it, do some research and try indie shops or try talking the adviser/tech into replacing the system piece by piece.

[chris82]

I swear I don't have all those clips, but my lights seem to stay put where they are lol

[awns729]

Just finished this. So tired. I think my headlights are at the proper level now but gonna take her out for another longer drive tomorrow. More pictures to come. Meanwhile, if anyone has questions, this is still fresh in my head.

[awns729]

Pictures. LMK if anyone has questions.

View post on imgur.com

[CivicNoMore]

Hey. I know this is an old thread but I am in a similar situation now after someone backed into me a week or two ago.

I am missing one of the metal clips and believe the lower mounting point for the metal clip is broken. Can you tell me if this repair kit is only a replacement for headlight assembly mounting tabs or does it include a replacement for metal clip mounting holes as well?

Ill know more when i have time to take the assembly apart and diagnose the problem fully.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6L...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6L...ew?usp=sharing

Thanks.

[awns729]

Originally Posted by CivicNoMore

Hey. I know this is an old thread but I am in a similar situation now after someone backed into me a week or two ago.

I am missing one of the metal clips and believe the lower mounting point for the metal clip is broken. Can you tell me if this repair kit is only a replacement for headlight assembly mounting tabs or does it include a replacement for metal clip mounting holes as well?

Ill know more when i have time to take the assembly apart and diagnose the problem fully.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6L...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6L...ew?usp=sharing

Thanks.

That thin ass wire clip that probably holds the cover in place or something? That's the one you're missing? The thin wire clip is not included as far as I remember.

Does it include a replacement for the mounting clip hole? Maybe - there were a couple pieces that I couldn't figure out where they went, so I don't know. The repair kit is good for 2 headlights, even though getbmwparts says otherwise, and I know I didn't have any clip problems. So I can post a picture of everything leftover from my repair and you can try to figure out if any of those pieces looks like it'll fix the metal clip mounting hole. And I can mail it to you too if that's the only thing you need. Would that help? If you need a full repair kit that's good for both lights, I have one that I can sell you for $20 shipped. If you need just a spare part that I didn't use, I'll just give it to you for free + shipping.

[awns729]

Originally Posted by CivicNoMore

Hey. I know this is an old thread but I am in a similar situation now after someone backed into me a week or two ago.

I am missing one of the metal clips and believe the lower mounting point for the metal clip is broken. Can you tell me if this repair kit is only a replacement for headlight assembly mounting tabs or does it include a replacement for metal clip mounting holes as well?

Ill know more when i have time to take the assembly apart and diagnose the problem fully.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6L...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6L...ew?usp=sharing

Thanks.

So originally I replaced ~4 clips on the drivers side, as shown in my album above. Here is the only leftover piece I have for that side from the kit (p/n 63 11 6 924 482):

View post on imgur.com

I have no idea if this is a replacement mounting point for the clip you're missing or not. What you can do is check where your piece is broken, and if you see 2 screw holes, then it's probably made to take a replacement piece in case of breakage, and this could be it. If you don't, then I don't know what to tell you

[awns729]

Someone requested pictures of the upper mounting clips that this kit allows you to fix. Here they are:

View post on imgur.com

[bmwbrad22]

Do you still have the other repair kit?

[awns729]

Originally Posted by bmwbrad22

Do you still have the other repair kit?

Just sold it, sorry! It is $28 + shipping on getbmwparts. Be warned - it says you need 1 kit for each side, but I purchased 1 kit that had parts for both headlights, which is why I ended up with the extra in the first place. I can't believe how common this problem is!

[bmwbrad22]

Man.... Le me tell you I had the car sit this winter out and I got to give her a good cleaning and I notice both of my headlights are loose and within two seconds of looking I see the broken clips. If this is a real common problem I hope BMW will make good on my headlights. Being that I have a CPO on my car but you never know.

Thank you for the advice about not having to order one

[gdrien]

I had both top clips/brackets broken on my headlights, and figuring I had nothing to lose by trying repaired them with JB Weld. It's been a month, and they are holding so far.

Before beginning, I unscrewed the mounting tabs (with the holes, where the brackets are inserted) from the structural crossmember to relieve tension on the tabs. I then mixed up a large quantity of JB Weld so I could shape some substantial fillets of material to give the repair some strength. I allowed the mixture to catalyze, then waited a few additional hours before reattaching the top bracket to the crossmember, so as to not crack the material.

I can attach some photos of the finished result; I don't have them handy right now. What I don't know is whether or not I had any other broken headlight clips; the top ones were obvious. This repair did not fix the vibration I hear from the right headlight when the engine is running, but some closed cell foam inserted between the top of the headlight housing and the crossmember took care of that.

[darkrom]

Originally Posted by awns729

Just sold it, sorry! It is $28 + shipping on getbmwparts. Be warned - it says you need 1 kit for each side, but I purchased 1 kit that had parts for both headlights, which is why I ended up with the extra in the first place. I can't believe how common this problem is!

A lot of companies don't offer repair kits for headlights. You either DIY something ghetto, or you buy a new headlight for $1k+.

I'd consider it lucky when you think of it that way.

[awns729]

Originally Posted by gdrien

I had both top clips/brackets broken on my headlights, and figuring I had nothing to lose by trying repaired them with JB Weld. It's been a month, and they are holding so far.

Before beginning, I unscrewed the mounting tabs (with the holes, where the brackets are inserted) from the structural crossmember to relieve tension on the tabs. I then mixed up a large quantity of JB Weld so I could shape some substantial fillets of material to give the repair some strength. I allowed the mixture to catalyze, then waited a few additional hours before reattaching the top bracket to the crossmember, so as to not crack the material.

I can attach some photos of the finished result; I don't have them handy right now. What I don't know is whether or not I had any other broken headlight clips; the top ones were obvious. This repair did not fix the vibration I hear from the right headlight when the engine is running, but some closed cell foam inserted between the top of the headlight housing and the crossmember took care of that.

With all clips fixed, I don't have any vibration, so your bottom clips may be broken as well. The foam might be an easier workaround than the other solution: taking the bumper + headlight off to repair the bottom clips too. If the issue keeps coming back, even with the foam, I'd suggest full headlight removal and the repair kit, but glad you were able to get it fixed with the JB Weld. For those not wanting to take off the bumper and do all 4-5 clips, the JB Weld for the 2 upper, accessible clips may be a faster/easier solution.

[Bullitt]

awns729, thanks for this thread and posting the correct part #!

One of the mounting tabs on the passenger side headlight broke recently and has been making vibrating noises on the road. Glad the entire headlight assembly doesn't need to be replaced.

[gdrien]

Originally Posted by gdrien

I had both top clips/brackets broken on my headlights, and figuring I had nothing to lose by trying repaired them with JB Weld. It's been a month, and they are holding so far.

Before beginning, I unscrewed the mounting tabs (with the holes, where the brackets are inserted) from the structural crossmember to relieve tension on the tabs. I then mixed up a large quantity of JB Weld so I could shape some substantial fillets of material to give the repair some strength. I allowed the mixture to catalyze, then waited a few additional hours before reattaching the top bracket to the crossmember, so as to not crack the material.

I can attach some photos of the finished result; I don't have them handy right now. What I don't know is whether or not I had any other broken headlight clips; the top ones were obvious. This repair did not fix the vibration I hear from the right headlight when the engine is running, but some closed cell foam inserted between the top of the headlight housing and the crossmember took care of that.

So over a year later, and a second JB-Weld application on the right headlight "pin" bracket (with a better pre-cleaning and some filing to give it some "tooth"), the right repair just doesn't hold. The left (driver's side) repair has held all this time.

I'm going to order the repair kit; it's $26.42 at ECS Tuning.