driver tailight

[Bl0ck]

so my 2012 135 driver rear taillight is having some issues, with the car being barley a year old. the other day after work i unlocked my car and the driver side taillight started flickering... when i turned the car on it stayed lite. this kind of set off some red flags for me. the next day after work i unlocked again but this time the light is very dimmed compared to the passenger taillight. i have done some research on the forums about this and everyone seems to have to replace the whole unit... would this be the same case with my issue? and does anyone know how long the processes usually takes to replace it seeing it gets ordered for Germany (im located in Florida)

[Dackelone]

Never heard of one of the new style LCI's LED's failing. And looks like you have Blacklines imported from Germany too. Should only take a week or two to get from Germany.

The three LED tubes tended to fail on the pre-LCI units. Actually all pre LCI's built before Dec, 2010 would fail. BMW had a TSB on replacing both sides while a car was under warranty. Not a recall!

[Bl0ck]

Interesting stuff. I'm pretty sure the car was built early 2011 but the taillights could defiantly be the ones In that article. Would this mean they would replace both ? I am Bringing the car in tomorrow to get it checked out.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Block23232

Interesting stuff. I'm pretty sure the car was built early 2011 but the taillights could defiantly be the ones In that article. Would this mean they would replace both ? I am Bringing the car in tomorrow to get it checked out.

No. You do not understand. ALL LCI's are ok, from what I have read here.

ONLY the pre-LCI's (the older style, non 1M tail lights) are prone to fail. That article in German says that. It says that as of Oct, 2010 - BMW stopped using the old design tails. The LED tubes would get some corrosion on the circuit board and fail there. The new tail light design started to ship in the first week or two of Dec, 2010. The new tail lights looked just like the old(pre LCI) ones.

ALL new style LCI tail lights (like used on all 1M's) seem to be ok. I think you just got a bad one. Contact the dealer in Germany who you bought the Blacklines from. You should be able to send your old tail lamp and a copy of your receipt and get a free new tail light lens.

All BMW parts have a two year warranty.


Dack

[Bl0ck]

Ah I get it . These are not blackline taillights tho they are factory stock ones that came with the car. They are tinted thats why they appear darker.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Block23232

Ah I get it . These are not blackline taillights tho they are factory stock ones that came with the car. They are tinted thats why they appear darker.

Ohh, then its even easier to get BMW to warranty your left rear tail light. Even IF you have to pay(bc of the tint) for a new one... they are cheaper than the early style(pre LCI) units.

[Freon]

Originally Posted by Block23232

and does anyone know how long the processes usually takes to replace it seeing it gets ordered for Germany (im located in Florida)

How the heck should we know? Call your local BMW dealer and schedule an appointment!

For what its worth, when my old, known-issue 2009 taillight went out it only took 1 and a half business days to get an appointment and have them replaced. BMW is not stupid. They know its a regular problem so their logistics department keeps plenty of spares. They should also keep plenty of spares for just about everything on the car somewhere in the states.

While your issue is not common since it is a newer taillight design as Dack pointed out, keeping spares in a warehouse in the states is Logistics 101. They're not going to airfreight taillights one at a time as needed to the US. They'll boat them over a huge crates and warehouse them here. The only time they should have to send a single part over from Germany is if they have a new, sudden run on a specific part and run out in a very short period of time. It's statistically unlikely because they will model that risk. Possible, yes, but unlikely.

So.. just call your dealer and schedule an appointment.

[shodanusmc]

I had a problem with my 09 Driver Side tail light. I thought it would be just a simple bulb replacement. They had to repalce the entire unit. Glad I am still under Warranty. It took 2 days for the part to arrive. they gave me a 335ix loaner.

[135junky]

I had this problem like 3 months ago on my 2008 135, my left rear light went out. The dealership here replaced it just had to pay for labor.