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      12-24-2018, 04:48 PM   #1
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this car is really testing my patience

Been a trying weekend in 135i-land for me. I bought this car (2010 135i convertible) about 2 months ago.

On Thursday, the passenger side halo burned out leaving me with an error message on the dash. 3 parts stores later I find one Sylvania H8 bulb for $16 and install it. The light goes out.

On Friday, the TPMS light came on for the 3rd time (same tire). Another warning light. Tire store says the tire is trash; has probably been damaged for some time now. They won't put the tire back on the car and don't have anything in stock in the right size. So I trek over to the used tire emporium where I find a Pirelli run-flat in the correct size. $30 + tax for the tire and $15 to mount and balance it at the tire store. The light goes out. At least I can drive the car home...

I wonder what the other 3 tires are like. So I ordered a replacement set of tires that won't arrive before Thursday. Just over $1,000 for the tires, plus mounting, balancing and a 4 wheel alignment.

Today, after washing the car I get an Adaptive Headlight Control malfunction light, followed by the high beam and low beam out lights. Yet another warning light. Check the outside and I now have no headlights on the passenger side. I can't wait to figure out what this is going to cost me.

So is this what I can expect for the duration of my ownership? Because if that is the case, I predict a short stay in my garage.
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      12-25-2018, 05:07 AM   #2
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I don't see what the problem is. The car is getting old. Things need to be replaced. The bulb burning out is not a big deal. As for the tires, those wear out too.

On the issue with the headlights being out, this is where you'll need to sit down. The electronics for the headlight probably got burned out when you washed the car. And the reason the electronics are toast is probably due to you replacing the H8 bulb. The back cover has to be on perfectly or water will get into the housing where the electronics are. This is a known issue when replacing bulbs in the headlight assemblies. This is also why I won't mess with trying different bulbs to get a white halo/angel eyes. Not worth the risk unless I absolutely have to replace a burned out bulb. Some people have been lucky by being able to get the water out of the headlight assembly and dry out the module. If not, this is going to be a pretty expensive repair.
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      12-25-2018, 05:42 AM   #3
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An 8-9 year old car is likely to have a few issues here and there. That said, tires are a wear item but if a dealer was selling a car with bad tires I'd be asking them to replace them. I agree on the lights. Hopefully you are able to dry them out if that is the issue b/c the headlights can be expensive on these cars.
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      12-25-2018, 08:46 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zx10guy View Post
I don't see what the problem is. The car is getting old. Things need to be replaced. The bulb burning out is not a big deal. As for the tires, those wear out too.

On the issue with the headlights being out, this is where you'll need to sit down. The electronics for the headlight probably got burned out when you washed the car. And the reason the electronics are toast is probably due to you replacing the H8 bulb. The back cover has to be on perfectly or water will get into the housing where the electronics are. This is a known issue when replacing bulbs in the headlight assemblies. This is also why I won't mess with trying different bulbs to get a white halo/angel eyes. Not worth the risk unless I absolutely have to replace a burned out bulb. Some people have been lucky by being able to get the water out of the headlight assembly and dry out the module. If not, this is going to be a pretty expensive repair.
I'm just letting out my frustration. I am well aware of old cars needing maintenance. If you look at my signature you can see I have a fleet of older cars. I've just never owned one as fragile and needy as this one. I'm beginning to remember why I got rid of my E90 before it got out of warranty.

While you say it is a known issue, I never ran across anything about it until I searched for the failed Adaptive Headlight warning. The back cover was on perfectly, but there was a small, semi-circular spot on the lip missing, which was apparently left from the BMW dealership that replaced the headlights for the previous owner a couple of years ago.

I have no doubt the repair is going to be expensive.
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      12-25-2018, 08:52 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by Gangplank View Post
An 8-9 year old car is likely to have a few issues here and there. That said, tires are a wear item but if a dealer was selling a car with bad tires I'd be asking them to replace them. I agree on the lights. Hopefully you are able to dry them out if that is the issue b/c the headlights can be expensive on these cars.
There's no way the dealer could know the condition without removing the tires and inspecting the insides. Not even a BMW dealer is going to do that. It seems the tire had been run for an extended period of time in a low pressure state.

In my experience Bridgestone Potenza RFTs are overpriced crap and BMW should be ashamed for allowing them to be used. Unfortunately since this is my wife's car and it doesn't have a spare, I will stick with RFTs. This time we'll try Pirellis to see if they are any better.
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      12-25-2018, 08:56 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinR View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gangplank View Post
An 8-9 year old car is likely to have a few issues here and there. That said, tires are a wear item but if a dealer was selling a car with bad tires I'd be asking them to replace them. I agree on the lights. Hopefully you are able to dry them out if that is the issue b/c the headlights can be expensive on these cars.
There's no way the dealer could know the condition without removing the tires and inspecting the insides. Not even a BMW dealer is going to do that. It seems the tire had been run for an extended period of time in a low pressure state.

In my experience Bridgestone Potenza RFTs are overpriced crap and BMW should be ashamed for allowing them to be used. Unfortunately since this is my wife's car and it doesn't have a spare, I will stick with RFTs. This time we'll try Pirellis to see if they are any better.
Makes sense. Michelin makes a runnflat they call it ZP. I haven't tried them.
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      12-25-2018, 09:59 AM   #7
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If a burnt out bulb is such an issue, maybe get a bus pass.

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      12-25-2018, 01:24 PM   #8
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If a burnt out bulb is such an issue, maybe get a bus pass.

Well, seeing as it is my wife's car, a bus pass really isn't an option.
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      12-25-2018, 02:35 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinR View Post
I'm just letting out my frustration. I am well aware of old cars needing maintenance. If you look at my signature you can see I have a fleet of older cars. I've just never owned one as fragile and needy as this one. I'm beginning to remember why I got rid of my E90 before it got out of warranty.

While you say it is a known issue, I never ran across anything about it until I searched for the failed Adaptive Headlight warning. The back cover was on perfectly, but there was a small, semi-circular spot on the lip missing, which was apparently left from the BMW dealership that replaced the headlights for the previous owner a couple of years ago.

I have no doubt the repair is going to be expensive.
Hey. I get venting. But in my opinion, what you're complaining about isn't such a big deal. And wouldn't be something that would cause me to say the car is fragile.

I used to own a 94 Z28 with the LT1 motor. There is an Achille"s heal with this car with the distributor system also known as the optispark. The distributor uses an optical sensor along with a timing wheel to trigger the spark plugs. On paper this seems to be a great idea. But in practice it was anything but. This part was extremely sensitive to moisture. There have been random failures due to condensation and such getting inside of the part. In addition, it was placed behind the gear driven water pump. When the water pump starts to fail, coolant starts to drip out of the weep hole at the bottom of the housing. Guess where all that coolant starts splashing against? The part costs $480 and that was my special pricing as I knew the parts manager at the dealer about 10 years ago. And I won't even go into the pain involved in replacing the spark plugs and wires.
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      12-26-2018, 09:38 AM   #10
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Get used to it man lol. Next thing you know you'll have misfires, broken water pump, broken charge pipe, etc. If you're not willing to diy or have a warranty I hope you have deep pockets. This car is fun but requires LOTS of maintenance and repairs.
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      12-26-2018, 01:53 PM   #11
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Get used to it man lol. Next thing you know you'll have misfires, broken water pump, broken charge pipe, etc. If you're not willing to diy or have a warranty I hope you have deep pockets. This car is fun but requires LOTS of maintenance and repairs.
The water pump gave up 10 miles into the drive home from the dealer. I limped it back and they replaced it at no additional charge to me. Sooo I have that going for me...

I DIY a lot of the work, so that helps. The headlights are a new one though. I've never experienced anything other than a burned out bulb or a blown headlight relay in a car, and certainly not a failure bad enough to be looking at potentially $1,000 or more to fix. That, in my book, IS fragile.

I suppose I can look at the bright side. If the failures continue at the same rate, sooner or later I will run out of things to break.
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      12-27-2018, 01:11 PM   #12
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I had one of my headlights go bad for the same reason as yours, what I did was get one off ebay. All functions work and still look good.
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      01-22-2019, 08:44 AM   #13
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I have replaced fewer headlight bulbs and fewer bulbs in general in my almost 10 years of owning my e88 than I have on previous vehicles (I am approaching 50 years of driving). I didn't like it when the burned out bulb in the rear required a circuit board replacement for the LEDs which I fixed with a new housing ($100 part). Newer ones got a better circuit board, I believe.

It didn't work for my wife but my theory on the tires is to carry a compressor and plugging kit. The plugs are just a last gasp kind of thing. All my flats in several decades have been slow leaks. With a compressor I can get home. I know there are other leaks, I've had one on a trailer, but I think it is generally true that a compressor will get me home. I have AAA for the others. I may try a plug if I get a faster leak and can find the hole.
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      01-22-2019, 01:21 PM   #14
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My 2008 135i has Xenons and they lasted 10 years! I just had the pair replaced by my indy shop last spring for about $225. Can't beat that. But I have had some other expensive repairs done. The car is addictive and hard to part with. there really isn't anything quite like it out there.
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      02-03-2019, 07:19 PM   #15
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Just wanted to close the loop.

I bought a used ballast for about $30 on ebay and a new rear cover for about $20 to replace the damaged one. I removed the headlight from the car, pulled the bulbs and the ballast, then placed it over a floor mounted heat vent in my house.

24 hours later the condensation was dried up from inside the housing. I cleaned the control unit connections with CRC electrical connector cleaner and installed the used ballast. Then everything went back into the car.

So far everything seems to be working with no codes, but only time will tell for sure.
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      02-03-2019, 10:08 PM   #16
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In the first two years of ownership, I've had the following break in my little e88 - from most expensive to least.

Convertible top rear window detatchment (repair involves new roof for $3k+)
Wastegate rod connector break (repair involves removal of turbos $5k+)
Passenger Side Headlight failure ($3k)
Water Pump
Radiator tank split
Valve Cover & OFHG replacement

I've had my fair share of people comment on my expensive when I pull up. These days I laugh and tell them the purchase price is generally a lot less than their car. .... it's the fact that you have to be prepared for it to cost you 1/4th of its value each year to keep it on the road.
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      02-09-2019, 03:03 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinR View Post
Just wanted to close the loop.

I bought a used ballast for about $30 on ebay and a new rear cover for about $20 to replace the damaged one. I removed the headlight from the car, pulled the bulbs and the ballast, then placed it over a floor mounted heat vent in my house.

24 hours later the condensation was dried up from inside the housing. I cleaned the control unit connections with CRC electrical connector cleaner and installed the used ballast. Then everything went back into the car.

So far everything seems to be working with no codes, but only time will tell for sure.
thanks for updating
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      02-14-2019, 01:51 PM   #18
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I think the n52 is a lot better for requiring maintenance. I had to buy a $800 alternator (installed) but that is my only big expense in 82K miles and 9+ years. My headlight bulbs are $3 each (but my tail light was expensive).
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      02-23-2019, 05:37 PM   #19
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This is nothing. Sell the car or change your expectations. Seriously
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      03-12-2019, 05:06 PM   #20
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*sigh*

Mine just got 6 brand new index 12 injectors today.

... I can empathize with OP.
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