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      10-21-2012, 09:45 PM   #1
TX135i
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Headlights shake when hitting a bump

Is that normal? The beams just seem to shake or jiggle just a bit when I hit bumps in the road. Was wondering if it was on purpose to keep them from breaking. Any idea?
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      10-21-2012, 10:12 PM   #2
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I think I've noticed this too. So it's probably normal.
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      10-21-2012, 10:39 PM   #3
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It's normal. Mine does it too. It's due to the active headlights, because they swivel when you turn, there is a little movement when they take a jolt. Or at leas this is what I was told when I asked about it.
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      10-22-2012, 02:44 AM   #4
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It's probobly partly because of the auto leveling feature as well. Sense xenons make such a crisp light line on the car in front of them sometimes you can see when they are slightly readjusting up and down to bumps or dips in the road or u hitting the breaks. It's a series of slight notches up an down and if you look hard enuf u will notice it. Not sayin that this is the reason for what u c but could be part of it.
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      10-22-2012, 03:51 AM   #5
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It IS normal. After some miles... they will wiggle less. I think its the sensors being new and tight that causes the sensors to "bind" when new.
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      10-22-2012, 10:54 AM   #6
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Thanks guys. I seem to notice it when I hit a "wash board" type of bump, not in gradual dips, so I assumed it was OK (i.e. hoped it was OK). I drove my wife's Acura with Xenons (not adaptive) and saw no movement over the same wash board, so it had me a little concerned.
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      10-22-2012, 10:55 AM   #7
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It's normal but weird that I didn't notice this with my past BMWs that had adaptive xenons
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      10-26-2012, 09:22 PM   #8
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Happens here too, and to speak towards ^; my previous BMWs with adaptive bixenons have all done it to some degree.
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      10-28-2012, 09:35 AM   #9
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Try going over bumps with coilovers
It's normal. Don't worry too much about it
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      08-01-2018, 09:42 AM   #10
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My xenon lights don't jiggle but rather flicker on or off when I go over bumps and sometimes on straight roads as well. I recently had one xenon ballast changed and put on aftermarket bulbs. Are there some problems with the bulbs and the auto levelling? Someone also mentioned headlight mounts?
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      08-01-2018, 05:02 PM   #11
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It’s not always normal. Take a look at the brackets on the lights. The 2 upper are visible on each side. They are known to break even if they’ve never been hit. Potholes can cause them to break. There is a repair kit from bmw if they are.
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      08-06-2018, 03:33 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Converted1 View Post
It’s not always normal. Take a look at the brackets on the lights. The 2 upper are visible on each side. They are known to break even if they’ve never been hit. Potholes can cause them to break. There is a repair kit from bmw if they are.
^This, mine were broken clean off
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      08-06-2018, 04:48 PM   #13
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BMW's auto leveling system which enables xenon Anti-Dazzle is made up of a small arm on a suspension control arm in addition to the actual adaptive adjustment mechanism on the lights themselves. The purpose of the system, as others have pointed it, is to keep the lights from blinding (or dazzling, as BMW prefers to say) other oncoming driver's. Many new BMWs will also have their headlight angled just a tad lower to keep the direct beam out of the eyes of other traffic.

That being said, the system can and does fail when the small arm on the control arm is disconnected, or the mechanism on the headlights gets brittle and breaks. The repair kit is the typical remedy for the issue if the leveling mechanism on the lights failed, but check all other components first.
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      08-07-2018, 05:00 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Converted1 View Post
It's not always normal. Take a look at the brackets on the lights. The 2 upper are visible on each side. They are known to break even if they've never been hit. Potholes can cause them to break. There is a repair kit from bmw if they are.
This ^
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      08-07-2018, 08:44 AM   #15
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RE: broken mounting tabs.

I got my 128 last year and two of the tabs holding the headlight assembly to the framing were broken. From what I understand they are supposed to brake easy to meet pedestrian impact standards. I saw no other damage to the front, so I assume they were fatigued and broke over bumps.

You can tell if this is the problem by trying to move the whole assembly around. There should be very little movement, only what the rubber grommets will allow.

If there is no extra movement, the problem is elsewhere, or like most said, just part of the car.

The tabs arn't hard to fix, but getting the front bumper cover off is a bit tricky. The upper outside edges didn't really want to "pop" off.
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      08-14-2018, 03:05 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bruce's blue View Post
RE: broken mounting tabs.

I got my 128 last year and two of the tabs holding the headlight assembly to the framing were broken. From what I understand they are supposed to brake easy to meet pedestrian impact standards. I saw no other damage to the front, so I assume they were fatigued and broke over bumps.

You can tell if this is the problem by trying to move the whole assembly around. There should be very little movement, only what the rubber grommets will allow.

If there is no extra movement, the problem is elsewhere, or like most said, just part of the car.

The tabs arn't hard to fix, but getting the front bumper cover off is a bit tricky. The upper outside edges didn't really want to "pop" off.
i think my right side headlight is a bit shakey, have you got a picture of these clips?
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      08-17-2018, 11:09 PM   #17
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tab repair kit

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...t/63116924482/



Example from another board
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=680783
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      06-24-2019, 07:33 AM   #18
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okay so i checked the headlight itself.
the left side is stiff in place.
the right side, when i place my hand behind the light and lift it, actually lifts the whole headlight forward. so it is not fixed in place.
How do i fix the mofo in place?
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      06-24-2019, 09:06 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by golfer23rm View Post
okay so i checked the headlight itself.
the left side is stiff in place.
the right side, when i place my hand behind the light and lift it, actually lifts the whole headlight forward. so it is not fixed in place.
How do i fix the mofo in place?
It's been discussed above. Check the mounting tabs of the headlight assembly. Most likely you'll need the repair kit listed in post just before your recent one.
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      06-28-2019, 05:58 AM   #20
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thanks will have a look.
has anyone got a pic of the the fixing points of the headlight to the car.
not just the top, but the under, hidden behind the bumper.
im thinking its probably just not fixed properly at those points, so maybe remove bumper and tighten the screws.
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      06-28-2019, 08:41 AM   #21
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Possible that the screws are loose but trust me when I say the trans are most likely broken and they just look intact.
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      07-10-2019, 10:27 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by golfer23rm View Post
thanks will have a look.
has anyone got a pic of the the fixing points of the headlight to the car.
not just the top, but the under, hidden behind the bumper.
im thinking its probably just not fixed properly at those points, so maybe remove bumper and tighten the screws.
Agreed with the comment above about broken tabs.

If you're going to put in the effort to do all that, I'd suggest spending the $25-30 for the repair kit in case you find broken tabs and end up needing it. Unless you can keep the bumper off for a few days while you wait for it to ship to you should you find that's the cause.
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