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Water Ingress |
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DeanGross
Club Member Joined: 16 Feb 2018 Location: Farnham Status: Offline Points: 8 |
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Posted: 17 May 2018 at 8:52pm |
I have been lurking around here on the forum and I have had my M2 since the beginning of the year and whilst I love driving it I have had a few issues with it. Most recently Renaissance Cars in Ripley noticed water ingress in the rear tail lights. After a bit of faffing around by BMW Farnborough they agreed to replace them with new units, but they removed my lovely paintwork during the process. The car is in now in the body shop with them.
I just wanted to understand whether BMW redesigned the rear tail lights, my car was registered in June '16. Any info appreciated. |
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Roger123
Club Member Joined: 03 Aug 2013 Location: Oxfordshire Status: Offline Points: 231 |
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Can't help you with the question concerning your tail lights... But that's pretty unprofessional of one of BMW's main agents to damage your paintwork. No doubt you'll not be going there again. You have my sympathies... |
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PDJT
Club Member Joined: 06 Mar 2015 Location: Peak District Status: Offline Points: 58 |
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Dean - apologies - I meant to reply sooner.
My M235i (and others as noted on different fora) has had problems with heavy condensation in both rear light units. I am not sure if this is what you mean by "water ingress" or you actually have pools of water sloshing about in the bottoms of the units. In fact, this has occurred twice with my car. First time was in early 2017 (at 8 months old – so a similar build date – April 2016 and parts used as yours). Service guys at Sytner Sheffield were excellent as per usual. I showed them the various examples of the issue as they had affected other 2 series owners. My service guru dug around for me and came back informing me it was a known issue, but that whilst I could have a new pair of units fitted under warranty there and then, he suggested I wait until he saw that the part number had changed as it seems that BMW or their supplier was still working on a re-design to cure the issue. I said "no problem" and true to his word, my service bod contacted me a month or so later as he has the new parts. Fitted) swiftly, without remodelling of my paintwork. Didn't think anything more of it until early THIS year - about 10 months since the replacements were fitted - and I noticed that both rear light units were, once again, showing significant condensation... the second time! My service bod had left for pastures new (he had been there about 16 years, so fair play!), so I took more photos and emailed them to my new service bod. Of course, it's not his nor the dealership's fault, but he apologised profusely and said he would make enquiries, but there was no problem getting replacements under warranty. He came back to me and said that there had been a further re-design and these new parts were now available. So once again, new rear light units have been fitted under warranty. I have to admit, I am not sure if the parts and their numbers are the same for this item on a M2 and a M235i (or M240i, for that matter). Probably not. However, if the basic design issue is the same - I understand it’s about the sealing around where the cables enter the unit - then although the actual shape of the unit might be slightly different, the faulty seal may be an issue common to two or more models. Must say I am disappointed, though not surprised about poor quality parts, which I think is an increasing issue. I am fully committed to the marque, and overall, for the money, I do believe we get brilliant driving experiences. However, I also believe in this obsession in chasing ever increasing profits, the standards of design, materials and finish, especially in areas which might be seen by some as not “first rank critical” sometimes get compromised. And this instance may be one of those. Frankly, I do not accept that designing a watertight light unit is that difficult – other models and other manufacturers seem to have it nailed. I think pressure to extract even more profit from suppliers might just be one of the factors here. One senior and venerated club member suggested the answer was to drill a small hole at the bottom of the light units to vent the condensation and/or ingress. I respectfully responded that whilst I still had warranty active on the motor, I would happily get replacement units as frequently as necessary. Throughout, Sytner Sheffield have been exemplary in their support. I hope that might perhaps illuminate things a little for you. (Illuminate... light units... OK... the end.) Cheers Peter Edited by PDJT - 23 May 2018 at 2:01am |
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DeanGross
Club Member Joined: 16 Feb 2018 Location: Farnham Status: Offline Points: 8 |
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Many thanks for your detailed reply Peter. The condensation in the tail lights of your M235i looks similar to what I had. Fingers crossed I have the redesigned units that will finally address this issue. I didn't ask whether the part numbers on mine are different. The car is now back from the body shop and to be fair they have done a nice job on the paint work.
I am completely with you about skimping on the quality aspects, but you can see it in all sorts of areas where the quality of the materials used is perhaps not what I would expect. That said, the driving experience is awesome and it seems to be reasonable value for money. I am not sure the water ingress issue can be resolved by drilling a hole. As shown in your picture the water condensation is at the top part of these units. My view is that you want to fix in the long term before it causes further issues. I will try to find out whether the part numbers on mine have changed. Best regards, Dean |
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PDJT
Club Member Joined: 06 Mar 2015 Location: Peak District Status: Offline Points: 58 |
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Cheers Dean, Glad the paintwork issue has been resolved
properly.
I think only time will tell regarding the efficacy of the re-designed parts. I
shall be watching them closely, especially next winter when there is more
frequent instances of water around the units – i.e., it’s chucking it down. And one thing that does annoy me is the lack of sync button to link the left and right side on the temp control - so useful if you are the sole occupant and eyes have to be, momentarily, taken from the road to adjust the temperature. With the sync button, the driver only has to look away once from the road to adjust the temperature for the whole vehicle. Without the sync button, the driver has to look away twice from the road to adjust both right (the driver side) and then left (the passenger side). To me, any simple and cheap function that helps keep drivers’ eyes more on the road and less on the controls is not just worthwhile, it’s a positive contribution to driving safety. This sync button was present on models for quite a while, and certainly on previous E92's and E90's but it seems a rare beast now. Disappointing. But to end on a very positive note, I concur with you completely on the sheer enjoyment of the driving experience and the value for money, but keep that last bit quiet or the prices will rise again and again. And of course, looking forward to the arrival of the M2 Competition! Best wishes Peter Edited by PDJT - 23 May 2018 at 2:05pm |
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