[shark715]

I keep getting Check Control messages that indicate my left brake light is not working, that my left back up light is not working, and that my left turn signal is not working. the Check Control light will stay on for a little while, but then go turn off until the problem re-occurs.

I've stood behind the car while having someone else apply the brakes, put the car in reverse, and turn on the left turn signal, and the lights seem to be working fine, but that was after the Check Control light had shut off.

Anyone ever have an issue like this? Any guesses what the issue might be? I was thinking a loose connection wherever the left rear tailight assembly attaches to the car's wiring harness. But I have no idea where that might be.

And what's interesting is that there has never been a message that the left taillight is not working. Given that's also part of the left tailight assembly, if there was a connection problem I would have expected to see that warning message, too.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[omera60]

It will sound like a cliche but I would advise you to hook the car up to ISTA, most probably all these faults and many others if you had are stored on the computer and non crucial ones are displayed on ISTA. This should help you with diagnosis and solving your issue as this fault might be generated from a false wiring to a short circuiting onboard computer.

[Scrutinizer]

I had the same problem recently. I went to the dealer and found out there is a service campaign regarding the rear lights. The ground pin on the back of the housing is under sized and results in overheating that pin and it stops conducting current. There is an additional ground strap that was added to both of my rear light assemblies.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by Scrutinizer

I had the same problem recently. I went to the dealer and found out there is a service campaign regarding the rear lights. The ground pin on the back of the housing is under sized and results in overheating that pin and it stops conducting current. There is an additional ground strap that was added to both of my rear light assemblies.

Thank you! Something told me I was not the first to experience this.

If anyone from BMW is listening, when you know there is a problem, how about fixing the cars proactively rather than waiting for them to break? Now I have to make a needless trip to the dealer when this could've easily been taken care of when they changed the oil.

This is just like the faulty driveshafts in the E70 X5's. They knew about the problem with the driveshafts long before ours broke, and when mine flew apart it ripped a hole in the transmission case, and BMW had to replace the transmission at their expense.

Same thing with the power steering pumps on the first generation Mini Coopers. They were well aware that there were boatloads of failures, and they quietly redesigned the pump, but left owners with the old-style pumps to fend for themselves. We were lucky we did not get in an accident trying to drive a car without power steering, and then they charged us $1500 to replace the pump because the car was out of warranty. When this scandal came to light many years later, luckily we still had the receipt from their dealer. But then they had the nerve to try to tell us that we had no proof that we actually paid the bill. I had to get on the phone with their executive offices and make a huge fuss before they actually reimbursed us, and it took many months for the check to finally arrive.

Pennywise and dollar foolish, and little consideration for the safety of your customers.

They are clearly not a trustworthy company. I have been a long-standing customer, but I have seen enough.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by Scrutinizer

I had the same problem recently. I went to the dealer and found out there is a service campaign regarding the rear lights. The ground pin on the back of the housing is under sized and results in overheating that pin and it stops conducting current. There is an additional ground strap that was added to both of my rear light assemblies.

I have a subscription to Mitchell's where I can access all the Technical Service Bulletins (BMW refers to them as Service Information Bulletins, or SIB's) for the 235, but what you are referring to is not listed. But you have a 228 and I have a 235.

Can you tell me what the SIB number for the service campaign is? Should be on your receipt from the dealer that repaired your car, thanks.

The problem with our car is becoming more frequent, and we have a service appointment on Friday. I would like to be able to walk into the dealer and hand them the SIB if possible. Based on experience it's amazing what dealers may or may not be aware of, and I'm hoping it might help them to quickly repair the car and/or make the correct repair the first time.

Thanks.

[Scrutinizer]

Perhaps I used the wrong term. I took my car in because all the right rear lights came up on my display as faulty. They identified the problem as a burnt out ground pin in the light housing. I asked them about the left side and they said they couldn't do anything until it failed. They called back later and said they had to order parts for the left side as well, so BMW knows about it. BMW has repair cables already in their system. The pins in the back of the housing are so thin that the 1 pin for the ground, which has to carry current from all the bulbs, was burned. I took the housing off my car when the problem first happened. It is shown in the manual under bulb replacement. It takes minutes to do and when you disconnect the connector look at the male pins on the back of the housing. They replaced both "bulb sockets" 1 63-21-7-370-292 and 291. They added "repair cable tail" 1 61-12-2-448-168 on each side. I don't see a SIB number on my invoice.

[shark715]

Originally Posted by Scrutinizer

Perhaps I used the wrong term. I took my car in because all the right rear lights came up on my display as faulty. They identified the problem as a burnt out ground pin in the light housing. I asked them about the left side and they said they couldn't do anything until it failed. They called back later and said they had to order parts for the left side as well, so BMW knows about it. BMW has repair cables already in their system. The pins in the back of the housing are so thin that the 1 pin for the ground, which has to carry current from all the bulbs, was burned. I took the housing off my car when the problem first happened. It is shown in the manual under bulb replacement. It takes minutes to do and when you disconnect the connector look at the male pins on the back of the housing. They replaced both "bulb sockets" 1 63-21-7-370-292 and 291. They added "repair cable tail" 1 61-12-2-448-168 on each side. I don't see a SIB number on my invoice.

Thank you. That should help. I guess BMW "knowing of the issue" does not automatically mean an SIB has been issued, or maybe the SIB is so new Mitchell's has not picked up on it yet. In any event, thanks for taking the time to help me.

[shark715]

If anyone is interested here's the error messages I'm getting...

[shark715]

Thanks again Scrutinizer! I told the dealer about your experience, and maybe it helped them to diagnose the issue or maybe it did not, but they just messaged me and said they replaced both rear light housings as well as installed the repair cables you spoke of.

[Scrutinizer]

Glad I could be of assistance. I find it interesting that they replaced both sides even though you were only having a problem on one side, just like me. Makes one wonder...

[shark715]

Originally Posted by Scrutinizer

Glad I could be of assistance. I find it interesting that they replaced both sides even though you were only having a problem on one side, just like me. Makes one wonder...

Well, actually I shared with them your story that your dealer initially said they would not replace both. That might have helped.

My dealer had the replacement cables in stock, so that tells you they know they have a design problem and are expecting others to fail.

No need for me to go into my rant again like I did above about why they just don't recall all the cars and fix them now rather than having customers driving around with lights that don't work :-)

[shark715]

I picked up the car at the dealer, and the receipt does mention an SIB:

"Confirmed complaint, removed taillights, found left ground pin melted. As per SIB 63 07 16, replaced both taillight assemblies and installed new harnesses."

But I can't find any info regarding SIB 63 07 16 on Mitchell's, nor anywhere else on the internet. Perhaps it's too new.

Interestingly I did find find an SIB for 3 series cars with a similar problem:

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/c...1v438-4559.pdf

So it's not the first time this has happened with BMW. Not only that, according to the SIB referenced above the 3 series situation eventually turned into a recall, or at least the document describes it as a recall.

But it appears instead of proactively contacting customers to get the cars in for repairs, all they did was quietly tell the dealers to repair the cars when they were brought in for service:

PERFORM THE PROCEDURE OUTLINED IN THIS SERVICE INFORMATION ON ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES BEFORE CUSTOMER DELIVERY OR THE NEXT TIME THEY ARE IN THE SHOP FOR MAINTENANCE OR REPAIRS.

The reason BMW would choose to do this is obvious...the negative publicity of a publicly announced recall. Seems pretty shameful, don't you think?

Not only that, what about the customers who are having their cars serviced somewhere other than a dealer, or servicing the car themselves? They don't need to be told about this?

So BMW is now doing the same thing again with the 2 series problem and not telling us owners of the problem with the lights. Not only is this a clear safety issue given that it involves brake lights and turn signals, if a component of the electrical system is melting isn't that also a fire hazard?

[Moel]

I had this happened on my left rears, and has now occured on the right... Weirdly removing the right light, jiggling the connector and re-assembling it fixed the issue last night....but after leaving it overnight I assume water has got back in and caused the fault again (I noticed the rubber stripping doesn't seal correctly in mine either.

[MarcoZandrini]

Yeah, this happened to the E46 (3 series built from 198”98-2005) sedans. They were built in South Africa. The coupes and verts didn’t have this problem. Sounds like BMW is trying to save weight in places it shouldn’t.