Photo Shoot With My E90, And My Unpleasant Surprise

Decided to take my Bimmer out for a photo shoot, as there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and it was just around sunset. Had a blast taking these photos, getting caught up in the moment, and couldn't wait to show them off... but as soon as I got home, upon further inspection of my photos, I realized that my right taillight is out. It makes me wonder how long - at least within the past week - that I've been driving around like that. In any case, hope you all enjoy the photos!

Great Pics!
But are you positive that it's a burned out bulb? Generally, if that were the case you should have had an on-board dash warning about it. My guess is that what appeared to be a burned out taillight is perhaps the "intensive brake" light. If you aren't getting a bulb out warning from your instrument cluster, I probably wouldn't stress over it. (If you have your rear foglights enabled, you could always check it by turning them on. )

Originally Posted by Nordic_Kat

Great Pics!
But are you positive that it's a burned out bulb? Generally, if that were the case you should have had an on-board dash warning about it. My guess is that what appeared to be a burned out taillight is perhaps the "intensive brake" light. If you aren't getting a bulb out warning from your instrument cluster, I probably wouldn't stress over it. (If you have your rear foglights enabled, you could always check it by turning them on. )

Thanks Kat, I'll definitely give the fog lights a go and see what happens. There was no on-board dash warning from my instrument cluster at all, come to think of it. The only instrument cluster warning I'd received all day today was the snowflake, informing me that it was freaking cold outside . It just caught me a bit off guard, because all of the other lights were functioning properly, to include the tail light section in the luggage compartment lid on that same side. Thanks for the tips, they're very much appreciated!

Originally Posted by cruisingbimmer

Thanks Kat, I'll definitely give the fog lights a go and see what happens. There was no on-board dash warning from my instrument cluster at all, come to think of it. The only instrument cluster warning I'd received all day today was the snowflake, informing me that it was freaking cold outside . It just caught me a bit off guard, because all of the other lights were functioning properly, to include the tail light section in the luggage compartment lid on that same side. Thanks for the tips, they're very much appreciated!

My right taillight burned out and my iDrive popped up with a warning intermittently. I believe it was a right taillamp malfunction or something of that nature, so Kat is definitely right that something should pop up if it's burned!

Nice photos by the way!

Nice Pictures, the landscape is so flat! We are from Denver.

Originally Posted by SlickAsCanBe

My right taillight burned out and my iDrive popped up with a warning intermittently. I believe it was a right taillamp malfunction or something of that nature, so Kat is definitely right that something should pop up if it's burned!

Nice photos by the way!

Thank you! As of today, I have the verdict: what's burned out is my "roadside parking lamp/tail lamp" according to the Owner's Manual, labeled lamp #2 in the diagram. "If one of the bulbs 2, 5 or 6 malfunctions, please contact your BMW center or a workshop that works according to BMW repair procedures with correspondingly trained personnel," is what it says underneath as well. I delved into it a bit, thinking maybe I could fix it myself and did some troubleshooting, and all of my other lights work fine, it was mostly the brake light and turn signal that I was worried about, so that's a relief that they're in good shape. On the other hand, that "roadside parking lamp" looks like a royal pain in the ass to remove from what I saw when I took the cover in the cargo bay off to look at it, and the part is going to have to be ordered as it is not a standard bulb that the dealership carries (checked Autozone as well just in case). Anyway, that concludes my tail light fiasco for now, until I can get it looked at tomorrow and *hopefully* fixed by the end of the week!

Originally Posted by Speedwagon

Nice Pictures, the landscape is so flat! We are from Denver.

Thanks! I live in Kansas where the landscape is mostly flat with some mild hills here and there, but I've visited Denver a couple of times in passing. Spent some time hiking in the Rocky Mountains also (HUGE contrast to Denver!). You're from a beautiful state!

Originally Posted by cruisingbimmer

Thank you! As of today, I have the verdict: what's burned out is my "roadside parking lamp/tail lamp" according to the Owner's Manual, labeled lamp #2 in the diagram. "If one of the bulbs 2, 5 or 6 malfunctions, please contact your BMW center or a workshop that works according to BMW repair procedures with correspondingly trained personnel," is what it says underneath as well. I delved into it a bit, thinking maybe I could fix it myself and did some troubleshooting, and all of my other lights work fine, it was mostly the brake light and turn signal that I was worried about, so that's a relief that they're in good shape. On the other hand, that "roadside parking lamp" looks like a royal pain in the ass to remove from what I saw when I took the cover in the cargo bay off to look at it, and the part is going to have to be ordered as it is not a standard bulb that the dealership carries (checked Autozone as well just in case). Anyway, that concludes my tail light fiasco for now, until I can get it looked at tomorrow and *hopefully* fixed by the end of the week!

I'm not sure what lights you're talking about, but if the E90 is anything like the E92, the light modules are very easy to remove, and they were relatively affordable, at least for me. The shipping gets me, but per module it was like $16 I think for the outer ones. Maybe if I grab my old thread, you can see what it's like to access the modules/bulbs.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...8&postcount=30

FWIW, I've never had a bulb go out, but I've got dash warnings twice now. I'm chalking it up to a combo of high resistance reading and/or poltergeist. I apologize if I'm not understanding what's going on, but I rather catch you before you pay for things than after, good luck with it and thanks for the pics.

Originally Posted by Nordic_Kat

Great Pics!
But are you positive that it's a burned out bulb? Generally, if that were the case you should have had an on-board dash warning about it. My guess is that what appeared to be a burned out taillight is perhaps the "intensive brake" light. If you aren't getting a bulb out warning from your instrument cluster, I probably wouldn't stress over it. (If you have your rear foglights enabled, you could always check it by turning them on. )

This feature is actually called "adaptive braking". It's an additional brake light that comes on in both tail lights during hard braking and is a function of the pressure on the brake pedal and/or the deceleration force.

The only way this would be what's going on in the fifth picture is if someone else is driving the car and has slammed on the brakes. I see this all the time at autocrosses and track events. If the car is just sitting there and the extra brake light on the right side is on, then there's something going on with the wiring. Unless the rear fog lights are on and the left one is burned out which may not actually trigger a warning on the dash. But this looks to me like one of the left tail light bulbs is burned out.

Here's what the rear tailights look like on our 335is along with the rear fog lights:

Originally Posted by cruisingbimmer

...I realized that my left taillight is out. It makes me wonder how long - at least within the past week - that I've been driving around like that. In any case, hope you all enjoy the photos!

Fixed.

I see this a lot on pre LCI e90s. Its always either side, but not both.

Originally Posted by Ilovemycar

I'm not sure what lights you're talking about, but if the E90 is anything like the E92, the light modules are very easy to remove, and they were relatively affordable, at least for me. The shipping gets me, but per module it was like $16 I think for the outer ones. Maybe if I grab my old thread, you can see what it's like to access the modules/bulbs.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...8&postcount=30

FWIW, I've never had a bulb go out, but I've got dash warnings twice now. I'm chalking it up to a combo of high resistance reading and/or poltergeist. I apologize if I'm not understanding what's going on, but I rather catch you before you pay for things than after, good luck with it and thanks for the pics.

Thanks a bunch for posting your old thread, from what it looks like, removing the E92 light module was very similar to what I encountered today. I was able to pop it out relatively easily after removing the cover inside the trunk with a flathead screwdriver. Initially the dealership wanted me to order the entire module, but the entire module was not what needed to be replaced - I proved this to them by whipping out my Owner's Manual and physically showing them when we walked out to the car - it was just the one burned out bulb in the center which needed to be ordered since they didn't carry it. It's going to cost me about $4, from what the service manager told me, and I can expect it to come in tomorrow afternoon . Thanks again for the tips and for the compliment.