[AbsolutRufuus]

Hi,

So I picked up my new G20 330e 6 days ago and I'm very happy with it so far. But yesterday I was out driving for 10-15 minutes in the rain. When I got back home I noticed that the left front headlight had gotten moist (is moist the correct word?.. Condensation? You know what I mean) inside the headlight. The right one also got a little bit but not as much as the left one. This doesn't feel like BMW quality, right? I'm waiting for a call from the local BMW reseller service center. Just wanted to see if anyone else have had the same issue och if you've got any thoughts.

I should've wiped of the headlights for a better view, but I think you can see it anyway, especially on the left headlight.

[SteveinArizona]

I had a 2016 330e and never had this happen. I am now almost two full years into ownership of a 530e and it still hasn't happened. I did and do have the adaptive headlights so if you have the standard ones, my experience is not transferrable (and even if you have the same ones it is still anecdotal and proves nothing).

I think you car might have been built during a world cup game. I thought that BMW put all its cars through a thorough drenching as part of the build process but apparently not in your case.

[TTG]

Completely NORMAL. All of my BMW's have done this (and I had many).

It never happened to SteveinArizona, bec he lives in Arizona! What? the coldest temp down there is 65F (~20C)

I say there is nothing to worry about and there are countless threads across BMW forums.

[A6bullet]

Never seen this in any of my cars, I would say something might be wrong..

[premier3is]

Not normal, you may have a small crack somewhere behind the housing, check if you see anything which would allow the moisture to develop inside.

[Poochie]

Some headlight condensation is normal but that looks a little too drenched...

[BarryB]

That does not look normal to me either. I would take it to the service dept and see what they say. Had both headlights replaced in my wife's M4 due to condensation inside.

[AbsolutRufuus]

Thank you for all your replies! I contacted the sales rep at BMW and he sent it to their warranty department. So I'm awaiting further information from them. I know it's probably not "dangerous" or too bad for the headlight. But it just doesn't feel like BMW build quality and it looks kind of bad. So I would prefer to have it replaced. I'll keep you guys posted!

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by TTG

Completely NORMAL. All of my BMW's have done this (and I had many).

It never happened to SteveinArizona, bec he lives in Arizona! What? the coldest temp down there is 65F (~20C)

I say there is nothing to worry about and there are countless threads across BMW forums.

Exactly, all depends on our weather. I occasionally see it in my current car, as I did in previous BMWs. (Age of vehicle makes no difference). It is all about user conditions, how much moisture and whether it disperses after the event.

I parked by a Z4 at the weekend with one 'wet' headlight. That clearly had a problem, due to the size of droplets and was not the normal moisture levels we see regularly.

All user manuals carry something like the following.

Headlamp glass
Condensation can form on the inside of the external lamps in cool or humid weather. When the light is switched on, the condensation evaporates after a short time. The headlamp glasses do not need to be changed.
If there is a large amount of moisture, e.g., water droplets form in the lamp, have it checked by your service center.

[mathys]

I have had it in the past, only on limited days throughout the year. Mine and the pictures above are in the cat A.

[AbsolutRufuus]

Ok, so the warranty department at BMW contacted me. They say it's normal on shorter trips. But if I want to they can take a look at it.

Don't know if it's worth the trouble to be honest, if it's normal.

[upsidedownfunnel]

All headlight enclosure are vented to the environment. Typically they will only warranty replace for this if there is a lot more condensation which doesn't evaporate cleanly after you have your headlights on for a few minutes. Your headlights have very light condensation inside the lens. It can actually be much worse in some situations.

These threads are fairly common and a lot of people who have never noticed it will say it's not normal. It is normal though as long as it goes away and you don't see staining.

[BarryB]

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

All headlight enclosure are vented to the environment. Typically they will only warranty replace for this if there is a lot more condensation which doesn't evaporate cleanly after you have your headlights on for a few minutes. Your headlights have very light condensation inside the lens. It can actually be much worse in some situations.

These threads are fairly common and a lot of people who have never noticed it will say it's not normal. It is normal though as long as it goes away and you don't see staining.

Correct, persistent water is NOT normal and what we had on the M4

[Weiner0123]

Not normal!! Needs to be replaced

[upsidedownfunnel]

Some of the confusion in this thread might come from the fact that most of the water in the picture are drops of water outside the lens. The condensation in the lens is very light and looks more like a very light mist.

[Poochie]

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

Some of the confusion in this thread might come from the fact that most of the water in the picture are drops of water outside the lens. The condensation in the lens is very light and looks more like a very light mist.

Damn, I can't believe I didn't notice the obvious.. I guess I expected the OP to state that before sharing the photo or at least wipe away the external surface water to highlight the issue in question.

You're right, the headlights are fine.

[AbsolutRufuus]

Originally Posted by Poochie

Damn, I can't believe I didn't notice the obvious.. I guess I expected the OP to state that before sharing the photo or at least wipe away the external surface water to highlight the issue in question.

You're right, the headlights are fine.

Haha, it happens. I actually posted that I forgot to wipe of the headlights before taking the pictures. I was in a rush and just took the pictures to show a couple of friends. Then I ended up posting them here anyway.

But yeah, from what I can read in the comments it seems quite normal so I won't continue my discussion with BMW.

Thanks everyone!

[TNT33333]

I received my G21 two days ago in the UK ( torrential rain ) and it had condensation in the lights like the OP’s photo without the outside droplets. I am going to monitor it because I have had five BMW’s from new and none of them had condensation.I have always checked for it as the last time I had condensation in my headlights was on a 2004 Skoda Octavia, and they replaced both headlights under warranty . The fogging never came back.

[Lilbit221959]

I am having a problem with my passenger side headlamp collecting condensation, does anyone know the part number for factory installed headlights on a 2004 BMW Z4 certified mechanics in Orlando are clueless. Its quite frustrating knowing more about some parts on cars as a woman than some certified mechanics. Any help here would be appreciated

[sspdw]

Originally Posted by Lilbit221959

I am having a problem with my passenger side headlamp collecting condensation, does anyone know the part number for factory installed headlights on a 2004 BMW Z4 certified mechanics in Orlando are clueless. Its quite frustrating knowing more about some parts on cars as a woman than some certified mechanics. Any help here would be appreciated

If its very humid and big differences in temperature you will get condensation occationally, but if you see waterdrops in the housing its not normal.

[Andy3661]

Originally Posted by AbsolutRufuus

Hi,

So I picked up my new G20 330e 6 days ago and I'm very happy with it so far. But yesterday I was out driving for 10-15 minutes in the rain. When I got back home I noticed that the left front headlight had gotten moist (is moist the correct word?.. Condensation? You know what I mean) inside the headlight. The right one also got a little bit but not as much as the left one. This doesn't feel like BMW quality, right? I'm waiting for a call from the local BMW reseller service center. Just wanted to see if anyone else have had the same issue och if you've got any thoughts.

I should've wiped of the headlights for a better view, but I think you can see it anyway, especially on the left headlight.

I had this problem when I picked my car. Dealer where I bought it said it was normal but when I took it to my local dealer they said it needs a new headlight.

If not in warranty would have cost me 2.5k plus vat as they are laser lights.

[Burrcold]

I've seen a tiny bit of moisture in the corner of my headlights (close to the grille) but nothing that crazy.