[Irishnikeeb]

Hi I just picked up a one year old 520i. Since it's first journey the front headlights have been fogged up and to some extent remained and not fully dissipated. The weather here is around freezing for the last 5 days but still is this acceptable and normal? See attached.

[MaxVO2]

Originally Posted by Irishnikeeb

Hi I just picked up a one year old 520i. Since it's first journey the front headlights have been fogged up and to some extent remained and not fully dissipated. The weather here is around freezing for the last 5 days but still is this acceptable and normal? See attached.

****That's not normal. Looks like it has lost its sealing mechanism and humidity has entered the light itself. They are supposed to be sealed units.

[MidnightLight]

BMW headlights aren't meant to be completely sealed, at least in more recent models. Does the fogging clear up when you drive the car with the headlights on? If so, it's probably fine.

This is what it says in my X3's owner's manual:

"The inside of the headlight glass may fog up in cool or damp weather. Condensation will disappear after a short time when driving with the lights on. The headlight glass does not need to be changed. If, despite driving with the headlights switched on, moisture such as water droplets increasingly forms in the light, have the headlights checked."

[Irishnikeeb]

It doesn't clear with driving. In fact driving seems to make it worse?

[tracer bullet]

I'd be interested to know if the lights are completely sealed or if they do have one of the small tubes to allow air exchange in them.

If they are totally sealed, then they are defective. If there's a small tube, then it will clear over time, but might take a while. A dry environment with the hood open and a fan aimed at the engine bay would help. Your Irish weather right now isn't going to do them any favors though.

I'd also be looking into why this happened. Speaking form the view of owning older models that did this, it was water getting in when sprayed up from underneath during a car wash, and it meant that a seal or something related to bulb replacement was out of place. I don't know the details of these particular headlights to say if that's a possibility for them.

If you are a DIY kind of person, you could try some basic investigation. If not, I would certainly say to take it to the dealer and have them have a look. It is certainly not normal, and the longer it goes on the more that corrosion of the electronics can become a problem.

[DomMuc]

this looks normal.. it´s declared as not normal if there where drops bigger than 3mm on the glass