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Has anyone had issues with their headlights crazing? I have the standard halogens on my car, and at just 66K miles they look absolutely awful. Thousands of micro-cracks. I don't use any harsh cleaners or chemicals on my car, so I'm not sure what could have caused this other than a manufacturing defect or poor quality part.
Unfortunately, I'm out of warranty, and at $400 per light assembly, I am kind of on the fence about replacing them. Thank God my car doesn't have the LEDs, otherwise I might need to sell a kidney
Cheapest repair is to wet sand to 2000 grit. Start at 800 and work your way up to 2000. Then polish with a rubbing compound then polishing compound then a good synthetic wax. They will shine like brand new after that.
there are lots of YouTube videos on how to do this. Disregard any that show anything but the above recommendation. They dont work. Good luck
Cheapest repair is to wet sand to 2000 grit. Start at 800 and work your way up to 2000. Then polish with a rubbing compound then polishing compound then a good synthetic wax. They will shine like brand new after that.
there are lots of YouTube videos on how to do this. Disregard any that show anything but the above recommendation. They dont work. Good luck
I have this with my 2015 F56S. It doesn’t look to be something that can be polished out as it seems like this is occurring from the inside. The lights have been like this for some time ans even my service advisor asked about them one time. I’m at 46,100 miles and will likely push to have them replaced before the warranty expires. I’m trolling Aliexpress for replacement headlights that look like the upgraded LED models, with the LED DRL ring. I’m hoping they someone starts selling a version of the favelifted lights (with the full LED DRL/turn signal ring, as opposed to the “omega ring”).
I used a DA polisher and rubbing/polishing compound on my 2004 R53 headlights and they came out fine. You will most likely want to either clearcoat or cover them with a clear plastic bra material once you have them clear. That will protect them in the future.
Wow have not seen that on an F56 yet. Its deeper than the top surface. We have options direct from Valeo which is OEM for MINI. I guess you could swap to the white indicator version. We have free shipping on these also. 63117401599 63117401600 are the stock part #'s for the amber lens/ orange flash. 63117401605 and 63117401606 are the clear lens with the amber/orange flash for the turn signals. Also we have a 1 year warranty with these, but if you have a problem we are here for you. My guess is a bad first batch. Valeo's are around the high 200's and for the LED version 600's and up in price. All linked below.
The picture from OP is EXACTLY what my headlights are doing, both sides the same. I have a 2017 with not even 16k miles on it. Had it since brand new. Still under warranty for a couple more months. Hopefully they replace these. Way more noticeable at night, but certain angles of the sun also make it very obvious.
The picture from OP is EXACTLY what my headlights are doing, both sides the same. I have a 2017 with not even 16k miles on it. Had it since brand new. Still under warranty for a couple more months. Hopefully they replace these. Way more noticeable at night, but certain angles of the sun also make it very obvious.
did you get these replaced under warranty? I have a 2020 with less thank 10k miles that this has happened on.
did you get these replaced under warranty? I have a 2020 with less thank 10k miles that this has happened on.
No, they didn't cover it under warranty. Which is annoying because, in my opinion, the cracks are on the inside, not the outside. So I never tried to polish or repair them. I just lived with it until I got a new MINI earlier this year. Old was a 2017 with halogens. My 23 has the LEDs so hopefully they are higher quality.
Had this issue on my 2020 Clubman (still under warranty). BMW did not cover which doesn't seem right as the car only had about 12k miles on it. I also have a 2019 JCW and those look great no issues. Definitely on the inside and there's almost no way this is caused by the owner. Frustrating response for a car under warranty. See pics - black car is my 2020 Clubman, Orange is my 2019 JCW. BMW had no rationale other than not covered, which is not great. I have heard of some folks getting it covered, others not. If anyone has actually had these covered under warranty, would love to have that insight.
No, they didn't cover it under warranty. Which is annoying because, in my opinion, the cracks are on the inside, not the outside. So I never tried to polish or repair them. I just lived with it until I got a new MINI earlier this year. Old was a 2017 with halogens. My 23 has the LEDs so hopefully they are higher quality.
Same result here. I did take it to my local Mini Dealership here in GA and they said Mini wouldn't cover it under warranty. Bizarre that this happens within the headlight housing. I think it's due to heat?
I've seen many "Certified Pre-Owned" MINIs at MINI dealerships with the same issue and there '21-'22 models.
- I find it hard to believe there's not a TSB for this issue... Should be covered under warranty but just like ESC Tuning pointed out, it depends on the Service Department at that dealership.
It may be worth reaching out to MINI's Customer Relations.
Yep, its up to the dealership, good thing we have the lens only above.
Bravo! I literally have less than 7K miles on a certified pre-owned 2020 Mini that I bought in 2023. The lenses on both headlights were the same. I asked the dealership where I bought car, in Miami, if these can be replaced before I drove it off and he said "this is normal wear and isn't covered by the Mini bumper to bumper warranty.." although they replaced my tires as a "reconditioning step" in the sales process. I explained I thought that it didn't make a lot of sense, but OK. He went on to tell me that replacing the headlights would have been necessary at $800 USD / side to address the problem.
Yep, I had things covered by one dealer as the other one I went to did not want to cover it. If both dealers or all dealers say no in your area, then you are stuck and I just fix it myself. Seems like cars down south yellow and crack on the headlights far more easy them the ones up north from what i have seen.
He went on to tell me that replacing the headlights would have been necessary at $800 USD / side to address the problem.
