Hi everyone!

I just bought a 2010 JCW Convertible. It's a fun little car to drive and I'm slowly learning about it.

I tried to search for my issue but didn't come across anything. I have halogen headlights and I noticed that the chromed plastic trim around one of them appears to have deformed from heat.

Is this a common issue?

 

I guess I can't post a pic yet since I'm new.

 

Picture!
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Those are actually the halogen headlamps, and I can't say I've seen that issue pop up on here before. That's the trim that is on the inside of the headlight, right? Maybe the previous owner replaced the halogen's with HID's or something and they're producing too much heat?

 

Sorry my mistake. I don't have the original window sticker to tell me what options I have.

But yes it is the internal trim piece that is melted. I take it you can't remove that piece.

 

exactly my thought ....

the headlight is sold as a 'unit', no individual pieces that I've ever seen. Some folks HAVE used heat to open them up and paint the inside, so I suppose you could swap a part, but where to get it? A salvage yard would be best shot but then why not just get the whole thing .....

p.s. saw something similar a while back when I was brought a car where the headlights were shorting out. I discovered that all the wires inside the unit, and the feeders close to the plug had all the insulation baked to a crisp. It had gotten brittle and was flaking off the wires leaving bare copper which eventually touched. TOO HOT bulbs was my only guess altho 'normal' ones were in there when the owner bought the car recently ... Only fix was to replace both headlight units in their entirety.

 

If you want to know the exact options your car came with, check out bmwvin.com and enter the last 7 digits of your vin to get the build sheet. It won't tell you what packages like Sport package, Tech package but it'll give you all the individual options that came in those packages.

 

Those are obviously the halogen headlights. I had the same on my 2011 MCS until I recently upgraded to projector beams. Previously, in the search for better lighting with my stock halogens, I bought some 80/100w headlight bulbs on eBay. They were a bit brighter, but I noticed that the reflector was starting to discolor from the extra heat generated by the higher wattage bulbs. Not the top trim piece inside the headlight assembly, like in beatenpath's pic, just the reflector. But I am still going with 3lusive...some previous owner tried to fit some kind of aftermarket bulb, and it generated too much heat, warping the internal chrome trim.

 

I wish I could just repair that melted area. Sigh!

I guess when it starts really bothering me, I'll start researching some headlight alternatives...