Hi all,

The dash warning light for exterior lights popped up a week ago (looks like a fog light with an exclamation mark). I replaced the license plate light that was burnt out but the light didn't go away. I scoured the car for any possible light that was still burnt out to no avail. WHY WAS THIS LIGHT ON?! I took it to the dealer since it's under a CPO warranty. They looked at the car, confirmed that there indeed was no light out, and then said it's a software malfunction... but software coding isn't covered under the CPO warranty. Of course it isn't. I'm beginning to learn that nothing is.

He said that the warning light will be illuminated as long as I own the car if I decide not to pay the dealer to re-code the car. Is this how the future of owning a car will be? Forever more tethered to the dealer's computer? This is beyond frustrating.

Has anyone else here experienced this? Is the dealer re-code really the solution or is there an aftermarket solution available?

Cheers,
Brandon

 

Just to be 100% sure they checked all the lights did they check the license plate lights. These are often overlooked unless checking at night where it would be more obvious if one was out. Maybe a long shot but worth a look?

 

That's the light I replaced. They all work, yes.

 

Thats a bunch of BS.
The coding will be used to turn OFF the warning.
You need to find the source, check ALL the lights again.
Fog lights, all marker lights, low beam , high beam.
Interior lights.
What did you replace the license plate light with? LED??

 

I had the license plate light issue, and I had one of the replacement bulbs go bad in a week or so. On my car, one of the sockets was intermittent as well, so one time they would both be on, then another time only one would be on.

I don't know if the corner marker lights would trip the warning or not, but check at night as advised above.

Mike

 

I had similar issue with BMW, I traced it to a frayed wire. 2 inches of electric tape and problem solved. It took me months of looking to find that.

The current state and future of continued dealer involvement with cars sucks. My indy mechanic has zero of the electronic tools to work on mini or many other brands.

 

I'd be calling MINI USA...It's under warranty. They will fix it.

 

Follow up >>> I told the dealer that it totally sucks to be so tethered to them for something so obviously defective with the car. They agreed and fixed it after all. Instances like this make me really miss my E30.