(I'll preface this by saying that I'm not crazy, I'm not Lady Macbeth imagining blemishes on my car!)

Noticed something weird last night after washing my Mini. I don't usually see my headlights close up while they're lit, so I don't know long this has been the case. Inside my right headlight, there are clearly visible cobwebs. It doesn't look like a spiderweb (and I didn't see a spider!), just a bunch of interconnected strands. It's not all that noticeable; there are probably 25 strands total.

The weird thing is that my left headlight doesn't have this issue, and that left headlight cover is actually cracked along the edge from some sort of impact. The right headlight (the cobwebby one) is totally sealed and intact. I'm trying to figure out what would cause this. Would the headlight create any sort of magnetic or electrical field that would cause particles to bind together? I've taken physics, but it's been a while.

Anyone think I should mention it at my next dealer service, or will I just be laughed at?
_________________

 

I'm having my headlights and taillights replaced right now under warranty because they had a definite film on the inside of the housing. The film is so bad that it started to disperse the light pattern in weird ways. The dealer first thought I was nuts and that it was something on the outside. After I showed it to him, he ordered the parts.

 

It's not mold is it?

 

>>It's not mold is it?

If it is, it's not like any mold I've ever seen, and my company looks at a lot of mold in buildings. It really looks just like cobwebs! I'll try to take a photo tonight, but I'm not sure if it will work.

 

It could possibly be excess sealant, adhesive or silicone, that has "fallen" off the interior rims of your lamps.

Don't be afraid to have it looked into.
It's an aesthetic annoyance and something MINI should be responsible for, seeing that you have not tampered with the lamp casing or what not.

- WCC

 

This problem is not unheard of! Someone in my local club had cobwebs, and a small, white spider (dead) in the RHS headlight of his launch edition Cooper. I'm not sure what the dealer did to rectify it, but his and yours are not the only cars to experience it from what I can recall.

Steve

 

I have the same thing. It looks like stringy hot glue or silicone sealant threads.
Very very fine filament-like and looks like spider webs. I noticed this a few days after taking delivery.
Mentioned it to the dealer and they took note. It doesn't bother me too much, although I've been toying with the idea of having them both replaced under warranty just prior to warranty expiration.
While it's dark out lift the bonnet, turn the lights on and then look at them from a side angle. They really show up on mine from this vantage point.