2008 BMW 528I

REAR EXTERIOR LIGHTS(BRAKE, TAIL, & TURN SIGNAL) - MELTED WIRE ASSEMBLY IS CAUSING MALFUNCTION. WHILE DRIVING I NOTICED A "BURNING" SMELL. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, ALL AT ONCE MY DASH INDICATED THAT MY PASSENGER SIDE TAIL LIGHT, BRAKE LIGHT, AND TURN SIGNAL HAD SIMULTANEOUSLY MALFUNCTIONED. THE WIRING HARNESS THAT ATTACHES TO THE LIGHT ASSEMBLY IS MELTED. BMW DID A RECALL OF OVER 2,500 3-SERIES VEHICLES FOR THE EXACT SAME ISSUE BUT HAS NOT RECALLED THE 5-SERIES (????) THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. *TR

I HAVE A 2008 BMW 528I WITH 56,000 MILES WITH A CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED WARRANTY (THE FULL FACTORY WARRANTY EXPIRED LESS THAN A YEAR AGO). THE VEHICLE COMPUTER IDENTIFIED 3 FAULTS AND THE ENTIRE REAR PASSENGER TAIL LIGHT CLUSTER IS NON-OPERATIONAL. I ATTEMPTED TO REPLACE THE BULBS AND THE ISSUE WAS NOT RESOLVED. I THEN TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A BMW DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR; I WAS SURPRISED WHEN THE ADVISOR INFORMED ME THE ISSUE IS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY (CPO) AND WILL COST $400+ TO REPAIR. THE REAR LIGHTS ARE A CRITICAL SAFETY COMPONENT FOR ANY AUTOMOBILE AND MUST BE OPERATIONAL AT ALL TIMES. I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT THIS REPAIR WILL NOT BE COVERED UNDER THE CPO WARRANTY. I CHOSE TO CONTACT BMW AND CHALLENGE THE WARRANTY COVERAGE BASED ON THE COMPONENT CRITICALITY. BMW DID NOT AGREE WITH MY POSITION AND STATED THE REPAIR WILL NOT BE COVERED BY BMW. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION OF THE VEHICLE AND TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY I IDENTIFIED THAT A WIRE HAS SHORTED AND MELTED SEVERAL PLASTIC PARTS RELATING TO THE TAIL LIGHT CLUSTER. BOTH THE LIGHT HOUSING AND THE WIRE ADAPTER ARE NO LONGER OPERATIONAL DUE TO THE BURNED AREA. I AM LUCKY THIS ELECTRICAL SHORT DID NOT START A FIRE BECAUSE IT IS LOCATED CLOSE TO THE BATTERY AND GAS PORT. I PERFORMED A QUICK SEARCH ONLINE AND REALIZED SEVERAL OTHER BMW 5-SERIES OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE VERY SAME ISSUE WITH THEIR VEHICLES. *TR

ON OR ABOUT 25 MAY 2013, I STARTED HEARING A INTERMITTENT BEEPING SOUND INSIDE THE CAR, HOWEVER THERE WAS NO WARNING ON THE DASH BOARD SCREEN THEREFORE IT WAS HARD TO TRACE THE PROBLEM. THE INTERMITTENT BEEPING WOULD START AND STOP, WHILE DRIVING MAKING ME VERY NERVOUS BECAUSE I WASN'T SURE WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. THE BEEPING SOUND CHANGED TO SOUND OF SOMETHING TRYING TO RESET ITSELF LIKE A RESET PATTERN. NEXT ON 6 APR 2013, WHILE INSIDE A PARKING I THOUGHT I SEEN MY RIGHT TAIL LIGHT BLINK ON & OFF. THEN ON 8 APR 2013, I NOTICE MY RIGHT TAIL WAS OUT, SO I PURCHASED AND INSTALLED A NEW TAIL BULB BUT IT DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM. AFTER RESEARCHING, I FOUND IT WAS LED PROBLEM AND COULD ONLY BE FIXED BY A BMW SHOP. THE BMW MANUAL SUGGESTED TAKING THE CAR TO THE BMW DEALERSHIP, ON 16 APR 2013 I TOOK THE CAR TO I.G. BURTON THAT'S WHEN THEIR INSPECTION FOUND " RIGHT REAR TAIL LIGHT IS OUT ( FOUND THAT GROUND WIRE IS BURNT AND BULB HOLDER IS BURNT) RECOMMEND REPLACING BULB HOLDER AND GROUND WIRE. IT COST ME $374.48 TO HAVE THE PROBLEM FIXED. *TR

THE WARNING CAME ON THAT THE RIGHT REAR TAIL LIGHT MALFUNCTIONED. WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS THE WARNING WENT AWAY BUT THEN CAME BACK INTERMITTENTLY AND ALSO STATED THAT THE RIGHT REAR BRAKE LIGHT AND TURN SIGNAL HAD MALFUNCTIONED. THESE WARNINGS GO ON AND OFF SO MY HUSBAND PULLED THE HOUSING FOR THE LIGHT OUT AND DISCOVERED THE CONNECTOR PLUG AND HOUSING HAD MELTED BECAUSE THE BROWN WIRE WAS BURNT AND MELTED. SO HE WENT TO THE DEALER SHIP TO GET ANOTHER HOUSING UNIT AND NEW CONNECTOR TO FIX THE PROBLEM. AND A FEW MONTHS LATER THE OTHER SIDE HAD THE SAME ISSUE AND HE REPLACED IT AS WELL... NOW BOTH ARE BURNT AGAIN. I CALLED THE DEALER SHIP TO TAKE MY CAR IN FOR THIS ISSUE AND THEY WANT $140 TO LOOK AT IT AND THEY SAID THEY HAVE NOT HEARD OF THIS ISSUE BEFORE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND NOW THAT I LOOK ONLINE IT LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE WITH THIS YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL HAVE THE SAME THING GOING ON. THIS NEEDS TO BE A RECALL. I FEEL LIKE THIS WILL KEEP HAPPENING SINCE BOTH HAVE BEEN REPLACED ALREADY AND IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN. SOMETHING IS WRONG. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 BMW 528I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT A STRONG BURNING ODOR WAS EMITTED IN THE TRUNK AREA WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO START THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR FURTHER INSPECTION. THE FAILURE WAS LOCATED AT THE BATTERY CABLES, WHICH WERE NOT PROPERLY CONNECTED. PRIOR TO THE FAILURE, THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 12V126000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: BATTERY: CABLES). THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 137,300.

I TURNED MY CAR ON AND IT INSTANTLY NOTIFIED ME THAT MY TAILLIGHT WAS OUT. THEN I STEPPED OUT AND TAPPED THE TAILLIGHT AND IT WENT BACK ON THEN I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP THE NEXT DAY NOW THEY ARE SAYING THE CONNECTORS ARE BURNT AND THEY WANT ME TO PAY 200$ TO REPAIR SOMETHING THAT THE MANUFACTURE SHOULD OF CORRECTED AND PERFECTED THIS IS RIDICULOUS HOPE SOMEONE HELPS ME. *TR

WARNING CAME ON THAT THE RIGHT REAR TAIL LIGHT MALFUNCTIONED. WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS THE WARNING WENT AWAY BUT THEN CAME BACK INTERMITTENTLY AND ALSO STATED THAT THE RIGHT REAR BRAKE LIGHT AND TURN SIGNAL HAD MALFUNCTIONED. THESE WARNINGS WERE INTERMITTENT. ABOUT A WEEK LATER THE SIGNALS CAME ON EVERY TIME THE CAR WAS DRIVEN. I LOOKED AT THE LIGHTING HOUSING AND DISCOVERED THAT BOTH THE PLUG AND HOUSING HAD MELTED DUE TO A BROWN WIRE. I WILL BE TAKING THE CAR TO THE SHOP TOMORROW TO GET FIXED BUT IT SEEMS MORE DAMAGE COULD HAVE BEEN DONE UNLESS I DISCOVERED THE EXISTENCE OF THE PROBLEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 BMW 528I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN THE RECALL ASSOCIATED WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 12V126000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:BATTERY:CABLES). AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THE PARTS NEEDED TO PERFORM THE RECALL REPAIR WERE ON A NATIONAL BACK ORDER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND STATED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 32,000.