Foglamp - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

se · 22nd December 2001, 14:40

Folks,

For the second time in 1 month, the left side fog lamp has cracked and it looks like a rock hit it

I was wondering what the chances are of that happening because I was thinking - TWICE??? IN ONE MONTH?????

Anyway, got stuck the first time with a $170 bill for the foglamp because they have to sell the whole unit and not only the cover ... now another $170???
Has anyone out there experience cracks multiple times on the same foglamp?
Could it be stress fractures or something??
Also, is there a cost-effective solution for this - other than having Trasco build me a bullet-proof foglamp

livenupe · 22nd December 2001, 15:47

A few years ago, I had a similar experience with my 1998 528. Within a 4 month period, I replaced the passenger side fog light 3 times. This happened when I lived in Chicago during my first winter with the car. I started to ask the same questions you're asking.

In retrospect, it was just a series of random occurences. I had the car for a little less than 3 years and never replaced the fog lamps again after that first winter. I've had my beast for a little more than a year now, and I haven't had any issues with cracked fog lights. I guess I was the lucky winner of the flying road debris lotto that year. My guess is that you've just had a streak of bad luck that will hopefully pass soon.

atomic80 · 22nd December 2001, 16:16

It's for that reason that I highly recommend getting stongard light. Instead of putting stongard clear bra on the entire front end, you'd just put a thicker sheet on just the headlights including the foglights. It's about $50-$60. Probably cheaper if you use your bmwcca membership discount. Go to stongard.com to find a local retailer in your area. I haven't had ANY chipped/cracked headlights/fogs since I started putting these on!

Jason

Need4Spd · 22nd December 2001, 19:29

The fog lights are down low and it's just a matter of random occurence. I cracked one of mine fairly early on, and it was clear it got hit by a rock or something. The dealer actually tried to talk me out of fixing it, but I didn't want a cracked lens on my nearly new car. So, I changed it myself. It took all of 10 minutes. It's been more the 16,000 miles now, and so far, so good. But it could have cracked again the next day. So, you just have to take your chances. Get the replacement from someone like The BMW Store in Cincinnati. You can at least get the replacement at a good discount.