What Causes Your BMW’s Adaptive Headlight To Malfunction?

The headlights on a BMW are often called adaptive headlights. This is because they can move the projection of light to the right or left based on how you drive. This provides more clarity to the driver when they turn or go around corners. When they work properly, they can limit blind spots and reduce accidents on the road.

Some models of the BMW will take these headlights to the next level with automated LED headlights. These lights have the ability to change the brightness when a car comes closer. A light camera inside the headlights can detect the lights from another vehicle. With all of these sensors and electronic parts inside a simple headlight, it is easy to see how something can go wrong with the headlights.

Adaptive Headlights Failure

Car owners may notice a few different things that cause their adaptive headlights to fail. The BMW has many different components that come together to provide one of the best cars on the market. Since all of these parts work with one another, if something stops working, it may affect the others. Some of the causes of automated headlight failure in a BMW includes problems with the features below.

Adaptive Headlight Module

This module is found right under the headlight housing. In the BMW, it may be known as the Stepper Motor Controller or SMC. Since this is a control module, if it gets wet, it may stop working. The car owner needs to be careful about what kinds of liquids get near the module. Dropping your coffee on it or even heavy rain and flooding can get into the module and cause the adaptive headlight to malfunction.

When water does get into the adaptive headlight module, an error message will display on the BMW dashboard. As soon as this error message shows up, take your BMW into a certified mechanic to get the adaptive headlights fixed.

Headlight Seal

The access door around the headlights in a BMW should have a seal in place. The design of this seal is to prevent water from entering that area. BMW owners should check that seal and make sure it is secure if they ever open that access door to clean or replace a bulb. Without the seal properly in place, it is easy for water and moisture to get into the electrical components and cause trouble. Check that the seal is in place if you ever open the access door.

Stepper Motor

The stepper motor is important to your car. It is responsible for turning the beam projector any time you turn a corner. You can find this inside the headlight and the power comes from the control module right under the headlight. Over time, the motor for this can burn out. Sometimes the connection that is there between the projector will get damaged as well.

Repairing Headlight Malfunctions

Outside of cleaning the headlights or changing out a bulb, it is best for most car owners to leave any headlight repair and maintenance to a professional mechanic. BMW headlights utilize intricate electronics and include various modules and motors that are easy to short circuit. Most car owners do not have the right electrical experience to handle the headlights on their own, and attempting to do this may cause more damage to the vehicle or electrical shock to yourself.

When your automated adaptive headlights start to malfunction, it is time to visit a certified BMW mechanic as soon as possible. Import Car Center will provide you with a full inspection of your headlight issue. We have the right experience to get the issue taken care of right away. Maintaining your headlights is critical when driving around at night. Let our professionals take care of them for you.

Your headlights are important to helping you see well at night. When they work properly on the BMW, they reduce accidents and illuminate blind spots as you drive. At Import Car Center, our qualified mechanics are here to help with any headlight problem on your BMW. We are proud to serve our customers in Colleyville, Keller, Southlake, Westlake, and Grapevine, TX. Contact us today to set up your appointment. We look forward to seeing you soon.

* BMW 520d image credit goes to: DarthArt.