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| 04-05-2015, 10:21 AM | #1 |
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Major
 
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Anyway to prevent the third brake light from cracking?
I'm about ready to replace my center brake light again and I was hoping there was something more I could do to help keep it intact longer than a couple years. I already tried the replacement springs and stuff from BMW but that didn't help much.
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| 04-05-2015, 10:27 AM | #2 |
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Colonel
 
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Drives: Built not Bought 04 Z4 VF
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Kitchener Ontario Canada
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When I replaced mine 2 years ago I applied a small dab of black RTV sealant at each stud of the light and loosely installed nylock nuts so that the sealant held the light and the springs and nuts are security only.
Light is crack free today
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| 04-05-2015, 12:13 PM | #3 |
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Captain
 
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Bmw used different springs to correct.
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| 04-05-2015, 01:37 PM | #4 | |
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Major
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Quote:
The RTV and loose studs sound like a good idea. I'll give that a try.
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| 04-05-2015, 03:12 PM | #5 |
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Major
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What I ended up doing was making some squishy 'washers' out of some extra weather stripping and wrapping those around the studs to put pressure on the backside of the light instead of the outside edge.
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| 04-06-2015, 05:31 AM | #6 |
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I've had two Z4s and both 3rd brake lights have cracked. In addition to the screw / spring issue, I think it also has something to do with how to close the trunk, so as to not put any pressure on the 3rd brake light. I've made a point to not use my hand to push the top of the trunk lid down, but rather to use the handle grip on the inside of the trunk to flick it closed, so I never touch the top lid.
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| 04-06-2015, 06:16 AM | #7 |
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Brigadier General
 
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My brake light was replaced by a dealer under warranty back in 2010 and its been fine since. I understood that changes of some sort were made to the replacement lights and mounting hardware to prevent cracking. Is it possible that your light and hardware came from an inventory that did not include those corrections?
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| 04-06-2015, 07:35 AM | #8 |
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This is crazy.... BMW should be ashamed, I have replaced mine 2 years ago and it is already showing signs of wear and probably will need to replace it next year.... again.
My first reaction was "a u ff.ing kidding me!?" and later I was like "meh... this is BMW after all, never been perfect on small things" |
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| 04-06-2015, 05:41 PM | #9 |
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My other car is on Mars
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My replacement started to develop little cracks at the edges within about a week.
Got some nylock nuts from Lowes and threaded them 1/2 way on. About a year now, and still OK.
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