Adaptive headlight issue?
- Thread starter aicpjim
- Start date
Smoketrail72
New member
Found the same problem with my 22 TC las month. For those in Canada here is the Transport Canada website to report vehicle defects. Not sure if American recall will automatically come north at same time or not.
https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transp...-safety-defect-vehicles-tires-child-car-seats
https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transp...-safety-defect-vehicles-tires-child-car-seats
Scott Semone
Well-known member
I could see headlights that were recently replaced, having to be replaced again if the recall requires a totally new redesign of the original headlights.
Meaning... My headlight might have been replaced, simply by the same faulty designed hardware that is part of the BMW supply chain.
Meaning... My headlight might have been replaced, simply by the same faulty designed hardware that is part of the BMW supply chain.
Just picked up a part from my dealer and asked about the recall. They can see it in their system, but listed as “no remedy”. The bmw USA site doesn’t bring up anything yet, so I wonder if they’re waiting for the remedy to formally issue the recall notices to owners.
Further
Member
so if there is no remedy, what did that replace my defective light with? another potentially defective light??
Most likely because as far as I am aware BMW has not come up with an alternative or upgraded unit.
Right - smart money goes to the notion that, to date, they replaced any faulty units with units of the same design and failure/fault potential.
I’d imagine the recall replaces all existing adaptive headlights, whether you’ve had a replacement or not. I’d expect them to be redesigned to some degree. It’ll depend on what bmw finds as the culprit though. As it goes, it seems like the lights are failing due to the vibration of the bike itself. I wonder though if the adaptive movement itself has some blame and might be adjusted through a software patch. Just spitballing. Would be lovely to have a fix by May, but the dealer didn’t know anything.
Batt13
Member
Spoke to my Dealer yesterday they had no information on the headlight issue. I just purchase the bike & couldn’t take possession until the issue is resolved. Once I get word I will share with the forum.
Has anyone got their hands on the new version yet? Curious if they look different or if there is a simple way to tell what changes were made
Still in “no remedy” status for NA owners. I’d bet it’ll be late summer before we get a fix. If even then.
Get a part number and a price from your local BMW dealership. Hold on to it. When the part number changes or gets superceded, it will be the new improved headlight, if BMW ever does improve it.
Batt13
Member
I just reached out to the sales manager from my dealership where I purchased the bike still no info from BMW. He stated that he anxious to have this resolved so he can sell the bikes that are included in the recall. Hope there is a resolution soon
Berardi3
Active member
Still Disappointed
BoxerBryan
New member
After the oil leak, failed valve guide seals, and headlight I threw in the towel. Got a Street Glide ST and a REPAIR MANUAL. Shame bc I thought the ride and features were excellent.
BMWmech64
New member
Agreed, the adaptive headlight on a bike is overkill; especially the R18's. These bikes are not going to be used to go canyon carving in the dark, they are however more apt to be going down a moderately straight highway during the hours of darkness. I'm pretty confident that all the riders buying the R18's are pretty seasoned riders that know how to steer bikes with minimal movement of the front wheel, and proper leaning. That's one thing I hated as a tech, BMW try's to put all the car gadgetry on their bikes, resulting in costlier and longer repairs.
I mean yeah, Harley Davidsons never have oil leaks. /sarcasm
Look, the Street Guide had two recalls within three months at the end of 2023, both were related to actual physical crash risks. Harley issues a dozen recalls a year, often affecting hundreds of thousands of motorcycles at a time.
You can literally find whole threads about Harley valve guide seal failures. Harleys have tons of reliability issues. They are not special in that regard.
The *only* benefit is there is a H-D dealership in nearly every significant size town, and several in any metro area. On top of that, lots of independent shops work on them and you can get parts for them. I have thought a lot about this because BMW and Triumph have almost nowhere to get bikes worked on, and places they do have tend to be monopolies so can treat people stupidly when they have bad ownership or management. In my area there are two separately owned BMW dealerships, and one single company for Triumph (which coincidentally also owns one of the BMW dealerships). I am screwed when it comes to competition for service in my region.
I want people to ride the bike they love. Ride what you want. The main point is to ride - and a motorcycle is a good thing regardless of who makes it. Just ride.
But to be all "OMG there is a headlight recall - I hate this brand!" is kind of silly. Maybe you just wanted a Harley to begin with?
I am super annoyed with this headlight recall, I think it is a dumb thing for BMW to have done here - as others have commented. This headlight is way over-engineered and serves no real purpose.
I rarely even lean my sportier Triumph Tiger over far enough to trigger the adaptive cornering LEDs - and I don't think I would ride that aggressively in the dark. I mean who is driving their R-18 TC hard enough in the dark to actually benefit from the adaptive headlight?
Just take the damn thing out and put a basic but good (and I would add - good looking) LED headlight. We just need it to work and look as beautiful as the rest of the bike. No one needs the corning capability on the R18 TC.
As an aside, I do love the cornering headlights in my truck - especially when driving into a campsite after dark.
So I am not opposed to the concept - just the implementation on a motorcycle can be strange.BMWmech64
New member
I find it hard to believe that the light can’t be opened and repaired. On Facebook, a lady received a response from BMW stating that they will not replace the light with a standard one.
Well with regard to "potentially other issues that might come up", it's a motorcycle. All motorcycles have potential issues. I have had some with better luck than others.
My light has not yet broken - but I certainly understand how frustrated you may be with a bike you have not even yet been able to bring home yet.
I am not sure where you are along your purchase process - but yeah - I would either want some compensation from BMW or I would back out of the deal if I could. It is kind of absurd.
But I expect - the grass is always greener. But then you get to the other side and weeds exist everywhere. I have had to really just disconnect myself from caring anymore because I am so frustrated how hard it is to get good customer service with these very expensive toys. We pay a premium for the brand and then we still have the same BS as if we bought a cheap bike from the lowest cost supplier.
I have emailed BMW a couple times on this for my own purposes, they need to know that people are watching.
What makes me nervous, is that people have not even figured out how to make things like brake-light modulators work with the TC yet - somehow BMW has done something weird with the bus that makes it complain whenever anyone plugs anything in and so I bet we would have a similar problem with the headlight. But if it fits, I would put in one of the lower tech versions in from the other R18...
BMWmech64
New member
It’s funny how this problem is only with the B & TC models. The Roctane has an adaptive headlight, and they don’t seem to be affected.