Water in taillight + electrical short

alyssariffic · 08-24-2015, 09:16 AM

Hello All,

I'm new to BMW ownership, having owned my car for a bit over a month. Unfortunately, it's spent almost as much time at the shop as it has in my ownership.

I have a 2013 135is, but about 2 weeks after I bought it we had a freak hail storm in our area (we don't really get hail, and what we saw was the largest on record in our area). It caused some relatively minor dings that were pulled out with paintless dent removal, so no big headache there.

The bigger issue is - the rear passenger taillight was cracked by the hail. Nothing shattered- just a crack in the light so theoretically it still wouldn't allow much, if any, water penetration.

The new taillight wasn't in at the time the dent removal was done, and I suspect the shop may have removed the broken one and kept the car outside while waiting on the new one to arrive later that week. During the 3 days, there was a big rainstorm. One minute I was told my car was done, and a few hours later I was told that on the way to bring it to the dealership for me to pickup, a bunch of warning lights came in, and upon investigation they found water in the taillight area that caused the electrical system to short out.

Question for those in the know - I sure as hell don't trust their word anymore, and am worried about the long term implications of this. What should I be looking for when they do finally say it's fixed? Obviously, I plan to check that all the electrical gadgets are working fine, and am considering taking off the taillight just to make sure everything looks okay visually, but I'm curious if there's anything else I should worry about. I'm pretty livid about this, to be honest. Especially since I pushed to have a BMW approved bodyshop handle the hail dings so I wouldn't have any issues with warranty, only to have them leave the taillight off in the rain and cause electrical issues on top of that.

Thanks!

comtrang · 08-30-2015, 12:32 AM

I'm going to be making a quick DIY thread in the next day or two for when a taillight gets water in it/fries the board inside. Ultimately you should be alright and at worst may need to find someone else's salvaged taillight to pull a working board from. Aside from that you should be good.

alyssariffic · 08-30-2015, 10:50 AM

Thanks for the response. After getting the insurance appraisal update today, it looks like it's a comfort control module. I came across this thread when I was googling about the module: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263161

So, it sounds like it's a somewhat common problem. Basically if you spill something in the trunk you might be SOL.

Certainly sucks, but I definitely feel better now that i know what the part is - when the shop mentioned warning lights all over the place and electrical issues, I got worried.

It quickly turned from "getting a couple dings and cracked taillight from hail pulled out" to "sitting in the shop, waiting for parts." At this point, the shop has had my car longer than I've owned it... but that'll happen when hail beats on it right after you buy it. I just want my baby back :-(

08-24-2015, 09:16 AM	#1
alyssariffic New Member 0 Rep 6 Posts Drives: 2013 135is Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Boston MA iTrader: (0)	Water in taillight + electrical short - what should I worry about here? Hello All, I'm new to BMW ownership, having owned my car for a bit over a month. Unfortunately, it's spent almost as much time at the shop as it has in my ownership. I have a 2013 135is, but about 2 weeks after I bought it we had a freak hail storm in our area (we don't really get hail, and what we saw was the largest on record in our area). It caused some relatively minor dings that were pulled out with paintless dent removal, so no big headache there. The bigger issue is - the rear passenger taillight was cracked by the hail. Nothing shattered- just a crack in the light so theoretically it still wouldn't allow much, if any, water penetration. The new taillight wasn't in at the time the dent removal was done, and I suspect the shop may have removed the broken one and kept the car outside while waiting on the new one to arrive later that week. During the 3 days, there was a big rainstorm. One minute I was told my car was done, and a few hours later I was told that on the way to bring it to the dealership for me to pickup, a bunch of warning lights came in, and upon investigation they found water in the taillight area that caused the electrical system to short out. Question for those in the know - I sure as hell don't trust their word anymore, and am worried about the long term implications of this. What should I be looking for when they do finally say it's fixed? Obviously, I plan to check that all the electrical gadgets are working fine, and am considering taking off the taillight just to make sure everything looks okay visually, but I'm curious if there's anything else I should worry about. I'm pretty livid about this, to be honest. Especially since I pushed to have a BMW approved bodyshop handle the hail dings so I wouldn't have any issues with warranty, only to have them leave the taillight off in the rain and cause electrical issues on top of that. Thanks!
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08-30-2015, 12:32 AM	#2
comtrang Workin' hard 17 Rep 162 Posts Drives: '08 135i in AW/Terracotta Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Kansas City, MO iTrader: (1)	I'm going to be making a quick DIY thread in the next day or two for when a taillight gets water in it/fries the board inside. Ultimately you should be alright and at worst may need to find someone else's salvaged taillight to pull a working board from. Aside from that you should be good.
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08-30-2015, 10:50 AM	#3
alyssariffic New Member 0 Rep 6 Posts Drives: 2013 135is Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Boston MA iTrader: (0)	Thanks for the response. After getting the insurance appraisal update today, it looks like it's a comfort control module. I came across this thread when I was googling about the module: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263161 So, it sounds like it's a somewhat common problem. Basically if you spill something in the trunk you might be SOL. Certainly sucks, but I definitely feel better now that i know what the part is - when the shop mentioned warning lights all over the place and electrical issues, I got worried. It quickly turned from "getting a couple dings and cracked taillight from hail pulled out" to "sitting in the shop, waiting for parts." At this point, the shop has had my car longer than I've owned it... but that'll happen when hail beats on it right after you buy it. I just want my baby back :-(
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