[mcfly335i]

woke up to find two holes (missing caps) in the front bumper. now the headlamp washers arent working and the dealer is saying bring it in for overnight service, and even if its just the covers, they dont come stock painted, so they would need to be ordered and painted. this seems like a royal drag... any alternatives? car is leased, so looking for an affordable solution.

[Ender514]

wow, someone stole them? people are unbelievable

[fdriller9]

The sad part is that it's probably another E90 owner that needed the covers. Try look for some at a junk yard. Possibly a car totaled from the back.

[jpsum]

get a pair of carbon fiber ones

[bmw-hoya]

Originally Posted by jpsum

get a pair of carbon fiber ones

Do they really have carbon fiber ones??? That would be awesome if they did.

[JFU]

Originally Posted by bmw-hoya

Do they really have carbon fiber ones??? That would be awesome if they did.

Quick! All the vendors should take note! New Market!

in all seriousness, the junk yard idea sounds good.
never know what you might find there.
But some owners might be not so nice, and you have to really negotiate a fair price.

[Kiemyster]

this happens alot in long island NY.... sadly. i know a few peple with e90's whos headlight washers got stolen.... what a bunch of shit.

[The HACK]

I don't know if someone stole them. they are not securely attached with anything but two small "clip" like structure on each side of the cover. Since the cover opens up every 3 wipes of the windshield wiper, it is entirely possible, if you're driving in poor weather on the freeway, that they would fly off and you wouldn't even know about it.

I drive my MZ4 Coupe exclusively from my closed garage to work, where I park the car right outside my window, with my work station oriented toward the window so I can keep an eye on it all day. One day after a week's worth of rain (gosh, a week's worth of rain in Southern California? That's a DELUGE of biblical proportions) where I made the mistake of commuting to work in the rain one day, next week when I went to start up the car I was startled to find one of the cover missing too. And I'm sure no one stole it.

If you ever had to install one, you'll find that it doesn't take much force to pry the covers off of the washers. In fact, I'm sure if the washer were to go off, say, in one of my typical commutes where I'm driving in excess of the speed limit, I am CERTAIN the cover would fly right off due to aerodynamic forces (on the MZ4 Coupe the front diffuser redirects air into the bumper area and will force air through the cover if it's open).

Check the bumper surrounding the cover area and see if there's any scratches or gouges. If not, it flew off. To remove the cover when the washer's not engaged, you'll need a screw driver to pry and turn it to pop the clip loose. If someone were stealing those covers, I doubt they'd go through the trouble of taping up their screwdriver to avoid scratching up your bumper.

[jpsum]

Originally Posted by bmw-hoya

Do they really have carbon fiber ones??? That would be awesome if they did.

I was kidding.

[jpsum]

Originally Posted by The HACK

I don't know if someone stole them. they are not securely attached with anything but two small "clip" like structure on each side of the cover. Since the cover opens up every 3 wipes of the windshield wiper, it is entirely possible, if you're driving in poor weather on the freeway, that they would fly off and you wouldn't even know about it.

I drive my MZ4 Coupe exclusively from my closed garage to work, where I park the car right outside my window, with my work station oriented toward the window so I can keep an eye on it all day. One day after a week's worth of rain (gosh, a week's worth of rain in Southern California? That's a DELUGE of biblical proportions) where I made the mistake of commuting to work in the rain one day, next week when I went to start up the car I was startled to find one of the cover missing too. And I'm sure no one stole it.

If you ever had to install one, you'll find that it doesn't take much force to pry the covers off of the washers. In fact, I'm sure if the washer were to go off, say, in one of my typical commutes where I'm driving in excess of the speed limit, I am CERTAIN the cover would fly right off due to aerodynamic forces (on the MZ4 Coupe the front diffuser redirects air into the bumper area and will force air through the cover if it's open).

Check the bumper surrounding the cover area and see if there's any scratches or gouges. If not, it flew off. To remove the cover when the washer's not engaged, you'll need a screw driver to pry and turn it to pop the clip loose. If someone were stealing those covers, I doubt they'd go through the trouble of taping up their screwdriver to avoid scratching up your bumper.

but what are the chances that both sides are missing?

[bmw-hoya]

Originally Posted by jpsum

I was kidding.

I think I'm suffering from carbonfiberitus - I want everything in cf. I just ordered a ton of it and am trying to think of places to put it. There is no cure.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by jpsum

but what are the chances that both sides are missing?

Like I said, if you suspect it was stolen, check the bumpers for scratches around the cover. All I is sayin', is that these covers aren't secured on the mechanism by bolts. They are loosely clipped on, and if you run your wiper and wait until the mechanism pop up, you'd be VERY surprised how little effort it takes to pop these covers off.

I was fortunate that only one fell off, but I wouldn't be surprised that if my commute had been longer that both may have possibly fallen off. I've now disabled the headlight washer and stopped driving the MZ4 Coupe when it rains (well, and the fact that the car's riding on shaved R-comps pretty much precludes it from being driven when it's wet).

[bcv1306]

I live in the UK. These covers are stolen all the time accroding to the garage that replaced them for me. If you're lucky they will just take the cap, but both times it has happened to me, they've ripped out the washer jets as well. $400 to replace both sides. It's ridiculous that BMW could add such an expensive component that can be so easily removed from the car. I worry now every time I park it somewhere new. They should at least replace them at cost price.

I would be happy to fix them on permantly - it's just a gimmick.

Ben

[MrDummy]

this is some BS

[James London]

Had the same problem and suspected theft but contacted BMW and apparently the cold weather has caused the washers to explode and just drop off. if you contact your dealer (in the UK at least) you will find BMW are now replacing the parts FOC