LED Replacement costs?

[apexit]

I have my M3 on order and currently have LED lights. I tend to keep my cars for 4-6 years and put ~100k miles on them. I know LEDs are supposed to last roughly 100k hours or so, is that also true of the LED headlights on these cars? One concern I have is premature burn out. On my S4 there were a few guys who would have a few LEDs in the taillights go out and be on the hook for an entire tail light assembly. Is there a way to replace just the LED on the F8x or would we be on the hook for a new headlight?

[jayyp]

Originally Posted by apexit

I have my M3 on order and currently have LED lights. I tend to keep my cars for 4-6 years and put ~100k miles on them. I know LEDs are supposed to last roughly 100k hours or so, is that also true of the LED headlights on these cars? One concern I have is premature burn out. On my S4 there were a few guys who would have a few LEDs in the taillights go out and be on the hook for an entire tail light assembly. Is there a way to replace just the LED on the F8x or would we be on the hook for a new headlight?

I am pretty sure BMW will replace it under warranty if your LED burns out prematurely.

[apexit]

I'm sure they would if I were under warranty. I plan on owning the car past the warranty period though, thats where I would be worried about it. I've tried searching on here and on google but I guess the LED lights are too new.

[Lups]

Don't get the leds. I'm a huge hater of those, and the normal ones even look better

[apexit]

Thats the problem, I prefer the looks too. Maybe I need to go back to staring at them again.

[Ross61]

Originally Posted by Lups

Don't get the leds. I'm a huge hater of those, and the normal ones even look better

Soooo if you hate them he shouldn't get them? Sounds like you've been married long enough to realize a man's gonna do what man's gonna do provided it's something she allows him to do.

[Suave]

Originally Posted by Lups

Don't get the leds. I'm a huge hater of those, and the normal ones even look better

But LUPS the LEDS will help you avoid the wildlife at night and by wildlife I mean all your fans that run out in front of your car for an autograph

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Suave

But LUPS the LEDS will help you avoid the wildlife at night and by wildlife I mean all your fans that run out in front of your car for an autograph

A little Darwinist lives inside me, right next to the humanist! Hows life suave?

The fucking lights have cut off the high beams on me twice when antlers have ran to the road. They are also so wide that you can't use them with the U.S. coding almost ever, even if visibility would be needed.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Ross61

Soooo if you hate them he shouldn't get them? Sounds like you've been married long enough to realize a man's gonna do what man's gonna do provided it's something she allows him to do.

I have enough miles done in the dark to have a really bad view on them. That of course will never show to most of the people here, since I've done my miles so fast and in various situations.

[Suave]

Originally Posted by Lups

A little Darwinist lives inside me, right next to the humanist! Hows life suave?

The fucking lights have cut off the high beams on me twice when antlers have ran to the road. They are also so wide that you can't use them with the U.S. coding almost ever, even if visibility would be needed.

All is good Lups. I am putting the final touches on a Motorsports business I am starting with Karusell and we hope to have you for a customer in the near future Hope you are enjoying your special Tshirt we hooked you up with

For me the LED's have been a lifesaver at night and have avoided everything thus far with some of the quiet dark back roads I sometimes have to drive through. I am selling my car now so we can go back to Germany for another ED sometime in 2015 with another group.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by Lups

Don't get the leds. I'm a huge hater of those, and the normal ones even look better

Wrong!

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by apexit

I have my M3 on order and currently have LED lights. I tend to keep my cars for 4-6 years and put ~100k miles on them. I know LEDs are supposed to last roughly 100k hours or so, is that also true of the LED headlights on these cars? One concern I have is premature burn out. On my S4 there were a few guys who would have a few LEDs in the taillights go out and be on the hook for an entire tail light assembly. Is there a way to replace just the LED on the F8x or would we be on the hook for a new headlight?

I am an architect with a keen interest in lighting. I went to Frankfurt in March for a huge trade show on such. From what I know, LEDs are not forever, but in automotive terms should outlast your ownership. LEDs will degrade over time (reduced lumen output), but 50k hours is not unreasonable for retaining high lumen output. Given that they are solid state and have no filaments, failures should be very low. Not out of the question, but low.

While I'm not sure they outperform xenons in this application, I far prefer the looks of the lights to those. I do find a bit of a dark spot between beams on high that I need to look into. I had mine coded for European performance.

[apexit]

Originally Posted by GregW / Oregon

I am an architect with a keen interest in lighting. I went to Frankfurt in March for a huge trade show on such. From what I know, LEDs are not forever, but in automotive terms should outlast your ownership. LEDs will degrade over time (reduced lumen output), but 50k hours is not unreasonable for retaining high lumen output. Given that they are solid state and have no filaments, failures should be very low. Not out of the question, but low.

While I'm not sure they outperform xenons in this application, I far prefer the looks of the lights to those. I do find a bit of a dark spot between beams on high that I need to look into. I had mine coded for European performance.

I had read somewhere that the camera that picks up the oncoming cars needs to be reporgramed for a change in the sensitivity. Not sure if thats it but might help you.

[NorCal f80]

What the difference between LED vs. non LED headlights?

[apexit]

LEDs are a completely different look. Aside from that you can code a super cool adaptive feature that not only adjust left, right, up, and down but can detect oncoming cars and shape the highbeam around the car so you can have more light thrown with minimal annoyance to other drivers. Also they are expensive for what they are.

[Lups]

I'm merely commenting on their capabilities with the U.S. coding. I have merely 19 500 km on the clock, abt 9 done in the dark of those, and that is my opinion.

[YMB-M3-J2]

Originally Posted by GregW / Oregon

I am an architect with a keen interest in lighting. I went to Frankfurt in March for a huge trade show on such. From what I know, LEDs are not forever, but in automotive terms should outlast your ownership. LEDs will degrade over time (reduced lumen output), but 50k hours is not unreasonable for retaining high lumen output. Given that they are solid state and have no filaments, failures should be very low. Not out of the question, but low.

While I'm not sure they outperform xenons in this application, I far prefer the looks of the lights to those. I do find a bit of a dark spot between beams on high that I need to look into. I had mine coded for European performance.

this is good info... using the 50k of "high" output if you keep the car for 10 years you would get almost 14 hours per day of light out of them to reach that 50k mark and i cant imagine anyone is using their lights 14 hours per day....if you lowered that to 4 hours per day 365 days per year it would take 34 years to reach 50k hours. Makes me feel better about my LED's because they are awesome looking and worth the 2k to me.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Suave

All is good Lups. I am putting the final touches on a Motorsports business I am starting with Karusell and we hope to have you for a customer in the near future Hope you are enjoying your special Tshirt we hooked you up with

For me the LED's have been a lifesaver at night and have avoided everything thus far with some of the quiet dark back roads I sometimes have to drive through. I am selling my car now so we can go back to Germany for another ED sometime in 2015 with another group.

Would this be the business I have the paperwork here on my desk buy life has been too insane to send?

That t shirt pic will be the only one shown of me on this forum! Thank you both for your kindness, and I will make my way down there, or at least near by if Candy allows!

Its great to have different opinions in these, and I value your view greatly. I need to get the coding done, and re-evaluate them after it.

Guys, if I can be any assistance to you, just let me know. Seldom have I the privilege to meet people like karussel, he is a unique man with a sense of humor hard to match.

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by apexit

I have my M3 on order and currently have LED lights. I tend to keep my cars for 4-6 years and put ~100k miles on them. I know LEDs are supposed to last roughly 100k hours or so, is that also true of the LED headlights on these cars? One concern I have is premature burn out. On my S4 there were a few guys who would have a few LEDs in the taillights go out and be on the hook for an entire tail light assembly. Is there a way to replace just the LED on the F8x or would we be on the hook for a new headlight?

You sir, spend too much time worrying. Don't worry too much about little things, you'll shorten your lifespan (high blood pressure, etc). Early gen LEDs had issues with pre-mature burn out, due to lack of cooling. The newer gen LEDs have massive heat sink and ventilation, it will last as least 50k hours = longer than your car. I build high power LED flashlights and "vegetable" growing lights as a hobby.

[G30 B58]

Originally Posted by 0-100 nga real quick

What the difference between LED vs. non LED headlights?

LED vs Xenon discussion and semi-technical comparison.

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1030409

[TheGr8Swami]

If you plan on keeping the car that long, why not invest in an extended warranty? If you have GEiCO insurance you can add a mechanical breakdown rider which covers the cost to replace items on your car just like an extended warranty!

[BEMR]

Easiest way too see obvious differences, go to dealer, have them park two cars next to one another about 25 feet apart preferably a darker area, one with xenon's, one led, high beam on, then off. Radiant light, side lighting, color, etc LED here to stay almost like black is the new chrome.