I think the issue is 100% common. Just ensure the wires are not touching each other and tape them gingerly and you should be fine until the next time you need to get inside.

 

that what I tried to do. the problem is that BMW (or hella) uses a few wire ties to hold the wires together at certain points in the loom.

I taped it up as best as I could. We'll see how long it holds up. I have a feeling that a short will be inevitable, though.

 

yep, and then the wires disappear behind the bezel where they are completely inaccessible for repair.

Good luck with your repair attempts. If you need a good price on new headlight housings, pm me.

 

I simply cut the wire ties and made sure the wires were separated as much as possible. Leave them bare, but not touching. Some people have success with "liquid tape"

 

Is this your feeling or did you read this somewhere? All automotive manufactures have to comply with the IMDS system so its known how the parts react when they are filling up landfills. Leather is virgin in our cars. Some of the plastic parts are recycled but only at the manufacture of that part. E.G. during production/injection of a trim panel there will be a small amount of scrap produced from the runners and just start up. It depends on the material used if a percent of that material can be re-ground and reused. In most cases this is allowed up to 10% except around safety critical parts. So it's not like manufactures are running out and getting recycled material, they probably wouldn't be able to use anyway since the properties would not be stable enough and would have a negative effect on their process and process parameters. I guess it's like using recycled toilet paper, hmmm I just have a problem with that one... ; ))

 

This is the same reason why the weatherstripping needs replacing more often on a BMW. They are using rubber that is formulated to degrade more rapidly in the landfill. Unfortunately, it degrades rapidly long before it gets to the landfill.

 

+100000

 

Hmm, I wonder if putting some "liquid tape" on the wires of the headlight BEFORE they start to peel would help with their longevity? Anyone think it might help as part of preventative maintenance?

 

I experienced the same problem with my wiring. 2006 530i. Hella did a remarkably poor job in selecting the insulating materials. I ended up using electrical tape and some heat shrink to put a band-aid on the problem for now, but I'm going to have to pony up the $850/each for new Xenon housings.

 

I can't find the exact quote on the S-Class, but the following is representative of MB (German's) and their infatuation with recycled plastics in their cars:

The A-Class already meets the stipulated recycling rate of 95 percent by weight. The European ELV Directive 2000/53/EC additionally requires vehicle manufacturers to continually increase the input of recycled materials in their production processes. In all, the new A-Class incorporates 46 components representing a total weight of 34.2 kilograms which can be produced with the partial use of high-quality recycled plastics.

That's 75 lbs of plastic per vehicle that have recylced materials in them. The S-Class is even higher.