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A rock must have hit it. The single line crack is about 1/2" long. I put clear packaging tape over both foglamps to prevent further damages. If they were made of glass it would have been probably shattered....maybe not.

 

Bummer.

My second mod was to put clear vinyl over them. Did the headlights later.

 

The foglights are so convex.... better design than flat lens in terms of resistance to getting cracked by a flying rock. If there was a protruding plastic rod with a diameter of 1/4" or something in the middle, it would be even stronger. The crack is right at the center of the lens where the rock probably hit it at the right angle and the lens absorbed all the impact.

 

What's the cost for a replacement fog light? Can you just replace the lens or do you have to do the whole assembly?

I (somewhat inadvertantly) bought my current car with a cracked fog light, replaced it, and then a week later it got cracked again. Then I just did the packing tape trick and called it right. It's never foggy here, so there's no need to use the fog lights.

All you people who use your fog lights when it's not foggy out? I'm shaking my angry fist at you right now.

 

When I see people shaking an angry fist or two at me, I turn them off and give them a highbeem. I think the bulb can be replaced separately but the lens comes with the housing. It will be more expensive than necessary because the tiny light that comes on with the headlight is in that assembly as well.

 

Mine is cracked as well. I applied a coat of clear touch up paint to seal the cracks. So far, so good.

 

Here's a diagram of the foglights...

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...69&hg=63&fg=15

$108.75 for a new one

Might want to find a wrecked R56 that someone's parting out. That might be tough though.

Definitely get some protective film over them when you get this one fixed.

 

Was this a DIY, Robin, or did you find a kit? If so, where? I haven't seen a lot of R56-specific stuff advertised.

 

A friend of mine cracked hers by bumping the bodywork under the front bumper against a curb. It flexed and cracked the lens.

 

Funny how many people do that. Drive with their fog lights on all the time that is. I guess it's like people who hold their cell phones up to their ear all the time, even when there is no one on the other end, thinking it makes them look important.

 

Not true! Not true!

 

Yes, I did it myself with the OEM Invisishield: Fog Light Kit $20. Ordered it when I ordered the MCS, but opted not to pay the dealer $150 per hour...

You get two vinyl discs. Make sure the dealer provides the instructions. The discs have an adhesive on one side. I used a heat gun I bought for a plexiglass project, but you could probably use a heavy-duty hair dryer. That softens the vinyl so you can form it over the dome of the light.

It wasn't hard if you know a few tricks. I've done metalsmithing where you hammer a flat sheet of silver or copper into a bowl or vase. There are some similarities since the fogs have such a high dome. It will start to wrinkle at the edges. You work from the center and try to keep the wrinkle even all the way around. Don't allow a few large wrinkles to form. You want lots of smaller wrinkles evenly spaced around the disc. They can be worked out as you move to the edge. Large wrinkles are difficult to work out. So, as the wrinkles form, you attack the largest so it doesn't grow. It's kind of fun once you get the hang of it. If you blow it, peel it off and spend another $20 on another kit. You will have figured it out by then.

Oh, good. Blind them so they run off the road.

I suspect that your foglight wasn't hit by a rock. It was probably cracked by a massive dose of bad Karma you've acquired by subjecting people to your fog lights on clear nights.

Oh, but it is.

 

And thanks for the idea about the Invisishield fog light DIY. I'll have to add that to the ever burdgeoning list of add-ons to order w/ my Mini. I'd hate to not get it, crack a fog light, then be kicking myself for not spending the $20. I've zero experience so, while doing an entire clear bra install myself sounds crazy, I think I could manage the two little fogs. And they're out of the way enough that the only person who's going to notice that you did a hack job is yourself.

How long did it take you to do the fog Invisishield? And how long would you estimate it'd take someone w/ no clue what they were doing?

 

And then they don't look quite so crazy when you catch them talking to themselves.

 

I don't recall, perhaps an hour? Didn't really keep track of time. I could have been fiddling with it longer. Since I'd never done it before, I didn't rush it. Read the instructions several times. Did the cleaning carefully, etc.

As for someone with no clue, it depends on how quickly you get the hang of working the wrinkles. If it takes more than one set of shields, you have to figure in the time it takes your dealer to order it.

You could start with the headlights. In a sense, they are easier because they are not as domed as the fogs, but they are larger. Still, neither of them are very hard.

The headlight set I used was from OutMotoring.com. Looks like it includes fog shields. I'd forgotten that since I'd already done the fogs.

 

That set looks even better than the dealer one. I'm not really in a position to do a lot of mod installation myself (parking the car on the street, no tools to speak of and not a lot of access to any), but I should be able to manage this I think - if I can find an extension cord long enough to run the gf's hairdryer out on the street from the apartment.