Every single light on your BMW vehicle is fixed to make your drive easier and safer. These lights illuminate to warn others of your presence on road and to enlighten your way ahead during the times when it is dark or unclear and even when it’s not much dark to save power of vehicle’s battery. However, headlights and sidelights are the most common of all. Sidelights also known as parking lights are among those lights which lessen the work of headlights when it’s not too much dark for headlights and when you need to park the vehicle where traffic runs to make other drivers aware of your parking.
Warning messages regarding any fault in any of these lights contribute to the safety of your BMW as well as others on the road. Sometimes, these warning messages can be quite clear and self-explanatory while sometimes they may be vague and require a complete diagnosis to understand the real problem.
“BMW Number Plate Light Left Right failure” is one such message that is self explanatory and displays on your BMW dashboard when there is a fault with your number plate light located above the rear license plate or number plate in a downward direction. These lights turns on automatically as a part of parking lights when you park your vehicle somewhere and makes your car visible. However, it is quite rare that both sides light fail at the same time so depending on the side which fails the error will be shown as left, right or left and right.
Since it is located behind the vehicle so, there are sheer chances that you come to know of its fault or any problem with the lights. However, it’s always a good idea to visually inspect these lights before starting your trip as it will save you from any legal fines for not complying with the law. Without having working lights your vehicle cannot pass MOT for which you will be issued fine by the police. To save yourself from any such situation, it is necessary that you frequently check these lights and pay quick attention to the above mentioned warning message.
When Does this Warning Message Appear?
This message on your BMW dashboard displays when one of the light bulbs on your license plate has burned out. In majority of the older vehicles, it’s the halogen bulb that fails or a LED bulb in case if it was retrofitted in your vehicle. All newer vehicles after 2010 comes with LED light bulbs integrated into lights unit.
How do I know if my Number Plate Light has Failed?
Number plate light is a solid light which should be turn on and off automatically with headlights or sidelights. If you observe a flickering light instead of a solid ON and OFF situation then there may be loose wire or connection powering the number plate light making it to flicker. A flickering light will distract others on the road as well as it can easily catch a “fix it ticket” from police so in case there is no solid illumination from number light then schedule your visit to the mechanic and get it fixed before it puts you in trouble.
Or sometimes, simply it won’t lit up at all when parking lights are turned on it which also a loose wire connection might be the reason but in majority of such cases, the bulb is the real culprit. It could fail like every electronic component and requires a replacement for fixing the problem.
How to Replace Faulty Halogen or LED Number Plate Bulb
Although it could be a simple DIY job, with all you need to have a screw driver and a replacement bulb or LED units but getting it done through a professional can help you get the right specification bulb for your BMW as well as the quick and satisfactory services saving you time and energy. There are some good mechanic shops where auto parts are also available such as xenons4u so you can get help on both ends.
In case, you attempt to do it yourself, you must know that if your car has factory fitted LED license plate light units when, you’ll need to replace whole LED light unit with a new one but if it has conventional halogen bulbs – simple bulb replacement will do a job and after replacement of bulb the error will disappear. In case of halogen bulbs there is no need to buy new housing unless it is damaged, cracked and moisture is found inside the unit.
Since license plate or number plate lights are important to keep your vehicle eligible for public roads, it is important that you fix the problem quickly either with the help of mechanic or yourself.
Compatible BMW car models
- BMW E46 Saloon Sedan 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
- BMW E46 Estate Touring 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
- 3 Series: E90 Sedan Saloon (Including LCI Facelift) 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
- 3 Series: E90 Sedan Saloon (Including LCI Facelift) 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
- 3 Series: E91 Touring Estate (Including LCI Facelift) 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
- 3 Series: E92 Coupe (Including LCI Facelift) 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- 3 Series: E93 Convertible (Including LCI Facelift) 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- 3 Series E36 M3 Saloon Sedan Compact Coupe
- 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
BMW Engine Models:
- 3 Series: 316i, 318i, 320i, 323i, 325i, 328i, 330i, 335i, 335is
- 316d, 318d, 320d, 325d, 330d, 335d, M3
- 316i 318i 320i 323i 325i M3 petrol
- 320i 323i 325i 328i M3 petrol
