Has anyone had to have their Upper Brake Light Replaced?

[SBFV10]

Well the only bad new on my new V10 is that one LED is out in the long rear upper break strip! It looks like they need to replace the light strip completely. From my examining the Bentley manual, the only way I see for it to be done is to remove the glass engine cover! What a pain.

Has anyone had this done and was it a problem?

Removing the engine lid is a worry for me, as is scratching up other areas of the car when they do the repair.

Anything I need to watch out for?

Thanks.

Steve

[Davey_Dee]

I think you already said what you should be looking out for...scratches on the car etc

What light is it you need fixing? The break light at the top of the glass?

[MotherTucker]

Yes, a friend here had his replaced. It was in an 09 V8. It had physically cracked (broken in two pieces). They had no idea how it happened. The dealer replaced it under warranty. The car was less than a month old.

mt

[drbf]

Why would the lid have to be removed

[SBFV10]

I looked at pictures from the Bentley manual and it shows a plug which is very inconveniently located at the bottom of the light, below the lid which gives access to the "holding" mechanism. When I lift the lid, I can feet the plug, but can't see it. Maybe there is a way the technicians know to do the repair without taking off the lid....I would be very happy.

Steve

[Davey_Dee]

Maybe they can't remove it from the front, and its fixed into the lid i think.

[SBFV10]

Well GOOD NEWS! The service manager from my dealer spoke with his R8 technician who knows how to do the job and says it isn't that bad!!!!

I don't know what that means exactly or how they do it....but I'm happy to hear this.

Maybe, as drbf has suggested, they don't need to remove the engine lid. This would be terrific news.

I'll report more on this when the job gets done. The part is in the US, so they should be able to do it in about a week or so.

Any others with info on things to look out for, please let me know.

Thanks.

Steve

[swansailor]

Well GOOD NEWS! The service manager from my dealer spoke with his R8 technician who knows how to do the job and says it isn't that bad!!!!

I don't know what that means exactly or how they do it....but I'm happy to hear this.

Maybe, as drbf has suggested, they don't need to remove the engine lid. This would be terrific news.

I'll report more on this when the job gets done. The part is in the US, so they should be able to do it in about a week or so.

Any others with info on things to look out for, please let me know.

Thanks.

Steve

The engine lid (the glass rear window) doesn't have to be removed. Once it is in the open position, the high mounted LED strip can be removed ...it is a bit of a fiddly job to do it.

If I recall correctly, several people reported cracking of the lens/cover over this strip of LED's on 2008 models. I think that there was a service bulletin about the issue.

[SBFV10]

The engine lid (the glass rear window) doesn't have to be removed. Once it is in the open position, the high mounted LED strip can be removed ...it is a bit of a fiddly job to do it.

If I recall correctly, several people reported cracking of the lens/cover over this strip of LED's on 2008 models. I think that there was a service bulletin about the issue.

Great news SS. That was my biggest concern. Now, as long as they don't scratch up anything. I'm golden!

Thanks for the info.

Steve

[drbf]

Do they have to replace the entire strip or just a portion?