BMW 3 Series F30 F31 LCI 2016-2018 LED Headlight Lens Cover Right New | Part number 198638-01

Part number 198638-01. We take parts off vehicles every week, and this page is updated with a link straight to the part as soon as another one arrives.

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BMW 3 Series F30 F31 LCI 2016-2018 LED Headlight Lens Cover Right New | Part number 198638-01 - part number 198638-01

The last part of this number we had in stock.

About part number 198638-01

A headlight lens cover forms the front protective face of the main headlight assembly on the front right-hand side of the vehicle. It seals the internal light unit against water, dirt and road debris while allowing the light output from the internal lamps to project clearly onto the road ahead. When the cover is intact and clean, the driver benefits from a clear, undistorted beam pattern and full illumination during night driving.

To ensure this component is correct for your vehicle, you must check that the part number on your original unit matches 198638-01 exactly. Part numbers on lighting components are typically stamped or moulded directly into the plastic housing or printed on a label on the rear or underside of the unit. Matching this specific part number is the only way to guarantee correct fitment and alignment.

Replacing a lens cover is usually necessary when the original plastic becomes cracked, faded, yellowed or scratched over time, which reduces light output and can cause an MOT failure. When fitting a replacement cover, installers often require fresh adhesive sealant or a dedicated rubber gasket to create a watertight seal and prevent moisture condensation from forming inside the light housing.

  • Position on the vehicle: Front, Right.

About this kind of part: headlamp lens covers

A headlamp lens cover is the clear outer face of a headlamp, supplied on its own so that a lamp with a sound interior can be saved rather than replaced. It is moulded polycarbonate with a hard coat on the outside, and that coat is what fails: the plastic itself stays sound while the surface clouds, yellows and crazes under years of sunlight and stone blasting. Replacing the lens is a workshop job rather than a bolt-on repair, because the lamp has to be opened and resealed.

Why people replace one

  • The lens has gone yellow or milky, which cuts the light output and fails an inspection, while the inside of the lamp is still clean and sound.
  • A stone has starred or cracked the lens but the reflector and the interior are undamaged.
  • An earlier polish has taken the hard coat off, and the surface has clouded again within months because there is nothing left to protect it.
  • A complete replacement lamp costs several times the lens, and the lamp otherwise works.
  • The lens has been sanded or lacquered by hand and the finish is hazy or uneven.

Fitting it

  • The lamp must be opened by softening the factory sealant all the way round, usually with gentle heat, then prised apart without flexing the housing.
  • The old sealant is removed and fresh butyl sealant is laid in the channel before the new lens is pressed home and clamped until it sets.
  • The inside of the reflector must not be touched or wiped. Its coating marks permanently and a fingerprint stays visible once the lamp is lit.
  • Work in a dry, dust-free space and let the lamp cool fully before refitting, or moisture seals inside and shows up as condensation later.
  • This is a job for a workshop or for somebody who has done it before. A lens fitted badly leaks, and a leaking lamp is worse than a cloudy one.

Making sure it is the right one

  • Match the shape to your own lamp exactly, and check the part number of the LAMP rather than of the lens. A lens is made to suit one lamp number.
  • Check the lens pattern. Within one model the bulb, discharge and diode lamps often use lenses that differ in their internal optics while looking similar from the front.
  • Count and compare the locating lugs and the sealing channel against your own lens before committing to opening the lamp.
  • A lens cover is a replacement outer face and not a complete lamp. Nothing behind the lens is included.

What to look for in the photographs

A Sealing channel — The groove around the rim that takes the butyl sealant. It must match the channel on your own housing, or the lamp cannot be sealed.
B Locating lugs — The tabs and pegs around the edge that set the lens in the housing. Count them and compare their positions.
C Internal optics — The prisms and flutes moulded into the inner face. These differ between light sources even where the outer shape looks the same.
D Outer surface — Look across the face at a shallow angle for moulding marks or scuffing picked up in shipping, which a straight-on photograph will not show.
E Edge profile — The outline where the lens meets the housing. Hold it against your own lamp rather than judging by the overall shape.

This section describes headlamp lens covers parts in general. The numbers and the photographs above are this part.

Parts we have that go with this one

Most repairs need more than one part, and these came off the same area of the vehicle. Each has its own page, which says whether we have one in stock today.

Free next-day delivery in the United Kingdom Sent with DPD on a tracked, next-day service. Most mainland addresses are next day; the Highlands and Islands, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man can take a day longer.

Returns Thirty days to change your mind, and we pay the return postage in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Trade and VAT C.E.J Haime Group Limited is VAT registered in England and Wales, and every order comes with a full VAT invoice.

Not sure it is the right part? Send us your registration or VIN and we will check this part number against your own vehicle before you buy.

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