Eight problems related to headlights have been reported for the 2003 BMW 325. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 2003 BMW 325i equipped with zkw bi-xenon headlights. While driving 70 mph, the headlights dimmed and diminished the contact¿s visibility. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the headlights needed to be replaced. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 80,000.
Tl-the contact owns a 2003 BMW 325xi. The contact stated that his vehicle headlights were not working properly and that his bulbs were hanging out of the housing that hold the light bulbs. The vehicle was taken into his local BMW dealer who stated that the entire housing compartment and bulbs needed to be replaced. The repair cost was $2,000 at the contacts expense. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 133,000. Rk.
My current vehicle is a 2003 BMW 325i with bi-xenon headlights manufactured by zkw. Over the last year or two, the light output from the xenon headlights had dropped to the point where I get almost no noticeable illumination of the road at night (in average city levels of street illumination). I turned to using my foglamps to be able to see anything. Mechanic inspected the headlight assembly and the upper portion of the projector bowls are burned. They are made of plastic and painted with reflective paint, but the upper ~60% of the bowl is now browned and nonreflective. This is due to an inability of the paint to withstand the high temperatures generated by the xenon bulbs. Also, this seems to be common to many/all zkw brand headlights utilized in 2003-2004 model years of 3 series (e46) BMW vehicles, according to postings on the BMW-owner forums. Reflector bowls can not be purchased and replaced separately and the entire headlamp assembly must be replaced at a cost of appx $2400. Zkw has changed the design so there is sufficient evidence to suggest that they and BMW are aware of the design flaw and resulting safety hazard.
Xenon headlight reflectors are melting/burning causing a significant reduction in light output. Very simple problem for which there is no fix other than to purchase new headlight assembles for $2,000. Seems to affect all xenon headlights produced by zwk for the 2002-2004 3 series BMW.
My current vehicle is a 2003 BMW 325i with bi-xenon headlights manufactured by zkw. Over the last year or two, the light output from the xenon headlights had dropped to the point where I get almost no noticeable illumination of the road at night (in average city levels of street illumination). I turned to using my foglamps to be able to see anything. After researching this problem on online forums, I examined the headlights myself and found that the upper portion of the projector bowls seem burned. They are made of plastic and painted with reflective paint, but the upper ~40% of the bowl is now browned and nonreflective. Apparently this is due to an inability of the paint to withstand the high temperatures generated by the xenon bulbs. Also, this seems to be common to many/all zkw brand headlights utilized in 2003-2004 model years of 3 series (e46) BMW vehicles, according to postings on the BMW-owner forums. For now, I have tried to remedy this by lining the burnt portion of the bowl with aluminum foil and can now notice some illumination of the road at night. This further argues that the burning/loss of reflective coating is what causes the loss of light output.
The passenger side hid headlight fails to come on. This occurs randomly and seems to happen more frequently in the winter time when the temperature is colder and the air has more humidity. This is not a bulb issue in that I have replaced the bulb several times.
Low beam reflectors on 2003 zkw hid xenon headlights was burn and scorched and posted as a fire risk. The scorched reflector also reduce the low beam light output and posts as a driving hazard.
The zkw brand of high intensity discharge (hid) headlights equipped in the 2003-2004 e46 model 3 series BMW sedan have a plastic reflector bowl in the projector that has the tendency to have the chrome reflective plating burnt off rendering the headlights all but useless. This makes it dangerous to drive at night because you can barely see the road. The only remedy to this is to replace the entire headlight assemblies for $1200 per side, which is unacceptable for non wear item to occur when the vehicle is between 5 to 7 years old, averaging 50k to 90k miles.