general problems of the 2003 BMW 330

All exterior lights comes on when the car is off, and now the car stays on when the key out out of the ignition. The recall was fixed before about the lights but they started back again I just got the car and I can't even drive it without the battery dying if I go to work or even the store.

I have encountered a failure of the factory xenon headlamp assembly. I have had reduced visibility as a result of a burnt bulb housing that did not make itself readily apparent. Because there is no remedy outside of replacing the poorly designed housing, I have a concern of the safety of myself, my occupants, and others on the road. A failed bulb is understandable maintenance. A failed headlamp assembly due to burning and cracking the plastic lens from so much heat is not. This is a poor design, and should warrant a recall.

Zkw manufactured xenon headlamps for BMW 330i e46 cars. The projectors become scorched over time, causing dangerously low light output and not being able to see at night.

Model 2003 BMW 330i e46 (3 series) sedan situation one of the rear lights is inoperative. Cause minor corrosion at the 8-pin rear lamp connector creates high resistance causing damage to the connector housing (it actually burned through the plastic housing potential for fire) correction repair the damaged wire(s) and replace damaged connector housing. Install additional ground wires to both left and right rear lamps.

Around November 2009 I started to notice the unmodified factory xenon headlamps in our car seemed dim. Over the next year they seemed to dim considerably and after the recent end of daylight savings time resulted in a significant increase in my night-time driving, I have found the headlamps to provide nearly no projected light. Upon inspection of the light assembly I have discovered that BMW built these headlamps using a chrome-coated plastic reflector to direct the light forward to the road. It appears the design used placed the bulb too near the reflector or used plastic with inadequate temperature resistance and the bowl itself has gradually burnt to the point where it no longer reflects light. There has not been a fire at this point but the plastic appears to be failing structurally now (burn through) and I fear what would happen if I allowed it to progress further. The light projected with low beams on now is so inadequate the car cannot be safely used for night driving. BMW does not sell replacement reflector bowls to allow repair of the head lamp assembly and the only option to remedy this issue is to purchase a pair of new head lamp assemblies at approximately $1,200 each. I have contacted both my local BMW dealer and BMW cars north America and neither has offered an engineering or customer service solution to this problem.

Car is equipped with optional, factory-installed, bi-xenon headlamp assemblies made by zkw. The projector bowls inside, which greatly magnify the light output of the bulb, are made of a plastic that cannot handle the heat of the xenon bulb. As a result, the reflective surface burns and turns brown. In doing so, the light output is greatly reduced to a dangerous level. This problem affects both high and low beam operation. Situation gets progressively worse over time. The plastic bowls are not sold separately, therefore the only solution is to purchase new headlamp assemblies, at an approximate cost of $1,900 for the pair.