12 problems related to headlights have been reported for the 2003 BMW 330. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
330i sedan - zkw hid headlights with burnt xenon bulb reflectors rendering the headlights ineffective and the car unsafe to drive at night.
Tl-the contact owns a 2003 BMW 330i. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 mph, the passenger side headlight caught on fire. The contact extinguished the fire. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the headlight needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000. Tw.
This car suffers from the known burnt xenon low beam bowls, its impossible to see anything at night and is not safe. This needs to be recalled by BMW immediately, headlights have been adjusted properly and new bulbs were put in and does not cure the problem. Its very common for these xenon headlights to have this problem in alot of 2003+ BMW 3 series.
Xenon headlights. Dim to dark at best. Work when they want.
Bi-xenon headlights manufactured by zkw have a serious design defect. After only 80,000 miles, the headlights are almost completely ineffective at night time. Upon inspection, the reflective bowl in the headlight assembly was burnt, blackened and melted. Not only is this a safety issue for driving at night, but it could potentially be a fire hazard. Upon doing some research, this appears to be a serious problem, evidenced by many complaints on various BMW message forums. Something needs to be done about this before it leads to fire or accident.
The headlights on the car seems to be very dim. The amount of light that comes out of the headlights looks slightly brown and pretty dark as compared to many other cars on the road. I believe that the headlights were designed with plastic and which case the bulb would cause things to burn over time.
Burned headlight reflector bowl on 2003 "zkw" headlight housings. Headlamp output severely diminished. Also equipped on 03-05 3-series.
Recently I bought a 2003 BMW 330i with xenon projector headlights. The low- and high-beam output of these lights is very poor, with very little usable light when driving on lit or unlit roads at night. Compared to standard halogen lamps on my other cars (1990 BMW 525i, 2004 Saturn ion) I would rate them at 40% and 30% output respectively, and both of the other cars use standard halogen lamps. Research on this issue found the headlamp reflector used by BMW for these lights (zkw branded) is made of plastic instead of metal and begins to overheat and melt over time, reducing light output and eventually failing completely. BMW does not offer replacement reflectors, plastic or otherwise, and the only option using manufacturer parts is to replace the entire unit at a cost of approximately $2000 (for the pair). I find this completely unreasonable considering the headlights are critical components for driving at night, and a $2k 'wear part' is grossly excessive.
In the headlight assembly manufactured by zkw, the reflective ballasts are made of plastic and melt, thereby decreasing light output. The darkness is barely illuminated, thereby making driving at night almost impossible. There is no known dealer part to replace or upgrade, save for purchã…sing expensive light assemblies. The car has not been repairedâ or examined by technicians.
I own a 2003 BMW 330i sedan that came from the factory with xenon headlights. These headlights were manufactured by zkw. Over time, the reflective material inside the headlight assembly burns and degrades. This is due to the fact that zkw used a plastic reflector housing which cannot withstand the heat of the xenon bulb. When burned, the headlights no longer provide adequate lighting to safely drive at night. The suggested resolution per BMW is to purchase new headlight assemblies at $1200 per side. Note: BMW used another manufacturer (automotive lighting, al) for later models and those vehicles with al lights don't suffer from this failure due to the fact that al used metal reflectors not plastic like zkw.
I'm contacting you to express my frustration with the quality of the BMW xenon headlight. The xenon low beams started to dim and are now useless. Through google I found out that this is a very common problem since the plastic reflector/projector bowls just burn out. The light output is now too low to be safe at night. . Read more...
The low beam reflectors on 2003-2004 zkw hid headlights were made of some material that degraded when subjected to the heat produced by oem xenon bulbs. This results in a significant decrease in light output as the reflector became scorched. I don't know the exact ins and outs, but I would imagine that BMW and zkw were and are aware of the defect as the newer, redesigned headlights do not suffer from this problem.