Ten problems related to headlights have been reported for the 2003 BMW 3 Series. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
There is limited light output from the xenon/hid headlight assemblies due to "melted" projector bowls from BMW. This is a serious safety defect that prevents end users from being able to see the road and objects ahead of them.
The projector bowls on the zkw headlights were burnt out due to a design flaw. I see lot of complaints online with the same issue. Driving in night is really difficult and dangerous.
Oem projector headlights burnt behind projector causing very dim lights.
Zkw xenon headlight reflector bowl is burned resulting in very dim light output. I am often afraid of driving at night because I feel it is a danger to my safety.
Headlights fail randomly. Headlights flicker, turn off, turn back on. Independent of speed or weather conditions. Bulb testing after this failure indicate that the bulbs are not failing (they are not burned out).
BMW e46 3 Series - zkw headlights- very low light output the zkw headlights have a design flaw in which after 2-3 years of use, they dim to around 20% of the original light output. This is very dangerous when it comes to night driving. Someone driving with this issue is nearly completely blind driving around at night. This is due to the projector reflector bowl being made out of plastic, and melting from the heat. This causes the light to bleed out from the backside of the light into the housing, instead of forward onto the road. BMW noted this flaw by replaced the zkw headlamps with al branded headlamps in all the newer Bmws in 2005 and on. The al branded headlights replaced the plastic bowl with metal bowls. However, all e46 3 Series sedans from 2003-2004 still have these faulty zkw headlamps. There is no easy fix to this problem, as BMW does not sell the bowls separately. The only solution is to completely replace the headlamps, which costs around $2000. This is a very serious safety concern. I can guarantee that nearly every 2003-2004 3 Series sedan with oem xenon headlamps faces this issue. Owners do not fix the issue due to the heavy costs.
On 2003-2004 BMW 3 Series e46 sedans with oem zkw manufactured xenon (hid) headlights, the reflective bowl for the headlights will become discolored and non-reflective after normal use with oem bulbs. Over time, the heat from the oem bulb will scorch the reflective bowl and dramatically reduce light output to unsafe levels for night time driving. BMW has not notified owners of the design flaw, and no replacement parts are available other than the entire expensive, new headlight assemblies that will suffer from the same problem in time. Though BMW refuses to acknowledge that an issue exists, BMW changed the xenon headlight reflector design for later model years to a metal reflector assembly that does not degrade when exposed to the normal operating temperatures of the oem xenon bulbs. These newer designed headlight assemblies to not suffer from any reduction in light output with use.
The BMW e46 (3 series BMW) that was made from 1999 to 2006. In some cases during these years they used a lighting manufacturer "zkw" for their xenon headlights. Unfortunately these lights have a common failure issue commonly referred to as a "burnt reflector" on the internet and on BMW forums. This is a non-consumer replaceable part. When this part fails it causes the vehicle to not have effective headlights. I personally have had times where my field of vision could not see items on the road due to the dim lights. The only remedy appears to be to replace the entire headlight assembly to the tune of hundreds of dollars (well over a thousand if you do both sides). In my opinion BMW should correct this issue for the consumer. Headlights are an important safety item. To have a part fail that is not consumer replaceable is unacceptable. Many people have this issue but have no way to remedy it. Just google it or check e46fanatics. Com. You will see that there are plenty of people that realize this is an issue.
The low beam reflectors on 2003-2004 zkw branded high intensity discharge xenon oem hid headlights on the 3 Series BMW from that model year (sedan) were made of some painted material that degraded when subjected to the heat produced by the oem xenon bulbs. This results in a significantly decreased light output as the reflector became scorched. If it's bad enough, there is no light being projected on the road and it is very hard to see anything with the normal headlights. Either the high beams have to be used or the foglights have to be turned on. This is a safety issue. 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. Replacement oem headlights cost $1200 for each side.
Passenger side xenon headlight operates intermittently. Car had to go to dealer for repair but parts not immediately available to fix. For safety I have restricted vehicle to daytime driving only because I cannot depend on the headlights to operate as designed.