Exterior Lighting Problems of BMW 3 Series

Insulation failed on wiring inside headlamp assembly, crumbling off and creating multiple exposed bare copper wiring. Discovered during lamp replacement procedure Nov 21, 2015. I overlaid all accessible wires with electrical tape in hopes to prevent a short and fire. Since then I've read of similar problems reported by several BMW owners on bimmerforums. Com, with attached correspondences from BMW denying any problem. Dealers and reputable independent repair shops are very aware of this issue.

See all problems of the 2007 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

Car was parked in the driveway, drove it earlier that day for about an hour, parked it 3pm and 2 hours later neighbor came knocking saying car was smoking. Ran outside and car was on fire. Interior was smoked out. Keyless entry was dead. Broke the window to get the car open, turned the garden hose on to try and stop the car from burning. Called 911 fire dept arrived and had to pry the truck open because it was still sizzling. Fire dept cut the battery cables and said it looked like an electrical fire under the dash. Glove box and passenger side front seat was completely charred. After 22 days, a BMW engineer and allstate ins called it a total loss. BMW engineers report still has not been published. Total loss on a parked vehicle; clearly this vehicle was unsafe and a design fault. Manufacturers are suppose to engineer cars to withstand fires.

See all problems of the 2008 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

The rear parking light went out in my car, so I purchased more bulbs, but the bulb never worked. I took my car to my BMW dealership for the takata recall, they checked the light too and said that a part in the housing had burned all the way down . I recently checked on recalls, and found that there were problems with the housing that houses the brake and signal lights, beginning with 2002 models. My car is a 325i 2001, I feel that this year should be included in a recent recall, I researched online, and found that there are many 2001 BMW 325is with the same problem as the that recall. This could possibly cause an accident. I really think this should be included immediately.

See all problems of the 2001 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

Side mirrors fading into a brown color. Making the visibility through them impossible. Many times I have almost side swiped cars that are on the side of me due to my not being able to see our of my side mirrors. Also front light keeps going out. I have changed it 3 times in two months and it keeps either going out or falling out of the hole making the indicator light come on.

See all problems of the 2005 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

Upon returning to seattle, wa, since I flew down to berkley, CA to purchase my vehicle, I noticed excessive headlamp shake when going over any bumps on the highway, especially expansion joints. Both left and right headlamps shake equally as bad, and I consider that a safety hazard while driving. It is very distracting and searching many online forums, people have been having many issues with the adaptive headlamp bracket arms being broken. Cpo warranty does not cover headlamps according to BMW, and they are not willing to pay for both replacements.

See all problems of the 2009 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

Reflector bowls in xenon headlamp assembly burn and discolor, making low beam lighting almost negligible. Doesn't even seem lights are on. Very dangerous to drive at night without high beams on.

See all problems of the 2004 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

My BMW is having the same issues that the 2002 BMW 3 Series has a recall on. The rear taillights are burning the neutral wire and connector off in the lamp assemblies. Causing the lights to become in operable.

2009 BMW 328i, the directional light at times blinks rapidly and a warning of light problem illuminates. The directional blinks fast and light is dull on exterior tail and front lamps. At times works normally and then begins to blink rapidly with a bell warning and electrical warning light sign displays. This problem has known to BMW as the service dealers received a bulletin. Will not cover if out of warranty but seems to be a common issue enumerated by many customers.

Recently purchased said vehicle and it came with zkw hid bi-xenon lighting system which appears the inner plastic bowls are burnt to a crisp with detriment light output making it almost impossible to clearly see unlit roads at night, this is a huge safety concern and needs to be reviewed and solved in a timely manner as it affects thousands of similar vehicles on the road. I'm afraid the reduced light output might appear to other drivers at night that my vehicle is further away that it is in reality giving the possibility of them crossing into my travel path incurring an accident. I know you have been reviewing this for quite some time but we need a resolution soon. . . Thank you.

Zkw hid xenon low beam reflectors burnt or corroded causing a significant decrease in light output that BMW wants ~$3000 to fix. Lights were a premium option and cannot be corrected by xenon bulb replacement. The output has dimmed as to be unsafe.

Thought I had a light problem fixed it first time. Signal on the dash did not go away but the light was on. Went to a different place and fixed it again. And the signal still would not go away. The light works but still show on the dash as if it's broken. I'm afraid by time it's time to get a new registration sticker that it will not pass.

Electrical ground contact resistance in rear tail lamp has rendered tail lamp non functional and caused warning lamp illumination. Problem appears to be identical to campaign 11v438000.

The very first time I tried to drive the car at nighttime to go back home, my wife and kids were on board, and we were more than 200 miles from home. After I turned on the low-beam head lamps and started rolling, I could barely see the road because the headlamps were not properly illuminating. I flipped the switch several times to no avail. ¿ putting lives and properties at risk, I continued driving until we got home, all the while driving with the high-beam lamps on and apparently getting the others drivers on the road fuming. I took the car to both a lamp-adjusting station and a BMW dealer where I was told the lamps could neither be adjusted nor their bulbs merely replaced because the problem was the reflector bowls were defective and had lost their ability to project light properly. I was also told that both that the reflector bowls could not be replaced individually, and that both (left and right sides) assemblies must be replaced at a total cost of more than $2000. 00. Many posters in the BMW forums have voiced out exactly the same problems, and I wish that all would file a complaint to NHTSA. I never drove this car again at night until I had – in August 2014 – purchased and finally received and installed the head lamps assemblies in October 2014. I have in my possession the headlamp adjusting station's invoice and recommendation plus the receipt and invoice for the new headlamp assemblies that had to be specially ordered from germany. On November 17, 2014, by certified mail, I sent BMW of north America my request for reimbursement, but I have yet to receive a response. Due to this defect which affects safety, I strongly and respectfully suggest that a recall be issued on this BMW model, or some sort of directive be issued for BMW to reimburse those owners ¿such as i¿ who had already replaced their lamp assemblies at their own expense.

The report is in response to not being included in a recall of the rear taillight assembly. Some vehicles seem to be excluded for no reason from the recall and replacement of faulty wiring. Nhtsa campaign id # 11v438000.

See all problems of the 2002 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

Recently my rear taillights were noticeably darker and less responsive. Taking my BMW to my authorized BMW dealership/service center, resulted in a diagnosis that the rear wire harness needed to be replaced at a cost of ~$300. Following the visit to the dealership/service center, resulted in the rear light failing completely. Researching this incident online produced many similar problems w/other 330i models and I also discovered that NHTSA had issued a recall of BMW 3-series from my 02-06. My BMW is a 01. It is apparent, from the many postings on BMW boards and websites, that this defect also occurs in older Bmws of the same e46 series earlier than model yr 2002. I ask that NHTSA extend the previous recall to earlier model years of the e46 series of Bmws.

The xenon projector bowls are made of plastic, which eventually burns. This diminishes the light output so drastically that it is incredibly difficult to see at night. The "burning" of the plastic bowl also seems like it might cause the bowl itself to melt or catch fire.

2004 BMW 325xi sedan; taillight fails intermittently according to dashboard indicator, then failed solid. The wires melted inside the connector to the light housing and melted housing post - no easy way for home repair as this is not just a bad lightbulb. BMW has service bulletin on repair, but is a pure design defect from the factory. There is no owner-induced problem here. They will not accept responsibility for repairs or recalls. A "google" reveals that this is a widespread issue with BMW 3-series and some 5-series cars. They should be forced to recall these cars for repairs.

Lens cover for head lights on BMW 325 I with only 65k in southern California are severely oxidized limiting vision at night. Called BMW and basically stated warranty has expired.

See all problems of the 2003 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

Extremely low output. Very dim.