Fog Light Switch Problems of BMW 3 Series

The zkw xenon headlights have a flaw in the plastic projector housing. The housing gets too hot and melts and the light output is severely restricted. This happens to 100% of the headlights made by this manufacturer and is a safety issue. The reflective coating on the headlights melts and the light can no longer be projected out correctly. The fog lights are now brighter then the headlights. The vehicle can no longer be safely driven at night. Spare parts are not available and the only fix is to replace the entire headlights at a cost of over $2000. There should be a recall to replace the headlights as this is a safety issue of not being able to see.

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My headlights are so dim at night it is impossible to see without high beams on at all times. The fog lights are brighter than my new headlight bulbs. Only solution seems to replace the whole assembly but after researching this seems to be an ongoing issue with BMW so why should I have to spend over 1500. 00 when they should have to replace them with a recall.

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As reported by other owners, the bi-xenon headlights no longer light up the road. It is a safety hazard and is a known issue with headlights manufactured by zkw on 2003-2005 BMW 330 models. The reflector bowls on these units burn out over time and reduce the headlight's ability to reflect light. Driving at night is literally no better with the headlights on or off. I have to rely on my fog lights just to see anything. Please look into this safety issue as it is wide-spread. Replacement of headlights is expensive at $1300 ea, this has to be resolved by BMW immediately.

Due to the plastic bowels in the headlight projectors, which are chrome like lined, and the high heat of the hid bulbs, this chrome like coating has burned off making the light output of my hid head lights very dim. The outside of the bowels have gone from a chrome like coating to a bronze/caramel color/coating. This problem is very obvious. I have had other vehicles with hid headlights, and the light output of those cars is easily double or more, to the point where alot of times I have to drive with my fog lights on just to light the road up to be able to see well enough so that I don't have a accident. I have pictures I took of the discolored bowels im talking about on my phone that I would be able to send.

For a little over a year now I've been noticing that at night I've been having a real hard time seeing at night while I am driving. For a while I thought it was my eyes going bad until multiple people started asking if my lights where on, ( I was like good it's not my eyes) it gets real bad especially when it rain or the roads or wet which is almost every night cause live in hawaii and it rains all the time. But of course the problem is not getting better it's gotten so bad that I have to drive with my fog lights at night. I went to the dealer thinking it was the bulbs and they said that it was not and I would have to replace the whole headlight assembly right and left. I have never heard this before so I started to search the net and come to find out that I am not the only one with this problem. Please help!.

My BMW 2003 330i is equipped with zkw headlight assemblies that have plastic xenon projector bowls installed inside the headlight assemblies. After several years of usage these projector bowls burn out and as a result, the reflective coating that allows light to be focused through the projectors are burned off reducing effective light output from the headlight assembly. Upon inspection, both my headlight assemblies suffered approximately 50% loss in effective light output due to burned out xenon projector bowls and I found that my fog lights were putting out more light than both my zkw headlights. This problem affects all 3-series sedans made from 2002 - 2005. There have been many people who have, as a result of BMW inaction to do the right thing and correct this serious safety deficiency, either replaced their original zkw headlight assemblies with depot aftermarket headlight assembles or have replaced the defected zkw projector bowls with al projector bowls or fx-r projector bowls. This problem needs to be addressed as it is a serious road safety issue while driving at night.

1. Over the lifetime of the vehicle the xenon bulbs are hot enough to burn the plastic reflector that shines the light on the road. As this reflector bowl burns inside the headlight assemble light output is severely diminished by at least 60-70% this posed a major safety issue to myself and others. 2. The headlights made by zkw were installed on BMW sedan's model years 2003-2004 only. It is a constant occurrence and is very dangerous. I cannot see the road in front of me without my fog lights. 3. I was forced to purchase two new headlight assemblies that were priced at $1,000 per side. There is no alternative which is very troublesome for thousands of owners of this model year car.

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