Seven problems related to wiring have been reported for the 2006 BMW 530. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Degradation of headlight wiring. Wire insulation is flaking, cracking, and internal conductor wires are exposed. Causes intermittent headlight issues as wiring shorts during driving.
The wiring harness inside the headlights is crumbling away causing lights to intermittently not work. The wires spark when they touch together. This is a fire hazard.
Insulation around the wiring in the headlights has completely crumbled off and bare wire is exposed, could possible touch and cause a fire. Passenger air bag sensor in the seat is faulty and I recieved a recall notice but BMW says there is no recall on my car and refuses to fix.
Internal headlight wiring insulation flaking off exposing copper wire causing failure of parking and daytime running lights and failure of the front headlight system as well as the risk of fire. Also having issues with intermittent cruise control, power ports and fan inside the car.
The wiring insulation is peeling around all of the wires in the headlight assembly. This is not a serviceable part, but the light bulbs are serviceable. This seems to pose a fire risk because bare conductors of opposite polarity are exposed to one another.
As I was driving a warning came on my idrive display that there was a parking light malfunction. I later removed the headlight to replace a bulb and upon doing so I noticed bare copper wires. I then removed the main cover and saw that literally every wire had portions of the outer wire jacket deteriorating. When I removed the parking lamp assy. To replace the bulb, the wire jacket just flaked off. Due to the severity of the damage I immediately took the headlight to lauderdale BMW. Lauderdale BMW had a specialist look at the headlight. The specialist said that though it did look very bad unfortunately it was just due to the florida sun! there is no support for the headlight either from hella north America (the actual manufacturer of the headlight) or from BMW. No parts can be ordered for it. The only option available is to purchase a complete new headlight assy. At $1500. 00 I wrote to hella north America and they referred me to BMW germany. I wrote to Bmwna and they responded that it was just normal wear and tear. Imagine that, an 8 year old headlight deteriorate to bare wires is by BMW's concern, normal wear and tear! that's shameful! at this point I cannot install the headlight assembly back into the car for fear of a dead short and possible fire! I have a 1995 Chevrolet s-10 that at 19 years has no wiring issues and definitely no bare wires! for BMW though it is considered completely acceptable after 8 years! yet both vehicles sit side by side in the florida sun everyday! is it right that BMW vehicle pricing on the average is so much higher than Chevrolet and yet BMW's build quality and what is acceptable is so much lower! when this happens, something is terribly wrong!.
I discovered failures of multiple wires in the tailgate/rear window wiring harnesses. Through research online I have found this is a common problem with this vehicle over several model years - search for BMW e61 tailgate wiring problems. The failures are caused by a poor design where the wires entering the hinge guides (4) for the glass and tailgate are repeatedly flexed at a sharp angle until the insulation, then the copper wire breaks. Safety issues - possible electrical short circuit leading to fires (highest load is for rear defroster); lighting failures (rear high brake light, license plate lamps and others); reduced visibility due to loss of wiper/washer/defroster; rear glass latch opening while underway, possibly resulting in loss of cargo or ingress of exhaust fumes. Central locking mechanism fails. If there were to be an accident and/or interior fire escaping the vehicle would be difficult this is not an easily repaired problem. It would be beyond the capabilities of all but a skilled mechanic with proper tools. I discovered it when the remote lock/unlock using the key fobs failed. As I investigated I found the broken wire, along with several others with broken insulation, some with broken copper strands.