This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The vehicle came equipped from the factory with bi-xenon auto leveling headlights manufactured by zkw. The past couple months, the light output has steadily decreased. Brown scorch marks are visible in the projector when the headlight is on. On the driver's side, the xenon bulb burned off all the reflective material in the projector bowl. The light output from the projectors has been reduced to a thin beam of light. It is becoming very difficult to see while driving at night. This problem is getting progressively worse.
Burnt bowl in the headlights causing the xenon light to have diminished light output. Night driving is very difficult due to the headlight not being bright enough anymore. Replacement of the assemblies will only fix this temporarily until the bowls but again and the problem returned.
BMW E46 equipped with zkw brand headlights suffer from a burnt, melted, and cracked reflector bowl dramatically reducing the bi-xenon light output, making it difficult and unsafe to drive at night. This is a very common issue and needs to be resolved for drivers and others safety during night.
E46 BMW's with zkw xenon head lamps suffer from poor bulb projectors which burn to the point that light output is nearly none. This is defect is known by bmwna but nothing has been done to correct it.
It appears that a design defect has caused housings for bi-xenon headlights to be subject to heat stress, resulting in discoloration and cracking. As a result visibility during nighttime driving is significantly impacted when using both low-and high-beams. Approximate cost for replacement parts is in excess of $2,000, not including labor.
- Irvington, NY, USA
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The headlights of the car get progressively dimmer over time. Changing headlight bulbs (xenon hid D2S 4300K) does nothing because the reflective coating on the headlight bowls has melted / burnt off. There is a scent of hot plastic with the headlights recently on and protective covers removed. The headlight bowls appear darkly charred just above the bulb area.
After purchasing my 330I in North salem, NY, I spent about 30 hours driving the car home to Florida. I made it home late at night and pulled the car into my garage. Once inside, I noticed small wisps of smoke exiting the hood, just above each headlight. I opened the hood and smelled a faint burning plastic smell. Through online research and investigation on the vehicle, I found the projector headlight reflector bowls were severely 'burnt', something very common on these style headlights on this car. I researched more and found that these reflectors were made of plastic, and over time would overheat and burn, losing their reflective coating. This loss of reflective coating eventually leads to severely diminished light output. I researched how to replace or repair the lights, and eventually retrofitted newer metal projector bowls from a 2006+ BMW. This retrofit while not permanent, has helped. This is a very serious problem. In addition to the lack of headlight output, there is a serious fire hazard involved with this design flaw.
I have owned this car for approximately 4 years now and have noticed a gradual decrease of the brightness of my headlights during that time period. I took the car to BMW and they said I have a model of car that the reflectors break down due to the heat of the xenon bulbs. It apparently occurs in my model car with zkw reflectors from years 2003 - 2004. I asked the mechanic if this was something that was going to be recalled and he literally laughed. This defect costs well over $2000 in parts alone and is a definite safety hazard. When I am on roads that are not well lit, it seems as though my fog lights actually provide better illumination of the road that my headlights do. In my opinion this is a serious safety hazard and warrants a recall. Please investigate this matter further.
Dear NHTSA, the headlight design of BMW's E46 bodies are just horrible. Light output is close to none creating a significant problem regarding visibility. The reason is due to BMW's reflector bowl that deteriorates through out time due to its plastic material and finally ends up burning. It is so bad that the fog lights produce much more light then its low beams. We definitely need your help NHTSA because BMW sure does not want to help, their solution is that you have to replace the whole headlight which is 1200 a piece. Millions of E46 owners have to deal with this problem and is a major safety concern. NHTSA investigators must go and investigate the problem so they know how bad it really is. Yes that means BMW will loose millions of dollars but it is safety that matters, we don't want any person or child to be killed just because of a poor headlight design. Only solution to this problem is up to your guys, NHTSA. Thank you for taking time to read my message, I really appreciate it. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Both bixenon headlamps assemblies have failed on the vehicle they emit little to no light due to the known bowl burn issues with the plastic reflectors (should have been fabricated from metal), inside these headlamp assemblies. In looking at the light assemblies, they seemed to have failed a long time ago. This is a very unsafe and hazardous situation that renders the vehicle basically inoperative at night to the owner, because fellow drivers, pedestrians, and/or bicyclist may be not able to see your headlights. This could cause or may have already lead to fatal vehicular accident(s) or the death of a pedestrian(s) and/or bicyclist(s) because of the low to no light emitted by these faulty headlamps. While performing in depth research on the internet discovered that this is a very common and known problem on this make and model at all mileages. The BMW forums are full of complaints about this problem and an open complaint seems to be open and in process with NHTSA since 2009 some three years ago. Neither BMW or its supplier of this faulty part make a reasonably priced service part that can be purchased to correct this known product and safety problem. Not even the aftermarket industry makes a service part to correct this product problem. To correct this issue, you must purchase two new complete head lamp assemblies at a cost of approximately $ $1,200 each from BMW which is outrageous especially for such a know product and safety problem. I can't understand why a recall has not been initiated for such a known problem on so many vehicles that has been on going for so long.. I contacted BMW North America for relief with this know safety and product problem and they could not help me with this issue because there is no open recall for this known product and safety problem.
The contact owns a 2004 BMW 330I. The contact stated that both front headlights illuminated very dimly. The contact examined the headlights and noticed that the front driver side headlight bulb burned a hole through its housing. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed. The contact replaced the bulbs himself, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The contact was informed that the entire headlight housing needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was 65,000. Updated 07/25/12 the consumer stated the brand of headlights on his vehicle were factory installed. Xenon bulbs. The projector bowls were the pieces that burned and not sold separately, but instead were sold with complete headlamp assemblies. There was very little visibility when driving in the dark, and he has to use the fog lamps in order to see the road. Updated 07/30/12
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!
Front optional hid (xenon) headlamps were noticed a being extremely dim. The headlight has a replaceable plastic lens. Lens was first polished and then when no light improvement was observed, both lenses were replaced. Light output remain very poor. Bulb were ordered to replace original however when beginning to replace the bulbs it was noticed that the bowl had an observed scorch or burned spot on the projector bowl and I ceased changing the bowl. After reading forums it appears this is a common manufacturing defect involving a safety items that reduces viability and may possibly burn through on this model year with this option. A photo is available if necessary.
Headlights of 2004 BMW 330I with xenons are made by manufacturing company "zkw" and bound to fail. Visibility and light output becomes extremely poor, that you must drive around with extra lights, or high beams on. When you open up the reflective case, you will see that both front headlights driver and passenger side have burnt bowls, which do not allow any light output at all. This is extremely dangerous, I have gotten into an accident due to not being able to see far distance at night. Please address and investigate this matter immediately.
Purchased a used 2004 BMW 330I. The headlight output is very dim, and upon research into the matter, have learned that the supplied zkw headlight assemblies contain plastic reflector bowls that are prone to melting and/or burning. I inspected my headlight assemblies and found this to be the case. The reflector bowls in my headlights are burnt, and consequently my headlights are not nearly as bright and effective as they should be. This is a safety hazard - nighttime visibility is something that should be taken seriously by a manufacturer.
Bi-xenon headlamp projector back-bowls are made out of plastic and have had their reflective coating burnt off of them from normal headlight usage. Due to the lack of reflectivity on the projector bowls my headlights have become significantly more dim over time as more of the reflective coating is burning off. It has become harder and more dangerous to drive at night due to the severe lack of light my headlights now produce.
Bought my vehicle brand new from BMW dealership & after about 5 years of having my car, I noticed that my xenon headlights were not shining as bright as they usually did. Over time I eventually had to use the high beams at night in order to see while driving. I had the passenger side headlight replaced after an accident in Nov 2010 & recently went to have the driver side headlight checked to see why it wasn't illuminating as it should be. It was found that the protective sheath covering the wires in the headlight had dry rotted/desintegrated & there was hardly any sheath covering the wires, due to the heat generated by the xenon light. In addition, it was found that the projector bulb reflector had melted & burned out, also due to the heat generated by the xenon light & is why the light no longer illuminates as it should. I contacted BMW due to my findings & because many other BMW owners with the same year and model vehicle have experienced similar issues & BMW has been unwilling to address the issue. There is clearly a defect in the light design given the number of owners who have had this same issue and the fact that zkw & BMW has since changed the design of the xenon headlight in newer models & the newer design doesn't have this issue. BMW need to be accountable for this design defect & replace the headlight with the newer design because replacing the headlight costs over $1200 dollars each light & being that the replacement lights have the same design defect you will find yourself having to replace the headlights every 4 to 5 years because it to will burn out and the projector bulb reflector is not sold separately & the entire lights has to be replaced. I can visibly see areas on the replaced headlight where the projector bulb reflector has already started to melt & burn & I have only had that light a little over a year.
The bi-xenon projector headlights on my car do not produce the focused light that they did when the car was purchased. Investigation has produced evidence that the plastic xenon reflector bowls have lost their reflective material and that the plastic reflector bowl is now deteriorated and brown. The pattern of where the reflective material has disappeared indicates that the vapor deposited reflective material has failed due to the heat generated by the headlight bulb. Other headlights in the BMW 3 series line have metal bowls and do not display the same problem. I've spoken to my BMW dealer and BMW of America and registered a complaint but received no assistance. If the projector bowls were available as replacement items I wouldn't be as un-happy unfortunately that's not the case and to rectify the problem it requires the customer to purchase headlight assemblies at around $1200 per side. As I am an engineer by profession I would consider this a design defect due to a poor choice of material capabilities and/or material compatibilities. I consider this to be a safety issue due to the fact that this occurs over time leaving the owner operator with slow deterioration of light quality. I would appreciate your assistance in holding BMW responsible for the safety of their customers and others on the our highways. I had notice the reduced light quality but was blaming it on the condition of my headlight lenses. But after having my headlight lenses reconditioned the lighting condition continued. Leaving me to investigate and find that this is a common issue with other BMW 3 series automobiles.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Agoura Hills, CA, USA