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.
Rt rear brake light failed to illuminate while the brake pedal was applied. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The vehicle had not been repaired. There was a recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number 11V438000 (exterior lighting); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was 43,120. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request.
I was driving one night and the headlight out indicator on the dash lit up showing the passenger headlight to be out. This limited my ability to see the road as I now only had one headlight operational. Upon further inspection, the halogen bulb was found to be in working order, but the wiring harness has lost its insulation. On both the driver and passenger side the insulation on the internal wire harness to the headlights has dried out and fallen off, exposing bare copper making an electrical short highly likely.
Passenger headlight low beam reflector is burnt out due to faulty material being used. Reflector is made out of plastic and normal heat from bulb melts the plastic. This makes it very unsafe and difficult to see at night. This seems to be extremely common on the internet. The solution is very expensive and due to this cost, most people will not fix and drive under this unsafe situation. Please look into this and hold BMW responsible.
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.
- Leavenworth, KS, USA
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Oem zkw xenon projectors burned out over time causing extremely low headlight output during nigh time driving. Extremely low visibility during rain in the night due to significantly low light output.
Oem bi-xenon headlights (manufacturer zkw) have a burned out bowl (reflector) that has greatly reduced the amount of light that is produced. Changing bulbs has made no difference. Many other owners have reported the same type of problem in various user forums.
The contact owns a 2005 BMW 325I. The contact stated that the brake lights failed to illuminate while the brake pedal was being applied. Also, the contact mentioned that the turn signals and tail lights failed. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where it was diagnosed that the ground wire kit needed to be replaced. The contact was also informed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number 11V438000 (exterior lighting). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The approximate failure and current mileage was 65,648. Updated 06/24/14 MA updated 06/25/2014
The contact owns a 2005 BMW 325I. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the brake lights failed to constantly illuminate while the brake pedal was applied. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The vehicle had not been repaired. There was a recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number 11V438000 (exterior lighting); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000. Updated 07/10/13
Oem bi-xenon headlights (manufacturer zkw) have a burned out bowl (reflector) that has greatly reduced the amount of light that is produced. Changing bulbs has made no difference. Many other owners have reported the same type of problem in various user forums.
I received a recall letter from BMW for the problem with rear lamps. At that time, all real lamps were working on my car. However for safety concern, I brought my car to be checked; few months later, one of the tail light not working. I took my car back to the dealer, they said they were done for the recall. I need to pay if I want to fix the problem. But I found there was no positive voltage on the light bulb circuit. I traced the wire and discovered the wire was broken. Then I also found all other wires for the tail lights were aging, the plastic of the wires were deteriorated and the copper wire explored to visible. That mean the dealer didn't do the right work last time. Because it's no reason the wire will deteriorate that fast if they did it right for the recall. I complaint to BMW and the representative said they already done with my car. If I need any work to be done I need to pay by myself. The copper wires explored to visible, it would cause electric fire. This is a safety issue. I have the picture showing the aging wire condition on my car. I can email to you if you need it.
The contact owns a 2005 BMW 325xi. The contact stated that the tail light wires became loose, causing them to fail. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was confirmed that the tail light assembly failed and needed to be replaced. The contact also stated that the open/close controls for the rear passenger's window would not function properly. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 85,000 and the current mileage was 90,000. Updated 2/4/13 the consumer stated similar vehicles were recalled because of the tail light failure. This vehicle was not because the dealers in germany are under sofa agreement. Updated 02/20/2013
The headlamp goes out does not consistently stay on! I was told by BMW employee they have had alot of problems with this the lamp gets to hot and melts the wiring and the whole light has to be replaced $1200 or better! this is a safety issue since you have no idea if you will have full lights at night. I read blogs on the internet with many people having this problem!
The contact owns a 2005 BMW 325I. The contact stated that the headlight warning light illuminated. The contact stated that one of the headlights failed and over time, both headlights failed. Sporadically, the failure would rotate between the passenger and driver side headlights. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was advised that there was nothing wrong with the headlights. The failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 71,000.
The contact owns a 2005 BMW 325I. The contact stated the exterior brake lights became inoperative. The contact received NHTSA campaign number: 11V438000 (exterior lighting:brake lights) recall, but did not receive the work needed to perform the recall, due to the dealer not receiving the necessary parts. The manufacturer was contacted and stated the parts would be available in December, but the deadline had passed. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate mileage on the vehicle was 145,000.
The contact owns a 2005 BMW 325I. The contact stated that the exterior tail lights burned out. The contact was changing the bulbs twice when the bulb and the wires burned her fingers. The wires and the housing had become so hot that it also burned a hole surrounding the bulb. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 11V438000 (exterior lighting: Tail lights) but the contact was advised by the dealer that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 88,000.
The contact owns a 2005 BMW 325I. The contact stated that the right turn signal failed. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. The dealer was contacted and they advised the contact that the resistance in the lamp connectors may have failed. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2005 BMW 325I. While parked, the contact noticed the rear tail lights were not illuminating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic. The technician replaced the light bulbs for the rear tail lights. The failure continued after the replacement of the bulbs. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the technician replaced the circuit board and the tail light wiring harness. The vehicle was repaired. There was a recall under NHTSA campaign id number: 11V438000 (exterior lighting:tail lights) that may be related to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated the VIN was not included in the recall. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cohasset, MA, USA