2003 BMW 3 Series: headlights failing or too dim

Filed Nov 27, 2016 · Lights · NE

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.

Filed May 21, 2014 · Lights · 197,300 miles · CA

There is limited light output from the xenon/hid headlight assemblies due to "melted" projector bowls from bmw. This is a serious safety defect that prevents end users from being able to see the road and objects ahead of them.

Filed Feb 16, 2013 · Lights · 70,000 miles · CA

Oem projector headlights burnt behind projector causing very dim lights.

Filed Jun 23, 2012 · Electrical, Lights · 110,304 miles · GA

The projector bowls on the zkw headlights were burnt out due to a design flaw. I see lot of complaints online with the same issue. Driving in night is really difficult and dangerous.

Filed Mar 24, 2012 · Lights · TX

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.

Filed Jan 18, 2012 · Lights · 50,000 miles · GA

Zkw xenon headlight reflector bowl is burned resulting in very dim light output. I am often afraid of driving at night because I feel it is a danger to my safety.

Filed Jan 13, 2012 · Lights · 150,000 miles · KY

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 bmw 323. The contact stated that the headlights would flicker on and off. The turn signal light would also flicker abnormally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where they advised him that the taillight assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they advised the contact that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number: 11v438000 (exterior lighting:tail lights). The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Filed Jan 2, 2012 · Lights · 80,000 miles · FL

The bmw e46 (3 series bmw) that was made from 1999 to 2006. In some cases during these years they used a lighting manufacturer "zkw" for their xenon headlights. Unfortunately these lights have a common failure issue commonly referred to as a "burnt reflector" on the internet and on bmw forums. This is a non-consumer replaceable part. When this part fails it causes the vehicle to not have effective headlights. I personally have had times where my field of vision could not see items on the road due to the dim lights. The only remedy appears to be to replace the entire headlight assembly to the tune of hundreds of dollars (well over a thousand if you do both sides). In my opinion bmw should correct this issue for the consumer. Headlights are an important safety item. To have a part fail that is not consumer replaceable is unacceptable. Many people have this issue but have no way to remedy it. Just google it or check e46fanatics.com. You will see that there are plenty of people that realize this is an issue.

Filed Dec 11, 2011 · Lights · 111,000 miles · NJ

Zkw bi xenon headlights reflectors burn out over time. The bowls are shot and they were black, burned to a crisp. They were made out of a plastic material with a chrome coating, instead of a metal reflector. This should be a recall for bmw. They got the tail light which works fine in my car, I need my headlights to see!

Filed Dec 11, 2011 · Lights · 105,952 miles · RI

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.

Filed Nov 21, 2011 · Lights · 38,000 miles · MD

Headlights fail randomly. Headlights flicker, turn off, turn back on. Independent of speed or weather conditions. Bulb testing after this failure indicate that the bulbs are not failing (they are not burned out).

Filed Jul 17, 2011 · Lights · 98,000 miles · NY

The low beam reflectors on 2003-2004 zkw branded high intensity discharge xenon oem hid headlights on the 3 series bmw from that model year (sedan) were made of some painted material that degraded when subjected to the heat produced by the oem xenon bulbs. This results in a significantly decreased light output as the reflector became scorched. If it's bad enough, there is no light being projected on the road and it is very hard to see anything with the normal headlights. Either the high beams have to be used or the foglights have to be turned on. This is a safety issue. I would imagine that bmw and zkw were and are aware of the defect as the newer, redesigned headlights do not suffer from this problem. Replacement oem headlights cost $1200 for each side.