I purchased said automobile from my neighbor for my son to drive. I figured it was a good car to buy because it was serviced by Hendrick BMW (Charlotte, NC) only and regularly. BMW's also have a reputation for being safe as well as reputable so this also weighed into my decision. Fast forward 18 months. The passenger rear brake bulb went out. We replaced the bulb, it worked for a short time, then went out. We replaced the bulb again. This time it didnt work. About a week later the front passenger side head light went out, then the other side. We took it to Hendrick BMW for repair. Hendrick has told us the car wiring basically needs to be replaced due to the protective coat wearing off and corroding the bare wire underneath. The headlights/ brake light will also need to be replaced due to the corrosion blowing out the bulb. For the front headlight the whole assembly needs to be replaced at a tremendous cost. I performed a google search on this and found many, many instances of the same issue. Ive seen many of these cars while casually driving around town. It would seem to be a MAJOR issue if an active drivers head and tail lights suddenly stopped working on a busy road. Also due to the cost most people probably wouldnt fix the issue on their own and drive the car anyway causing an ever bigger safety issue. I have never had this issue with any other vehicle brand ive owned. Ive looked into this issue with other brands and most tell me they use wiring which will not do this. I am not sure why BMW would not do the same. The car is also up for inspection. The car will not pass inspection unless I pony up over $6k ($2500 NADA value) to fix. My taxes are also due. In NC you cant pay the tax unless the car passes inspection. This is costing me daily penalties in addition to the major safety issue. I believe the federal safety agency has a duty to look into this major manufacturing defect and have BMW provide remedy to those other unfortunate folks who are experiencing the same issue.
BMW 525I headlights problems
16 of the 434 owner complaints about the BMW 525I describe headlights failing or too dim, most of them for the 2006 model year.
- owner complaints
- 16
- worst model year
- 2006
- typical mileage
- 101,460
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
Headlight wiring insulation rot lead to failed high and low beams on driver side and intermittent failures of both beams on passenger side. See photo for exampole of disintegrated wiring on driver high beam wiring harness. Only known option is to buy a complete new headlight assembly ($1250+ per side) or attempt diy. This problem is well-known and has long been reported by other bmw e60 (5 series 2004-2010) owners at bimmerfest.com and 5sriest.net. See these urls for more information: https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=798640 https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=883000 https://5series.net/forums/e60-e61-parts-accessories-mods-22/opening-up-e60-headlights-138473/
Because of poor quality of fiber optics wiring used on the headlight they tend dry rot resulting in a burnt out headlight. Which can become a safety hazard.
Went to replace my front headlamp bulbs after headlamp failure while operating my vehicle at night, on a winding road, in rural texas. Mechanic pulled the "sealed" housing, and discovered that the majority of the wires in the headlamp assembly had faulty insulation. The insulation had "flaked" off to the point that many of the wires were exposed, causing a short circuit, and failure of the headlamp. Researched the issue on many forums, and it is a common occurrrence. Replacement costs of each headlamp assembly is approx $1500. The use of subpar insulation appears to be the cause of this safety issue.
I own a 2006 525i bmw with 69k miles and my adaptive headlights wiring inside the light, the protective coating on all the wires are all deteriorating and giving me a fault for the apative headlight system and they are not working.
When I realized a lightbulb in my headlights went out I bought the bulb online ready to replace it. I realized when replacing that the wires connecting to the headlights are completely flaked off. So I wanted money on a new bulb because it won't light up regardless. Now this not only causes the bulb to not work but it messes with the lights in the whole side of the headlight. My entire left headlight tweaks. Sometimes jus one parking light is out, then it's the high beam that doesn't work, then it's the low beam. Sometimes when I have low beams on the left headlight has its high beams on by itself. All this happened because I tried to change a bulb and the wirings jus flaked off as soon as they moved or bended a bit. This is very dangerous because my headlight won't work sometimes and that makes me not so visible at night. Also I end up unintentionally having my high beams on with no way for me to turn it off besides completely turning off my headlights. Pretty sure it's an electrical or fire hazard too to have a bunch of naked wires side by side. Fault number 2 is the brakes. When coming to complete stop my car jerks. There's nothing wrong with the brake system. I talked to a couple people with the same model car as me and they all had the same problem. It just happens once the car gets to a high number of miles. Something should be done about this because a functional car shouldn't be jerking when coming to a stop. Especially if the brakes are in perfect condition.
Vehicle was in motion during these events . Electric warning malfunction, alert passenger restraint system malfunction. A message right low beam headlight was malfunctioning. Electronic control sudden malfunction of the windshield wipers.
Wiring insulation on headlights is disintegrating and falling off wiring causing electrical shorts and loss of lighting
Main headlight failure during night driving cause by electrical short circuit, due to headlight internal electrical wiring insulation failure. Internal electrical wiring insulation seems not to meet sae, nec, asme, etc. Codes and standard for the uses, like engine electrical wiring, subject to heat exposure from headlight bulb generation. Major safety issues can result from sudden headlight failure without previous notice, which can cause accident at dark roads. Headlight failure occurs while driving in a dark road at night.
The wires in the head light assembly are brittle and break upon just touching them. Causing day time running lights to fail as wires are bare and touching each other. This is also a fire hazard.
Related recalls
Exterior lighting: brake lights: switch
- What is wrong
- The brake light switch can fail allowing the switch to remain in the "brake lights off" position or in the "brake lights on" position.
- Risk
- If this happens, the brake lights either will not operate or will be continuously on, regardless of brake pedal position. Following drivers would not be able to determine whether the vehicle is stopping, increasing the potential for a vehicle accident.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the existing brake light switch with a newly designed switch.
Recall number 96V111000 · Recall details
Questions about the BMW 525I headlights
Which BMW 525I years have headlights failing or too dim problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2006 (5 complaints), 2007 (5 complaints) and 2004 (2 complaints).
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