BMW 530I headlights have faulty wiring. Insulation is crumbling an severly degraded leaving bare wires exposed to short circuits. Discovered the faulty wire when I went to replace the parking / angel eye lights. I have attempted to solve the problem short term with electrical tape. As soon as you touch the wire to put electrical tape on it, more of the faulty insulation comes off. Wire has essentially lost all insulation.
BMW 530I headlights problems
37 of the 568 owner complaints about the BMW 530I describe headlights failing or too dim, most of them for the 2007 model year.
- owner complaints
- 37
- worst model year
- 2007
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,700
- typical mileage
- 105,000
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Airbag light 2Wipers 1Warning lights 1Won't shift 1Fire or smoke 1Adaptive cruise 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2017 BMW 530I. The contact stated while attempting to park the vehicle, the contact became aware that the headlights were inoperable. The contact stated that the headlights failed to function properly, and the lights failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the headlamps had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 105,453.
Nearly every bmw suffers from failed wiring in the headlights. This should be addressed as a recalled oint of failure as it involves everybody on the road.
Headlights would take turns randomly working, then one night both headlights turned off while I was going around a corner at 55mph. This was in the country no street lights. Just as I came to a blind stop there both kicked back on. After getting home I took apart to find some wires were rotting other already bare, and others cracking. I pray this doesnt happen to anyone else because if this problem isn't fixed someone's going to die. Also if someone does crash I pray to god they can quickly get out of car before all those bare wires behind headlight get smashed together and the fire starts.
The headlight went out - replaced bulbs and still not working. Removed the headlight assembly and noticed every wire was bare with barely any coating left to protect the wires- at least 15 wires. Headlight replacement cost is over $650.00.!! This is an electrical hazard and could cause shorting out and a dangerous driving situation in the least.
Insulation on electrical wiring inside headlight assembly is crumbling apart. This lets bare wire touch each other and shorts out headlight, leading to malfunctioning / very unpredictable and dangerous lighting. Other drivers may not see you coming
The wire harness for both headlights in this vehicle are completely frayed. Bare copper wires can be seeing and the lights are inoperative. In addition to night driveability being and issue, the potential for a short circuit and fire under the hood exists. A cursory internet research shows that this is common issue with several bmw model years, potentially affecting thousands of drivers.
The headlight assembly had a halo light that burnt out. I went to the dealer and bought a replacement bulb. When I unscrewed the light bulb, the wiring insulation fell off and exposed all of the copper wiring in the headlight wiring harness. They do not sell a replacement wiring harness and now I'm required to buy a new headlight assembly for the passengers side which costs approx $1700+ at my local dealership. Due to the high costs of the headlight assembly, I'm not able to afford it and now my car will not pass inspection which has prevented me from driving it. I can only imagine that the other headlight has the same issue from reading 100's of other forum posts on the internet about this same issue with their vehicles. I've attempted to fix this issue myself using electrical tape but that didn't work for long. I've contacted repair shops and they won't take the headlight assembly apart due to the age of it. The vehicle was in motion when the light bulb burnt out. This issue happened in 2015 and I decided to drive with the halo light bulb burnt out but then the low beam bulb burnt out. Now my car won't pass inspection to continue driving it in texas.
Wiring on headlights flaking apart leaving bear expose wires !!!
Headlights internal wiring geta so hot it melts and cracks and deteriorates and causes short circuit eventually leading to both or single high beam malfunction.
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 530I headlights
Which BMW 530I years have headlights failing or too dim problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2007 (14 complaints), 2006 (10 complaints) and 2004 (7 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix headlights failing or too dim on the BMW 530I?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,700 (median of 8 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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