The wiring in my headlight assembly is crumbling and the headlight is shorting out. The coating on the wiring is trash. I own a 08 Bmw550i. BMW should be ashamed. Thanks [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
BMW 550I headlights problems
12 of the 253 owner complaints about the BMW 550I describe headlights failing or too dim, most of them for the 2007 model year.
- owner complaints
- 12
- worst model year
- 2007
- typical mileage
- 101,000
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
The insulation wiring deteriorated causing the passenger headlight to stop working while driving on the freeway
Wiring in headlight assemblies shorts out because of degraded defective wiring insulation. Headlights can immediately fail while driving at night. Passenger side headlight failed.
Was replacing h7 headlamps and discovered all of the insulation on the wiring inside both headlight assemblies had disintegrated and both assemblies contained multiple bare wires. This could result in a short or blowing a fuse when driving making headlamps stop working. Could easily cause an accident. Or car could catch on fire due to short circuit. I have googled this and found many many similar complaints. A recall should have already been voluntary on bmw USA or forced by the ntsb. Extremely dangerous situation.
Headlight wire insulation flaking off and wires are shorting causing headlight to go off. Wires short and arcing. The headlight went off while driving on highway at night.
Frayed and disintegrating headlight wiring present throughout my headlamps. These are sealed enclosures for which there are no preventive maintenance items. This is a serious safety issue as the headlights may fail without warning, particularly in hot weather. These are non consumer replaceable parts and prohibitively expensive to replace and should not be failing after only 8 years of service.
Experience "highbeam malfunction" warning light. Inspected the headlamps (e60 adaptive xenon part # 6312710157). The driver's side low-beam halogen melted through reflector. Inspected wiring and the sheathing / jacket were disintegrating causing short circuiting. Upon further research, this is a result of bmw's use of biodegradable materials in mid-200's cars. Not only is this a fire hazard, the only remedy is to get a new headlamp set (~$1300 each)
Bought a 2008 bmw 550i and experienced headlight failure with the headlight fuse blowing repeatedly when I went to change the bulbs noticed that all the wires in the headlight were bare. Used liquid insulation to fix the issue however have seen numerous of this car catching fire from the issue after some research
I had a parking light go bad and while I was replacing it I noticed that the wiring inside the headlight assembly is no longer insulated. The insulation has become brittle and is flaking off. I removed the cover for the other headlight and the same thing has happened to that light. It would seem that these bare wires could cause a vehicle fire.
I recently started experiencing fuses blowing on my right front head light units. Errors would indicate it was the 'right daylight parking unit' and then would clear or stay constant. When it was constant, it was due to a blown fuse. It turns out when I had a bmw certified technician look at the issue he said that the problem was related to the wiring inside the front head light. The wiring had insulation that was starting to flake off allowing contact of the two wires going to the bulb and was even apparent on other wires within the head light assembly. If I hit a bump or went over rumble strips these wires could touch and short causing the fuse to blow and/or error message. After 3 fuses and buying an unnecessary set of h8 bulbs, the technician fixed the wiring with some electrical tape but suggested that a file a complaint here since there is no open recall for this common issue. He also told me this problem with wire insulation falling off was very common on bmw's that were 5-7 years old. I could see burn marks on the wire an installation from where the short occurred and was shocked that all the wiring within the head lamp on both the right and left front showed these flaking and cracking. After researching online at several bmw forums I found many similar issues and images almost identical to the ones my technician took. I would like a recall to be issued by bmw to replace the head light assemblies or internal wiring with wires that have a better/proper insulator that doesn't flake off. I've not had the back lights checked, but found that this is common on most if not all bmw light assemblies front/back for a few online research queries. Also where can I send the digital pictures my technician took of the wiring?
Related recalls
Exterior lighting
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2013 528i, 528i xDrive, 535i, 535i xDrive, 550i, 550i xDrive, and ActiveHybrid 5 vehicles. The rear reflex reflectors may not reflect enough light. As such, the vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
- Risk
- The vehicle may be less visible to other vehicles, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear reflex reflectors, free of charge. The recall began July 28, 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 15V188000 · Recall details
Exterior lighting: tail lights
- What is wrong
- BMW is recalling certain model year 2008 through 2010 528i, 535i, 550i, and M5 passenger cars manufactured from March 1, 2007, through December 31, 2009. Over time, increased resistance at the taillight electrical contact points may cause damage to the ground terminal and housing of the connector resulting in an intermittent or permanent loss of functionality of one or more rear lamp functions (tail, brake, turn-signal, reverse).
- Risk
- Intermittent light operation reduces the ability to warn other motorists of the driver's intentions, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear lamp bulb carriers free of charge. Owners may contact BMW customer relations at 1‑800‑525‑7417 or email BMW at [email protected].
Recall number 13V407000 · Recall details
Questions about the BMW 550I headlights
Which BMW 550I years have headlights failing or too dim problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2007 (5 complaints), 2008 (5 complaints) and 2006 (1 complaints).
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