| Issue ID | 1052936 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10576334 |
| Manufacurer | BMW of North America, LLC |
| Brand | BMW |
| Model | 3 SERIES |
| Model Year | 2004 |
| File date | 09/04/08 |
| Component | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | The reflective material in the xenon headlamps has melted away due to the heat of the bulbs resulting in drastically reduced headlight effectiveness at night. This causes an extremely unsafe condition when driving at night. I have discovered this is a common occurrence in 2003-2005 e46 bmw 3 series and i believe it should be recalled and fixed by the manufacturer. Bmw knows this is a deficiency as they corrected it in their later models. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 60000 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | VIRGINIA BEACH, VA |
| VIN pattern | WBAEV53474KXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | 0 |
| No. of fatalities | 0 |
| Date of purchase | 06/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | 6 |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 55 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |