| Issue ID | 1330622 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10920112 |
| Manufacurer | BMW of North America, LLC |
| Brand | BMW |
| Model | 330I |
| Model Year | 2004 |
| File date | 15/10/16 |
| Component | EXTERIOR LIGHTING |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | I recently purchased the vehicle and immediately noticed the poor light output from the factory xenons. I went online and found out that many people with the e46 sedan with xenon headlights manufactured by zkw have an issue of the projector bowls burning slowly over time due to poor material choice that cannot withstand the heat generated by the factory bulbs. Upon inspection of my headlights, i noticed that the bowls in my headlights were indeed both burnt and cracked and as a result of this, it is extremely difficult to see at night due to poor light output. I have resulted to using my fog lights as a supplementary light source just to see in the evenings and i find this unacceptable and negligent of bmw considering complaints have been made for years. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 106000 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | BALL GROUND, GA |
| VIN pattern | WBAEV53414KXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 40 |
| 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 |