2005 BMW 330I exterior lighting problems
17 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the exterior lighting on the 2005 BMW 330I — 61% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“The oem factory zkw headlight reflector bowl is cheaply made and is known to burn out. The cheap plastic used cannot handle the heat of the bulb and the metallic reflector film eventually starts to go bad causing very poor headlight visibility. This is a safety hazard and concern. Bmw needs to be…”
filed Nov 20, 2019
“Over the last several years, the light intensity has steadily declined in both headlights of my car, to the point where they no longer function. My mechanic has looked inside the headlights and found that the projector bowl reflector has prematurely worn out -- it has lost its reflective ability…”
filed Feb 12, 2019
“I presented this problem to the dealer a few years ago the instrument panel light kept telling me a bulb was out and when you look at it all the bulbs were working. I have replace the rear taillight assembly due to the prong where starting to melt. So I call bmwna and they too ignored my first request for the recall…”
filed Mar 17, 2017
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Related recalls
- Exterior LightingCampaign 11V438000 · Aug 26, 2011
Exterior Lighting problems in other 330I years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 330I | 1 | 2% |
| 2019 330I | 3 | 8% |
| 2017 330I | 1 | 2% |
| 2006 330I | 2 | 1% |
| 2004 330I | 83 | 73% |
| 2003 330I | 28 | 36% |
| 2002 330I | 10 | 22% |
| 2001 330I | 7 | 6% |
Other reported problem areas on the 2005 BMW 330I
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.