NHTSA Complaint #11315498 — 2004 BMW 330I

PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY WIRES BREAK AND CAUSE THE HEADLIGHT TO STOP EMITTING LIGHT OR OTHERWISE WORKING. REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO REPAIR THE WIRING HARNESS EVENTUALLY FAIL. THIS OCCURS WITH MERE NORMAL USE OF THE CAR AND PASSAGE OF TIME. THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY AND BULB ARE STILL INTACT, BUT SIMPLY RECEIVE NO POWER DUE TO THE BROKEN WIRES. THE ASSEMBLY CAN FAIL AT ANY TIME, WHETHER STATIONARY, IN MOTION, OR ON BACK ROADS OR HIGHWAYS. WHEN THIS ISSUE IS GOOGLED ON THIS PARTICULAR CAR, A 2004'2006 BMW 3 SERIES E46 COUPE WITH BI-XENON ADAPTIVE HEADLIGHTS, MANY MANY USERS REPORT THE SAME ISSUE. NO MATTER THE CONDITION, LOCATION, AND SERVICE HISTORY OF THE CAR, THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WILL ALWAYS STOP WORKING SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE WIRING. SEE: HTTPS://FORUM.E46FANATICS.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=1073501 IF REPAIRED ENOUGH TIMES, THE ASSEMBLY BECOMES UNREPAIRABLE, AT WHICH POINT THE USER IS STUCK DRIVING WITHOUT A HEADLIGHT, A DANGEROUS SITUATION TO BE IN. ORDERING AN INCREDIBLY COSTLY $1500 PART TO REPLACE IT IS NOT ONLY COSTLY, BUT WILL EVENTUALLY RESULT IN THE SAME CRITICAL ISSUE RE-APPEARING BECAUSE THE DESIGN IS INHERENTLY DEFECTIVE. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. OTHER COSTS INCLUDE MECHANICS WHO INSIST TO CUSTOMERS THAT THE ISSUE IS BOTH WIRING AND THE BULB TOO, CAUSING UNSUSPECTING USERS TO BE CHARGED EXTRA FOR REPLACEMENT BULBS AND THE ASSOCIATED LABOR AS WELL. FIRST OCCURRENCE ON MY CAR WAS APRIL 2019, SECOND WAS OCTOBER 2019, AND THIRD WAS FEBRUARY 2020 AT WHICH POINT THE PART WAS DEEMED UNREPAIRABLE. 2004'2006 BMW 325CI AND BMW 330CI WITH ADAPTIVE BI-XENON HID HEADLIGHTS