Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||||
| 120802 | 10/01/2002 | 10000372 | Engine wiring harness section replacement for ignition coils. *tt | 02/25/2003 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 12/28/2012 | 65000 | 1 | |
| Please note that this incident happened prior to the date and mileage noted above as the previous owner had to also deal with this problem. i report the dates as when i received the car when it came into my ownership only. driver's door lock failed to electronically and mechanically unlocked from the inside. the door can only be opened from the outside with a key. this poses a potentially grave safety concern as no one can open the door from inside - essentially passengers may become locked-in. culprit appears to be bmw e46 gm v module factory coding where glitch prevents door locks from behaving appropriately. aftermarket reprogramming fixes the issue. this is a very common issue for bmw e46 vehicles - internet search bmw gm v control module for details and testimonials. bmw should be held responsible and fix the issue. *tr | |||
| 12/28/2012 | 65000 | ||
| Please note that this incident happened prior to the date and mileage noted above as the previous owner had to also deal with this problem. i report the dates as when i received the car when it came into my ownership only. driver's door lock failed to electronically and mechanically unlocked from the inside. the door can only be opened from the outside with a key. this poses a potentially grave safety concern as no one can open the door from inside - essentially passengers may become locked-in. culprit appears to be bmw e46 gm v module factory coding where glitch prevents door locks from behaving appropriately. aftermarket reprogramming fixes the issue. this is a very common issue for bmw e46 vehicles - internet search bmw gm v control module for details and testimonials. bmw should be held responsible and fix the issue. | |||
| 12/01/2010 | 120000 | ||
| About 2 or so years ago i started to notice my night driving was becoming unpleasant and unsafe due to the fact that my headlights were losing output. after replacing the plastic lenses new from bmw i then went on to buying new bulbs thinking that would make a diff. it didn't. 10-12-12 today my lights are yellow/foggy on the inside like smoke has made the lenses opaque and my output is barely seen, i looked on the back where the bulb is inserted and it sure looks brown in there, i get more light reflected on the ground when i turn my turn signals than i do on the headlights. after going online and searching, my car came from facotry with a defect zkw xenon headlight system, which 99% of the zkw headlight owners of e46 sedans found online have the same issue, all you have to do is google e46 zkw burnt bowls . i have a 4 month old little girl, i cannot imagine driving with her in the car on a rainy night and my concern is now my baby. i can send you pictures if needed please, thank you for reading and i appreciate your help. | |||
| 07/11/2012 | 114000 | 1 | |
| Central locking mechanism is going crazy. if i were in a crash, the car is supposed to unlock the doors, turn on the flashers, etc. this will not happen with the central locking mechanism working intermittently. if i am injured in an accident it may be more difficult for paramedics to get to me. i was actually locked in my car today when i arrived at school. i had to crawl out the window and thankfully i was able to roll up the window with the key in the door. i have read that this may stop working as well. this is very concerning, online i have read that this can cost around $750.00 to fix at the local bmw stealership (whoops, dealership). bmw should fix this if they are concerned with their drivers safety. *tr | |||
| 07/11/2012 | 114000 | ||
| Central locking mechanism is going crazy. if i were in a crash, the car is supposed to unlock the doors, turn on the flashers, etc. this will not happen with the central locking mechanism working intermittently. if i am injured in an accident it may be more difficult for paramedics to get to me. i was actually locked in my car today when i arrived at school. i had to crawl out the window and thankfully i was able to roll up the window with the key in the door. i have read that this may stop working as well. this is very concerning, online i have read that this can cost around $750.00 to fix at the local bmw stealership (whoops, dealership). bmw should fix this if they are concerned with their drivers safety. | |||
| 05/02/2011 | 72577 | ||
| Intermittent failure of driver and passenger side tail light assembly due to burnt connector pins and connector housing. inadequate connector/wire rating. should be subject of a recall from a responsible car manufacturer. unsafe to drive in the dark. blemish on the ultimate driving machine. intermittent failure of the mostly passenger side head light. occasional failure of the driver side head light. normally the light bulb would require replacement, but often the whole lighting unit is considered failing by the dealer. cost of replacement is extremely high. | |||
| 06/01/2008 | 42000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 bmw 330i. while parked, the contact noticed that the tailgate light warning light was illuminated. the contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the resistor cable and the outlet plug connected to the tail light wires were melted. the contact stated the turn signal and brake light failed intermittently and alternated functions. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostics and was not repaired. the contact referenced nhtsa campaign id number: 11v438000 (exterior lighting:turn signal) but was not aware if the vehicle was included in the recall. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised that the vin was not included in the recall. the approximate failure mileage was 42,000. kmj | |||
| 06/01/2008 | 42000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 bmw 330i. while parked the contact noticed a warning light illuminated on the instrument panel indicating the tail light had to be replaced. the contact inspected the vehicle and noticed the resistor cable and the outlet plug connected to the tail light wires had melted. the contact stated the turn signal and brake light fail intermittently and alternate functions. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostics. the vehicle was not repaired. there was a recall under nhtsa campaign id number: 11v438000 (exterior lighting:turn signal) that may be related to the failure. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated the vin was not included in the recall. the approximate failure mileage was 42,000. ds | |||
| 09/06/2011 | 73229 | ||
| The passenger doors fail to open with the internal door unlock button. this is due to failure of door unlock relays in the gm5 module. this could result in a significant safety issue if a failure of the unlock relay happens when attempting to unlock passenger doors in an emergency to retrieve passengers. | |||
| 05/28/2011 | 97000 | ||
| My car will not unlock reliably via the remote control or the center unlock/lock button. i can't get into the car when this problem happens. the general module(gm5) is going bad and the car will only unlock when it feels like it. from what i understand this is a normal issue with my 2003 bmw 330i. hopefully bmw will file a recall on this item so i don't have to pay the $790 the dealership charges for this known problem. thanks garrett | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 03/22/2004 | 13380 | 10 | 06/11/2003 |
| Car stalls. car displays erratic idle. car engine stumle. *aks | |||
| 03/11/2004 | 3000 | 10 | 06/12/2003 |
| Car stalls. *ak | |||
| 03/09/2004 | 2 | 06/12/2003 | |
| Erratic engine idle and stall.at idle engine rpms will drop causing a stall/stutter. this happens frequently and in all types of weather conditions. this effects all 330i zhp (performance pkg) model.*ak | |||