2002 BMW 3 Series Exterior Lighting

FORMAL PETITION FOR AN INVESTIGATION OF A SAFETY-RELATED DESIGN DEFECT: BMW 325XI 2002 DEFECTIVE TAIL LIGHT. TAIL LIGHT CONNECTIONS BURN OUT DUE TO LACK OF PROPER WIRING. BMW HAS NOW ISSUED A CORRECTION FOR THIS BUT WILL NOT COVER THE COST OF REPAIRS. *TR

BRAKE LIGHT FAILURE CAME ON IN MY 2002 BMW325I. I WENT OUT TO LOOK FOR THE FAILED BULB, BUT THE BRAKE LIGHTS WERE ALL WORKING. I NOTICED THAT THE LEFT SIDE, REAR LIGHTS WERE MUCH DIMMER THAN THE RIGHT SIDE. I WENT TO THE MECHANIC AND HE SHOWED ME A BURNT WIRE AND MOLTEN PLASTIC CONNECTOR FROM THE REAR LIGHT CLUSTER. HE SAID THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR BECAUSE BMW DID NOT PROVIDE ENOUGH GROUND TO THE CLUSTER AND OVERTIME THE EXTRA HEAT GENERATED BY THE CURRENT WILL BURN THE WIRE AND CONNECTOR. AT OTHER TIMES, HE SAID, THE CONNECTOR WILL SHORT THE GND PIN TO THE PINS AROUND IT AND CAUSES SMALL FIRES. BMW HAS A SIB NUMBER 63 03 06 OUT FOR THIS PROBLEM AND THEY HAVE THE GUTS TO CHARGE CUSTOMERS $400 TO REPAIR THEIR OWN MISTAKE. I THINK THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY VIOLATION AND I BELIEVE THAT BMW SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY FIXING ALL THE CARS OUT THERE WITH THIS KNOWN DEFECT. TODAY, I SAW THE SAME THING HAPPENING TO A 2008 BMW 550 AT THIS LINK: HTTP://FORUMS.5SERIES.NET/INDEX.PHP?SHOWTOPIC=90746&ST=0&P=1073957&#ENTRY1073957 PLEASE INVESTIGATE AND KEEP PEOPLE SAFE. THANK YOU.*TR

REAR TAIL BRAKE LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY WORKS ON AND OFF, HAVE REPLACED THE LIGHT AND THIS DIDN'T FIX IT. HAVEN'T HAD AN ACCIDENT YET, BUT ARE TAKING IT IN TO THE DEALER TO BE REPAIRED ASAP . SAW THAT BMW HAS A SERVICE BULLETIN OUT REGARDING THIS PROBLEM. *TR STARTED FAILING 2 MONTHS AGO AND EACH TIME I OPEN TRUNK AND REMOVE BULB -IT SEEMS TO WORK FOR A WHILE THEN OUT AGAIN. *TR

CONSUMER IS INQUIRING ON THE STATUS OF THE MARK PETERS DEFECT PETITION DP09002. *NJ THE CONSUMER STATED HE EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE REAR LAMP EXTERIOR LIGHTING FAILURES. HE ALSO STATED THAT A REAR LAMP WIRING HARNESS AND CONNECTOR MAY OVERHEAT LEADING TO REAR LAMP BULB FAILURES.*JB

REAR LIGHTS ARE INOPERATIVE DUE TO THE CONNECTORS SHORTING OUT. I READ ONLINE THAT IT IS A BMW DESIGN DEFECT AND IS GROUND WIRE PROBLEM COMMON TO E46 MODEL BMWS. *TR

FOR SEVERAL YEARS PEOPLE SUCH AS MYSELF WITH THE BMW E46 ('99-'05 3 SERIES) HAVE COMPLAINED OF INTERMITTENTLY DEFECTIVE TAIL LIGHTS, BRAKE LIGHTS, AND TURN SIGNALS. RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN. THE FOLLOWING WEB SITES DOCUMENT A MERE FRACTION OF THE PROBLEM, WHICH IS LIKELY TO AFFECT WARM STATES MORE THAN COOLER AREAS. IN MY CASE, IN HOT WEATHER THE ENTIRE TAILLIGHT CLUSTER WILL FAIL TO ILLUMINATE--NO TURN SIGNAL, BRAKE LIGHT OR TAIL LIGHTS ON ONE OR BOTH SIDES OF THE CAR. THE REASON: BMW USED A GROUNDING WIRE WHICH WAS FAR TOO SMALL TO CARRY THE CURRENT, THUS RESULTING IN MELTED WIRING HARNESS CONNECTORS ON BOTH TAIL LAMP CLUSTERS. FOR DETAILS, PLEASE SEE THE MANY PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT AT THESE WEB SITES: HTTP://WWW.BIMMERFEST.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=244598&HIGHLIGHT=TAILLIGHT+WIRING AND HTTP://FORUM.E46FANATICS.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=533309&HIGHLIGHT=MELTED+TAIL+LIGHT AND HTTP://FORUM.E46FANATICS.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?S=0FEDAEF77A3622F393734BA4B57ADD7C&T=512469&PAGE=2 BMW HAS A SERVICE BULLETIN THAT INCLUDES A WIRING MODIFICATION: HTTP://WWW.BMWTIS.COM/TSB/BULLETINS/BULLETIN_GRAPHIC_TEMP/B630306G.HTM DESPITE AT LEAST 4 VISITS TO VARIOUS BMW DEALERS WHILE UNDER MY CAR'S FOUR YEAR WARRANTY, THEIR SOLUTIONS TO THIS PROBLEM NEVER LASTED LONG. FURTHERMORE, NO BMW DEALER EVER INSTALLED THIS SPECIAL WIRING KIT FROM BMW. NOW THAT I'M OUT OF WARRANTY A LOCAL BMW DEALER IS MORE THAN WILLING TO CHARGE ME $600 TO INSTALL THIS SPECIAL WIRING KIT SO THAT REAR LIGHTS WILL CONSISTENTLY WORK. FMVSS 108 IS PRETTY CLEAR: FEDERAL LAW REQUIRES CARS TO HAVE WORKING LIGHTS. WHEN THERE ARE SYSTEMIC FAILURES OF A SAFETY SYSTEM SUCH AS BRAKE LIGHTS, TAIL LIGHTS, TURN SIGNALS, ETC., AND THE MANUFACTURER FAILS TO STEP UP AND FIX THE PROBLEM WITH A VOLUNTARY RECALL, IT THEN BECOMES TIME FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO GET INVOLVED. FOR DETAILS ON FMVSS 108, PLEASE REFER TO THE VARIOUS LINKS HERE: HTTP://FMVSS108.TRIPOD.COM/ *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 BMW 330CI. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED, WHICH INDICATED THAT A TAIL LIGHT WAS NOT WORKING. HE REPLACED THE BULBS, HOWEVER, THE WARNING LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT ALSO NOTICED THAT THE WIRING HARNESS PLUG WAS MELTED. THE DEALER HAS NOT INSPECTED THE VEHICLE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 57,626 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 53,000.

ALL XENON HEADLIGHTS SHOULD BE BANNED. THEY BLIND ONCOMING DRIVERS !!*AK