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There maybe a seal problem somewhere but you may be able to turn on the lights for a while and have it disappear. It would be remotely possible that the light assembly itself is leaking, but most likely a gasket on one of the light sockets is the culprit. The light assemblies are not ever totally sealed, BTW. If you look close along the bottom you will see that small drain tubes are built-in to allow excessive water to drain out. I suppose under extreme conditions it would be possible to get an excessive amount of humid air inside the unit, but that strikes me as very unlikely.
You might try pulling the lamps out overnight to let the unit dry out - who knows, you may never see the problem again.
Not sure about the 330i or if this applies to the Xenon's or non-Xenon's, but many BMW X5 owners have experienced condensation in their front headlights at one time or another. If the vehicle is still under warranty then you can request that your dealer replace it at no charge, but they may also tell you to turn on the lights for awhile as well. If, however, your vehicle is out of warranty then here is a trick that has worked for others.
First, remove the high beam socket from the headlight housing by twisting the socket and pulling it straight out. Use care not to touch the bulb, as the oils from your fingers could cause the bulb to fail prematurely. Next, place a wet/dry vacuum hose into the socket and form a tight a seal as possible. Allow the vacuum to run for as long as it takes to suck the moisture from the headlight housing. Be patient and let it run. Sometimes it may need to run for several hours to complete removing all of the moisture. Once all of the moisture is gone, simply reinsert the high beam light socket and you are all set.
Others have tried using a blow dryer to eliminate the condensation as well.
There was a recall in February 2001 (#630399) for Headlamps - Misting/Condensation Inside (not sure if Xenon or non-Xenon). This was related to the 2000 BMW 328Ci (E46). Although unrelated to BMW, the Porsche Cayenne (not sure of the year) had a Xenon condensation problem (service bulletin #3010).
This same thing happened to me about 2-3 months ago. At that time, my service dept hooked up the code reader and said they could see a "misfire event" took place but there were no specific fault codes.
It's a 2001 330Ci.
Anyone have any experience with this or an educated guess as to what the problem may be? TIA!
The "ultimate ownership experience" reminds me of owning a boat--the two best days of a boat owners' life is the day he buys it and the day he sells it. I have had a host of warranty issues with the car from broken turn stalks, to being severely out of alignment with only 10 miles on the car (3 trips to Momentum BMW to fix), too many airbag warning lights to count, door mouldings which would shred and then would come completely off after being "repaired." At $90/hour for labor, you'd figure there would be a bit more attention to detail than your average backwoods bait/tackle & gas station. What put me over the top was when my final airbag warning light came on on a Tuesday, BMW service said the next available appointment would be on a Friday afternoon--if I wanted a loaner car. After telling the service manager that Audi would tell me to come in immediately (which Audi does), and asking if he was confident my airbags would deploy if I were in an accident between then an Friday, he rescheduled the appointment for the next day.
Maybe one day BMW will realize that price sells the product, but service keeps you coming back. The salesman seemed astonished when I told him he couldn't give me one of the cars on the lot when he asked if I wanted to lease another. I have moved back to Japanese quality and reliability and won't be making a foray into the overpriced and undervalued German world anytime soon. I believe more and more people are realizing this as you have noticed the "deals" BMW is now making which they didn't have to two or three years ago.
With my new car, I'll actually be driving it instead of telling people "I have a Beemer, but it's in the shop."
I don't love my dealer, either.. But, then again, I've only had to go in once in the year we've had it.. and that was for scheduled maintenance..
"With my new car, I'll actually be driving it instead of telling people "I have a Beemer, but it's in the shop."
Yeah.. but you'll be driving a Subaru.. that can't be a lot of fun after a BMW.
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My BMW dealer uses only BMWs as service loaners.. I think they have about 20-25 of them.. I won't be surprised when I can't get one, just unhappy about it.
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I don't know if any of this helps, please keep us posted.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Anyway, hope everyone is having a good weekend.
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I am taking it to the dealer on Tuesday to check it out.
Any idea what it may be....I hope it not the tranny?!
Webby
Don't worry too much.. Even if it turns out to be a tranny swap.. That is really a routine repair, that is much better than having some guy at the dealership tearing yours down...
regards,
kyfdx
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Thanks for the response.
When I drop it from R to N and D it feels like the brakes are locked...and then after applying more gas to accelerate it pulls away slowly...and yes it is getting worse with cold weather but it is still fairly warm comparing what is coming here in Ontario. Other then that the tranny has been fantastic..can not feel the gears unless of course you go into the manual mode.
Regards,
Webby
As I said, a fairly frequent problem with '03 and '04 3-series, at least from what I have heard.
Your dealer should have a software update for it.. Just tell them it delays going into drive two or three seconds when the engine is cold, and that you feel unsafe backing out on to your street... They should take care of it right away.
regards,
kyfdx
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Thanks,
Webby
I tried to fix the problem by sending the car to BMW's official service center. The technician said it's the normal sounds that if the hand brake applied.
I just wonder have anyone got the same problem and why I never heard the same sound from other brand of cars?
Did you meant the sounds of my BMW is normal?Please advise....Thanks!
tangko1959
R
When I was trying to switch lanes, I accelarated and instead of the rpms going up, they started to drop off to 2.5K and then jumped to 4.5K. There seems to be a resistance now around 3K when I know I didn't notice that before.
It just doesn't seem right ... I expect the car to accelarate when I give it gas - in this case, the speedometer starts increasing, the pedal feels heavy, the RPMs start dropping and then boom - they shoot up to 4500 and then the speed picks up.
I should mention that this happens only when the car is in 4th and on the move. Off a stop, its great.
Any thoughts?
Thanks ...
Do you folks consider this normal? Other than the mysterious loss of engine oil, the car drives like a charm and I don't see any other problems.
Thanks
Drddo
However, most stalling, hesitation problems with 3-series seem to be fixed by some kind of computer update.. I'd definitely have the dealer look at it (it's free!!).
regards,
kyfdx
(no problems here..crossing fingers)
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Best Regards,
Shipo
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In my 2004 330I fixed on Oct 26th....here is the comment from the N/C invoice :
" Check vehicle does not move when first put into gear on coldstarts. Drives fine when warmed up.
EGS programing . Bulletin 24 07 03
Short test no codes in EGS. Reprogram as per Bulletin 24 07 03 ".
Thanks KDX
Regards,
Charlie
Oddly enough, the data does exist over on the "Owners' Circle", within the downloadable PDF manuals. If you simply download the manual for the 2004 3-Series sedans you will see on page 150 that the torque specification is 120 Nm or 88.5 lb/ft. It seems that the folks over at the "Owners' Circle" don't have the ability to read their own manuals. ;-) Kind of funny if you think about it.
Best Regards,
Shipo