2004 BMW E46
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
Have the VIN?
These records cover every 2004 BMW E46. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
1 recall names the 2004 BMW E46. Newest first.
Dope, inc. IS recalling 42,540 combination corner and bumper lamp assemblies of various part numbers sold for use as aftermarket equipment for various passenger vehicles. these headlamps fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." these lamps do not contain…
Risk and remedy
Risk
Decreased lighting visibility may result in a vehicle crash.
Remedy
Dope, inc. Will notify owners and offer a full refund for the noncompliant combination lamps. the safety recall began on july 28, 2009. owners may contact dope, inc. At 1-626-272-1798.
Owner complaints
4 complaints
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Air bags
Airbag deployed when hitting pot hole at around 30mph. This IS an issue with many E46'S that the airbag IS too sensitive.
- Exterior lighting · Visibility/wiper
Bonjour, les rflecteurs zkw de mes feux xnon sont bruls. mes feux n'clairent plus. *tr
- Exterior lighting
Factory bi-xenon headlights gradually dimmed. by 77K miles the light output was too dim to safely drive at night. compared to a new model at dealer with xenon lights and found very noticeable difference. mechanic analysis found metallized plastic reflectors on xenon bulbs had burned and lost…
Factory bi-xenon headlights gradually dimmed. by 77K miles the light output was too dim to safely drive at night. compared to a new model at dealer with xenon lights and found very noticeable difference. mechanic analysis found metallized plastic reflectors on xenon bulbs had burned and lost their reflectivity. replacement reflectors are not sold as service parts by BMW, so remedy involves complete replacement of headlight assembly. *tr
- Electrical system
I received a letter from BMW ststing there was now a recall for the bad ground wire on the rear taillight assembly that caused the metling of the connector. I had already spent $400 for the fix, now they recall the part. BMW north america took too long to do this, and I am going into the delaership to see about getting a refund for the service I paid for that they would not cover.
Defect investigations
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
- Rear Lamp Illumination
In a letter submitted to the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) dated August25, 2011, BMWindicated that it will conduct a voluntary recall campaign to remedy the subject vehicles.The issue involves the rear lamps in the vehicles body panel.Through normal vehicle use over time, the rear lamps ground wiring and…
In a letter submitted to the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) dated August25, 2011, BMWindicated that it will conduct a voluntary recall campaign to remedy the subject vehicles.The issue involves the rear lamps in the vehicles body panel.Through normal vehicle use over time, the rear lamps ground wiring and associated 8-pin connector can experience an increase of the resistance at the electrical contact points.This can lead to intermittent or permanent loss of the rear lamp functions which include tail, brake, and turn signal operation.The recall consists of modifying the rear lamps in the vehicles body panel by adding a secondary ground connection in parallel to the existing primary ground connection.An 8-pin connector that attaches the primary ground wiring to the rear lamp assembly will also be inspected and replaced if necessary.BMW will complete dealer notification in September 2011 and will begin owner notification in October 2011.All 3 series sedans (except for the M3 sedan which utilized a different rear lamp assembly) that were built between September 1, 2001 and March 1, 2005 are included in this recall, totalling approximately 241,000 vehicles.The action taken by BMW is sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.
- Rear lamp illumination
Odi has received complaints from consumers stating that their tail light assembly IS not properly illuminating.the tail light assembly consists of a turn signal lamp, a tail lamp and a brake lamp.the complainants have indicated that the issue IS with an 8 pin connector and associated ground wiring.these components are…
Odi has received complaints from consumers stating that their tail light assembly IS not properly illuminating.the tail light assembly consists of a turn signal lamp, a tail lamp and a brake lamp.the complainants have indicated that the issue IS with an 8 pin connector and associated ground wiring.these components are allegedly overheating and melting due to excessive electrical current that runs through the system.bmw issued a technical service bulletin (tsb) sib-630306 on february 2007 to address the condition by adding supplementary ground wiring to the tail lamp assembly.odi IS upgrading to an ea to further investigate the issue.
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10249027The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. This has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. This document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle discharged battery complaints.
- 10245363When using the Key Reader to retrieve information from the customers key, the data is not updated or current.
- 10200242Moisture is visible on the inside of one or both headlights
- 10182619Discharged Battery Energy Diagnosis Must Be Performed: The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. This has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. This document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle "discharged battery" complaints. In order to properly repair the vehicle the first time in the workshop, it is very important that the diagnostic test plans are performed to completion, with all results taken into consideration. Without performing the energy diagnosis test plan, the root cause of the discharged battery cannot be identified. This increases the chances of a repeat repair.
- 10037025BMW: procedure for determining and replacing incandescent and halogen light bulbs under warranty.
- 10033130BMW vehicles: fuel level sensor repairs. Where it IS necessary to replace the right or the left side fuel level sensor due to a failure, the entire pump and housing or delivery unit (suction jet assembly) do not need to be replaced as well. In some cases, epc does not show that the repair kit IS available separately in the illustration, but it IS available in the parts description. All models. No model years listed.
- 10032574BMW: voluntary emissions recall 08e-a03; M3 s54-dme reprogramming for catalyst conversion diagnosis. The dme programming, as originally installed, may cause the obd diagnostic to erroneously evaluate the efficiency of the catalytic converters.
Every BMW E46 model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.