There are 12 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2009 BMW 3 Seriesin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
RIGHT REAR TURN SIGNAL MALFUNCTIONING
THE WIRES ON THE INSIDE OF MY HEADLIGHTS ARE CRACKED, AND HAVE A LOT OF BARE COPPER SHOWING. I NOTICED THIS WHEN I WENT TO CHANGE BULBS OUT. THIS IS SEALED FROM OUTSIDE ELEMENTS. NOT SURE IF THIS IS WHAT CAUSED THE BULBS TO GO OUT. IT DID HOWEVER CREATE A SHORT THAT NEEDED TO BE CLEARED AFTER I TAPED UP THE WIRES THE BEST I COULD.
INTERMITTENT SIDE LIGHT, BRAKE LIGHT PROBLEM
VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED USED FROM DEALER WITH FAULTY RIGHT REAR TURN SIGNAL. UPON RESEARCHING, THERE IS A TSB ON THIS ISSUE AND MODELS BUILT PRIOR TO MINE WERE THE SUBJECT OF A RECALL. THIS IS A RECURRING ISSUE ON THIS MODEL AND IT IS AFFECTING VEHICLES MANUFACTURED AFTER BMW CLAIMS TO HAVE FIXED THE ISSUE, RESULTING IN UNDUE HARDSHIP TO OWNERS. THE REPLACEMENT PART, WHICH BMW WON'T MAKE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE, HAS TO BE REPLACED BY THE DEALER AT A COST OF OVER $500 ON AVERAGE.
BOTH MY REAR TAIL LIGHTS ARE MALFUNCTIONING AND BMW IS WELL AWARE THAT THE CONTACTS OR WORN OUT AND NEED REPLACING. THERE IS EVEN A SERVICE BULLETIN ABOUT IT YET MY SERVICE ADVISOR CLAIMED I HAD TO REPLACE BOTH TAILLIGHT ASSEMBLIES AT $200 APIECE. MY BUMPER-TO-BUMPER WARRANTY THROUGH BMW DOES NOT COVER TAILLIGHTS THIS IS A BIG SAFETY ISSUE AS MY TAIL LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY WORK
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 BMW 335I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR DRIVER'S SIDE TAIL LIGHT WOULD ONLY ILLUMINATE INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE TAIL LIGHT ELECTRICAL CONTACT POINTS MAY HAD DAMAGE THE GROUND TERMINAL AND HOUSING OF THE CONNECTOR. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V407000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000.
INTERMITTENT FAILURE OF LED'S IN THE DRIVER SIDE REAR TAIL LIGHT FOR THE TURN SIGNAL. FIRST STARTED ABOUT 7 MONTHS AGO. NOW NEARLY FULL TIME FAILURE. CREATES A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN WHEN CHANGING LANES AND MAKING TURNS IN TRAFFIC. THIS IS A VERY COMMON COMPLAINT WITH NUMEROUS POSTS ON THE WEB. *TR
THE BRAKE LIGHTS, TURN SIGNAL LIGHTS DO NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY. SEVERAL LED ARE NOT FUNCTIONAL. BMW IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT REFUSES TO FIX THIS SAFETY ISSUE. SEE SIB 63-06-10. THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM ON THIS SERIES OF CARS. SEARCH BIMMER FORUMS AND YOU WILL SEE MANY PEOPLE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO REPAIR THESE LIGHTS BECAUSE OF THE IMMENSE COSTS IN REPLACING THEM. THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED AT THE MANUFACTURER LEVEL. BMW SAYS THAT IT IS BECAUSE OF A POOR CONNECTION WITHIN THE LIGHT. THEY REPLACE BOTH OF THEM IF THE VEHICLE IS UNDER WARRANTY, BUT REFUSE TO DO ANYTHING FOR ANYONE OUT OF WARRANTY. I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS REFUSAL OF BMW TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS OBVIOUS AND DANGEROUS SAFETY ISSUE. THEY DID A RECALL ON THE 5 SERIES CAR FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. DON'T YOU THINK THEY WOULD ALSO RECALL THE 3 SERIES. I GUESS THEY ARE TRYING TO GET OUT OF FIXING THEIR MANUFACTURING PROBLEMS. THERE SHOULD BE A WARRANTY OF MERCHANABILITY REGARDING THESE LIGHTS. IF THEY ARE NOT FIT FOR THEIR INTENDED PURPOSE, THEN THE MFG SHOULD CORRECT IT. THEY SAY THE NEW LIGHTS HAVE A ANTI VIBRATION GASKET THAT HELPS. SO, THEY ARE AWARE OF HOW TO FIX IT. THEY JUST NEED TO DO IT. *TR
THE RIGHT TAIL LIGHTS' TURN SIGNAL START FLICKERING WITH THE LIGHT ERROR SIGNAL IN THE DASH, I RESEARCHED IT TO FIND OUT THAT THEY HAVE BEEN SEVERAL SERVICE BULLETINS OUT ABOUT THE REAR TURN SIGNALS GETTING CORROSION. I CALLED THE DEALER AND THEY STATED IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THEY WOULD NOT PAY TO FIX IT. THEY STATED THEY KNEW THE SERVICE BULLETINS WERE OUT BUT IT WAS NOT A RECALL. AFTER FURTHER SEARCHING I FOUND OUT THE OLDER MODELS HAD A RECALL TO FIX THIS ISSUE. IF THEY KNOW THEY HAVE AN ISSUE THEN WHY DON'T THEY FIX IT. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 BMW 328I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER ACTIVATING THE RIGHT TURN SIGNAL LIGHT, THE LIGHT BEGAN FLASHING ABNORMALLY FAST. THE CONTACT REPLACED THE BULBS BUT IT FAILED TO REMEDY THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 43,000. UPDATED 11/19/13*LJ
I THINK BMW NEEDS TO LOOK INTO A RECALL FOR THE TAIL LIGHTS ON THE 3 - SERIES MODELS FROM 09 AND UP. THE CIRCUIT BOARD FOR THE LED SIGNAL LIGHTS MALFUNCTIONS AND SOME OF THE LED'S STOP WORKING. WHEN THOSE FEW STOP WORKING, IT AFFECTS THE ENTIRE CIRCUIT AND THE REST ARE VERY DIM/NOT VISIBLE. THIS ALSO CAUSES THE WARNING INDICATOR ON THE DASH TO COME UP ADVISING THAT YOU HAVE A BURNT OUT BULB . I HAVE ALREADY HAD MY DRIVERS SIDE REPLACED A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO AND NOW THE PASSENGER SIDE IS HAVING ISSUES. THERE ARE ALSO SEVERAL OTHERS REPORTING THE SAME ISSUE ONLINE. THERE ARE MANY UNITS FOR SALE ON EBAY AND IN THE ITEM DESCRIPTION THEY INDICATE THAT A FEW OF THE LED'S AREN'T WORKING. AN LED CIRCUIT BOARD THAT IS ONLY A FEW YEARS OLD SHOULD NOT HAVE THESE ISSUES AND CONSUMERS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. THIS NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATES SINCE IT AFFECTS SAFETY SINCE THE SIGNAL LIGHTS/HAZARDOUS LIGHTS DON'T FUNCTION PROPERLY. THIS COINCIDES WITH THE RECALL THAT BMW RECENTLY DID FOR A SIMILAR ISSUE IN OTHER MODELS. IT'S THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM! *JS
LEDS FAILING IN TAIL LIGHT TURN SIGNAL. NON-CONSUMER REPLACEABLE. $350 PART. BMW ISSUED SERVICE BULLETIN TO REPLACE UNDER WARRANTY, BUT NOT OUT OF WARRANTY. THEIR SIB630610. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026