2005 BMW 330I problems
Owners have filed 42 complaints with NHTSA about the 2005 BMW 330I. Lighting is the most reported problem area, at 48% of complaints. Next are air bags (12%) and electrical system (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 42 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 48% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 67,000 miles 26 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 7 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 26 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 67,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 85,000 miles (15 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a fire; 1 injury reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 10th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the BMW 330I with enough data (17 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Dt: the contact drove over a pothole that was twelve inches in diameter, and both side curtain airbags on the driver's side deployed. The front passenger side tire went flat afterwards. The contact felt that the air bags should not have deployed. She was not concerned about the tire. She stated that the air bags caused her to have a headache and ring in ear. It was a loaner vehicle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 BMW 330I. While driving approximately 30 MPH, the rear tail light assembly warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the rear tail light connecting wires were melted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostics. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 11v438000 (exterior lighting:tail lights) but was advised by the manufacturer that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 BMW 330I. While driving at night, the headlights illuminated extremely dimly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the reflector inside the headlight housing melted and caused the light to illuminate dimly. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000...updated 01/21/15 updated 9/11/2017
Car pulls severely when braking and mildly to moderately when driving. Have asked for alignment and had alignment checked several times but told that car is not out of alignment.