I OWN A 2004 BMW 330I M-PERFORMANCE EDITION. MY HEADLIGHTS ARE MANUFACTURED BY A COMPANY CALLED ZKW. I AM CANADIAN AND MY CAR IS A CANADIAN CAR BUT THE FAULTY PART IN QUESTION IS COMMON TO BOTH US-SPEC AND CDN-SPEC BMW 3-SERIES. MY HEADLIGHT OUTPUT IS EXTREMELY POOR. IN INCLEMENT WEATHER, THIS ISSUE IS COMPOUNDED. I NOW MUST ALWAYS RUN WITH MY FOGLIGHTS ON TO AID THE HEADLIGHTS. THIS IS NOT A SAFE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM. FOGLIGHTS ARE DESIGNED TO HELP THE DRIVER SEE YOUR MORE IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS. THE DISTANCE THAT THE LIGHT IS SHONE IS MUCH SHORTER THAN IT SHOULD BE. I AM NOT ABLE TO SEE MORE THAT 3-5 METERS IN FRONT OF MY VEHICLE. THE 'INCIDENT' DATE NOTED ABOVE IS WHEN I HAD STRUCK A RACCOON WITH MY VEHICLE THAT I SHOULD HAVE SEEN MUCH MUCH SOONER, GIVING ME MORE TIME TO REACT OR MAKE AN EVASIVE MANEUVER. THIS IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE I WAS NOT TRAVELING FASTER THAN 60-70 KPH. THE RESULT WAS A $1,200 REPAIR TO MY FRONT BUMPER AND BUMPER TRIM WHICH SUSTAINED DAMAGE FROM THE ANIMAL. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, ALL 3-SERIES PURCHASED IN 2003 AND 2004 WHICH FEATURE XENON-HEADLIGHTS MADE BY ZKW SUFFER FROM A DESIGN FLAW WITH THE REFLECTOR BOWL. OVER TIME THIS REFLECTOR BOWL, WHICH IS MADE OF PLASTIC, TENDS TO GET FRIED AND DISCOLOURED AS A RESULT OF THE HEAT EMANATING FROM THE XENON BULB. THIS CAUSES THE REFLECTOR BOWL TO LOSE IT'S REFLECTIVE PROPERTIES AND AS RESULT, LIGHT OUTPUT IS EXTREMELY POOR. FOR MODEL YEAR 2005, BMW WENT WITH A DIFFERENT HEADLIGHT MANUFACTURE