New X5 owner....2002. Poor headlights, low beams useless. Please Help.

[TB X5 47]

Hello All - My wife and I have gotten a sweet 2002 X5 4.4 Sport. We love it and have wanted one for a long time. It is in mint condition and only has 78,000 miles.

That said, the low beams are useless. I have searched the site but haven't found the information that I am looking for exactly. The main issue is that they seem like they are out of adjustment, with the right side having slightly more "distance". The overall sight distance of both of the lights seem to be only about 15-20 feet. The high beams are great BTW.

I actually like the aesthetic look of the old school lights, but something has to change. Do I have any options keeping the original lights? Can they be adjusted or the bulbs replaced?

I have noticed that complete replacement seems to be popular on the board, but I'd prefer not to if I don't have to.

Thanks in advance!

[blackbeauty]

Congrats on your new ride! I'm still a fan of the E53!
I completely changed mine to the Euro lights so I'm no help but I'm sure plenty of people
can chime in.

[epdarks]

So you have the HID lights? Or Xenon as some know them.

They are self leveling so my guess is yours need adjustment or aren't functioning properly. Every time I turn mine on, you can watch them rise up to position.

[X5SND]

The right side will always seem like it has a bit more distance than the left because the cutoff of the projectors looks somthign like this: ......../'''''''''''''''.
If the auto-levelling feature IS working AND they are still low, you can use the adjustment screws to raise them up.

[TB X5 47]

Originally Posted by epdarks

So you have the HID lights? Or Xenon as some know them.

They are self leveling so my guess is yours need adjustment or aren't functioning properly. Every time I turn mine on, you can watch them rise up to position.

I'm not sure what I have to be honest. The high beams which are on inside are traditional in look, meaning they are solid glass. The low beams which are on the outside do have small circular lights on the inside. I've not noticed any movement.

I'm not sure how to determine what type I have, the owners manual doesn't state which type they are.

[epdarks]

When you turn them on, do they flicker? HID lights will look more white/blue, compared to traditional yellow headlight bulbs.

[TB X5 47]

I just scrolled through some old posts. Mine look like the member named "CivDiv99" in the link below.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...storation.html

I hope the link works

[X5SND]

See the last 3 pictures here and report back
http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/...e53-years.html

[TB X5 47]

Originally Posted by X5SND

See the last 3 pictures here and report back
http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/...e53-years.html

AWESOME LINK....thanks for sending that over. Very informative.

It appears that I do have the Xenon headlights. As the picture says "a projector is there". Mine look like the top/first of the 3 pictures.

[TB X5 47]

Originally Posted by epdarks

When you turn them on, do they flicker? HID lights will look more white/blue, compared to traditional yellow headlight bulbs.

Mine do not flicker....I have determined them to be Xenon however.