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  #1  
Old 01-22-2015, 05:49 PM
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2012 E70 Front Turn Signal Bulb Replacement

Can anyone provide direction on accessing the front turn signal bulbs on a 2012 X5? I'm thinking about replacing the OEM amber bulbs with some of the new WeissLicht Spektrum bulbs they're selling at Bimmian.

While I'm here (and if you happen to know), accessing the fog lamps? I noticed my passenger-side lens is cracked (apparently a common thing). Found a replacement for $60 at Amazon. If I'm tearing this thing up, I may buy the matching Spektrum fog lamps and do it all at once. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

A quick thanks to those who provide sound advice at this forum. I bought some GRP caliper covers last week and after reading a ton of great reasons NOT to put them on, I was able to cancel the order before they were shipped. Was looking for a quick fix to the brake dust. I guess I should just be fortunate to have such a problem (cleaning brake dust off a beautiful X5), right?
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Old 01-23-2015, 12:03 AM
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Turn signal just open the hood and follow behind the headlight there are 2 twist off cap in the back. The large of is for the angel eye and other access. Go further towards the outside and there is a small one. That is a small cap and the bulb is actually attached to it so be careful when pulling it out. For the fogs you remove the lower putter mesh grills by pulling them forward. Reach your hand upwards.
Make sure the replacement lights are for
The LCI 2011-2013 as
The 2008-2010 are different
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Old 01-23-2015, 10:58 AM
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Thanks for the responses. That was too easy, feel stupid. Glad to see they made this a little more user-friendly than with past year-models. Very much appreciated!
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Old 01-24-2015, 11:59 AM
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As mentioned, the bulbs are different from 2011-2013. Be careful in that you get the bulb seated in there correctly.

On my 2011 I had switched out the normal bulb for an Amber LED, HUGE mistake!!!

First off the Amber LED bulbs are garbage and they don't put out anywhere near the light of the stock bulbs. Secondly getting the bulb in there are making sure that the contacts were just right was a P.I.T.A. and I'm super careful when doing things.

Long story short I was so unhappy with the Amber LED bulbs that I ended up pulling them out after two days and put the original bulbs back in.
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Old 01-24-2015, 12:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWOO7 View Post
As mentioned, the bulbs are different from 2011-2013. Be careful in that you get the bulb seated in there correctly.

On my 2011 I had switched out the normal bulb for an Amber LED, HUGE mistake!!!

First off the Amber LED bulbs are garbage and they don't put out anywhere near the light of the stock bulbs. Secondly getting the bulb in there are making sure that the contacts were just right was a P.I.T.A. and I'm super careful when doing things.

Long story short I was so unhappy with the Amber LED bulbs that I ended up pulling them out after two days and put the original bulbs back in.
I put an amber LED in mine and couldn't be happier.
It's way brighter and reacts faster. And works with euro blinking.
You just got the wrong bulb. Had no fitment issues in my LCI
2X PY24W 5200s 30W LED Amber Bulb for BMW Mercedes Audi Front Turn Signal Lights | eBay
I also like the fact that the bulb is not visually Orange inside the housings when off
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Old 01-26-2015, 04:25 PM
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The bulbs I have coming (front turn signal and fog bulbs) are the new Spektrum bulbs. Supposed to be the latest & greatest. We'll see! I'll be sure to post my thoughts after I get them installed. Thanks again everyone for their input.
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Old 02-06-2015, 11:29 AM
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Update on Lamp Replacement

Thanks to the help of other members, I was able to change the front turn signal bulbs and fog lamp bulbs in about 10 minutes (including cleaning out some oak leaves stuck under the hood). The changeout was easy, no error messages and looks great. The signal bulbs are noticeably brighter, but still the same color so not overly-exciting. What looks really nice, however, is the lack of amber reflections inside the lens, as well as the overall appearance of the bulb (it's a spacey-looking cylinder instead of a regular old bulb). What really made this purchase worthwhile was the fog bulbs. I didn't much care for the look when they were on, as the yellowish light from the filament bulb clashed with the xenon light and the super-white LED angel eyes (basically, three different colors & types all at once). Big difference now. My fog lights are bright white, matching closely to the others (which brings everyone a little closer to the same color). A nice bonus, they also fade (for when you're turning a corner or in & out of reverse and your fog lamps activate). I was going to explore coding to turn that auto-feature off, but now I'm leaving it on. Very, very happy. It's a minor tweak for about $180 total, but worth it if you're as into the lighting on your X5 as I am.
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Old 02-08-2015, 09:17 PM
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You are absolutely correct that I purchased the WRONG bulbs. This was actually a lesson learned on my first X5 (2011) in which the newer bulbs were not available yet.

These are similar if not exact to what I had purchased back in 2011 and the lighting output was horrible, so much so that I pulled them back out and put the factory bulbs back in.

These were the bulbs I purchased back in 2011 PY24W LED Bulbs

Could you please post the bulbs that you replaced yours with, I'd be interested in seeing what you replaced your Fog Light bulbs with.

I've long been using a 'whiter' 5000K bulb (not LED) and while better than the factory Yellow it's still not that white LED look that I'd like to get to.

I'd really like to see about changing out the current Fog Lights for the new LED units on the newer BMW's but I'm not sure if they'd fit, and I'd have to guess that the cost would be up there!

I had done a quick search to see if anyone has done it yet, but I didn't really get the results I was looking for.

Thanks kindly and congrats on a job well done!!
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Old 02-09-2015, 10:05 AM
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Spektrum Bulbs

I feel your pain (BMW007). I bought similar bulbs for our 2009 328i. The bulb looked nice and had the quick on-off of an LED, but not bright enough (almost dangerous). If you go to Bimmian.com, you'll see the links to the Spektrum bulbs. They aren't cheap, but worth it for what I was trying to accomplish. A couple of camera-phone pics attached for you. Here's the bulb page:

WeissLicht LED Turn Signal Bulbs For E70 - BMW X5 and X5M SAV - 2007-2013 From bimmian.com

I was moments away from starting a new project in the office parking lot, but decided not to get into all of that before starting my work day. I went to Lowe's last night, bought a floor jack, pair of stands, a torque wrench, and a 17mm socket to have at the wheels. I'm going to pull each one, clean everywhere (wheel, well, etc.), add a dab of anti-seize compound, and paint the calipers & rusted areas of the rotors with some Hammerite. As mentioned before, I bought caliper covers and backed out before they were delivered (due to all the bad reviews). I did this a few years ago on the 3 and it turned out nice, not too much, but noticeable if you're looking at detail. I'll post some before & after pics.
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Last edited by Dagbaugh; 02-09-2015 at 10:11 AM.
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