You can do the xenon D2S bulb replacement without removing the bumper or even loosening it. Mine is a 2004 facelift with adaptive xenons and I have changed bulbs on each side by simply loosening the headlight assembly and moving them forward against the washers on the bumper. This will allow enough room to remove the (4) T20 screws to remove the cover to access the igniter and bulb. There is one T20 that needs to be accessed from the gap where the turn signal was. It is a little difficult to get back in but with a magnet you can get it into place and then tighten it. Total time from start to finish is about 10 minutes. :thumbup:

Good to know! I'll give that a try first before removing the bumper :thumbup:

great write up... btw why doesn't this forum have a sticky or a thread with all these write-ups in it like the e39 forum?

Anyone else realize if low beam bulb goes out while you are driving the fog lights turn on??

Yes, nice feature. Just in case you lose the headlight you gain some light and keeps the popo from giving you a ticket. :thumbup:

This is a feature of the later LKM module - it swaps out failed lamps for side lights, low beam headlights and tail/brake lights.

Nifty... :thumbup:

I had to remove the bumper to do it this afternoon. No way I was going to attempt to take out those T20 screws without dropping any down the engine bay. Crazy it takes that much amount of work to swap out a bulb...

:iagree: Yep, German engineering at is's finest. I held my breath when I did mine but with a magnet and an easy touch I got them done without dropping those T20 screws into the abyss...