2000 X5 center console
 

My X had a factory cell phone and a very shallow storage underneath for goodies. I thought I had seen or heard someone say there was a console under the phone that was bigger and you could remove the shallow tray and install a deeper one. The console is fairly deep under the tray. Do they make something to give you more storage

do they make a sun shade for the radio, seeing the nav screen is tough in daylight.

lastly the brightness of my climate digital controls is there a way to brighten them up ?

thanks

Are you thinking of the storage part just next to your handbrake or the one under your armrest? Next to my handbrake I have a big one (dual cupholder). Under the arm rest, something very generous as well.

Look at realoem.com with your VIN, you'll see. You'll want Vehicle trim (group 51) and then central armrest / storage parts (section 35).

Otherwise post a picture to see what you have.

The upper part, under the armrest, is shallow. You can remove the phone area to gain some more space, but I do not think it is worth it.

As for the lower part, there are different configurations, different trays. The most spacious one, is a simple box. There is another one which has some CD trays, which occupy almost half the box. I've been looking for the big box myself too, but BMW wants crazy money for it, and I didn't have much luck in the used market.

HAve a look here:

RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 3.0d Storing partit. cassette-CD box

If you have the cassette holder or the cd holder in your storage compartment, that is a ton of wasted space. I got lucky and scored the simple style off ebay for $70, took a year of looking for it, including calling every craigslist wrecked X5 parting ad.

No screen cover for the NAV, sorry.

Brightness of your controls is tied in with the instrument cluster and all the button backlighting, via the dial on the headlight switch. During daytime the brightness of the LCD screens defaults to max brightness. I don't remember if the backlighting has replaceable bulbs or not, if the display is dark, or only lit up on one side, the bulbs need to be replaced.