I have a 2002 330XI and my car did not come with HID lights. I was looking to upgrade to HID and have a couple of questions?

1) Has anyone ever done an upgrade like this?

2) If I upgrade my lights to HID will any check engine lights come on?

3) Will I lose any functionality in the lighting controls. Where I can't set the lights to the different options. Like corner lights, etc...

Thanks for the help.

I have a 2002 330XI and my car did not come with HID lights. I was looking to upgrade to HID and have a couple of questions?

1) Has anyone ever done an upgrade like this?

2) If I upgrade my lights to HID will any check engine lights come on?

3) Will I lose any functionality in the lighting controls. Where I can't set the lights to the different options. Like corner lights, etc...

Thanks for the help.
if you buy the oe xenon headlights you will also need to have the dealer reflash your car for xenon.
another option would be to get our projector46's with angel eyes and xenon for a couple of $$ more then a used set.
www.bavtoys.com/e46projectors.php
you can also get them at the group buy price right here on the lighting forum, look at the sticky on top "lighting forum sale" thread.

So if I buyt hose off of ebay and they are OEM they will be plug and play? Just plug them in and they work? There is no modding involved for OEM?

What do you mean I will have to have my CPU reflashed? Will the dealer know what I am talking about? Do I just tell them I upgraded my lights and need my CPU reflashed?

Thanks for the help.

That was just an example. Any 2002+ Sedan Headlights should fit in and plug in without error (although I do believe you will not have the auto level feature since your car did not have xenon to begin with [with is US law]).

Your ECU needs to be updated for the Xenon Retrofit. Most dealers will know what you're talking about and most will do it for free. Some will have no clue how to use their Modic (sp?) systems, and some will charge $50-$100 to do the 5min update. The ECU requires the update because it will show a headlight failure on the cluster, even though the lights will function perfectly.

It is an easier, less brain intensive process to order the Projector 46 from Habbie. They're good lights and there's less work involved to get a flawless install. If however you're an OEM whore, I do suggest something that originally came on your series of BMW. The eBay link I posted was a perfect example of price you'd expect for a used set. OEM will also include Bi-Xenon which the Projector 46 do not. This is a deal breaker for most as Bi-Xenon is pretty snazzy.




Thank you very much for your help, you are very helpful.

Last question I think. So it seems as though everything will work besides the auto leveling feature. Which really isn't that big of a problem. So the only thing I will have to do is make sure the lights are leveled when I install them and I am set, correct? Thank You.

Any, and every light install needs to be aligned after it's mounted in the car.

Keep in mind that all this OEM stuff adds up.

That Projector 46 kit is NEW, has a warranty and you'll get more lighting options (like 50watt Xenons, or Angel Eyes).


Thank You. I will be giving a call to bavtoys tomorrow to ask some questions about their product. Then make my decision.

Thank You. I will be giving a call to bavtoys tomorrow to ask some questions about their product. Then make my decision.

you can hit me up on AIM right now.

I just posted a thread regarding the OEM upgrade from halogen to XENON. If you put OEM XENON lights on the car that had halogen initially, they will either show an error on the dash board, flicker, or sometimes turn off. My car's lights started to flicker and the left light constantly went off.

Yes the dealer can reprogram the ECU, but you will lose the constant high beam option, only the flash high beam works.

You will probably need to realign the lights to proper angle.

Besides all those, its simply plug and play, and if you dont really care about constant high beams, them original wiring works just fine.

Were the flickering, blinking, and turning off problems fixed with the ECU reflash?

yes....all got fixed...its a 5 minute procedure for someone who has access to the bmw computer programmer. You can even turn on or off you day lights if you want.

Cool. I just hope BMW knows what I am talking about when I visit them.