How to Change the Headlight on 2009 BMW 328xi

[CampFireJack]

I was out getting coffee with my lady last night when I noticed that my driver's side headlight was out in my 2009 BMW 328I X-drive. It's a pretty easy change, but I had to be careful because my inspection had been expired for a few months. I got home as fast as I could. I also took back roads.

Here's the deal with changing headlight bulbs in the 3-series. Don't think you're going to do it without taking the tire off. Just because you can see the small plastic panel in the wheel well doesn't mean you're going to fit your big clumsy hands in that little space to do work. You're not. Just take the wheel off. And by the way, as easy as this job is, it's still a pain in the ass the first time you do it.

Here are a few pics. The first of of a few replacement headlamps I had on hand. Luckily I had one that fits. I'll need to order more. They're really cheap over at Rock Auto. The part number for the bulb I used is BP1255H7LL.

- I took the tire off and used a screwdriver to twist the corners of the plastic panel.

- I saw the backs of the bulbs.

- To remove the bulb, I first pulled the wires off. That's very important. You can't get the bulb out or the clip off without doing that first. Once I pulled the plug off, then I flipped the clip and the bulb came right out. I replaced it and put everything back. Good as new.



UPDATE

I just ordered five more of these bulbs from Rock Auto. I got each bulb for $1.74. The total came to $8.70 for the bulbs and $7.99 for shipping through the U.S. Mail. Tax was $.48, so that gave me a grand total of $17.17. I checked prices for this bulb on Amazon and it was $10, so I'd say I got a deal. It's $8.99 on Summit Racing and $10.99 at True Value.

Actually, I just realized that I ordered the standard OEM replacement bulb. The "LL" for long life comes in a $3.84 at Rock Auto, so it's still a deal over there.

UPDATE

I received my five bulbs in the mail the other day. I ordered Wagners that had a note attached to the description on the web page. It said something like the bulbs will come in "branded" packaging. I didn't know what that meant. I do now. I received five small boxes of Champion bulbs, which leads me to believe that many of these bulbs are the same, no matter the branding. Runny, huh? And to think, people make such a fuss about which brands they buy.

 

[CampFireJack]

2009 BMW 328i XDrive Rear Trunk Tail Light Out​

This is the second or third time these lights have gone out. I'm not talking about the corner tail light on this car - the one that's full of LED bulbs. I know that entire fixture needs to be replaced because you can't change the LEDs. This is the light that sits in the truck lid. It's the two closer together lights of the four. These lights each have two regular light bulbs inside of them. It's much cheaper to fix these lights than to fix the LED ones.

The last time this occurred, I took things apart, pressed a little here or there, and then the lights worked again. I figured it was just a connection somewhere. Well, the driver's side light went out again the other night, so I figured I should take a closer look. To do so, I pulled the two plastic clips out of the trunk lid liner and then pulled the one side of the liner away from the backside of the fixture (photo 2, 3). By pressing one plastic clip to the side with my thumb, I was able to pull the plastic bulb holder out and away from the housing (photo 4). As I wiggled things around, I noticed that nothing worked. The reason for this is because I had forgotten about the two ground contacts that remained in the shell of the light that was still in the trunk lid. I pushed the bulb holder back into its home and the light worked again (photo 5).

Here's what I'm thinking is causing this issue. As you can see in photo 6, there are two copper or brass ground connections. Somehow, those aren't connecting to the bulb holder part all the time. When I push and wiggle all the parts together, the light works just fine. Inside the bulb holder part (photo 4), there are also ground connections. Or maybe these aren't even ground connections. Perhaps they're the power connections or one is the ground and the other is the source. I don't actually know. What I do know is that these connections aren't being made all the time. For now, I cleaned the connections up a bit and applied some dielectric grease to them. I just reinstalled the bulbs. Later on, I think I'm going to bend the two spring connections out a hair so they apply more pressure to the other fixed copper connections. We'll see if that helps.

Anyway, this is what this light looks like on the inside. Have you come across this problem? Is this a BMW thing? A 328i thing? I wonder. Problems like this are always widespread on these cars for some reason. Let me know.

 

[CampFireJack]

2020 BMW X5​

This is one of my favorite SUVs of all time. I used to own a brand new 2008 BMW X5, but sold that in 2013. It had around 40,000 miles on it and it was starting to need a new set of tires. I traded it in to Car Max down in Jacksonville, Florida for a 2008 Ford F250 (because I needed it), but the X5 remains my favorite. It's simply one of the hottest SUVs on the road today, hands down. In my humble opinion, nothing looks better than the grill. No car or truck can compare. I can't even contain myself.

I visited the Boothbay Harbor area of Maine yesterday and saw one of these fine vehicles parked on the road. I had to grab some photos of it. This has got to be either a 2019 or a 2020. I'm going to go with a 2020 because it looked brand new. I can't even guess how much this vehicle cost. When I bought mine back in 2008, it set me back around $50,000, but I didn't buy all the bells and whistles. And if you know BMW, their cars and SUVs can certainly ship with a lot of bells and whistles.

What do you think of these cars? Do you like them? Have you heard of any issues? I would love to pick up another one, but I live too far from a dealer. I used to bring mine to the dealer service department quite a bit for the included oil changes and things like that, but now, I'd have to drive quite a ways to take advantage of all that. I'm not sure it's worth it. I do love these things though.



COMMENT: If you like the X5, you should totally take a look at the new X7. What a sweet ride. Bigger and better than the X5 with tons of room and upgrades. One will set you back though because the prices start at $75,000. Can you imagine? I can. Check out these videos.

Here's Why the 2019 BMW X7 Is the Best Big Luxury SUV

2020 BMW X7 M50i - Night POV Test Drive by Tedward (Binaural Audio)

COMMENT: That is an insane vehicle. I've been out of the BMW loop for years now, so I didn't even know the X7 existed. I currently own a 328i x-drive, but that's nothing compared to one of these SUVs. I don't even pay attention to my car anymore because it sort of bores me. I know, sounds silly.

The X7 is an animal! The sound from the exhaust and engine in the second video is crazy! I have long lusted after the 7-series sedans, but this takes things to another level. I mean, I think I need to start making more money because I need some of this good life. Perhaps I'll have to go for a test drive.

 

[CampFireJack]

How Do I Lock My BMW 328xi Trunk?​

There's got to be a way to manually lock my car's trunk, but I can't seem to find that way. I was under the impression that all cars today have what's called a "valet trunk lock" where the owner of the car can manually lock their trunk somewhere by using a physical key. I'm not sure if all cars have physical keys today, so the locking may be manually done. For the life of me though, I can's seem to find a way to lock my 2009 BMW 328XI's trunk. Any suggestions? Does anyone know how to do this? Is it even possible?

COMMENT: It's in the glove box, or as some call it, the glove compartment. Open the box and look straight inside it. The lock will be located in the upper left corner. It's a switch that gets pushed to the left or right. When you want to lock your truck, open the glove compartment and push the switch to the locked position. Then, close the compartment and lock it with the physical key that's located inside of your key fob.

COMMENT: Thank you! Yes! You are correct. I found it and just snapped some photos in case anyone else would like to see what the lock and location looks like. Here are the pics:

This is the glove compartment handle and key lock.



This is the manual trunk lock switch that's located inside of the glove box. Just like you said, the upper left corner.



This is my fob with the physical key sticking half way out of it. I guess it's become disgustingly dirty through the years of sitting in my pocket.



And here's the physical key itself.



After manually locking the trunk, lock the glove box.



I did a bit of searching around and found that this manual trunk lock switch may also be located inside of the center console, so if yours isn't in the glovebox, it may be in there. If it is, the console itself will be lockable, just like the glove box is. Mine isn't. The console is just a regular flip up style.