BMW E91 3 Series LED Headlights

[RickGeoffP]

The LED Headlights on my E91 3 Series Touring are appalling. The halogens in the previous model BMW I had were far better.
In the lanes at night the main beam greys out at a not too far distance so that there is no definition. It is impossible to determine the road from the verge, bushes or trees so steady progress at night basically extremely dangerous.
Does anyone else have this model of BMW and think the same. My wife who drives quite a bit slower than me thinks exactly the same. Couple of mates also have the same opinion.
Does anyone know if it is possible to upgrade the LED bulbs to a higher rating to give more light?

[stevemcs]

Have you had the aim checked ? if the level sensors have failed it may be pulling the lights down. Worth a check as a starting point.

[Maph7]

If you are posting about an E91, you will have xenon lights in them if they are original, pretty sure that leds were not available from factory.

I have uprated bulbs in mine and they are pretty good, much better than the halogens I had in the E46 touring.

As said above check the adjustment. Garages tend to set them really low to pass the mot.

Mine have a hard edge to the dip beam but light up a long way ahead, to the sides and high up on main beam.

Are yours adaptive? If so are they moving OK when you turn?

Edited by Maph7 on Tuesday 26th November 23:28

[ladderino]

E91 didn't have LED beams - options were either halogen or xenon.

I had xenon on mine and switched to Osram Nightbreakers, which did make a subtle (but not massive) difference. The biggest difference I got was from adjusting the beam height - which is done via turning a screw on the light housing. Best done by parking in front of a garage or similar so you can see where the beams are aimed.

I do recall reading somewhere that if over tightened, the screws could break leaving the light pointing very far down. I think a new assembly was required in that case, so hopefully that's not the issue here.

[naturalaspiration]

In case the reflector bowl has had it the only option is a new headlight - It can happen if you leave xenons on during daytime or use them often. With age, the heat from the bulb gradually burns the reflective mirror coating and it can no longer reflect the beam through the projector. Either a new headlamps is needed or rather involved dismantling of the light housing and replacement of the original Hella projector unit with an aftermarket one (RHD).

https://www.retrofitlab.com/en/xenon-headlight-dat...

[g3org3y]

stevemcs said:

Have you had the aim checked ? if the level sensors have failed it may be pulling the lights down. Worth a check as a starting point.

I think that's the issue my wife's E91 has. Fault code reader suggested a problem with the sensor on the rear axle. Is there one on both sides?