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      05-16-2020, 08:07 PM   #1
deeLow
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Xenon bulb retainer missing

My recently purchased pre lci F25 35i had a Xenon bulb failure and is missing the Xenon Bulb Retainer. Because of this there is nothing holding the bulb in when I replace it.

I've searched real oem and gotten no where. It turns out the retainer isn't sold separately from the headlight assembly. I've tried to cross reference parts between previous BMW Xenon lamps and can't find anything at all that would work for sure. I've seen D1S retainers sold online and in the parts stores but don't know if anything aftermarket will work.

Does anyone know of a way to replace it without buying a whole assembly? 5$ part vs hundreds for a new assembly.
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      05-16-2020, 11:33 PM   #2
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You reported you couldn't get the bulb to stay in place in the "What did you do to you X3 today?" thread, where I told you how to determine what was wrong and where you could probably get a replacement part.

Did you buy the vehicle from a dealer or private party? If it was a dealer, I would have them correct it. If it was from a private party, they must have know the headlight was messed up, did they inform you of that prior to the sale. Was a PPI performed prior to purchasing? Who inspected the vehicle prior to purchasing it? The bulb cover was even missing so that should have been a sign something was up with the headlight.

Last edited by pungo; 05-17-2020 at 09:03 AM..
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      05-17-2020, 07:32 AM   #3
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I initially thought it was just the bulb being out. I looked the car over myself when I bought it. Realistically I found a good deal on a fully loaded minus DHP package x3 35i. Drove 150 miles one way for it.

So that's where I'm at. Tried to replace the missing D1S bulb and have been unable to. Tried with the dealer too. I've seen some headlight assemblies on eBay that are missing the retainer too. And others that have it.

I do not want to remove the retainer from my working lamp to find something comparable and be unable to reinstall it for whatever reason.

I appreciate your help too in the other thread.
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      12-29-2021, 07:27 PM   #4
epiphone3
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Sorry to revive an old thread but I'm curious if you ever found a solution to this issue? Did you try an aftermarket retainer clip or did you find something else?

I replaced my driver's side HID bulb but kind of beat up the retainer clip in the process and I'm thinking getting a new one would be easier than trying to pry and bend my original one to make it seat better.

Last edited by epiphone3; 12-29-2021 at 08:47 PM.. Reason: Forgot to add second paragraph.
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      01-07-2022, 01:13 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by epiphone3 View Post
Sorry to revive an old thread but I'm curious if you ever found a solution to this issue? Did you try an aftermarket retainer clip or did you find something else?

I replaced my driver's side HID bulb but kind of beat up the retainer clip in the process and I'm thinking getting a new one would be easier than trying to pry and bend my original one to make it seat better.
I ended up finding a guy on eBay that was willing to sell me JUST the retaining rings. So I bought them both, replaced the one that was missing which was a total PITA, and stashed the other in case I ever run into this problem again.
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      01-10-2022, 01:14 PM   #6
epiphone3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deeLow View Post
I ended up finding a guy on eBay that was willing to sell me JUST the retaining rings. So I bought them both, replaced the one that was missing which was a total PITA, and stashed the other in case I ever run into this problem again.
Thank you for the reply, sir! I think I will have to "coax" the one I pulled off back into position.

I was waiting for things to warm around here first!
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