[DCruz///NY]

Hi all. So when I purchased my 2019 M40I earlier this year in March, it came to my amazement that Ambient Lighting was no longer standard? Apparently the only way you can have it is with leather interior and not sensatec. It never occurred to me to check since all of my four prior BMW's since 2011 came with Ambient Lighting. Now, looking at the build option on BMWUSA.com for 2020 you can now add it as a $250 option with sensatec seating. I'm wondering if the option 4UR Ambient Lighting can be purchased separately and retrofitted to my 2019? Does anyone have any experience with this or advice? Much appreciated.

[suby01]

Originally Posted by DCruz///NY

Hi all. So when I purchased my 2019 M40I earlier this year in March, it came to my amazement that Ambient Lighting was no longer standard? Apparently the only way you can have it is with leather interior and not sensatec. It never occurred to me to check since all of my four prior BMW's since 2011 came with Ambient Lighting. Now, looking at the build option on BMWUSA.com for 2020 you can now add it as a $250 option with sensatec seating. I'm wondering if the option 4UR Ambient Lighting can be purchased separately and retrofitted to my 2019? Does anyone have any experience with this or advice? Much appreciated.

Ambient lighting was part of the Executive Package on the 2019. I dont know if that includes sensatec or not.
But of course you can retrofit anything for the right amount of $$. Not sure anyone else has attempted this however.

[DCruz///NY]

Originally Posted by suby01

Ambient lighting was part of the Executive Package on the 2019. I dont know if that includes sensatec or not.
But of course you can retrofit anything for the right amount of $$. Not sure anyone else has attempted this however.

Yes, the executive package came standard with leather hence the inclusion of the ambient lighting. It's just so ridiculous the only way to get the ambient lighting (at least for 2019) is with stand-alone leather seating or a package that includes leather seating. But for 2020 models, they added the ambient lighting with no restrictions.

[Kermez]

It's always the same with early adopters, pay more for less to be first.

[suby01]

OOOOOOh. I didnt even pay attention to the Ambient Lighting stand alone package.
I see now it is required with the Carbon Fiber trim, and thats what I went with.

Wow you are right an additional charge for something like this that is free in a Ford Focus.

[DCruz///NY]

Originally Posted by suby01

OOOOOOh. I didnt even pay attention to the Ambient Lighting stand alone package.
I see now it is required with the Carbon Fiber trim, and thats what I went with.

Wow you are right an additional charge for something like this that is free in a Ford Focus.

Exactly!! so annoying

[HerrJatoba]

One of the things that irritated me once I got the bimmer home and went night driving. My super low optioned no nav 3 series had ambient lighting so I assumed the higher optioned x3 would have also had it.

[Nick_2019]

I have a 2020 and unfortunately don't have any of the lighting. However when I look under the door trim, I see what looks to be spacing and leds spaced out every couple inches as if it's already there just not hooked up. Has anyone encountered this before and/or has anyone added it after the fact yet?

[kevinkay]

I added the exterior carpet lights which is part of the Ambient lighting package.
It is my experience that nothing is "pre-wired" like with past decades builds.

https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showp...96&postcount=1

[kgroschi_VerdeMantis]

Any updates on this? Has anyone put in the Ambient Lighting AFTER purchasing the car without the option?

[MikesBMW]

So is there actually no lighting at all besides dome lights you have to turn on and off in a 2019 X3 M40i with sensatec? Isn't there at least some glow of the standard red/orange lighting? Can anyone post pics?

[RoverAL]

Originally Posted by kgroschi_VerdeMantis

Any updates on this? Has anyone put in the Ambient Lighting AFTER purchasing the car without the option?

Hi everyone,
New to the forum. Just picked up my 2020 x3 xDrive30i 2 weeks ago and so far enjoying the ride. Coming from a 2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE, one thing off the bat is the x3 feels more car-like compared to the Disco.

As for some mods I have done so far, I have added some ambient lighting to the car, upgraded front turn signals to LEDs, installed a clear bra for the bottom front of the bumper, and had the vehicle ceramic coated. I was quickly disappointed to find out that for 2020, ambient lighting package does not come with Vernasca leather. I was in the dealership looking at one with the sensatec and didn’t notice any ambient lighting in it and thought mine would have it since the specs were pretty similar to one I’ve seen in another dealership that had the ambient lighting with leather but wasn’t listed in the window sticker. I thought the interior was a bit dark and even in the Disco sport there were faint but ambient lighting along all 4 doors. The spec I had was not what I really wanted but due to COVID there is very limited inventory of cars here in NJ and especially at Open Road where I got mine from. As far as how mine is built, I have premium package, cognac vernasca leather, and drivers assistance with the standard Y spoke 18” wheels. I noticed at other dealerships the convenience package ones have the upgraded 19” ferric grey wheels.

As far as lighting, install was a project. I am not a mechanic by any means but have basic knowledge of adding accessories. I have tapped into the front fuse box for wiring using add a fuse, but couldn’t find a fuse that was an ACC power source that would only turn on when the car turns on so the lights don’t turn off until after 6 minutes. As far as install running the wires to the driver side footwell from the passenger side was not as difficult as I thought it would be. I have added 4 lights one under each footwell front and back, as well as installing a fiber optic el wire along the dash and center console. Each lighting set is on its own fuse tap. Here are some photos of what the interior looks like at night now with one before pic. The lighting is not overly bright as what it looks like in the photos, I have taken it with nightmode from the iPhone. The lights can be controlled via remote and app to change colors and adjust brightness and they are completely unobtrusive when driving at night. I know it's not the same as OEM but it is much better with some light than it being completely dark.

[VipinLJ]

Looks really nice for a DIY. Which EL light did you buy? And how many strips?

[RoverAL]

Originally Posted by VipinLJ

Looks really nice for a DIY. Which EL light did you buy? And how many strips?

Thank you! So I used two kits. The EL wire I really didn’t know what I was walking into in terms of kit quality but it is not bad. It comes with 4 LED heads and optic wires to connect it to. I ran two through the steering wheel column and two through center console. For the footwell lighting I used an Opt7 kit that I had pretty good experience with in the past.

For the EL wire the kit was from eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/353117429524

Opt7 kit for footwell is from amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OU5LOT2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_zEElFbR34PSYR

All hooked up to add a circuit connected to the front fuse box.

[VipinLJ]

Originally Posted by RoverAL

Thank you! So I used two kits. The EL wire I really didn’t know what I was walking into in terms of kit quality but it is not bad. It comes with 4 LED heads and optic wires to connect it to. I ran two through the steering wheel column and two through center console. For the footwell lighting I used an Opt7 kit that I had pretty good experience with in the past.

For the EL wire the kit was from eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/353117429524

Opt7 kit for footwell is from amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OU5LOT2..._zEElFbR34PSYR

All hooked up to add a circuit connected to the front fuse box.

Thank you for the links. I’ve been looking to get some EL lights for the X3 but I wasn’t sure which one to get. I’m looking at doing something like you did. I especially love the centre console ambient lights you did.

[RoverAL]

Originally Posted by VipinLJ

Thank you for the links. I’ve been looking to get some EL lights for the X3 but I wasn’t sure which one to get. I’m looking at doing something like you did. I especially love the centre console ambient lights you did.

No problem! Thanks! I think it looks pretty good at night and even during the day you don’t even notice the EL wires so it looks pretty clean. The EL wire kit was pretty basic in terms of wiring. I striped the wire then used a self soldering wire connector to connect to the add a fuse harness and just striped the negative and tied it around the negative connector of the Opt7 kit which is connected to the grounding bolt near the fuse box. It’s a fun project but well worth it I think. Good luck with the install!

[sarangk]

Thanks rover for your post. Finally I found something. Could you please give me little instructions or steps how to do add ambient light? And could you please also share pic of led lights.
I bought bmw x3 2020 and called some local dealers no one is doing for me so kind
a feel b that why I bought bmw. Now I got some hope

[RoverAL]

Originally Posted by sarangk

Thanks rover for your post. Finally I found something. Could you please give me little instructions or steps how to do add ambient light? And could you please also share pic of led lights.
I bought bmw x3 2020 and called some local dealers no one is doing for me so kind
a feel b that why I bought bmw. Now I got some hope

Hey there,
I’ve written a little guide on another forum but I’ll link it here so you can check it out!

https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1481074&page=126