[E36 PWR]

While prepping for the painted reflector install on my X7, I found very little information online. This is meant to be a guide to walk you through the process so you don't have to figure it out on the fly like I did. I also want to note that this is A way to do the install, not the ONLY way, so adjust as you see fit.

Parts Needed:
Painted reflectors
BMW blind rivets (07149140886)

Tools needed:
Jack
Jack stands
Jack pad (2x4 or hockey puck)
Breaker bar
17mm socket
Torque wrench
10mm socket w/ ratchet
Heat gun or hair dryer
Diagonal cutting pliers or similar
Bondo spreader or similar
Masking tape
Plastic rivet tool (LINK)



Step 1:
Deactivate the air suspension system. With the ignition on and engine off, push up (or down) on the suspension level rocker switch for 7 seconds. After the rocker switch is released, the green LED indicator will go out.


Step 2:
Use a breaker bar and 17mm socket to loosen wheel bolts.


Step 3:
Place a piece of 2x4 or hockey puck on your jack and slide the jack under the front bumper to the center jacking point. There is a cutout in the plastic splash shield for the center jacking point. Try to align your jack to prevent accidental damage to the splash shield. Jack the car up and place the car on jack stands. Remove wheels.


Step 4:
In order to access the back side of the front bumper, remove the front half of the wheel arch cover. Using your 10mm socket and ratchet, remove the hex bolts holding the cover in place. Once all the hex bolts are removed, pull the wheel arch cover out.





Step 5:
Next, loosen the painted wheel arch trim. There are a series of clips that hold the trim to the fender. Remove the trim starting from the bottom (closest to the ground).


Step 6:
First, bend the small tab that hooks the arch trim into the front bumper. To do this, simply rotate the tab 90 degrees, so that it is parallel to the ground. Use one hand to keep the tab parallel, and use your other hand to pull the bottom of the arch trim away from the fender. This will require very little force and will pop the first mounting point.




Step 7:
Next, work your way up the trim removing each mounting point. The second mounting tab is located behind the lower portion of the plastic air curtain. You will need to reach your finger behind the air curtain and pull the tab towards you. As you pull the tab towards you, use your other hand to pull the trim away from the fender. This will require moderate force and will pop the second mounting point.




Step 8:
The third mounting tab is the hardest to access and remove. You will need to pull the tab towards the rear or the car but cannot because it is being blocked by both the air curtain and fog light support trim (this is shown in the first photo below). You will need to remove the top blind rivet that holds the air curtain and fog light support onto the bumper itself.




Step 9:
Using a diagonal cutting plier, cut the back of the blind rivet off. This will allow you to pry the air curtain and fog light support away from the bumper.




Step 10:
Now you can slip your hand underneath the air curtain trim and fog light support to put pressure on the mounting tab. Pull the tab towards you with one hand and use your other hand to pull the arch trim away from the car. This mounting tab requires the most force to remove. When pulling the arch trim, try to apply force from as close to the mounting tab as possible, do not pull from the bottom of the arch trim as you could bend it.



Step 11:
The fourth mounting point is a tab just above the air curtain. Pull the tab towards you with one hand and use your other hand to pull the arch trim away from the car.


Step 12:
The last mounting point that should be removed is the conical shaped plastic clip at the apex of the wheel arch. Simply pull the trim straight out, away from the car with moderate force. This will pop the clip out of the hole in the fender. Be careful, there is a rubber o-ring between the clip and fender that is very easy to lose.




Step 13:
Remove the remaining portion of the blind rivet. This will allow full access to the reflector.



Step 14:
Tape off the painted area around the reflector


Step 15:
Use a heat-gun on low temperature, or hair dryer to soften the reflector adhesive. Heat from front and back side. Focus mainly on the bottom third of the reflector. Be careful not to over heat.


Step 16 :
Use one hand to support the back side of the bumper near the reflector. Use the thumb of your other hand to push the bottom of the reflector inwards.


Step 17:
Once you have the reflector slightly pushed inwards, slide your bondo spreader underneath the reflector from the inside of the bumper.


Step 18:
Carefully heat the rest of the reflector and push it inwards towards the front of the bumper. Pull the reflector out of the bumper. Clean up any remaining adhesive on the inside of the bumper.


Step 19:
Clean the inside of the bumper with rubbing alcohol to promote better adhesion.




Step 20:
Peel off backing and put the new reflector in place. Heat the reflector from the front and back and push firmly into place.






Step 21:
Using a plastic rivet tool and new rivet, re-secure the fog light support and air curtain to the bumper.



Step 22:
Reinstall the wheel arch cover



Step 23:
Reinstall wheels, remove jack stands, lower car, and torque to 101 lbs ft / 140nm


Step 24:
Reactivate air suspension by holding level adjustment for 7 seconds, or drive the car for a short amount of time.


Step 25:
Enjoy



Feel free to send me a message with any questions. I will be posting more DIY's as I continue to modify my G07.

[x7bmw23]

That was a pain in the butt to install. I almost broke the trim trying to get that off and the glue wasn't fully set in yet because it was a new build and I did this mod after a month of taking delivery

[Jakerx]

Wow. Thank you for the detailed write up. Not on my personal mod list, but damn…that is detailed and well written!

Thanks again.

[M3fan8ic]

It looks like such a paint in the butt to install that little piece of plastic but once installed it does make a huge difference in the looks. I plan to replace mine with painted as well but will probably wait for late spring/summer to do this as its way too cold in Washington DC area lol.
Thank you for your detailed write up and I am sure it will help many others DIY'er.

[itiongo]

Extremely well written. So well written it scares to to try and attempt this. I also want to get rid of this reflector. It is very noticeable and looks very wrong. I'm going to go the "Vinyl wrap" method. Not as nice and permanent, but takes about 10 minutes.

[bimmerfan67]

Those were the best DIY instructions I've ever seen! It made the swap so easy. Thank you for your attention to detail and spending all that time preparing the instructions.
For step 21: I didn't have the rivet tool so I tried something different. I had some expanding trim rivets (BMW P/N 51111908077) and they fit in the hole perfectly and held all the parts together.

[LeKayz]

awesome , never understand why they would make these ugly reflector so hard to take out.

[IND-Distribution]

Well done!