After reading discussions regarding aftermarket Xenon headlights I decided to find an original set. I have a 2005 European version left hand drive.

My question is should I have Bi-xenon or Xenon? Both types are being advertised as original equipment for Europe. Does the Bi-xenon have a high and low beam? When I first saw the Bi I thought immediately must be after market but now I think I was wrong. I will try to include pictures of each. The Bi Xenon will be first.

My original halogen headlights have 2 rings lower like the bi-xenon.

 

The first picture you posted looks exactly like the factory headlamps on my US-spec 2006. Only the low beam (the upper element with the eight black ovals around it) is xenon. The high-beam element (the bottom part of the assembly) is halogen.

I've never heard of a bi-xenon setup available from the factory for the first-generation euro-spec cars - I think that would have been a popular swap/upgrade for U.S. owners if it had been available.

 

Thanks Scott. I think there may have been a facelift sometime on or before 2005 in Europe. The plain looking lamp was advertised as 2005 original Xenon and although the picture I posted is not large enough to see in great detail the silver area does say Xenon. I will zoom in on that area and post it below.

I think the lamps that are correct for my car, if it came with Xenon at the time it was made, are the ones like yours. My original halogens have the double overlapping rings just like the lower area in the one I referred to as Bi-Xenon. I don't know why they are referring to it as Bi-Xenon but not just one seller is using that name.

I really want the one which produces the best lighting but I think it would be nice to have the one that should be on the car according to when it was built if they provide the same level of lighting.

 

There was a facelift worldwide for the 2005 model year. The newer facelift xenons are in the first picture, with the projector lens and dots around the lens. It is not bi-xenon (bi-xenon was never available in 1st gen R50/R53/R52). Before 2005, xenon had a plain flat lens similar to the halogen headlight. The seller's description is wrong.

 

rkw thank you.

Has anyone read any articles comparing light levels or objective driving reviews regarding the new and old style before and after the 2005 face lift?

 

I bought the Xenon lights used before the 2005 face lift. I could not easily find the ones after the lift with the projector complete.

There was an issue getting them to work and so I took it to a shop which could reprogram the computer. I was told that for 2004 and 2005 it was not possible to get the Xenon lights to work with just a program change. This shop also spoke to BMW service. They were able to get them to work but they needed to add some type of converter box. Unfortunately I did not get the full details.

I have also noticed that any car made in a calendar year seems to be referred to as a car from that year. In other words if a car was made in 2005, regardless of January or December, it would still be a 2005. In the USA the model year changes around July and so, using the 2005 example, a car made after July would likely be a 2006 model year. I mention this only because the face lift was in 2005 but the shop said the reprogram only would not work for 2004 and later. I was thinking the model year versus calendar year may explain this.

I also found a used headlight washer reservoir and the extra washer pump. Does anyone know if the wiring exists in all cars regardless of option? Someone mentioned fuse number 3 is dedicated to washers. It would be nice if they kept the proliferation of wiring harness part numbers down and included the wiring for the washer on all cars...I think unlikely though.