I went to my local dealership last week to replace a burned out daytime running lamp (bulb) - This is the second time I've had to replace in 78K miles. I ask my Service Advisor the average lifespan of these bulbs and he says, "on average 2-3 years". He then proceeds to say, "We can also re-program your car to make these bulbs last longer, for an additional $210." I'm thinking, are you kidding me - Is this guy for real? Of course, I declined the programming. What a bunch of criminals!!!

He may be right in one respect. I had mine "programmed" to last longer, the guys at Solely Bimmer turned the DRL's off for me, they will last MUCH longer now :thumbsup:

Did they charge you? You can turn the DRL's off yourself (in I-drive settings).

who's your SA?

it was included with other work they were doing for me, and no, in Pre-LCI cars there is no setting in the iDrive to turn them on/off. They must be coded. :thumbsup:

Mine must be coded because I can turn them on/off.

Maybe the later Pre-lci models came with the option? Mine is a 2007 530i (built Dec. 2006) and has an option to turn it on/off in I-Drive. I'm pretty sure the car was never coded.

This appear to be the case. Something about the later cars allowed this in the US via software, but seems to be available as an option from the get go for many non-US countries. There was a thread about this, that edumacated me.

i have a 2003 and the option is in the idrive