I've had my 520d just over a week and drove it for the first time at night two days ago. I was literally petrified to drive too fast due to the limited range of the dipped beam which as far as I am concerned would not light up enough of the road to cover my stopping distance. I have the adjustment correct on the inside slide switch but does anyone else have this problem?

I guess the lights would be OK on a motorway or similar wide and even road but the roads I regularly travel are uneven, pretty narrow and not straight for more than a couple of hundred yards.

A friend of mine has advised that BMW are renowned for this phenomena and has advised I whip out the original bulbs and replace them with a Philips XP lamp http://www.xp-lamp.com/ .

I'd be grateful to hear of any similar experiences and anything I can do to improve visibility on dipped beam.

I am of course assuming that the factory has set the elevation correctly for RH drive.

 

Can you let us know the year of your car and whether you have standard Halogen or Xenon lights?

I have a '07 with standard Halogen lights with the 'projector' lenses. They are truly crap.

I have aupgraded the bulbs using Osram bulbs from www.powerbulbs.com with very limited improvements....... other E60 owners from around the globe seem to get Xenons as standard and don't have to suffer the standard dipped beam lights.

It is defo worth upgrading the bulbs from a safety perspective - you will see some improvement.

Best of luck.

ArtC

 

I found the same problem with the dipped beam on my old E61 2004 model. main bem seemed fine, but when you switched to dipped, your're quite right it was scary, on an unlit road. I too had standard halogen, and also upgraded the bulbs, but made little difference.

I now have the Xenons, and the difference is dramatic. Dipped beam is great, and the main beam is phenominal. The reflection you get off the street signs with main beam is almost dazzling.

 

Hey artc aswell,

this is a week old 2008 520d with standard halogens.
How could I upgrade to Xenons and how much would it cost me?

Any recommendations gratefully received, particularly with the dark evenings on their way. I am expecting the Philips XP any day now so we'll see how it goes.

Glad to know I am not the only one worried about the range of the standard halogens, I thought it was just a sign of poor eyesight