Shared Knowledge
"BMW - X5: Headlight Assembly (Adjustment & Warning)"
8 Dec 2009
Summary: the design of the headlight adjustment "screws" is such that if one is not careful, you can dislodge an adjustment screw from the internal headlight assembly plate and if you do that, you have to remove the headlight assembly from the X5 to fix.
Background:
BMW X5: 4.4, model year 2000.
Due to accident, both headlight assemblies had to be replaced. One actually broken and other???
How Adjustment Knobs Work:
The actual headlight holders are all on one piece (plate) inside the headlight assembly and "float" via 4 attachment points: screwed to a flexible rubber grommet that holds the light closes the fender of the car; a socket\pivot joint in which the automatic leveler system ball moves the headlights plate and 2 sockets which connect to balls threaded on the end of shafts leading up the adjustment knobs. Both knobs do the same thing (move the plate in or out) but it is their location on the plate that defines up or down or left and right
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And the point to all this is? If you or a mechanic adjusting your headlights is not careful, it is possible to change up/down or left/right so much that the other adjustment ball pops out of the plate socket (there is nothing holding it in place) and your headlight will no longer adjust properly. And in my case, after accident, although headlight outer lens was not broken, headlight would not adjust and was replaced only for me to find that bump of accident had simply dislodged one of the adjustment knob balls out of its socket in the plate! I wonder how many $1200 headlight assemblies have been replaced simply because an adjustment ball came out of a plate socket??
Adjustments:
Left/right. Turning the left/right knob clockwise kicks the headlights towards the center of the car.
Up/down. Turning the up/down knob clockwise kicks the headlights up.
Is it possible to put a dislodged ball back into a socket on the plate?
Yes, but I did it after the assembly was removed from the car (not a big deal and does not require front bumper removal). I think it might be possible to remove the headlight bulbs and reach in with your fingers and pull the plate back into the socket after you are sure there is enough play in the both adjustment knobs for the ball to actually pop back into the socket.