[leonardoB]

Hello all, I have had a poke around the site for answers but there are two glaring questions I have. I just purchased a BMW 228i and I absolutely freakin love it! Reminds me of my 135 that I had 10 years ago! Anyways apart from loving the styling, shape and such there are two severe irritations that I have with the car.

1. The headlights, I hate HID. I let it go in this situation because the car I got was such an amazing deal that I had to do it. My first question is what is the best option to make the lights look better? I see so many options on Amazon that I am a little lost. My hope is to get an LED / Xenon bulb vs complete replacement of the headlights as there are so many other things that I am going to do with this car that I don't need the expense. Anyone have a suggestion so that the lights can look more like the halo's / Angel eyes? If there is a bulb that can get it close to that look, what are your recommendations?

2. The bluetooth audio. I can't actually believe this as Im typing this but in what world should you be able to connect your phone for voice calls but not audio / music? This is crazy! Im a person that has to play music where and whenever I drive and I hate radio. I know that I could do an AUX cable but the steering controls do not function and the titles do not come up. I have seen a bluetooth module you can buy and connect to but they all seem to have mixed reviews? Is there anything better I can buy?

I love this car way more than I thought I even would so even these two things could not have put me off but they are extreme irritations. I had a Mercedes E350 previous to this (same model year) and it was fully loaded so I think the fact that I had all of these things is what is the most irritating. Anyways, any help is greatly appreciated!

[celsdogg]

I'm confused by both of these annoyances. it doesn't sound like you have halogens, so what exactly do you want from your headlights?

I'm not aware of any F22 that can't do both bt audio and phone.

[leonardoB]

Apologies, I missed off a key fact, its a pre-owned 2014 model. I have been reading some posts and it seems that the 2014 model does only come with telephone bluetooth connection (for voice) and not audio for music unless you buy a Y connector from BMW. - This is one of the points I am not 100% on because on other posts people have said mixed answers, some say you can and some say you can't because of the type of bluetooth that was added to this car and the tech package that it had.

As for the lights, they are HID. The reason I was asking is because you can buy LED bulbs for it which have a special chip on them so that they are compatible. My thought and from posts and pics I have seen, this would make it much more like an LED or the xenon but obviously not the same. I have seen some complete third party headlights that you can install or you can go the bulb route but I just needed some advice on if someone has done this and what the results are. I always feel weird buying stuff from these random sites but if someone can point me to somewhere reputable, that would be awesome.

im annoyed at myself because although it was not necessarily a deal breaker, I may have carried on searching for a model that ticks both of the above boxes but i got an awesome deal and I had to jump on it because I know it was going to sell fast.

[Mason Hatcher]

Your current headlights don't light the way well?

[leonardoB]

Right, by the time I left the dealership it was dark and I noticed that driving in my neighborhood it was hard to see.

[celsdogg]

thanks for the additional info. I was not aware of the bt you noted and I am surprised by it as well. I never saw that in any of the models I looked at.

I'm surprised that you find the headlights incapable. afaik, xenon is a form of HID. either way, both are improvements over reflector halogens. if it were me, I'd leave the HIDs alone and only put LEDs in reflectors. good LEDs aren't cheap. I got some for an old minivan from headlight revolution.

maybe your headlight leveling isn't working? there are leveling sensors connected to the front and rear suspension that level the headlight. they have plastic arms that can become disconnected. worth a look.

[Kernel Kurtz]

Xenon = HID (High Intensity Discharge). I'm guessing the OP has base the halogens.

[Sharpie36]

I have the upgraded lights and for me (and MANY others) they are simply pointed so far down that it only lights the ground 10-15 feet in front of you. It threw no light down the road. 6mm allen and a flat wall, fixed the positioning in minutes. So it could be either.

If they are indeed the halogens.... gooooood luck. Past 2010 halogens should only be in projectors, not reflectors. It's ridiculous that a higher end car would ever consider reflectors.

[lateapex'er]

I have a 2014 228i and can connect Bluetooth audio for phone and music. I do have the Harmon Kardon package if that makes a difference.

[Beamer14]

hey I had these two issues with my 2014 228i too and got them both fixed easily. if you'd like I can help you, message me on Instagram at "sem_gutierrez". Hope you see this soon because it made me fall in love with my car that much more when I got this fixed.

[Trojanvirus]

For the 14, you need to have the the the technology package for the upgraded audio Bluetooth/USB/DVD option