DIY - G05 X5 Shadowline Exhaust Trim Installation - Page 2 - BMW X5, X5M, X6 & X6M Forum (G05/G06)

06-04-2019

bizfiend wrote
It's a lot easier if you lift the whole car up. I watched my body shop guy do it without taking the bumper off. It wasn't easy as he hadn't done it before and it took a few hours. After removing the screws you have to use a flat head screw driver to pry and release a clip its hooked on to.

He must have broke the rivet and not putting it back.
I have done a few, and that reflector is pinched in between.

It is fine if you don't put the rivet back, since it is being held by the 2 screw or the fender liner is held hy 2 screw to that lose inner air guide.

09-28-2020

Hi there!
I managed to take 3 screws out but I couldn't take the trim out. Can you share your experience prying out and releasing the clips that's hooked on to? I was only managed to take the outer one but not the bent one on the inside.

10-04-2020

y411n wrote
Hi there!
I managed to take 3 screws out but I couldn't take the trim out. Can you share your experience prying out and releasing the clips that's hooked on to? I was only managed to take the outer one but not the bent one on the inside.

It is easier if you can remove the tips with the whole bracket.
I always do it that way. So I remove the trim from the bracket on the bench.

11-02-2020

This was a very informative writeup. I used it to replace the chrome tips with black times. Taking the bumper off wasn't too difficult, but I did have to take all of the screws off from the underside of the bumper. I wasn't sure which ones anchored it to the substructure, so I removed all of them.

There are a couple of tabs on the top side of the exhaust that keep it in the bracket. Once I released the tabs, the exhaust tips popped right out.

Disassembly took the longest, because of the care needed to pull the bumper off. Reassembly went really quickly.

02-25-2021

Anyone not taking the bumper off is nuts! I’m no stranger to taking apart cars and used to be a installer. Those screws are insane, I spent 2 hours last night trying to get to them without luck. I had the bumper off in 30 minutes tonight.

Here's a few more details to help out.

Here's a pic with the exhaust tip still in the bumper so you can see the bolts and tabs. (white labels)

Also, the only real spot that will give you trouble removing the bumper is under the taillights, and here is what that looks like as well (red boxes). I had to remove the taillight on the driver side as it was starting to break one of the tabs, but the passenger side was fine. It's 2 torx bolts on the rear and one 10mm nut on the inside of the cargo bay, front of the light.

Lastly, here is what the reflector looks like as well so you know what you are dealing with.

An image attached to this post, provided by the poster

03-15-2021

Which screws did you end up having to remove from underneath the truck? I started this project today and got to the point where all the screws from up top were removed and then realized there's screws and rivets underneath. Wasn't sure if I needed to pop out those plastic rivets. I wanted to buy that tool to replace them if I needed to.

Any info is appreciated, thanks.

03-18-2021

BMW003E wrote
This was a very informative writeup. I used it to replace the chrome tips with black times. Taking the bumper off wasn't too difficult, but I did have to take all of the screws off from the underside of the bumper. I wasn't sure which ones anchored it to the substructure, so I removed all of them.

There are a couple of tabs on the top side of the exhaust that keep it in the bracket. Once I released the tabs, the exhaust tips popped right out.

Disassembly took the longest, because of the care needed to pull the bumper off. Reassembly went really quickly.

Did you have to remove any of the plastic rivets underneath or just the screws to re,I've the bumper? Any info is appreciated

04-04-2021

El30 wrote
BMW003E wrote
This was a very informative writeup. I used it to replace the chrome tips with black times. Taking the bumper off wasn't too difficult, but I did have to take all of the screws off from the underside of the bumper. I wasn't sure which ones anchored it to the substructure, so I removed all of them.

There are a couple of tabs on the top side of the exhaust that keep it in the bracket. Once I released the tabs, the exhaust tips popped right out.

Disassembly took the longest, because of the care needed to pull the bumper off. Reassembly went really quickly.
BMW003E wrote
This was a very informative writeup. I used it to replace the chrome tips with black times. Taking the bumper off wasn't too difficult, but I did have to take all of the screws off from the underside of the bumper. I wasn't sure which ones anchored it to the substructure, so I removed all of them.

There are a couple of tabs on the top side of the exhaust that keep it in the bracket. Once I released the tabs, the exhaust tips popped right out.

Disassembly took the longest, because of the care needed to pull the bumper off. Reassembly went really quickly.
Did you have to remove any of the plastic rivets underneath or just the screws to re,I've the bumper? Any info is appreciated

I didn't mess with the rivets underneath. Just all of the screws holding the bumper on. I suspect there is a way to get to the exhausts without removing the bumper but you'd have to remove the rivets and plastic pieces underneath.

11-13-2024

Definitive wrote
Soo, I read the post on here about how you can do this swap with the right tools and taking off the shields and such, but not the bumper. Well let me tell you after doing this install. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE. I don't care how small your hands are, or what special tools you have. I have been working on BMW's for 20 years and you're not getting these out without the bumper off.

I got all these parts off before I realized that this just wasn't happening.

So I found a trust image of the bumper and how it all goes together HERE. and I then went ahead with the mission.

Let me show you the first problem, looking at the back of the bumper. The exhaust trim is held in by 3 8mm bolts and a clip. Circled in red, then the carriage that floats the exhaust trim is held on by two more bolts in the squares, and then two plastic rivets on the bottom portion of the bumper.

Well if you could somehow get the 3 bolts off of the actual trim piece, you would then have to remove the two other bolts for the carriage as the only way to remove the trim is to pull back the carriage from the top and then angle and wiggle the trim out the backside of the bumper...

Ok so onto the DIY for this.

1. Remove the left and right flairs. This is done staring on the forward part of the flare and the rear door. You start at the bottom edge and pull outward, then you pull up and around releasing each [...]

Nice detailed write up!

11-24-2024

Looking at doing this on an 2025 X5 where did you get the part??

12-05-2024

I added $28 black stainless steel trim covers from Amazon in under 1 min and result looks good enough for me.

I thought about replacing them with OEM parts but it's way to too much trouble and costly too. I very happy with the result and overall quality and fit are well above my earlier expectation.

I attached before and after photos below for comparison.

12-06-2024

wow those turned out pretty good. I'm curious on how they will hold up.

12-06-2024

fgibbs wrote
wow those turned out pretty good. I'm curious on how they will hold up.

Well, I'll see how well they hold up but they're really well made and pre-attached with super strong double-sided thin foam tapes. Even its color really matches well with the surrounding trims. And they fit perfectly.

Exhaust tips are not the cleanest part of the vehicle and we don't typically look at it closely, so I thought paying $400 for OEM set and spending hours installing them is not worth it for me. And OEM black trims add no real functional benefit anyway.

Even if this cheap trim falls off a year later, so what? I'll buy brand new replacement and add them in 1 min.

12-07-2024

Galex999 wrote
Well, I'll see how well they hold up but they're really well made and pre-attached with super strong double-sided thin foam tapes. Even its color really matches well with the surrounding trims. And they fit perfectly.

Exhaust tips are not the cleanest part of the vehicle and we don't typically look at it closely, so I thought paying $400 for OEM set and spending hours installing them is not worth it for me. And OEM black trims add no real functional benefit anyway.

Even if this cheap trim falls off a year later, so what? I'll buy brand new replacement and add them in 1 min.

Right on. I assume you would just heat to remove?

12-12-2024

Galex999 wrote
I added $28 black stainless steel trim covers from Amazon in under 1 min and result looks good enough for me.

I thought about replacing them with OEM parts but it's way to too much trouble and costly too. I very happy with the result and overall quality and fit are well above my earlier expectation.

I attached before and after photos below for comparison.

I haven't really looked at what the difference is between the M and the regular. Didn't realize they were different unless you had the dual exhaust tips. Nice upgrade for $28 and a minute of your time.

01-02-2025

Do you know if this will fit on 2025 40i?

Galex999 wrote
I added $28 black stainless steel trim covers from Amazon in under 1 min and result looks good enough for me.

I thought about replacing them with OEM parts but it's way to too much trouble and costly too. I very happy with the result and overall quality and fit are well above my earlier expectation.

I attached before and after photos below for comparison.

01-03-2025

2Broke4M wrote
Do you know if this will fit on 2025 40i?

Yes, I installed on my 2025 X5 xDrive40i with M Sport Pkg.

01-03-2025

I just did mine a couple days ago and so far so good. I just couldn't come to pay 600 dollars for some trim pieces. Hopefully they will hold up for a while.

07-03-2025

Definitive wrote
Soo, I read the post on here about how you can do this swap with the right tools and taking off the shields and such, but not the bumper. Well let me tell you after doing this install. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE.

Thanks, D

Found this 6+ year old thread while figuring out how to remove the exhaust trim piece so I could install quad pipes. This thread was a big help. Thanks.