[paulrr]

Just wanted to share a recent mod I did. Might not be everyone's cup of tea, but in case others are interested...

I was always jealous of the illuminated headrests and the M seats available on Euro models that we can't have here in the US. Decided to try a retrofit the emblems and was successful. Here are the parts/steps:

1) Replaced the headrests with the X5M/X6M headrests (I don't have a part number as I found them on eBay for a great price)... the headrests are a direct/perfect swap as far as fitment into the seats. I realize their shape is a little different due to the way they nest into the M seats, but I think they still look great and I found this to be cleaner vs retrofitting the illuminated emblem into the existing headrest.

2) I swapped out the illuminated X5M/X6M placard on the headrests with the placard that comes on the X3M (PN: 52-10-8-745-038) which just says ///M and not the full model designation, these also are a direct fit/swap for the other placards on the headrest (all these placards across all BMW models seem to be the exact same shape/fit/plug)

3) Picked up some custom wiring harnesses made by njw1967 which allow you to basically make these plug and play and tap power from the footwell light on the bottom the seats. Many are using these to retrofit their non-illuminated emblems into the illuminated ones, but this worked perfectly for my project too

4) Last step was to get some help from maximking in order remotely to code out the active headrests that I had removed to eliminate the error code thrown by the car. I fully realized I removed a minor safety feature here, but not all models come with this anyways.

Pretty happy with the end result! The emblems come on when you unlock the car or come near it with the proximity key (looks awesome at night) and then shut off automatically a few seconds after locking the car.

[Spiker01]

Nice work, that looks great

[weinerbarn]

Looks nice. Is that a child car seat in the back? You need a backlit M emblem for that too.

[njw1967]

Thanks for the mention Paul

They look great buddy I am just in the process of making another batch of wiring looms at the moment, got an enquiry from Australia for a set.

[Tejas1836]

Very well done

[Spiker01]

Paul, is there any adjustability with these headrests? Do they tilt forward or backwards? Any button the side? Are you able to retract the headrest further down so that the posts are not visible?

[samvora]

So if I add this to my 2019 xdrive 40i with motorized headrests then would it remove the motorized functionality? If not and if it behaves the same as my oem headrests then I am 100% interested in doing this.

OP - any link to where you bought the headrests from on eBay?

[paulrr]

Originally Posted by njw1967

Thanks for the mention Paul

They look great buddy I am just in the process of making another batch of wiring looms at the moment, got an enquiry from Australia for a set.

njw1967 not sure if you can find it, but if you can find the plug that plugs directly into the OEM headrest (from the Ebay link below), it would make your wiring loom 100% plug and play for this specific application instead of having to modify the loom a little

Originally Posted by Spiker01

Paul, is there any adjustability with these headrests? Do they tilt forward or backwards? Any button the side? Are you able to retract the headrest further down so that the posts are not visible?

They dont tilt forwards or backwards, similar to the stock ones that were removed. They can go down slightly a little more, but the post is never fully hidden... I wondered about that at first too, but realized that on the stock headrests the posts were visible for me either way (I'm not the tallest person and I still had them raised up from their lowest setting)

Originally Posted by samvora

So if I add this to my 2019 xdrive 40i with motorized headrests then would it remove the motorized functionality? If not and if it behaves the same as my oem headrests then I am 100% interested in doing this.

OP - any link to where you bought the headrests from on eBay?

it does not remove the motorized functionality, these go into the same slots that hold the stock headrests that allow them to move up/down with the seat adjustment, it behaves exactly like the OEM headrest with the only adjustability being up/down with the motor.

here's the link for the eBay listing I purchased from, the price is outstanding, about 1/2 of what the quote was here from a US dealer, the item shipped via FedEx express, is a factory part (not aftermarket), and it arrived in about 7 days

https://www.ebay.com/itm/403934001463

[njw1967]

Just a note guys, ive sold my wiring kits to a few guys in the States who are having the badges retrofitted into the OE headrests by interior trim guys.

Not got any pictures yet but I have been promised some.

Maybe worth considering

[BobsM3Coupe]

Originally Posted by Spiker01

Paul, is there any adjustability with these headrests? Do they tilt forward or backwards? Any button the side? Are you able to retract the headrest further down so that the posts are not visible?

On the real X5M seats, if the headrest is in the lowest position, the posts are hidden.

[otommytruongo]

I believe the wiring for this should be easy to find online. all it needs is the Y cable that you would tap into the underseat Ambien light plug

[paulrr]

Originally Posted by njw1967

Just a note guys, ive sold my wiring kits to a few guys in the States who are having the badges retrofitted into the OE headrests by interior trim guys.

Not got any pictures yet but I have been promised some.

Maybe worth considering

It's not possible for those of us with the active headrest, there are modules inside the headrest and it's not just a void space that could be used

Originally Posted by BobsM3Coupe

On the real X5M seats, if the headrest is in the lowest position, the posts are hidden.

correct, and obviously the shape of the headrests is totally designed around the shape of the X5M/X6M seat where it kind of nests into the top of the seat

Originally Posted by otommytruongo

I believe the wiring for this should be easy to find online. all it needs is the Y cable that you would tap into the underseat Ambien light plug

yes it's not difficult, but to me purchasing the premade wire loom with the correct plugs already that made this totally reversible with no modification to the car with basically a plug and play install was worth every penny, just made it so much simpler/easier, but yeah definitely could be done from scratch

[njw1967]

Originally Posted by paulrr

it does not remove the motorized functionality, these go into the same slots that hold the stock headrests that allow them to move up/down with the seat adjustment, it behaves exactly like the OEM headrest with the only adjustability being up/down with the motor.

here's the link for the eBay listing I purchased from, the price is outstanding, about 1/2 of what the quote was here from a US dealer, the item shipped via FedEx express, is a factory part (not aftermarket), and it arrived in about 7 days

https://www.ebay.com/itm/403934001463

Hi Paul,
If you remove the OE loom from these headrests my loom would plug directly into the badges

[paulrr]

Originally Posted by njw1967

Hi Paul,
If you remove the OE loom from these headrests my loom would plug directly into the badges

yes, but since these headrests are not open from the back like the X3 ones, they are fully closed up, it's not nearly as simple I think to fish the wire through, that was why I went this direction of using the OE headrests with the wire already coming through

[samvora]

Originally Posted by paulrr

yes it's not difficult, but to me purchasing the premade wire loom with the correct plugs already that made this totally reversible with no modification to the car with basically a plug and play install was worth every penny, just made it so much simpler/easier, but yeah definitely could be done from scratch

Can you post instructions of how did you do the wiring please?

[paulrr]

Originally Posted by samvora

Can you post instructions of how did you do the wiring please?

I purchased the wiring loom from njw1967 which makes it plug and play into the footwell light plugs in our vehicle.

The only modification I had was to cut off the plug end that he has which connects straight to the illuminated emblem, and then cut the plug coming out of the OEM headrest, and hardwire the two together. It’s only two wires to connect together.

[g06x6r]

Originally Posted by njw1967

Thanks for the mention Paul

They look great buddy I am just in the process of making another batch of wiring looms at the moment, got an enquiry from Australia for a set.

njw1967 how do I buy the wiring you offer? I installed the eBay “OEM” X6M headrest and the logo flickers, and got codes saying active headrest resistance too high for both places

[njw1967]

Originally Posted by g06x6r

njw1967 how do I buy the wiring you offer? I installed the eBay “OEM” X6M headrest and the logo flickers, and got codes saying active headrest resistance too high for both places

Sent you a PM