Sonar BMW X5 Smoke LED Tail Lights (aka Spyder BMW X5 Smoke LED Tail Lights) are a slick high tech upgrade for old or worn out stock tail lights on your X5. L.E.D. taillights are the newest type of tail lights available, and they use super bright and fast acting LED's to give your X5 the look of the newer high end vehicles on the road. With a relatively simple installation, you could enjoy the benefits of faster light response time as well as increasing the visibility of your signaling and braking. Best of all, these Sonar X5 L.E.D Smoke tail lamps give you a clean look similar to the Euro red/clear style of taillights, with the same type of aggressive styling found on Altezza tails. Also, due to their bulb-less design, they are more resistant to leaking and fogging up than the other styles of tail lens available.
Sonar (aka Spyder) has long been the most popular brand of aftermarket custom lighting for your BMW X5, and for good reason due to their large selection, striking designs, and affordability. Sonar has long been an innovator in new and unique taillight designs, despite their relatively smaller size compared to other lighting companies. All Sonar tail lights are designed for function and durability, and add that custom look and feel for your BMW X5.
These Sonar BMW X5 Smoke LED Tail Lights, like all the other projector head lights, taillamps, and fog lights on our site, come complete with both sides, and should be street legal in most communities.
Tools generally needed to install BMW X5 Tail Lights
- Socket wrench set or Phillips screw driver
- Painters tape to prevent scratches to your BMW X5
- (Rare) Torque wrenches, etc.
BMW X5 Tail Light installation procedure
- Inspect the new set of BMW X5 tail lights to make sure you can complete the installation with the tools you have available.
- Disconnect your BMW X5 battery's negative battery terminal. If your stereo requires a key in order to reboot, please be sure you have it before disconnecting the battery. Also, be aware that you will probably have to reset your clocks, etc. after reconnecting the battery later. Please note that some vehicles (such as newer GMs) have extremely sensitive electrical systems. In these cases failure to disconnect the battery before attempting installation may lead to blown taillamp fuses or other damage.
- Apply painters tape on your BMW X5 around the edges of your X5's taillights to prevent any scratches that might occur while removing and installing taillamps. If uninstalling your BMW X5 rear bumper is required, make sure you have a safe surface to place the X5 bumper on and that the working surface below the vehicle is also safe in the event the bumper falls down. This step is particularly important because tail lens, unlike headlights, often require a little force to come loose, leaving many people to inadvertently scratch their BMW X5 in the process.
- Without touching the glass, uninstall the stock brake, signal and reverse bulbs (as applicable). For bulbs with flat rectangle harnesses, you just pull the bulb firmly outward. For bulbs with round bases, you usually just push them in a bit, and then turn a quarter turn to release them. Once the bulb is removed, place them in their original container (if available). If they are cold, you could also store them in a ziplock type of bag. Please note that if your BMW X5 tail lamps have a harness that can be separated via a main harness that leaves part of the harness with the bulbs inside the X5 tail lights, you will still need both parts of the harness since the aftermarket BMW X5 tail lights are designed to either re-use the stock bulbs (altezzas) or to connect directly into the bulb harnesses (LED taillights).
- Unscrew the BMW X5 taillamps from the front or use a socket wrench to undo the X5 tail lamps from the back. Be aware that the old BMW X5 tail lights might fall immediately once the tension of the bolts is removed. For this reason, it is best to lightly hold the lights in place with your free hand as you unbolt or unscrew them.
- Remove the old BMW X5 taillens and store in a way that the lens will not be scratched. Install the new BMW X5 tail lens and bolt / screw in place.
- BMW X5 LED Tail Lights: Some of your stock bulbs, such as the reverse lights, might be re-used in your new X5 LED lights. For the rest, the LED lights will come with male plugs that should be identical to the ends of your stock bulbs. Connect these into your stock harnesses. For plug in type harnesses, please try to install the plugs in the opposite orientation if they do not work.
- BMW X5 LED Tail Lights: Since BMW LED taillights operate at a lower wattage than your stock bulbs, they include a resistor in order to regulate the current being passed to them. While sometimes this box is internal, more often it is external and connected via a plastic plug. In the case of an external resistor box, it needs to be mounted somewhere (they usually have double sided tape on the backs) where it will be away from heat and moisture.
- Reconnect your BMW X5 battery and turn on your BMW X5 taillamps and check for proper operation and blinking speed. If any functions are not operational, try flipping the plugs the reverse orientation and double checking that the resistor boxes are fully connected.
- Reconnect all connections and tighten all bolts in place.
Are these BMW X5 tail lights sold by piece or as a pair?
All our BMW taillights are sold in the full pair. When you pay the listed price, you receive the complete set including both the right and the left sides.
Are these BMW X5 tail lights street legal?
As far as we know the Sonar (aka Spyder) and KS (Anzo) brand tail lights on our website are all street legal as mandated by federal law in the United States. This basically means that they are designed to the specifications set forth by the DOT (United States Department of Transportation). Occasionally, DOT might test models for compliance. If any BMW X5 taillights fail (rare) DOT will have the companies issue a recall. For those tail lens, you can return them to us for a refund. For any other brands besides Sonar (aka Spyder) and KS (aka Anzo), we can not guarantee DOT compliance. Also, please be advised that your local laws that may disallow these sorts of taillights to be used.
After I installed BMW X5 LED tail lights my front signals are blinking fast. What do I do?
Your BMW X5 front and rear signals are connected, so when you have a problem with one you will have a problem with the other. A fast blinking signal usually points to too much wattage going through the system. This can be caused by three different situations: 1) a dead bulb in the front or the rear, 2) the appropriate plug on the LED taillamp being plugged in upside down, or 3) the resistor box not being connected or malfunctioning.
Dead bulbs can be examined by eye for blowouts. If one of the wires is broken and/or you see a burnt part of the bulb, then it is probably dead. For the LED plugs, this would only be the case if they were ALWAYS blinking fast. To remedy that situation, just unplug and replug the bulb in the opposite orientation. For a defective resistor box, check the connection. Worst case, try the resistor box from the other side to isolate the problem.
How can I prevent my BMW X5 tail lights from fogging up?
During the first few days of operation, it is normal to see some moisture appear in your BMW X5 tail lens. This is due to the small amounts of moisture in the plastic and coating that are evaporated when the tail lens are first warmed up during use. This sort of moisture is normal and should disappear within a few days.
To be sure that no external moisture gets into the new BMW X5 tail lens though, it is a prudent idea to silicone seal the edges. Clear silicone sealant can be found in any hardware store (and some auto part stores), and can be applied to the seam along the X5 taillights where the clear lens meets the rear housing. Also, even if a bulb has died, make sure to keep it installed in the X5 tail lamp until you replace it to prevent moisture from entering through the bulb hole.
Can I smoke my BMW X5 tail lights?
While smoking your BMW X5 taillights (tinting them) is certainly possible through the use of carefully applied spray tint (use light even coats), doing so may make them too dark to be legal. Please check your local laws as well as smoked BMW X5 taillights of any darkness might be illegal in your area.
