Removing Headlight Switch Panel

[Lyons]

Folks can anyone advise how to remove the little panel that houses the headlight switch etc?



I want to try and feed my iPhone cable out from the side of it for my phone.

[X5-D-Sport]

May be neater to feed the cable thru one of the lower air vent grilles where the "Anker" panel is fitted in
the vent.
the vent assy simply eases out of the console... use a plastic trim tool for this, so as not to damage the vent or the soft dash surround...

Once the part is eased out, the fone cable can be fed thru the vent pipe join & out of the vent.

[Lyons]

Thanks. No doubt it would be the neater job, but I assumed the vent "channel" wouldn't have access to feed a cable into it from elsewhere behind the dash? If it does, then happy days.

[Smeeagain]

[quote="X5-D-Sport Salisbury"]
May be neater to feed the cable thru one of the lower air vent grilles where the "Anker" panel is fitted in
the vent.
the vent assy simply eases out of the console... use a plastic trim tool for this, so as not to damage the vent or the soft dash surround...

Once the part is eased out, the fone cable can be fed thru the vent pipe join & out of the vent.
[/quote]

Apologies if Im slightly hijacking the post, although my question is relevant if the OP plans to remove the vent - I'd like to remove the vent assembly for cleaning/detailing purposes. I thought from a previous post a few years back that these vents could only be removed with a specialist BMW tool?
Are you saying I can simply ease it out with nothing other than a bog standard plastic trim tool inserted around the edges of it? Is anything connected to the back of it - hoses etc?
Smee

[X5-D-Sport]

If I remember, the edge of the plastic panel can be eased of from the front dash surround...
ensure you use a PLASTIC trim removal tool... looks like a plastic spade & is a softer ABS than the lighting panel.

If you really must butcher the job & use a screw driver, ensure it has a wide flat blade & protect the edge of the pretty dash insert panel with an old credit card / Matalan card etc...

Ease the blade of the tool between the soft edge of the dash & the lighting facia & gently lever the facia out all the way round... the same applies for the vent grill part....

A set of plastic trim tools are on Ebay for about £3:50... the set has various tips for pinging off door card panels & extracting plastic rivets etc...

The vent grill can have the USB wire fed thru it easily, because there is a short length .. say 30mm .. of ducting to mate to the behind-dash Vent. the USB cable is simply arranged so it goes thru the ducting push-fit-joint...

Simples...

[Horizon]

As Grant has pointed out, you are best always using the trim removal tools, I got a set from Amazon for a fiver a couple of years ago.  Ow I can actually remove trim without breaking it, well worth the money.

[X5Sport]

+1 on that advice

[lezmtaylor]

+2

Lez