Ambient Lighting in 2023 models

acudaf82 · 04-23-2023, 10:23 PM

I was wondering if I could get some input from everyone here. My 2023 G26 Gran Coupe has the ambient lighting, but not in the door cubby. Does anyone know if they removed it for 2023 or was my car just built without it? I ordered in Dec 22 and took delivery March 23.
The doors are pretty dark without the lights. I have seen some images of 2022 models and they have them.
If they are no longer include it, I wonder if there is any way to add it?

Mkj0811 · 05-07-2023, 03:51 PM

From what I read on the forum they removed them :/

dhock_holiday · 05-07-2023, 07:33 PM

Deleted by BMW, no way to retrofit them as far as I know. It may be possible to replace the door card with one from an earlier year but there could be differences with wiring.

PNTDG42 · 05-09-2023, 04:08 PM

Same with the 2023 G42 M240i, they deleted them.

I did a slight investigation on retrofitting. I removed the door cards and found that the mounting locations are still there. I ordered the LEDs and the "fiber optic" for both sides and they easily install. The issue is getting the LEDs to work/turn on.

The wiring is no longer there for them, but I had bought the connectors for them as well, so I was prepared to add a small harness to the doors for each. But I never got as far as to bother splicing in a harness....

The LEDs appear to, as far as I can tell, have some sort of unique network address to them, and need to be individually "activated" somehow in the vehicles body control module. I say this because, before I attempted to splice them in, I wanted to test the new (genuine BMW) LEDs.

I could plug them into any pre-existing and working ambient LED connector, and they would not work. But replacing the new LED with the original ones, they once again work.

Also lending to the evidence that they are using some type of network protocol, is that they are 4 wires.

So my conclusion was, after splicing them into the network wiring (I have no idea if this is part of the CANBUS or a separate network, its not my wheelhouse), you would still need to be able to activate them with some sort of dealer diag/service tool, if it even allows you to activate additional LEDs.

I figure that one day, someone that works in a BMW service department will want to do the retrofit and sort all this out. Until then, I have some non-functional door pocket LEDs installed in there.

acudaf82 · 05-18-2023, 12:04 AM

Thanks to everyone for all the posts above. I sort of figured that was the case. It is a shame because the doors are super dark and it makes using the cubby difficult if not impossible at night. It is little things like this that drive me mad though. At the price point my G26 was, this sort of cutting starts to make me feel that BMW is not really developing the best overall user experience. That being said, the car drives amazing.....just not happy with the interior at night.

toddwalton · 05-21-2023, 06:02 AM

Does anyone know if the G26 Ambient Lighting that was deleted for MY2023 was restored for the 2024 model year? My 2024 is set for July production and it says 4UR Ambient Lighting on the build sheet. Thanks.

ovesund · 05-22-2023, 04:05 AM

Ambient lighting was not deleted in 2023, just trimmed down. So chances are that you will get ambient lighting, just not in the door cubby.

04-23-2023, 10:23 PM	#1
acudaf82 Second Lieutenant 173 Rep 275 Posts Drives: 2019 BMW X3, 2023 BMW M440i Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: San Diego iTrader: (0)	Ambient Lighting in 2023 models - G26 I was wondering if I could get some input from everyone here. My 2023 G26 Gran Coupe has the ambient lighting, but not in the door cubby. Does anyone know if they removed it for 2023 or was my car just built without it? I ordered in Dec 22 and took delivery March 23. The doors are pretty dark without the lights. I have seen some images of 2022 models and they have them. If they are no longer include it, I wonder if there is any way to add it?
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05-07-2023, 03:51 PM	#2
Mkj0811 Private 66 Rep 89 Posts Drives: BMW 430i gc Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Orange County, ca iTrader: (0)	From what I read on the forum they removed them :/
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05-07-2023, 07:33 PM	#3
dhock_holiday First Lieutenant 217 Rep 355 Posts Drives: VW Jetta Join Date: Jul 2022 Location: Texas, USA iTrader: (0)	Deleted by BMW, no way to retrofit them as far as I know. It may be possible to replace the door card with one from an earlier year but there could be differences with wiring.
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05-09-2023, 04:08 PM	#4
PNTDG42 Lieutenant 469 Rep 407 Posts Drives: G42, F97 LCI, EBA R35, Z34 Join Date: Nov 2022 Location: Illinois iTrader: (0)	Same with the 2023 G42 M240i, they deleted them. I did a slight investigation on retrofitting. I removed the door cards and found that the mounting locations are still there. I ordered the LEDs and the "fiber optic" for both sides and they easily install. The issue is getting the LEDs to work/turn on. The wiring is no longer there for them, but I had bought the connectors for them as well, so I was prepared to add a small harness to the doors for each. But I never got as far as to bother splicing in a harness.... The LEDs appear to, as far as I can tell, have some sort of unique network address to them, and need to be individually "activated" somehow in the vehicles body control module. I say this because, before I attempted to splice them in, I wanted to test the new (genuine BMW) LEDs. I could plug them into any pre-existing and working ambient LED connector, and they would not work. But replacing the new LED with the original ones, they once again work. Also lending to the evidence that they are using some type of network protocol, is that they are 4 wires. So my conclusion was, after splicing them into the network wiring (I have no idea if this is part of the CANBUS or a separate network, its not my wheelhouse), you would still need to be able to activate them with some sort of dealer diag/service tool, if it even allows you to activate additional LEDs. I figure that one day, someone that works in a BMW service department will want to do the retrofit and sort all this out. Until then, I have some non-functional door pocket LEDs installed in there.
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05-18-2023, 12:04 AM	#5
acudaf82 Second Lieutenant 173 Rep 275 Posts Drives: 2019 BMW X3, 2023 BMW M440i Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: San Diego iTrader: (0)	Thanks for the info from everyone Thanks to everyone for all the posts above. I sort of figured that was the case. It is a shame because the doors are super dark and it makes using the cubby difficult if not impossible at night. It is little things like this that drive me mad though. At the price point my G26 was, this sort of cutting starts to make me feel that BMW is not really developing the best overall user experience. That being said, the car drives amazing.....just not happy with the interior at night.
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05-21-2023, 06:02 AM	#6
toddwalton Lieutenant Colonel 1332 Rep 1,655 Posts Drives: 2019 X7 - 2024 G26 Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	Does anyone know if the G26 Ambient Lighting that was deleted for MY2023 was restored for the 2024 model year? My 2024 is set for July production and it says 4UR Ambient Lighting on the build sheet. Thanks.
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05-22-2023, 04:05 AM	#7
ovesund Private First Class 84 Rep 170 Posts Drives: i4 eDrive40, i3 60Ah Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: . iTrader: (0)	Ambient lighting was not deleted in 2023, just trimmed down. So chances are that you will get ambient lighting, just not in the door cubby.
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