IND | F85 X5M/F86 X6M Front Kidney Grill DIY

[Ryan@IND]

Even as BMW trends toward more aggressive vehicle styling, they continued to opt for a chrome accent trim on their infamous kidney grills and fender trim. Fortunately, BMW now offers a range of gloss black accessories to replace the trim pieces and match the shadowline window trim.

Among the options for the F85 X5M and F86 X6M are the gloss black front kidney grills. For those that have opened the hood and peered into the tidy bay with its M clad covers, you will notice that access to the front kidney grills is not such a simple task. As a means to assist clients in their installs, our technicians have discovered and easy, albeit unconventional method of removing the front kidney grills. This is a similar practice used on the F10 M5 front kidney grills and has been performed hundreds of times without a single failure. That said, we recommend everyone exercise caution as to not damage the paint or the kidney grills during the removal and installation process.

As with all DIY’s, there are many ways to install items and this is simply one example. Now for the fun part.

Step 1:
The first step in this procedure is to mask the area on the bottom and sides of the front kidney grills. This is a precautionary step to protect the vehicles paint.

Step 2:
This is the aforementioned “unconventional” approach to the front grill removal. Using two microfiber towels, grasp the vertical slats second furthest from either end of the kidney grill.

Step 3:
Use even force and pull the front kidney grills toward your body. This may take a few tries, but if performed properly it will release without breaking the tabs.

Step 4:
Repeat Step 3 with the other kidney grill

Step 5:
Remove the painters tape and install the gloss black kidney grills. The grills will click into place.

[jcfay]

Well, I did this over the weekend (as well as replacing the OEM side grilles and orange reflectors), and wanted to give my feedback in case it would help anyone. First off, what I received from IND was great, just as described.

Main point is I ended up NOT doing the install method outlined above. First off, I will always try and avoid the brute force approach, and for a DIY, while it may be easy for a tech at IND or anywhere to do this (since they've done it countless times) safely, I had a feeling this wasn't the case for me. I tried pulling with pretty significant force, and felt that the risk was too high to proceed with this method.

So I went with method two, which wasn't bad and ended up being a lot "safer" IMO. It took more time, I'm sure, but I ended up with a great result. Start as outlined above, and mask with tape all around the trim. Floss the tape as far back as possible, and I even ended up marring a very small piece of the paint (totally not visible to the casual eye, but pissed me off of course ) because I didn't mask aggressively enough. Double or triple up the tape, and mask the sides of the headlights as well that sit next to the grilles.

Pop the hood, and peel back the rubber gasket just from the piece of plastic trim that houses the grilles:





Next, remove the 5 torx bolts that secure the front plastic fascia. You can see them in the above pics. You'll next need to unclip the plastic fascia by lifting the three plastic retaining tabs. This will now allow you access to behind the front fascia:





This space, by and large, will provide you access to nearly all of the tabs that hold the OEM grilles in place. There are 2 tabs on the top, 1 on each side, and 3 on the bottom of each grille. The top 2 are easiest to remove, using a flathead screwdriver to depress the plastic tabs that retain them. Apply a little pressure to the rear of the grille after popping the first tab, and then insert a screwdriver to as shown below to keep the tab from popping back in. Repeat this procedure with the 2nd top tab:









Once the top two clips are released, you can then work on the tab on the outside of the vehicle. Pull the grille forward, and you'll be able to see this outside tab. Use a flathead again to pop this tab too. Once this tab is out, half of the grille is free:





Then inner tab is a bit tricky, and harder to reach on the first grille. Just look for the tab on the midline of the car, and pop it (once the first grille is out, the 2nd midline tab is far easier to remove since you have access through the front). But once this 4th tab is released the grille becomes quite loose (now only 3 lower tabs are holding it):





The three lower tabs are the toughest. Start with the lower tab closest to the midline. You can just see the edge of it when peering down through the partially released grille. I used a cat's paw tool, reaching through the grille itself, to reach under the plastic tab and release the tab. Apply a little forward-facing pressure which will help release this tab. You can also try reaching down into the small space with your fingers to see if you can't just release it that way:







The last 2 tabs are the toughest in some respects. You can't reach them with any tool. You can see on the replacement (or OEM) grilles that these tabs are blocked to above access. You can, however, reach your hand down behind the grille and put pressure on these tabs. Then wiggle the grille gently back and forth on these two tabs and they can be released pretty easily:



With that, the grille should release. Again, mask really carefully. Here you can see where I marred the paint because I didn't cover every area. Fortunately, it's darn near invisible to the observer (and I'll touch it up):





With that, all of the hard work is done. Install is plug and play. Takes 10 seconds. Then remove the masking. The end product looks great (would look better if I knew how to take good pics and the car wasn't dirty...):



I personally found this to be not too bad, and felt far better about doing it this way then the "just yank" method. That being said, I like doing stuff myself, and I'm sure an experienced shop (like IND) could do it quickly and safely using the method they've outlined.

HTH and happy modding - Jon

[cmyx6go]

Glad you were able to do it yourself. Are you going to do the side gills yourself also? I'm curious to see if they are as difficult as I was told. I passed on info from a member on another forum, I hope I didn't mislead you.

[jcfay]

Originally Posted by cmyx6go

Glad you were able to do it yourself. Are you going to do the side gills yourself also? I'm curious to see if they are as difficult as I was told. I passed on info from a member on another forum, I hope I didn't mislead you.

You bet, did them over the weekend as well (also replaced the side markers too). See the other thread started by Ryan and you can see my notes there too. It was pretty easy, easier than the other 2 tasks. Working from inside the wheel well helps. Mask the paint really well, but the side gills aren't bad to remove at all, and install is a cakewalk with double sided tape.

[critical_mass]

can you post the pictures? can't see anything

[jcfay]

you can't see any of the pics? I pasted in hyperlinks from my google pics account which I thought would work...

[critical_mass]

Originally Posted by jcfay

you can't see any of the pics? I pasted in hyperlinks from my google pics account which I thought would work...

[critical_mass]

this is what i see

[jcfay]

Originally Posted by neurotichamster

alright, let me fix it. Just gotta resize the pics and attach them I guess...

[critical_mass]

Originally Posted by jcfay

alright, let me fix it. Just gotta resize the pics and attach them I guess...

thanks! i'll be doing the grills this weekend

[jcfay]

2nd try - hope images show up...
-----------------------------
Well, I did this over the weekend (as well as replacing the OEM side grilles and orange reflectors), and wanted to give my feedback in case it would help anyone. First off, what I received from IND was great, just as described.

Main point is I ended up NOT doing the install method outlined above. First off, I will always try and avoid the brute force approach, and for a DIY, while it may be easy for a tech at IND or anywhere to do this (since they've done it countless times) safely, I had a feeling this wasn't the case for me. I tried pulling with pretty significant force, and felt that the risk was too high to proceed with this method.

So I went with method two, which wasn't bad and ended up being a lot "safer" IMO. It took more time, I'm sure, but I ended up with a great result. Start as outlined above, and mask with tape all around the trim. Floss the tape as far back as possible, and I even ended up marring a very small piece of the paint (totally not visible to the casual eye, but pissed me off of course ) because I didn't mask aggressively enough. Double or triple up the tape, and mask the sides of the headlights as well that sit next to the grilles.

Pop the hood, and peel back the rubber gasket just from the piece of plastic trim that houses the grilles:




Next, remove the 5 torx bolts that secure the front plastic fascia. You can see them in the above pics. You'll next need to unclip the plastic fascia by lifting the three plastic retaining tabs. This will now allow you access to behind the front fascia:




This space, by and large, will provide you access to nearly all of the tabs that hold the OEM grilles in place. There are 2 tabs on the top, 1 on each side, and 3 on the bottom of each grille. The top 2 are easiest to remove, using a flathead screwdriver to depress the plastic tabs that retain them. Apply a little pressure to the rear of the grille after popping the first tab, and then insert a screwdriver to as shown below to keep the tab from popping back in. Repeat this procedure with the 2nd top tab:






Once the top two clips are released, you can then work on the tab on the outside of the vehicle. Pull the grille forward, and you'll be able to see this outside tab. Use a flathead again to pop this tab too. Once this tab is out, half of the grille is free:




Then inner tab is a bit tricky, and harder to reach on the first grille. Just look for the tab on the midline of the car, and pop it (once the first grille is out, the 2nd midline tab is far easier to remove since you have access through the front). But once this 4th tab is released the grille becomes quite loose (now only 3 lower tabs are holding it):




The three lower tabs are the toughest. Start with the lower tab closest to the midline. You can just see the edge of it when peering down through the partially released grille. I used a cat's paw tool, reaching through the grille itself, to reach under the plastic tab and release the tab. Apply a little forward-facing pressure which will help release this tab. You can also try reaching down into the small space with your fingers to see if you can't just release it that way:





The last 2 tabs are the toughest in some respects. You can't reach them with any tool. You can see on the replacement (or OEM) grilles that these tabs are blocked to above access. You can, however, reach your hand down behind the grille and put pressure on these tabs. Then wiggle the grille gently back and forth on these two tabs and they can be released pretty easily:



With that, the grille should release. Again, mask really carefully. Here you can see where I marred the paint because I didn't cover every area. Fortunately, it's darn near invisible to the observer (and I'll touch it up):




With that, all of the hard work is done. Install is plug and play. Takes 10 seconds. Then remove the masking. The end product looks great (would look better if I knew how to take good pics and the car wasn't dirty...):



I personally found this to be not too bad, and felt far better about doing it this way then the "just yank" method. That being said, I like doing stuff myself, and I'm sure an experienced shop (like IND) could do it quickly and safely using the method they've outlined.

HTH and happy modding - Jon

[jcfay]

Originally Posted by neurotichamster

thanks! i'll be doing the grills this weekend

you bet. lemme know if v.2 works...

[critical_mass]

Originally Posted by jcfay

you bet. lemme know if v.2 works...

you sir are a saint! thank you very much

[jcfay]

Originally Posted by neurotichamster

you sir are a saint! thank you very much

You bet, hope it helps. I like doing this stuff myself, and a good DIY can be so helpful. Personally, I can't see just ripping the grills off, and I tried applying pretty significant pressure. It might work, but it could DESTROY that front fascia. Yes, it took a little longer removing a few torx bolts and figuring it out, but way safer than just pulling IMO.

The grilles look awesome, BTW, so enjoy them You doing the side grills and side markers too?

[critical_mass]

ya....IND's method is a little too "Tim Taylor" for me

[jcfay]

Originally Posted by neurotichamster

ya....IND's method is a little too "Tim Taylor" for me

if you're doing the side pieces too, IND's DIYs are a bit better, particularly for the side markers. But I found the side grilles to be a bit easier to remove using a slightly different technique there too. I added a few notes to those threads too if interested, FYI. Enjoy the modding!

[critical_mass]

Originally Posted by jcfay

if you're doing the side pieces too, IND's DIYs are a bit better, particularly for the side markers. But I found the side grilles to be a bit easier to remove using a slightly different technique there too. I added a few notes to those threads too if interested, FYI. Enjoy the modding!

So, I tried and failed horribly to replace the grills myself last night. Played around with it for about an hour. I just couldn't get my fat fingers to pry out the tabs. Go frustrated, drove to the dealer and had them install it in one hour.....and I'm $100 poorer now

I guess my "DIY" skills are krap.

[jcfay]

Originally Posted by neurotichamster

So, I tried and failed horribly to replace the grills myself last night. Played around with it for about an hour. I just couldn't get my fat fingers to pry out the tabs. Go frustrated, drove to the dealer and had them install it in one hour.....and I'm $100 poorer now

I guess my "DIY" skills are krap.

Looks awesome! And honestly, 100 bucks for them to do it is a pretty easy buy, IMO. I'm sure I spent like 3 hours doing it, but I take my time. And if they mess it up, then it's on them, so I'm sure it was a good call. Either way, looks rad.

[Gdwheel]

Thanks for the instructions. Took 30 minutes (or less). No cuts on my hands, no mars nicks or scratches on the paint. The how-to is very good, but might make it seem harder than it is.

[MSportDC]

Originally Posted by jcfay

Looks awesome! And honestly, 100 bucks for them to do it is a pretty easy buy, IMO. I'm sure I spent like 3 hours doing it, but I take my time. And if they mess it up, then it's on them, so I'm sure it was a good call. Either way, looks rad.

Hey, if you're time is worth than $100/hr., why not?

[AHCPAX5]

I tried the IND method on my 17 with 50 miles on it. I did exactly as instructed and I think I managed not to break only 2 of them, the rest of the clips shattered every which way. Too bad as I was hoping to sell the titanium grilles.

[pachieh]

I ended up doing jcfay's method. I was applying a lot of pulling force and I couldn't get the grills to come out via IND's way.

Main thought: "Man, I wish these were as easy as my E46 M3 grills to change."

Addt'l notes:
Put a rag or microfiber cloth if you shove your hand down to release the bottom tabs. It'll save your wrists somewhat from getting pinched.

When one grill comes out, you can reach the inner side tab on the other with your fingers or a screwdriver to help release it.

Tape tape tape tape tape. It is especially critical on this job, especially if you go the longer route and use screwdrivers. And if you do use screwdrivers, have tip awareness so you don't end up scratching something or impaling your hand/fingers.