Hi folks,i have an 04 530d that I bought in April.The car has been
going well(apart from a few niggles like a LEAKING GEARBOX!!....but I'll
not go into that).I foolishly didnt notice when I bought the
car that the 5 orange l.e.d's in the front headlights weren't working.I
checked to see if it was a blown fuse but after doing a bit of research
and phoning a local BMW dealership,I found out that its a software
issue.My car went in for an upgrade a number of years ago and
unfortunately a side effect of this upgrade is that it turns the l.e.d's
off!I asked the BMW dealership if the problem can be rectified
and the guy said it should but would cost over £200!!Bugger that I
thought,so I phoned a local BMW mechanic and he said he would
hopefully be able to turn the led's back on at a lower cost.Unfortunately
he texted me today to say that because the software was updated and
is at a higher level the problem cannot be rectified.

Im really puzzled by this as the dealership said that they could fix
the problem and therefore I'm assuming that they've come upon,and
fixed,this problem before.Have any of you ever come accross this
dilema and if so is there a cure?Thanks,Dermot

Here's a pic of my car by the way,

And my bike(in case there are any fellow 2 wheeled enthusiasts out there!)

Yeah, this has come up before. I mentioned to you http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=46800&PN=1 - previously that this can be fixed by a software update at a BMW dealer. 

It's not a blown bulb or fuse, it's the cars electronic brain not telling something else to switch them on.

Sounds like if you want them to work then you will need to fork out for it.

You can always try another dealer and get them to give you a firm quote.

Getting a software update on your car is not a bad thing.  They will upload any fixes and updates for your engine management software and your autobox if you have one.  After a software update your car may feel like a new machine.  I had a few uploads done at my last service and combined with the oil change the engine sounded even smoother.