OEM black leather auto gear shift installed

Not a huge mod, but noteworthy...

I hate the X3 auto shift knob. I have no idea why BMW decided to put a silver plastic stripe down th middle of the gear shift. I decided to see if the e46 all leather gear shift fits the X3 (it does)... Looks much cleaner IMO, and is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than the origianl knob. The dimensions are identical to the X3 gear shift btw.

Part #: 25167533347. $75 at www.getbmwparts.com
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...07&hg=25&fg=25

on my wife's e46:


and on my X3 (sorry for trhe crummy pics--its dark in the garage, and I used the flash)

u see, now that just looks amazing... ordering now. couldn't agree more on the goofy aluminum strip that flakes off anyway... and would never have thought to even try that.

In 2004, BMW was even cheaper. The standard interior trim was Slate Gray, and the shift knobs (AT and MT) therefore had matching slate gray plastic. Very European. I don't mind it though, and it does look better than the cheesy shiny plastic strip on the 2006+ models.

2005 X3s had the leather-wrapped AT lever.

Love it! Was it easy? Might need to be my first mod...

Sna77 where did you get that aluminum brushed trim? And did you put that throughout? Have anymore pics? I've never been one for wood trim...

Originally Posted by kurteng

Love it! Was it easy? Might need to be my first mod...

Sna77 where did you get that aluminum brushed trim? And did you put that throughout? Have anymore pics? I've never been one for wood trim...

The shift knob is very easy to replace. Just pull out the old one and pop in the new one. Under a 2 minute job...

As for the trim... Its not brushed aluminum trim... the brushed aluminum is $500+. This is "titan line" which is essentially plastic painted silver. It actually looks OK with a black interior... Whole set is around $250ish

Here's how to replace it:
http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x3/...cement-x3.html

All the part #s are here:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...08&hg=51&fg=45

I ordered all parts from www.getbmwparts.com

sna77 you are an a-hole........lol I don't have the money for all the mods you have been doing. I have to say they ALL LOOK nice and I want to do them. I'm still have a hard time with the $1200 steering wheel.

Just replaced my shift knob because of the plastic coming off and scratching my fingers as well. Purchased the same knob above from TheBMWPartsStore.com for $60 shipped.

The knob easily came out and the new one easily snapped in place. The all leather feels so much nicer and looks a million times better. This was a great mod.

Sna77,

That silver would look sweet in my Titanium X3 with black interior. Thanks for the info. Now I just gotta run this by the wife.

Your E46 has hill descent control??????????

(the knob looks nice! )

Looks great. Do you really just pop it out? Does it take a lot of force?

Originally Posted by littleengin

Looks great. Do you really just pop it out? Does it take a lot of force?

I'm interested too. It just pops off? I thought some have to screw off

Originally Posted by CleanKM

I'm interested too. It just pops off? I thought some have to screw off

Yeah, I don't know if the gear position matters (I've heard Neutral is preferred) but just yank hard and straight up. Watch your chin, comes out abruptly.

I put mine in neutral and pulled straight up. Takes a bit of effort for sure, so definitely don't drill yourself in the face.

-Put x3 in neutral w/e brake on
-put your right elbow on your center console
-interlace your fingers together and wrap around base of shift knob
-put your right knee under your hands
-with your face out of the way - push up with your hands and knee.

Seriously very easy. I did 2 vehicles in under 5 minutes.

When you put in your replacement, push it all the way down until it seats into position. Then wrap your left hand around to top of the knob, and with a closed right fist, hit the top of your left hand until you hear a pop. Then you'll know that its properly seated.

Thanks again Sna77 for the idea.

Originally Posted by sna77

I put mine in neutral and pulled straight up. Takes a bit of effort for sure, so definitely don't drill yourself in the face.

sna77,

Just click on your link about your DIY Write Ups and it is a dead link, can you update it? I wanted to check it out.

Jeff

Originally Posted by jdeday

sna77,

Just click on your link about your DIY Write Ups and it is a dead link, can you update it? I wanted to check it out.

Jeff

the link is actually correct, the site's redirect tool is down. Here's the correct link:

http://www.bigpatsfans.com/bmw.htm

Just last week I ordered the full-leather shift knob for my 07 X3. It fit perfectly and was well worth the price!

I'm glad I did the change since the center strip on the original shift knob was peeling and driving me bananas!