Two dates decide every E46 headlight, and 2001 is the trap

Ask three E46 owners what headlights their car has and you will hear "facelift", "pre-facelift", "xenons", "angel eyes" and a year. None of those is what the BMW parts catalogue uses. The catalogue sorts E46 headlights by body, by two production dates, and by technology, and it adds two cosmetic variants that confuse used-parts buyers more than anything else. This article is the owner's table, built from the catalogue pages our research saved, with no part numbers in it.

One thing to know before the table: only one of the two catalogue mirrors our research could read prints production dates, so every date in this article is MEDIUM even where the part numbers themselves are HIGH.

The short version

Sedan and Touring headlights change at September 2001. Every headlight number before that date is replaced after it, and bi-xenon arrives, replacing the single-xenon unit. ^2,3
Coupé and Convertible change twice: a quiet renumbering at September 2001 (bi-xenon replaces xenon, halogen gets new numbers) and the visible facelift at March 2003, when the indicator moves into the headlight. ¹
Compact: no changeover at all. ⁵
M3: follows the Coupé until September 2001, then keeps its own bi-xenon pair open-ended; there is no M3 facelift headlight in the catalogue. ¹
Three technologies: halogen (the standard fit, inferred from xenon being the option: MEDIUM), xenon (single low-beam xenon, before the changeover only), bi-xenon (from the changeover). ^1,2,3
Two cosmetic variants: TITAN (a different inner finish) and, on the facelift Coupé/Convertible, white indicator lenses. Both are cosmetic by our reading: the catalogue lists them as alternatives within the same body, period and technology. ^1,2
A car built in 2001 cannot be placed on the right side of the September 2001 line from its year alone, and on the Coupé the catalogue records no outward difference between the two halogen units either side of that line; we have not compared the units ourselves. ¹

The owner's table

Body	Period (catalogue date)	Halogen	Xenon (single)	Bi-xenon	Cosmetic variants	Confidence
Sedan, Touring	to 09/2001	yes, two suppliers' versions	yes	no	TITAN (330i only)	numbers HIGH (EU), dates MEDIUM
Sedan, Touring	from 09/2001	yes	no	yes	TITAN (320i, 325i, 330i trees)	same
Coupé, Convertible	to 09/2001	yes	yes	no	TITAN (330Ci only)	same
Coupé, Convertible	09/2001 to 03/2003	yes (renumbered)	no	yes	TITAN (330Ci only)	same
Coupé, Convertible	from 03/2003 (facelift)	yes, indicator in the headlight	no	yes, plus adaptive	TITAN (Europe only); white indicator	same; cut-over month HIGH
M3 Coupé, Convertible	to 09/2001	as Coupé	as Coupé	no	—	MEDIUM
M3 Coupé, Convertible	from 09/2001, open-ended	as Coupé	no	own left unit, shared right unit	—	MEDIUM
Compact	whole production	yes	no	yes	—	HIGH for the families, MEDIUM for "no change"

"Yes" means the catalogue lists the unit for that body and period: the part is applicable, not a count of cars built with it. ^1,2,5

Sedan and Touring: September 2001

On the catalogue, the Sedan and Touring headlight diagram has one break: rows marked "to Sep '01" and rows marked "from Sep '01". The month views on the mirror confirm it: before September 2001 only the early numbers are shown, after it only the later ones. ²

Before September 2001 there were a halogen unit (in two suppliers' versions, Bosch and ZKW), a single-xenon unit, and, on the 330i only, TITAN versions of both. From September 2001 the halogen unit is new, the single-xenon unit is gone, and a bi-xenon unit takes its place; TITAN versions now appear on the 320i, 325i and 330i trees, not just the 330i. ²

BMW's own press kit of October 2001 introduces the car as "the new BMW 3 Series Saloon and Touring" and lists bi-xenon headlights among the new options; the US press kit describes it as "upgrading of the optional Xenon headlights to Bi-xenon lights, which include both low and high beams". ³ So the technology change is BMW's own word; the exact production month is the catalogue's.

One footnote: the six-cylinder 323i and 328i (the older M52 engine) end before the facelift, so there is no "from September 2001" headlight for them. ²

Coupé and Convertible: September 2001 and March 2003

The Coupé and Convertible share identical headlight diagrams in every catalogue tree we read. ¹ They have three periods, not two.

Launch to September 2001. Halogen and single xenon; on the 330Ci only, TITAN versions of both. No bi-xenon. ¹

September 2001 to March 2003. This is the quiet one. The halogen unit gets a new number, and the single-xenon unit is replaced by bi-xenon, exactly as on the Sedan. On the US bi-xenon left unit's part page, the old xenon unit is named as predecessor and the change is marked "non-exchangeable retrospectively": a design change, not a renumbering. ¹ The catalogue records no outward difference between a pre- and a post-September 2001 Coupé halogen headlight, and we have not compared the units; the part number on the unit's label is the reliable check. ¹

From March 2003: the facelift. The indicator moves into the headlight (the catalogue rows are literally named "turn indicator yellow" and "white turn indicator"), the halogen unit is new again, and bi-xenon now exists in plain, white-indicator and adaptive forms. The month is well evidenced: the facelift diagram is empty in the February 2003 view and populated in the March 2003 view, and the front bumper's own catalogue dates agree. ¹

Adaptive headlights are a story of their own, and not a simple swap in either direction; we cover them in a separate article. ⁶

The M3 rides along until September 2001, then takes its own bi-xenon left unit (the right unit is shared with the 325Ci/330Ci) with no end date, and never gets a facelift headlight: the M3 trees show no March 2003 unit at all. ¹

TITAN and white indicators: cosmetic, and a used-parts trap

TITAN appears as a suffix on halogen, xenon and bi-xenon rows alike. The catalogue does not define it; "titanium-coloured trim inside the lamp, versus the standard black" is an unconfirmed reading. ^1,2 Where it was offered is clear: before the changeovers only on the 330i and 330Ci; after September 2001 on the 320i, 325i and 330i Sedan and Touring trees; on the facelift Coupé/Convertible in Europe only, never on the US facelift diagrams. ^1,2 A TITAN unit is listed as an alternative to its black twin of the same body, period and technology. The trap is the reverse: two units that look alike from the outside can be from different periods and not fit.

White indicator lenses exist only on the facelift Coupé/Convertible, as a factory option, in halogen and bi-xenon versions. They are listed for the Europe region, so they are type-approved and must emit amber light; how the bulb achieves that is not recorded, and no technical dependency is recorded. ¹ Choose by taste; match the technology.

Why a 2001 car is the hard case

A Sedan built in May 2001 and one built in November 2001 have no headlight in common. A year alone cannot place a 2001 car; the production month can. It is on the manufacturer's plate in the driver's door frame (general knowledge, not from our evidence); the first-registration date on your papers is a later date and does not help.

Telling halogen from xenon on your own car

The safe answer is the build data: xenon and bi-xenon were factory options. ³

Owners' cues, all LOW and none from BMW: factory xenon cars have no manual headlight-height dial on the dashboard because the beam levels itself; xenon light is whiter and bluer, halogen warmer. ⁴ One cue we recommend against: "a round lens inside the headlight means xenon". That holds, loosely, for the Sedan and Touring, but owners report that the facelift Coupé and Convertible have halogen units with a projector lens, so on those cars a lens would prove nothing. ⁴

Notes on the evidence

Open cells. Supplier is not shown for any Coupé/Convertible unit. The option code of pre-facelift xenon and bi-xenon units is not printed. The meaning of TITAN is not defined by the catalogue. Whether the diesel Coupé/Convertible is in the facelift halogen usage list could not be read (saved page truncated). US numbers rest on one mirror. Several Europe supersessions are inferred from adjacency, not from part pages.

What comes next

Our E46 configurator is live: it shows which headlights fit your car and links to sellers where we've found one.