DIY BMW Red Start Stop Button on our BMW X1 351 Project
BMW Red Start Stop Button tutorial. Sometimes the smallest modifications can make a big impact. This DIY project is one of them. Typically you see red start/stop buttons on M3’s, M4’s and M5’s. Taken from their racing heritage where you would traditionally find BMW red start stop buttons on race cars.
I found a nice DIY install video here on YouTube by Supercar Sean Instead of making my own video, I thought I would share his. It’s only fair considering I used it for reference.
Step 1: Remove the stock BMW start stop button
This is pretty easy but you do need to be careful removing the button. Gently work a small pocket screwdriver around the trim ring that surrounds the button assembly. I found prying on the left side, closest to the cluster allowed me to dislodge the button assembly. Once the button assembly us disengaged from the dash you will see the electrical connector attached to the back of the button. Gently pry the connector off the back of the switch. The wires to the connector do not have a lot of play, so you may want to place your screwdriver behind it to keep it from falling into the dash.
Step# 2: Remove the Trim Ring
Once you have the button assembly out of the dash, place it on a clean work surface for disassembly. The silver trim-ring will pop off the switch assembly by gently pry around the outside of it. I used my fingernails on this step. No tools required here.
Step# 3: Remove the Switch
Now that you have the trim ring off, carefully slide the button and switch out of the carrier. I used a small pick and worked the top and bottom of the switch slowly out of the the carrier assembly. Now that you have the switch/button out you can remove the button cover.
You can see the circuit board inside the carrier in this photo to the left. The button assembly only goes back in one-way so no need to worry about keeping the orientation of the switch.
Step 4: Swapping the BMW red start stop button covers
Now that the switch is removed from the carrier you can see how the button cover is snapped on the switch. It has small tabs that run around the outside of the cover. I used my fingernail to gently loosen the tabs off the switch working my way around the outside. Once you have the stock button off, simply place the red cover on the switch paying close attention to the orientation. The red button cover has the same tabs and snaps in place over the switch.
Here’s a picture of the BMW red start stop button cover back on the switch assembly with the trim ring reinstalled. The trim ring just snaps back on the assembly. Now we’re ready to install the switch back in the dash. Almost done!
Final Step: Reinstalling the BMW Red Start Stop Button
Plug the completed switch assembly back into the connector in the dash and push back into place. You’re done! Enjoy your race car style start/stop button.
Here’s the finished product. This is an easy and inexpensive way to sport up the interior of your BMW E84 X1 35i. Hope this helps and enjoy 🙂
Here’s a link on Amazon to order the button yourself https://amzn.to/2DQZxvi this is an affiliate link so you may buy me a cup of coffee and I do like coffee 🙂 Follow our Sleeper Build Here
Thanks for reading our DIY BMW red start stop button blog post.
Check out our quick BMW X1 35i walk-around video below.