Old BMW roundel emblems just don’t last for a long time; they fade, crack, and peel over time. Especially with these E46’s being over 15 years old at the time of this writing, it’s inevitable for the roundel emblems on your hood and trunk to look as bad as this.
One of the easiest things you can do to spruce up the look of your E46 is to replace the emblems. Replacing the entire E46 emblem is very easy to do and it makes a huge improvement to the look of your car. To replace them, you simply need to pry them off and install the new ones. In addition to the new emblems, you might also need new rubber grommets as each emblem has two pins on the back of them, which will pop into the rubber grommets that fit in the holes of the car.
Tools & Materials For This Job
Hood & Trunk Roundel Emblems
The hood emblem and the trunk emblem is the same whether you have an E46 sedan or coupe. The E46 convertible however has different parts for both emblems. I’ve listed the various hood and trunk roundel emblems depending on your vehicle’s body type, along with the associated OEM part numbers.
As always, it’s best to enter your specific vehicle’s information into the website that you’re purchasing from to ensure that you’re getting the correct parts for your car.
| Emblem Location | BMW OEM Emblem Part # | Rubber Grommet Part # (2/emblem) | Set of Emblem + 2 Grommets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hood (82mm) For Coupe, Sedan, Convertible | 51148132375 | 51141807495 | 51148132375 Kit |
| Trunk (74mm) For Coupe, Sedan | 51148219237 | 51148209932 | 51148219237 Kit |
| Trunk (61mm) For Convertible | 51137019946 | 51141807495 | 51137019946 Kit |
Trim Removal Tools or Flat Head Screwdriver
Tresalto Auto Plastic Trim Removal Tool Kit
6pc Magnetic Tip Screwdriver Set, 3 Phillips and 3 Flat
Microfiber Towel
MR.SIGA Microfiber Towels, Pack of 6
Replacing Hood & Trunk Roundel Emblems on a BMW E46
As mentioned previously, this is an extremely easy job to do, but it requires you to work carefully so as not to scratch your car’s paint. Use your trim removal tool and/or flat head screwdriver to pry up around the edges of the emblem, while using the microfiber towel to pry against.
The tool should not pry directly against the car’s paint, otherwise the paint will get damaged. Sadly, I have seen one too many cars with scratch marks around the edges of the emblem because the owner pried the emblem off without carefully protecting the surrounding paint.
Once removed, you can check if the rubber grommets are still intact in the two holes of the hood. If they are still in good shape, you can just install the new emblem utilizing the existing rubber grommets without running into any issues. If rubber grommets are not in good shape or if you just want to replace them for peace of mind, you can use pliers to pull them out.
I’d recommend cleaning up the surface of all that gunk built up underneath the emblem over the years prior to installing the new emblem.
Now, follow the same replacement process with the trunk emblem. Pry up the edges of the existing roundel with a trim tool and/or flat head screwdriver, while using a microfiber towel to protect the paint.
Again, just like you did with the hood roundel emblem, check the condition of the existing rubber grommets and decide you want to replace them or use the existing ones with your new emblem. Clean up the surface behind the emblem and install the new one.
As you can see, new emblems can make your BMW E46 look like new again. If your roundel emblems looked as bad as mine, putting new ones on can instantly transform your car’s appearance. After taking about 10 minutes to change these emblems out, the car looks like new again.
