1998 BMW 740I Owners Manual

64n
Automatic transmissionSpecial functionsIn program A, the Adaptive Transmis-
sion Control influences several special
functions in the selection of the drive
gear.
With the system active, some shifts that
would be made in other modes will be
suppressed. The system also reacts to
special situations by executing shifts
that would not occur with a conven-
tional transmission.Control of the winter programA winter program is automatically se-
lected when the vehicle is operated on
slippery road surfaces (snow and ice).
When this program is active, the trans-
mission starts in 2nd gear and shifts
into the higher gears earlier. This pro-
gram improves response under winter
driving conditions by providing en-
hanced traction and vehicle stability.
ATC leaves the winter program when it
registers a high-traction road surface,
when the Sport program is selected and
when ASC+T/DSC is deactivated.
Electronic transmission control
moduleIf the message "TRANS. FAILSAFE
PROG" appears in the Check Control,
there is a fault in the gearshift electronic
system or in the transmission itself.
You can still place the selector lever in
all positions. However, it is possible
that not all gears are available for the
vehicle's forward drive.
If this happens, avoid extreme engine
loads and consult the nearest autho-
rized BMW center.
Do not work in the engine com-
partment when a drive gear (for-
ward or reverse) is engaged. If you do
this, the vehicle could move.<
For towing, tow-starting or jump-start-
ing the vehicle, refer to pages 179, 180.

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RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
You may drive your vehicle as with a
typical automatic transmission, but you
may also shift manually.
When you move the selector lever to
the left from position "D" and into the
M/S shift level, the performance-ori-
ented shift programs of the automatic
transmission are activate. As soon as
you move the selector lever in the "+" or
"–" direction, Steptronic changes the
gear and the manual mode is active. If
you wish to utilize automatic shifting
once again, move the selector lever to
the right and into the D position.
The automatic transmission of your
BMW is equipped with an Adaptive
Transmission Control (ATC). This sys-
tem reacts with precision to your indi-
vidual driving style and the current driv-
ing conditions. Different shift programs
are utilized to achieve this.
For details concerning ATC, please re-
fer to the chapter describing "Advanced
technology" on page 184.
Selector lever positions
P R N D M/S + –
Starting engineThe engine can only be started in selec-
tor lever positions P ("Park") or N ("Neu-
tral").380us667
Range selectionA detent prevents inadvertent shifts into
some selector lever positions. To re-
lease the shift-lock mechanism, press
the button on the front side of the se-
lector handle (arrow).
While the vehicle is stationary and
before shifting out of "Park" or
"Neutral," depress the footbrake in or-
der to disengage the selector lever's
lock mechanism (shift-lock).
Hold the footbrake down until starting
off. The vehicle will otherwise "creep"
when a drive position is engaged.< 380de211

66n
Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
Before exiting the vehicle when
the engine is running, place the
selector lever in the "Park" or "Neutral"
position and apply the parking brake. If
you do not, the vehicle can move.
Do not leave the car unattended with
the engine running. An unattended ve-
hicle with a running engine represents a
potential safety hazard.<
P - ParkSelect "Park" only when the vehicle is
stationary. The transmission locks to
prevent the rear wheels from turning.R - ReverseSelect "Reverse" only when the vehicle
is stationary.N - NeutralSelect "Neutral" only if your journey is
interrupted for a longer period.D - Drive
(automatic shift program)This position is designed for driving un-
der all normal operating conditions. All
forward gears are available; the Adap-
tive Transmission Control (ATC) is fully
operational."Kickdown" (automatic downshift)In the "Kickdown" mode, you achieve
maximum performance.
Press the accelerator pedal past the in-
creased resistance point at the full-
throttle position.
M/S - Manual mode and
Sport ProgramWhen you change from "D" to M/S, the
Sport program is activated. This is indi-
cated by "D S" in the gear display. This
position is recommended if your driving
style is performance-oriented.
With the first brief touch, the automatic
transmission shifts from the Sport pro-
gram to manual mode.
When you move the selector lever for-
ward in the "+" direction, the transmis-
sion shifts up. When moved back in the
"–" direction, the transmission shifts
down.
Depending on the version, "1 to 5" or
"M1 to M5" appears in the gear display.380de659

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RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
The ATC will execute upshifts or down-
shifts only at appropriate engine and
road speeds. For example, the trans-
mission does not shift down when the
engine speed is too high. The selected
gear will appear briefly in the instrument
cluster, followed by the current gear.
In the manual mode for rapid ac-
celeration – when passing, for ex-
ample – manually or a shifting down to
the kickdown point.<
You can only change from M/S to the
selector lever positions "P," "R" and "N"
via the "D" position.
In the following situations, the Step-
tronic "thinks" for you in the manual
mode:
>In order to prevent engine over-
speeding, the transmission shifts au-
tomatically to the next higher gear
shortly before the RPM cutoff point
>At low speeds, the transmission shifts
down automatically - you do not have
to act
>In the kickdown mode, the transmis-
sion shifts down to the lowest gear
which is possible, depending on the
engine speed.
Electronic transmission control
moduleIf the "TRANS. FAILSAFE PROG" mes-
sage appears in the Check Control,
there is a malfunction in the transmis-
sion system.
You can still place the selector lever in
all positions. However, it is possible
that not all gears are available for the
vehicle's forward drive.
If this happens, avoid extreme engine
loads and consult the nearest autho-
rized BMW center.
Do not work in the engine com-
partment when a drive gear (for-
ward or reverse) is engaged. If you do
this, the vehicle could move.<
For towing, tow-starting and jump-
starting, refer to pages 179, 180.

68n
Indicator/Headlamp flasher Wiper/Washer system/Rain sensor1 High beam (blue indicator)
2 Headlamp flasher (blue indicator)
3 Turn signal (green indicator accom-
panied by a rhythmic clicking sound
from the relay).
If the indicator lamp and the clicking
from the relay are both faster than nor-
mal, one of the turn indicators has
failed.To signal brieflyPress the lever up to but not beyond the
detent. It then returns to the center po-
sition when released.380de629
0 Wipers retracted
1 Intermittent wipe
2 Normal wipe
3 Fast wipe
4 Brief wipe
5 Automatic windshield washer
6 Rotary dial for control of the interval
time or the sensitivity of the rain
sensor380us041
0 Wipers retractedThe wipers are partially hidden behind
the hood. To bring the wipers up into
their vertical position (important when
changing the blades, or folding up
when frost is expected):
With the control lever in position 1,
switch off the ignition when the wipers
are in the parked position.
Fold the wipers down onto the
windshield before you turn the ig-
nition key to position 1 or 2.<
For changing the wiper blades, refer to
page 162.1 Interval time or rain sensor
*
You can set the wipe interval to 4
stages with rotary dial 6.
In addition, the wipe interval automati-
cally adapts to variations in road speed.
Rain sensor:
When the rain sensor is activated, the
windshield wiper is controlled automati-
cally, depending on the degree of wet-
ness of the windshield (in both snow
and rain). You do not have to be con-
cerned with switching the windshield
wiper on or off or adjusting the wipe in-
terval between intermittent and full
wipe. Instead, you can concentrate fully

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RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Wiper/Washer systemon the traffic conditions. This is espe-
cially important under adverse weather
conditions.
To activate the rain sensor:
From ignition key position 1 and up,
move the lever to position 1. The wipers
travel once across the windshield, re-
gardless of the weather.
You can leave the lever permanently in
position 1. It is then only necessary to
activate the rain sensor from ignition
key position 1 and up. To do this
>turn rotary dial 7 briefly or
>use either the automatic windshield
washer 5 or the automatic intensive
washer 6.
To modify the sensitivity of the rain
sensor:
Turn rotary dial 7.
Turn the rain sensor off in auto-
matic car washes.
If you do not, damage may occur if the
wipers switch on unintentionally.<
2 Normal wiper speedWhen the vehicle is stationary, the wip-
ers switch automatically to intermittent
wipe (not on vehicles with rain sensor).3 Fast wiper speedWhen the vehicle is stationary, the wip-
ers operate at normal speed (not on ve-
hicles with rain sensor).5 Automatic windshield washerThe system sprays washer fluid against
the windshield and activates the wipers
for a brief period.
If you only pull the lever briefly, the sys-
tem sprays washer fluid onto the wind-
shield without activating the wipers.Headlamp washers
*
If they are on, the headlamps will also
be cleaned every fifth time you activate
the automatic windshield washer.Do not use the washers if there is
any danger that the fluid will
freeze on the windshield, otherwise vi-
sion could be obscured. For this rea-
son, use an antifreeze agent. Refer to
page 142.
Do not use the washers when the reser-
voir is empty, since this could cause
damage to the washer pump.<
Windshield washer jetsThe windshield washer jets and the
windshield in the wiper sweep area are
defrosted automatically when the igni-
tion key is in position 2.

70n
Rear window defroster Cruise controlTo activatePress the button: The rear window de-
froster continues high-output operation
for as long as the indicator lamp re-
mains on (rapid thaw).
After the indicator lamp goes out, the
defroster continues operating at re-
duced power for a limited period before
deactivating automatically.To deactivateIf the indicator lamp is on, press the
button.380de622
You can store and automatically main-
tain any desired vehicle speed above
approx. 20 mph (30 km/h).To activate the system In ignition key positions 1 and 2:
Press button 4, the indicator lamp in the
instrument cluster comes on. You can
now use the cruise control.To store and maintain speed
or to acceleratePress button 1 briefly:
The system records and maintains the
current vehicle speed. Every time you
tap the button, the speed increases by
0.6 mph (1 km/h).390de058
Press and hold button 1:
The vehicle accelerates without pres-
sure on the accelerator pedal. When
you release the button, the system
records and maintains the current
speed.
If, on a downhill gradient, the en-
gine braking effect is not suffi-
cient, the controlled speed can be ex-
ceeded. Speed may not be maintained
on uphill grades if the engine output is
insufficient.< To deceleratePress button 2 briefly:
When the cruise control is active,
vehicle speed is reduced by approx.
0.6 mph (approx. 1 km/h) every time
you briefly press the button.
Press and hold button 2:
With the cruise control active, the sys-
tem automatically reduces the throttle
opening to slow the vehicle. When you
release the button, the system records
and maintains the current speed.

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RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Cruise controlTo cancel the cruise controlWhen the system is activated, press
and hold button 4. The indicator lamp
stays on. You can use the cruise control
again as desired.
In addition, cruise control is canceled
automatically:
>When you apply pressure to the
brake pedal
>If the automatic transmission selector
lever is moved from "D" to "N"
>If you exceed or fall below the pro-
grammed speed for an extended pe-
riod (by depressing the accelerator,
for example).To resume the stored settingPress button 3:
The vehicle accelerates to and main-
tains the last speed stored. When you
turn the ignition key to position 0, the
stored speed is deleted from the sys-
tem's memory and the system is deacti-
vated.
To deactivate the systemWhen the cruise control has been can-
celed, press button 4 again. The indica-
tor lamp goes off and the memorized
speed is canceled.Do not use cruise control on twist-
ing roads, when high traffic den-
sity prevents driving at a constant
speed, when the road surface is slick
(snow, rain, ice), or when the road sur-
face is loose (rocks or gravel, sand).<