2000 BMW 323Ci COUPE Owner's Manual

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RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Fasten your safety belt before starting
off.
To fasten:
Make sure you hear the catch engage in
the belt buckle.
To release:
Press the red button in the buckle. Hold
the belt and guide it back into its reel.462de205
Safety belt height adjustmentYou can adjust the safety belts to fit your
own physical dimensions by using the
safety belt height adjustment.
Slide the button downward or upward.462de206
In the rear, the belt buckle with the word
"CENTER" is provided exclusively for
the passenger sitting in the middle.
For your safety, please comply with
the following instruction for wear-
ing safety belts. If you do not, the safety
belts may not be able to provide their
maximum protection.
The following information also applies
to your passengers:
Never allow more than one person to
wear a single safety belt. Never allow
infants or small children to ride in a pas-
senger's lap.
Avoid twisting the belt while routing it
firmly across the hips and shoulder. Do
not allow the belt to rest against hard
or fragile objects in your pockets. Never
route the belt across your neck, do not
run it across sharp edges and ensure
that the belt does not become caught
or jammed.
Be sure that the safety belt fits snugly
against your body at all times, and avoid
wearing clothing that prevents the belt
from fitting properly. Pull on the belt pe-
riodically to readjust the tension across
your shoulder. In the event of a frontal
impact, a loose lap belt could slide over
your hips, leading to abdominal injury. In
addition, the safety belt's restraint effec-
tiveness is reduced if the belt is worn
loosely.
Safety belts

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Safety belts Child restraint systems
*
Expectant mothers should always wear
the safety belt, taking special care to
position the lap belt over the lower hips,
where it will not exert pressure against
the abdominal area.<
For child restraint system installation,
refer to page 60.
For care instructions, refer to "Caring
for your car" page 133.
If the safety belt system has been
subjected to the stresses involved
in an accident or otherwise damaged:
Replace the entire safety belt mecha-
nism through you BMW center, includ-
ing the safety belt tensioner and any
child restraint systems
* that are in-
stalled. In addition, have your BMW
center inspect the safety belt anchors.<
Never install a rear-facing child
restraint device on the front pas-
senger seat. Injuries could occur if the
airbag is triggered in the event of an
accident.
Children should always ride in the rear.
Do not modify the child restraint system
in any way, or it will not provide your
child with maximum protection.<

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RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Airbags 1 Front airbag for driver and passenger
2 Side impact Head Protection System
(front)
3 Side airbags (front and rear side
*)
Protective effectThe front airbags supplement the three-
point safety belts by providing addi-
tional protection for the front-seat oc-
cupants, in the event of a severe frontal
collision in which the protection af-
forded by the belts alone may no longer
be sufficient. The head and side airbags
help provide protection in the event of a
side impact. Each of the side airbags is
designed to help support the upper
body.462de207
The illustration schematically depicts
the primary directions of vehicle impact
that initiate airbag deployment.462de208
Indicator lamp
The indicator lamp shows that
the airbag system is operational
in ignition key positions 1 and 2.
System operational:
>The indicator lamp comes on briefly
then goes out.
System malfunction:
>The indicator lamp fails to come on
>The indicator lamp comes on briefly
before going out and then lighting up
again.
If there is a system malfunction, there
is a risk that the airbags will not be trig-
gered in their normal response range in
the event of an accident, even though
the impact is severe.
Please have your authorized BMW cen-
ter inspect and repair the system as
soon as possible.
The airbag indicator lamp also
comes on if the safety belt ten-
sioners have been triggered.<

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Airbags
For your own safety, please ob-
serve the following precautions
concerning airbags, as otherwise their
protective function may be impaired
and your personal safety endangered.
The following information pertains to all
occupants:
The airbags are supplemental restraint
devices designed to provide extra pro-
tection; they are not a substitute for
safety belts. Wear your safety belt at all
times. The airbags will not be triggered
in the event of a minor accident, a vehi-
cle roll-over, or collisions from the rear.
In this case, the safety belt offers the
best protection.
Airbags are located under the cover
panels in the steering wheel, in the in-
strument panel, in the side trim panels
in the front and rear
*, in the roof panels,
and in the sides of the inside roof lining.
Select a seat position that is comfort-
able and allows the greatest possible
distance from each of the applicable
airbags. Hold the steering wheel at the
rim (hands at the "9 o'clock and
3 o'clock" positions) in order to avoid
injuries to the hands or arms if the air-
bag is triggered.
Never allow any objects to obstruct the
area between the airbag and an occu-
pant.
Do not use the cover panel above the
front passenger airbag as a storage
area.
Never tape the airbag cover panels,
cover them over or alter them in any
other way.
Never install a rear-facing child restraint
device on the front passenger seat.
Children under 13 years of age and
children who are smaller than 5 feet
(150 cm), should only travel in the rear
seat.
If your vehicle is equipped with side air-
bags in the rear, be sure that child seats
are installed correctly and with the
greatest possible distance from the side
trim panels. Do not allow children to
lean out of the child's seat in the direc-
tion of the side trim panels. Otherwise,
serious injuries could occur if the airbag
is triggered.
At all times, occupants should sit up-
right and be properly restrained (infants
and small children in appropriate child
restraint systems; larger children and
adults using the safety belts). Never let
an occupant's head rest near or on a
side airbag because the inflating airbag
could cause a serious or fatal injury.
Please note that the word "Airbag" im-
printed on the door trim panel indicates
the airbag's location.Accident research shows that the saf-
est place for children in an automobile
is in the rear seat. However, a child
sitting in the rear seat and not properly
restrained may place his or her head on
or near the side airbag, if so equipped.
For example, a child – even though
belted – may fall asleep with his or her
head against the side airbag. It may be
difficult for a driver to ensure that chil-
dren in the rear seat will remain prop-
erly positioned at all times and not
place their heads on or near the side
airbag. Therefore, we recommend that
the rear seat side airbags, if provided,
be deactivated if you plan to transport
children in the rear seat.
The rear seat side airbags may already
have been deactivated, either at the
time of manufacture or by a BMW cen-
ter. Labels in the rear door opening
should indicate the status of your rear
seat side airbags. If you are uncertain of
their status, or wish to have the airbags
activated or deactivated, please contact
your BMW center.<

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AirbagsEven when all these guidelines are ob-
served, there is still a small residual risk
of injuries to the face, hands and arms
occurring in isolated instances. The ig-
nition and inflation noise may induce a
mild temporary hearing loss in sensitive
individuals.
For additional information concerning
the airbag system, refer to page 135
and 161.
This is the right way a child should sit in
a child restraint when rear side airbags
(arrow) are provided.
462us012
This is the right way a larger child
should sit wearing the safety belt when
rear side airbags (arrow) are provided.462us013

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Child restraints
*
All occupants and especially children
should be restrained whenever riding
in a motor vehicle.
Infants or small children should never
be held on the lap of a passenger.
Children should always sit in the rear
and, depending on age, use either a
child restraint system or the existing
safety belts. Accident statistics have
shown that children are safer when
properly restrained in the rear seats
than in the front seating positions.
Infants or toddlers should be secured
with a child restraint system appropri-
ate for their size.
Commercially available child seats
complying with the legal standard are
designed to be secured with a lap belt
or with the lap belt portion of a combi-
nation lap/shoulder belt. 380us123
Improperly or inadequately installed re-
straint systems can increase the risk of
injury to children. Always read and fol-
low the instructions that come with the
system.
If the child restraint of your choice re-
quires the use of a tether strap, three
fastening points (see arrows) have been
provided on the rear shelf for attach-
ment. Ask your BMW center to perform
the necessary work.
Before installing any child restraint
device or child seat, please read
the following:
Never install a rearward-facing child
restraint system in the front passenger
seat of this car.
Your car is equipped with an airbag
supplemental restraint system for the
front passenger. Because the backrest
on any rear-facing child restraint sys-
tem (of the kind designed for infants
under 1 year and 20 lbs.) would be
within the airbag's deployment range,
you should never mount such a device
in the front passenger seat, as the im-
pact of the airbag against the child re-
straint's backrest could lead to serious
or fatal injuries.
If it is necessary for a child (not an
infant) to ride in the front seat, certain
precautions should be taken. First,
move the passenger seat as far away
from the dashboard as possible. This
important precaution is intended to
maximize the distance between the air-
bag and the child. Older children should
be tightly secured with the safety belt.
Younger children should be secured in
an appropriate forward-facing child re-
straint system that has first been prop-
erly secured with a safety belt.
Never install a rear-facing child restraint
system in the front passenger seat.
We strongly urge you to carefully read
and comply with the instructions for in-
stallation and use provided by the child
restraint's manufacturer whenever you
use such a device.
Be sure that all occupants (of all ages)
remain properly and securely restrained
at all times.c
All rear seating positions in your vehicle
meet the recommendations of SAE
J1819, an industry recommended prac-
tice for securing child restraint systems
in motor vehicles.

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Child restraint installationAll of the rear belt retractors and the
front passenger's safety belt can be
locked for mounting and securing child
restraint systems.
A label with the appropriate instructions
for this is located in the immediate vi-
cinity of the buckle latch of each safety
belt.Lock the safety beltExtract the entire length of the belt from
the inertia reel mechanism. Allow the
reel to retract the belt somewhat and
engage the buckle, then tighten the belt
against the child restraint system. The
retraction mechanism is now locked.
The belt cannot be extracted further.
Always observe the installation instruc-
tions provided by the manufacturer of
the child restraint system.462us014
Release the safety beltRelease the safety belt, remove the
child's seat and retract the safety belt to
its end position on the belt retractor.

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0 Steering lock engaged The key can only be inserted and
removed in this position.
After removing the key, turn the steer-
ing wheel slightly to the left or right until
you hear the lock engage.
If the key is not removed, an acoustic
signal chimes after the driver's door has
been opened.
Vehicles with automatic
transmission:
Move the selector lever from position P
only after the engine is running (ignition
key in position 2).
In order to turn the key back to position 0
or to remove it, move the selector lever
into position P first (Interlock).<462de195
1 Steering lock disengaged Turning the steering wheel slightly to
the right or left often makes it easier to
turn the key from 0 to 1.
Individual electrical devices are ready
for operation.2 Ignition onAll electrical equipment and accesso-
ries are available for use.3 Starting the engine
Vehicles with manual
transmission:
Step on the clutch when starting the
vehicle. A lockout prevents the engine
from starting if the clutch is not de-
pressed.c
Before starting>Engage parking brake
>Ensure that the transmission selector
is in "Neutral" (or "Park" if vehicle is
equipped with automatic transmis-
sion)
>Manual transmission: Depress the
clutch pedal
>Automatic transmission: Depress the
footbrake.
Never allow the engine to run with
the vehicle standing in an en-
closed area. The exhaust gases contain
carbon monoxide, an odorless and col-
orless, but highly toxic gas. Breathing
the exhaust gases poses an extreme
health risk, and can lead to uncon-
sciousness and death.
Do not leave the car unattended with
the engine running. An unattended ve-
hicle with a running engine represents a
potential safety hazard.<
>Start the engine. Do not press the
accelerator pedal.
Steering/ignition lock Starting the engine