2001 BMW 540I SEDAN driver seat adjustment

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For maximum safety, please comply
with the following instructions when ad-
justing a seat:
Never try to adjust your seat while
operating the vehicle. The seat
could respond with unexpected move-
ment, and the ensuing loss of vehicle
control could lead to an accident.
Wear the safety belt firmly against your
body at all times. In the event of a fron-
tal impact, a loose lap belt could slide
over your hips, leading to abdominal
injury. In addition, the safety belt's
restraint effectiveness is reduced if the
belt is worn loosely.
Never ride with the backrest reclined to
an extreme horizontal angle (especially
important for front passengers to
remember). Keep the backrest relatively
upright to minimize the risk of "sliding
under" the safety belt and sustaining
injury in an accident.
Do not slide the seats to the rear
when the vehicle is at an extreme angle
(on garage ramps or steep slopes, for
instance), to prevent the shoulder
strap's automatic height adjustment
mechanism from disengaging.<
Correct sitting postureTo reduce strain on the spinal column,
sit all the way back in the seat and rest
your back fully against the backrest.
The ideal sitting posture is achieved
with your head extending from your
spine in a straight line.
For long-distance driving, you may wish
to increase the backrest tilt-angle
slightly to reduce muscular tension.
Please remember that you should
always remain able to grasp the entire
periphery of the steering wheel without
straightening your arms.1 Tilt angle (only driver's side)
2 Forward/backward adjustment
3 Cushion height
4 Backrest angle
5 Head restraint height
Adjust the angle of the head restraints
by tilting the head restraint, refer to
page 53.
Read and comply with the adjust-
ment instructions in the previous
column. Failure to do so can result in
diminished personal safety.<
Lumbar support
*
Refer to the BMW comfort seat on
page 54.380de023
Seat adjustment Electric power seat(s
*)

54n
BMW comfort seat
*
This seat allows you to make additional
adjustments for:
1 Lumbar support
2 Shoulder supportLumbar supportYou can adjust the backrest's contour
for additional support in the curvature
of your spine's lumbar region.380de024
The upper hips and spinal column
receive supplementary support to help
you maintain a relaxed, upright posture.
>Press the front/rear of the switch:
Increase/decrease curvature.
>Press the upper/lower end of the
switch:
Increase the upper/lower curvature.
Comply with the adjustment
instructions on page 52. Failure
to do so could result in diminished
personal safety.<
Shoulder supportYou can use the adjustable upper back-
rest for supplementary support in the
shoulder region. This provides a
relaxed sitting posture and helps relieve
stress on the shoulder muscles.
Press the rocker switch: the support
angle of the upper backrest section is
adjusted.
To obtain an optimal seating posture,
we recommend:
Driver and front passenger:
1 Adjust the upper backrest section
to its extreme rear position.
2 Adjust to the optimal sitting posture
as shown on page 52 under "Correct
sitting posture."
3 Bring the upper backrest section
forward until your shoulders enjoy
firm support.380de064

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Adjusting the steering wheel MirrorsThe steering wheel can be moved in
any of four directions. Adjust by moving
the control lever in the desired direc-
tion.
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while the vehicle is moving. There
is a risk of accident from unexpected
movement.<
To store the steering wheel setting,
refer to "Seat, mirror and steering
wheel memory" on page 58.390de028
Automatic steering wheel
adjustment In order to make it easier to get into and
out of the car, the steering wheel auto-
matically moves into the top position
and returns to the driving (memory)
position.
This automatic feature is controlled by
the position of the ignition key and by
the driver's door.
Exterior mirrors1 Mirror switch for 4-way adjustment
2 Left/right selection switch
You can also adjust the mirrors manu-
ally by pressing against the outer edges
of their lenses.
To store the mirror settings: refer to
"Seat, mirror and steering wheel
memory" on page 58.390us605

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Seat, mirror and steering wheel memoryYou can store and call up three different
seat, exterior mirror and steering wheel
positions. The illustration shows the
buttons on the driver's door for making
these position adjustments.
The adjustment for the lumbar support
is not stored in the memory.390de032
To store1 Ignition key at position 1 or 2.
2 Adjust the desired positions for the
seat, door mirror and steering wheel.
3 Press the
M
EMORY button: the indi-
cator lamp in the button comes on.
4 Press memory button 1, 2 or 3, as
desired: the indicator lamp goes out.
To select a stored settingConvenience function:
1 The driver's door remains open after
unlocking or the ignition key is in
position 1.
2 Briefly press memory button 1, 2 or 3,
as desired.
Movement stops immediately when
one of the seat adjustment or
memory buttons is activated during
the adjustment process.
Security function:
1 The driver's door is closed and the
ignition key is either removed or in
position 0 or 2.
2 Press and hold the desired memory
button (1, 2 or 3) until the adjustment
process is completed.
If you press the
M
EMORY button
accidentally: press the button a second
time; the indicator lamp goes out.
Do not call up a position from the
memory while the vehicle is
moving. There is a risk of accident from
unexpected movement of the seat or
steering wheel.<

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Car Memory, Key MemoryHow the system functionsYou have probably frequently wished
that you could configure individual
functions of your vehicle to reflect your
own personal requirements. In engi-
neering your vehicle, BMW has included
several user-defined functions in the
vehicle's design. Your authorized BMW
center can make these settings for you.
There are settings related to the vehicle
("Car Memory") and settings related to
individuals ("Key Memory"). You can
have two different basic positions con-
figured for two different persons. The
only requirement is that each person
uses his or her own remote control key.463de029
When your vehicle is unlocked with the
remote control, the vehicle recognizes
the individual user by means of a data
exchange with the key, and makes
adjustments accordingly.
In order for you to distinguish between
different keys, colored decals are
supplied together with the keys.What the system can doYour authorized BMW center can
provide you with details on the capabili-
ties of the Car Memory and Key
Memory systems.
You will see this symbol through-
out the Owner's Manual. It is to
remind you at appropriate places of the
settings that are available to you.<
An example of Key Memory is the auto-
matic adjustment of the driver's power
seat with stored settings for the individ-
ual person when the vehicle is un-
locked.