2001 BMW X5 4.4I ESP

54nMirrors
Interior rearview mirror
To reduce glare from vehicles behind
you when you are driving at night, tilt
the mirror by turning the button.
Lighted vanity mirror
Fold down the sun visor and slide the
cover panel to the side as required.
The mirror lamps operate from ignition
key position 1 and up.
Sun visors
These can be folded down toward the
windshield or swiveled out against the
side windows.
530us030
Interior and exterior rearview
mirror with automatic dimmer
*
By responding to the effects of ambient
light and the glare from following traffic,
these mirrors automatically dim through
an infinitely-variable range.
There are 2 photocells located in the
interior rearview mirror for this purpose.
One photocell (arrow) is in the mirror
glass, while the other is offset some-
what on the back of the mirror.
The mirrors automatically revert to their
clear, undimmed setting whenever you
select "Reverse."
530us031
For trouble-free operation, keep the
photocells clean and do not cover the
area between the interior rearview
mirror and the windshield. Do not
attach any kind of stickers on the wind-
shield in front of the mirror, either.
For an explanation of the electro-
chromic technology used in these
mirrors, refer to page 199.

58nAirbags
1 Front airbag for driver and front
passenger
2 Side Impact Head Protection System for driver and front passenger (front
and rear
*)
3 Side airbags for driver and front passenger (front and rear
*)
Protective effect
The front airbags supplement the safety
belts by providing additional protection
for the front-seat occupants in the event
of a severe frontal impact in which the
protection afforded by the safety belts
alone may no longer be sufficient. The
Side Impact Head Protection System
and the 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.
530us035
The side airbags in the rear
passenger area
* of your vehicle
may already have been deactivated
either at the time of manufacture or by a
BMW center. You may have them acti-
vated if you desire to do so. Please
contact your BMW center for additional
information. <
The illustration depicts schematically
the primary directions of vehicle impact
that initiate an airbag deployment. The airbags will not be triggered in
the event of a minor accident, a
vehicle roll-over or a collision from the
rear. <
530us036
Indicator lamp
The indicator lamp in the instru-
ment panel shows the opera-
tional status of the airbag
system from ignition key position 1
and up.
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.
A system malfunction could prevent the
system from responding to an impact
occurring within its normal response
range.
Please have your BMW center inspect
and repair the system as soon as
possible.

62nTransporting children safely
Child seat security
All of the rear belt retractors and the
front passenger's safety belt can be
locked for mounting and securing child
restraint systems.
Information regarding this is located
near the buckle latch of each safety
belt.
530us104
To lock the belt
Pull the entire length of the belt from
the belt retractor. Allow the reel to
retract the belt somewhat and engage
the buckle, then tighten the belt against
the child restraint system. The retrac-
tion mechanism is now locked.
To release the belt
Release the buckle, remove the child-
restraint device and allow the belt
retractor to reel the belt completely in.
If you use a child restraint system with a
tether strap, three additional tether
anchorage points (refer to the arrows in
the illustration) have been provided.
Depending on the location selected
for seating in the rear passenger area,
attach the tether strap to the
corresponding anchorage point to
secure the child restraint system.
Remove the cover first on the middle
location.
If the respective seating position is
fitted with a headrest lift the headrest
and pass the tether strap between the
headrest and the seat back.
Adjust the tether strap according to the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc-
tions.530us037

Index
Data
Technology
Repairs
Car care
Controls
Overview
71nWasher/Wiper system
0 Wipers retracted
1 Intermittent mode or rain sensor
*
2 Normal wipe
3 Fast wipe
4 Brief wipe
5 Clean the windshield
6 Special wash program
*
7 Rotary dial for control of the wipe interval or the sensitivity of the rain
sensor
*
530us044
0 Wipers retracted (home position)
The left wiper is partially concealed by
the hood. In order to bring the wipers to
roughly a vertical position (this is impor-
tant for changing the wiper blades or to
fold the wipers out during frosty
weather, for example):
> With the lever in position 1, switch off
the ignition as soon as the wipers
come to a stop.
If equipped with a rain sensor
*:
1 Switch on the wipers with the lever in position 1, 2 or 4.
2 When the wipers are approx. vertical, switch the ignition off.
For changing the wiper blades, refer to
page 174.
Fold the wipers back down onto
the windshield before you turn the
ignition key to position 1 or 2 again. If
you do not, they could be damaged. <
1 Intermittent mode or rain
sensor
*
Intermittent wipe:
You can set the wipe interval to four
stages with rotary dial 7.
In addition, the wipe interval is varied
automatically depending on road
speed.
Rain sensor:
When the rain sensor is activated, the
windshield wiper is controlled automati-
cally, depending on the degree of
wetness of the windshield (in both snow
and rain). You do not have to be
concerned with switching the wind-
shield wiper on or off or adjusting the
wipe interval between intermittent and
full wipe. Instead, you can concentrate
fully on the traffic conditions. This is
especially important under adverse
weather conditions.
The rain sensor is positioned on the
windshield, directly in front of the inte-
rior rearview mirror.
To activate the rain sensor:
Move the lever to position 1 with the
ignition key in position 1 or higher. The
wipers travel once across the wind-
shield, regardless of the weather
conditions.

Index
Data
Technology
Repairs
Car care
Controls
Overview
75nCruise control
To cancel the cruise control
When the system is activated, press
button 1. The indicator lamp stays on.
You can use the cruise control again as
required.
In addition, the system is also automati-
cally deactivated in response to the
following conditions:
>When you apply pressure to the
brake pedal.
> When you apply pressure to the
clutch pedal or when you move the
automatic transmission selector lever
from "Drive" to "Neutral."
> If you exceed or fall below the
programmed speed for an extended
period (by depressing the acceler-
ator, for example).
390de332
To resume the stored setting
Press button 4:
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 and the system
is deactivated.
To deactivate the system
When the cruise control has been
canceled, press button 1 again. The
indicator lamp goes off and the stored
speed is deleted.

78nCoolant temperature gauge Service Interval Display
Blue
The engine is still cold. Drive at
moderate engine and vehicle speeds.
Red
When you switch on the ignition, the
warning lamp comes on briefly to
confirm that the system is operational.
If the warning lamp comes on while
driving or the message "COOLANT
TEMPERATURE" appears in the Check
Control
*: the engine is overheated.
Shut off the engine immediately and
allow it to cool down.
390de007
Between the blue and red zones
Normal operating range. It is not
unusual for the needle to rise as far as
the edge of the red zone in response to
high outside temperatures or severe
operating conditions.
Checking coolant level: refer to
page 160.
The range of available displays varies
according to your individual vehicle's
equipment.
Green lamps
The number of illuminated lamps
decreases as the time for your next
maintenance visit approaches.
Yellow lamp
This field appears together with
OILSERVICE or INSPECTION.
Maintenance is due. Please contact
your BMW center for an appointment.
Red lamp
The maintenance deadline has been
passed.
390us008

IndexDataTechnologyRepairsCar careControlsOverview
93n
The conceptThe PDC assists you when you are
parking. Acoustical signals inform you
of the distance to an obstacle. To do
this, four ultrasonic sensors in the front
and rear bumpers measure the distance
to the nearest object. The monitoring
range for the front sensors as well as
the two rear corner sensors ends
approx. 2 ft (60 cm) behind the
respective bumper. The center sensors
in the rear have a range of approx. 5 ft
(1.50 meters). Automatic functionThe system starts to operate auto-
matically about one second after you
select reverse with the ignition key in
position 2.
Manual activationPress the button (arrow); the indicator
lamp comes on.
After driving a distance of more than
approx. 160 ft (50 meters) or exceeding
a speed of approx. 20 mph (30 km/h),
the system switches off and the indi-
cator lamp goes out. Switch the system
on again as required. Manual deactivationPress the button again. 530us060
Acoustical signalsThe distance from an obstacle is indi-
cated in front with a higher intermittent
tone, at at the rear with a lower intermit-
tent tone. As the distance between
vehicle and object decreases, the inter-
vals between the tones become
shorter.
A continuous tone indicates the pres-
ence of an object less than approx. 1 ft
(30 cm) away.
The warning signal is canceled after
approx. three seconds if you are
moving parallel to a wall.
If there is a malfunction of the system:
The indicator lamp flashes and a short
steady signal tone is sounded
>if you activate PDC with the button.
>when you select reverse for the first
time after switching on the ignition.
>if a malfunction occurs while the PDC
system is active.
Switch the system off and have the
cause of the malfunction corrected by
your BMW center.
Park Distance Control (PDC)
*

94n
PDC
*
Dynamic Stability Control (DSC)
The PDC system does not remove
the driver's personal responsibility
for evaluating the distance between the
vehicle and any obstacles. Even when
sensors are involved, there is a blind
spot in which objects cannot be
detected. This applies especially in
those cases where the system
approaches the physical constraints of
ultrasonic measurement, as occurs with
tow bars and trailer couplings, and in
the vicinity of thin and painted objects.
Certain sources of sound, such as a
loud radio, could drown out the PDC
signal tone.<
Keep the sensors clean and free
of ice or snow in order to ensure
that they continue to operate effectively.
Do not apply high pressure spray to the
sensors for a prolonged period of time.
Maintain an adequate distance of more
than 4 in (10 cm).<
The concept DSC maintains vehicle stability, even in
critical driving situations.
The system optimizes vehicle stability
during acceleration and when starting
from a full stop, as well as optimizing
traction. In addition, it recognizes
unstable vehicle conditions, such as
understeering or oversteering, and, as
far as is possible within the laws of
physics, keeps the car on a steady
course by adapting the RPMs and
brake applications to the individual
wheels.
The system starts up automatically
each time you start the engine.
Indicator lamp
The indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster goes out shortly
after you switch on the ignition.
Refer to page 24.
Indicator lamp flashes:
The system is active and governs drive
and braking force.
If the indicator lamp fails to go out after
the engine is started, or comes on
during normal driving and stays on:
The system is either defective or was
switched off with the button: the stabi-
lizing applications described to the left
are no longer available. The vehicle will
remain completely operational,
however, without DSC.
Consult your BMW center to have the
system repaired.