IndexDataTechnologyRepairsCar careControlsOverview
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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)
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