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IndexDataTechnologyRepairsCar careControlsOverview
Car Memory, Key MemoryWhat the system can doYour BMW center can provide you with
details on the capabilities of the Car
Memory and Key Memory systems.
Below are a few examples:
A Car Memory sampler:
>Various signals to confirm release
and engagement of the vehicle's
locks.
>Activate/deactivate the "Follow-me-
home lighting" function.
A Key Memory sampler:
>Engage vehicle locks as soon as the
vehicle is underway.
At various points throughout this
Owner's Manual you will find this
symbol, indicating that the equipment
or system described in the adjacent
section can be preset for automatic
adjustment using the Car or Key
Memory.<
50n
Drive with your safety belt onFasten your safety belt at the beginning
of every trip.
To fasten:
Make sure you hear the lock engage in
the belt buckle.
To release:
Press the red button in the buckle. Hold
the belt and guide it back into its reel.
For care instructions, refer to "Caring
for your vehicle," page 119.520de020
For your safety, please comply
with the following instructions for
wearing safety belts. Otherwise, your
personal safety will be diminished, and
the safety belts' protective function
impaired. The following information also
applies to your passengers:
Never allow more than one person to
wear a single safety belt. Infants or
small children should never be held on
the lap of a passenger.
Avoid twisting the belt while routing it
firmly across the pelvis and shoulder,
wear it as snugly against your body as
possible. 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.
Avoid wearing bulky clothing and pull
on the belt periodically to retension it
over your shoulder. In the event of a
frontal impact, a loose lap belt could
slide over your hips, leading to abdom-
inal injury. In addition, the safety belt's
restraint effectiveness is reduced if the
belt is worn loosely.
Expectant mothers should always wear
their safety belts, taking care to position
the lap belt against the lower hips,
where it will not exert pressure against
the abdominal area.<
If the safety belt system has been
subjected to the stresses involved
in an accident or damaged in any other
way, have the complete mechanism
replaced by your BMW center,
including the safety belt tensioner and
the belt anchorages checked. If a child
restraint system
* is in the vehicle
during an accident, consult the manu-
facturer's instructions regarding
replacement.<
Child restraint systems
*
Your car is equipped with an
airbag designed to provide supple-
mental restraint for the front passenger
in an accident. Because the backrest on
any rear-facing restraint device (of the
kind designed for smaller infants) would
be within the airbag's deployment
range, you should never mount such a
device in this car, as the impact of the
airbag against the child restraint's back-
rest could lead to serious injuries. Never
modify a child restraint system in any
way, as the result could be reduced
protection for your child.<
Safety belts
52n
AirbagsSitting correctly with airbags
Comply with the following instruc-
tions for the airbags, otherwise,
the airbags may not be able to provide
their maximum protection, with
resulting risks to personal safety. All
passengers in the vehicle should be
aware of and comply with this informa-
tion:
The airbag is a supplemental restraint
device; it is not a substitute or replace-
ment for your safety belt, which you
should continue to wear at all times.
When adjusting your seat, assume a
comfortable driving posture allowing
comfortable and secure access to all of
the vehicle's controls. Avoid sitting too
close to the steering wheel.
Always hold the steering wheel by the
rim Ð hands in the "9 o'clock" and
"3 o'clock" positions Ð otherwise, your
hands or arms could be injured if the
airbag is triggered.
Never allow any other passengers,
animals or objects to intrude into the
area between the airbag and the driver
or front passenger.
Do not use the cover panel above the
front passenger airbag as a storage
area.
Do not apply adhesive materials to the
cover panels of the airbags, or cover or
modify them in any other way.
Do not use a rear-facing child seat in the
front passenger seat. If you use a child
restraint system, carefully read and
comply with the instructions on page 53.
Be sure that child seats are installed
correctly and with the greatest possible
distance between them and the side
airbag. Do not allow children to lean out
of the child's seat in the direction of the
side trim panels. If they do so, serious
injuries can occur if the airbag is trig-
gered.<
Even when all these guidelines are
observed, there is still a small residual
risk of injury to the face, hands and
arms occurring from airbag deployment
in isolated instances.
The ignition and inflation noise may
cause a mild temporary hearing loss in
extremely sensitive individuals.
You will find the proper airbag safety
precautions on both sun visors and on
the instrument cluster (US models).
For additional information concerning
the airbag system, refer to pages 121
and 148.The illustration shows the correct
seating position for a child in a child
restraint system
* with sufficient
distance between the child and the side
airbag (arrow).
520de115
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Transporting children safelyChild seat securityThe safety belt on the passenger side
can be locked for mounting and
securing child-restraint systems.
A label with operating instructions is
attached to the belt next to the sliding
latch plate.520us003
To lock the 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 retracted further.
Comply with the installation instructions
provided by the manufacturer of the
child restraint system.To release the beltRelease the buckle, remove the child-
restraint system and allow the inertia
reel to retract the belt completely.
55n
IndexDataTechnologyRepairsCar careControlsOverview
Your vehicle is equipped with an elec-
trically powered steering lock mecha-
nism.To activate the electrical power
supply and release the steering>Insert key at position 0. The steering
detent can be heard disengaging. If
you encounter any resistance when
turning the key to the right this indi-
cates that the detent is still engaged:
turn the steering wheel slightly to free
the mechanism and turn the key.
The vehicle immobilizer is deacti-
vated
>The sound system and other electri-
cal accessories are available for use
when the ignition key is in position 1 520de023
>Turning the key to position 2 provides
electrical power to the ignition and all
remaining electrical systems.
Removing the keyThe key is removed in position 0. Turn
the steering wheel to engage the
steering lock and activate the electronic
vehicle immobilizer.
With a discharged or discon-
nected battery, the steering
column will not be locked or unlocked.
Leaving the key in the ignition uses up a
minimal amount of power. In order to
avoid discharging the battery, remove
the key if the vehicle is to be parked for
an extended period of time.<
If the steering is locked and the
battery discharged or discon-
nected, do not tow the vehicle, as it will
not be possible to turn the steering
wheel.<
Ignition and steering lock
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Starting the engine Turning the engine off Before starting>Engage the parking brake
>Make sure that the transmission is in
neutral
>Depress the clutch pedal
>Turn ignition key to position 2.
Do not allow the engine to run in
enclosed areas. The exhaust
gases contain carbon monoxide, an
odorless and colorless, but highly toxic
gas. Breathing the exhaust gases poses
an extreme health risk, and can lead to
unconsciousness and death.
Do not leave the vehicle unattended
with the engine running. An unattended
vehicle with a running engine repre-
sents a potential safety hazard.<520de141
>Start the engine (by pressing the start
button) but do not step on the accel-
erator pedal.
Do not press on the starter button
for too short a time, but do not hold
it down for longer than 20 seconds,
either. Do not allow the engine to warm
up by leaving it running while the vehicle
remains stationary. Instead, drive off
immediately at a moderate engine
speed.<
Cold starts at very low temperatures,
from approx. +5 7 (Ð15 6) and at alti-
tudes above 3,300 ft (1,000 meters):
>On the first start attempt, engage the
starter for a longer period (approx.
10 seconds).
Engine idle speed is controlled by the
electronic engine management system.
A fast idle immediately after starting is
normal and should decrease as the
engine warms up. If the idle does not
return to normal as the engine reaches
normal operating temperature, service
is required.
To prevent the battery from discharg-
ing, always deactivate electrical
devices that are not in use. Switch the
ignition off when the vehicle is not
being driven.
Turn the ignition key to position 1 or 0.
Never remove the ignition key
while the vehicle is rolling. If you
did so, the ignition lock would engage
when the steering wheel is turned.
When you leave the vehicle, always
remove the ignition key and engage the
steering lock.
Always engage the parking brake when
parking on hills and inclined surfaces,
as first gear or reverse may not provide
adequate resistance to rolling.<
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IndexDataTechnologyRepairsCar careControlsOverview
Parking brake The parking brake is primarily designed
to prevent the vehicle from rolling while
parked. It operates on the rear wheels.To engageThe lock engages automatically when
you lift the lever, and the indicator lamp
in the instrument cluster comes on
when the ignition key is in position 2.
Refer to page 21.To releasePull up slightly on the lever, press the
button and lower the lever.520de024
If, in rare circumstances, it should
be necessary to engage the
parking brake while the vehicle is in
motion, do not pull hard on the lever.
Keep your thumb pressed against the
release button while carefully pulling
the lever up to apply moderate pres-
sure.
Excessive pressure can lead to over-
braking and loss of traction (fishtailing)
at the rear axle.
The brake lamps do not come on when
the parking brake is engaged.
Always engage the parking brake when
parking on hills and inclined surfaces,
as selecting first gear or reverse may
not provide adequate resistance to
rolling.<
To avoid corrosion and one-sided
braking, apply the parking brake lightly
from time to time when coasting to a
standstill (at a traffic signal, for
instance), provided that it is safe to do
so.
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Manual transmission
Turn signal/Headlamp flasher
Every time you shift gears, always
depress the clutch pedal all the way
down, pushing the gear lever into the
desired position.
Always remember to depress the clutch
pedal when starting the engine; a lock-
out device prevents starting when the
clutch is engaged.
The shift lever's neutral plane is located
between 3rd and 4th gears.
The shift lever automatically returns to
the 3rd/4th plane whenever you select
neutral. 520de158
When shifting across the gate to
the 5th/6th gear plane always
remember to push the lever to the right
to avoid inadvertent engagement of 3rd
or 4th gear <
Reverse Select "Reverse" only when the vehicle
is stationary. Press the shift lever to the
left to overcome the resistance.
As you do this, the backup lamp will
turn on automatically when the ignition
key is in position 2.
Never slip the clutch to prevent
the car from rolling backwards
when stopping on hills. Slipping the
clutch for extended periods leads to
rapid, premature clutch wear. <
1 High beam (blue indicator lamp)
2 Headlamp flasher (blue indicator
lamp)
3 Turn signals (green indicator lamp
and cyclical clicking from the blinker
relay)
If the indicator lamp and the clicking
from the relay are faster than normal,
one of the turn signal bulbs is defective.To signal brieflyPress the lever up to but not beyond
the pressure point. It then returns to the
center position when released.520de025