2001 BMW Z8 Owners Manual

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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

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IndexDataTechnologyRepairsCar careControlsOverview
Airbags 1 Front airbag on driver and passenger
side
2 Side airbags on driver and passenger
sideProtectionThe front airbags protect the driver and
passenger in the event of severe frontal
impacts in which a safety belt alone is
not enough to afford optimal protection.
The side airbags help provide protec-
tion in the event of a collision from the
side. Each of the side airbags is
designed to help support the seat occu-
pant's upper body.520de021
The illustration shows the system's
effective response range.
The airbags do not respond to mi-
nor impacts, if the vehicle rolls
over, or if the vehicle is hit from the
rear.<520de022
Indicator lamp
The indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster comes on to
confirm the system's operational
status from ignition key position 1.
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 a high-
intensity impact sustained within its
normal response range.
Have your BMW center inspect the
system immediately.

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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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IndexDataTechnologyRepairsCar careControlsOverview
Airbags Transporting children safelyThe illustration shows the correct
seating position for an older child
wearing a safety belt with sufficient
distance between child and the side
airbag (arrow).520de116
Before installing any child-
restraint device or child seat,
please read the following:
Never install a rear-facing child restraint
system in the passenger seat of this
car.
If the airbag deploys and hits the back-
rest of the rear-facing child seat, it is
likely that the child sitting in the rear-
facing child seat will be seriously
injured or killed.
If it is necessary for a child (not an
infant) to ride in the car, certain precau-
tions 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 airbag and the
child. Older children should be tightly
secured with the safety belt. Younger
children should be secured in an appro-
priate forward-facing child-restraint
system that has first been secured with
a safety belt.
In the interest of the child's safety,
please carefully read and comply with
the instructions for installation and
use provided by the child-restraint's
manufacturer whenever you use such a
device.
Do not allow children to lean out of a
child restraint system toward the door
or dashboard, as otherwise serious
injuries may result if the airbag deploys.
Always ensure that all occupants (of all
ages) remain properly and securely
restrained at all times.
Read carefully and comply with the
safety precautions covering safety belts
on pages 50. If you do not, the protec-
tive function of the safety belts will be
limited.<

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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.

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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.<