2002 BMW 325xi TOURING Owner's Manual

49n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Airbags
The airbags do not respond to
minor collisions, rear impacts, or
to some kinds of vehicle rollovers.<
For your safety, comply with the
following instructions for the
airbags. If you do not, the airbags may
not be able to provide their maximum
protection. All passengers in the vehicle
should be aware of and comply with
this information:
The airbags are supplemental restraint
devices designed to provide extra
protection; they are not a substitute for
safety belts. Wear your safety belt at all
times. The airbags will not be triggered
in the event of a minor accident, a
vehicle rollover, or collisions from the
rear. In these instances, the safety belt
provides optimal protection.
Airbags are located under cover panels
in the steering wheel, in the instrument
panel, in the side trim panels in the
front and rear
*, in the roof panels, and
in the sides of the inside roof lining.
Adjust your seat to a position that
provides maximum distance between
you and the steering wheel, the instru-
ment panel and the door while still
allowing comfortable and safe access
to all vehicle controls.
To avoid sustaining hand and arm inju-
ries, always grasp the steering wheel
on the rim with the hands at the 9 and
3 o'clock positions. Do not place your
hands on the center pad.
Never allow any objects to obstruct the
area between the airbag and an occu-
pant.
Do not use the cover panel above the
passenger-side airbag as a storage
area.
Do not apply adhesive materials to the
cover panels of the airbags, cover them
or modify them in any other way.
Do not install a rear-facing child-
restraint system in the front passenger
seat of this vehicle.
Children under 13 years of age and less
than 5 ft (150 cm) tall should ride only in
the rear seat.
Infants or small children should never
be held on the lap of a passenger.
If your vehicle is equipped with side
airbags in the rear passenger area
*, be
sure that child restraints are mounted
correctly with the greatest-possible
distance between them and the airbags
in the side trim panels. 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 triggered. upright and be properly restrained
(infants and small children in appro-
priate child-restraint systems; larger
children and adults using the safety
belts). Never let an occupant's head
rest near or on a side airbag because
the inflating airbag could cause a
serious or fatal injury. Please note that
the word Airbag imprinted on the door
trim panel indicates the airbag's loca-
tion.
Accident research shows that the
safest place for children in an
automobile is in the rear seat. However,
a child sitting in the rear seat and not
properly restrained may place his or her
head on or near the airbag, if so
equipped. For example, a child Ñ even
though belted Ñ may fall asleep with his
or her head against the side airbag. It
may be difficult for a driver to ensure
that children in the rear seat will remain
properly positioned at all times and not
place their heads on or near the side
airbag.
Therefore, we recommend that the
rear-seat side airbags, if installed in the
vehicle, be deactivated if children will
travel in the rear seat.
The rear side airbags may already have
been deactivated, either at the time of

50n
Airbagsmanufacture or by a BMW center.
Labels in the door opening should indi-
cate the status of your rear side
airbags. If you are uncertain of their
status, or wish to have the airbags acti-
vated or deactivated, please contact
your BMW center.<
Even when all these guidelines are
followed, there is still a small residual
risk of injuries to the face, hands and
arms occurring from airbag deployment
in isolated instances. The ignition and
inflation noise may provoke a mild
temporary hearing loss in extremely
sensitive individuals.This is the right way a child should sit in
a child restraint when rear side airbags
(arrow) are provided.
This is the right way a larger child
should sit wearing the safety belt when
rear side airbags (arrow) are provided.

51n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Transporting children safelyLATCH child-restraint mounting
systemThe illustration shows the right rear seat
as an example
The anchorages for the LATCH child-
restraint system are located beneath
the plastic covers (arrows), where they
remain invisible when the child-restraint
devices are not installed.
Always follow all manufacturer's
instructions and observe all safety
precautions when installing the LATCH
child-restraint system.<
Child safety locksSlide down the safety lever on the rear
door:
The door can now be opened from the
outside only.

52n
Transporting children safelyCommercially available child seats
complying with the legal standards are
designed to be secured with a safety
belt or with the safety belt portion of a
combination lap/shoulder belt. Improp-
erly or inadequately installed restraint
systems can increase the risk of injury
to children. Always read and follow the
instructions that come with the system.
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 backrest.
Adjust the tether strap according to the
child-restraint manufacturer's instruc-
tions.
Before installing any child-restraint
device or child seat, please read
the following:
Never install a rear-facing child-restraint
system in the front passenger seat of this
vehicle.
Your vehicle is equipped with an airbag
supplemental restraint system for the
front passenger. Because the backrest
on any rear-facing child-restraint system
(of the kind designed for infants under 1
year and 20 lbs/9 kg) would be within the
airbag's deployment range, you should
never mount such a device in the front
passenger seat, as the impact of the
airbag against the child restraint's back-
rest could lead to serious or fatal injuries.
If it is necessary for a child (not an infant)
to ride in the front seat, certain precau-
tions should be taken. First, move the
passenger seat as far away from the
instrument panel 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 appropriate forward-
facing child-restraint system that has
first been properly secured with a safety
belt. Never install a rear-facing child-
restraint system in the front passenger
seat.
We strongly urge you to carefully read
and observe the instructions for installa-
tion and use provided by the child
restraint's manufacturer whenever you
use such a device.
Always ensure that all occupants (of all
ages) remain properly and securely
restrained at all times.<
All rear seating positions in your vehicle
meet the recommendations of
SAE J1819, an industry standard
recommended practice for securing
child-restraint systems in motor vehi-
cles.

53n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Transporting children safelyChild seat securityAll of the rear belt retractors and the
front passenger's safety belt can be
locked for mounting and securing child-
restraint systems.
A label with the appropriate instructions
for this is located in the immediate
vicinity of the buckle latch of each
safety belt.
To lock the safety 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 extracted further.
Always observe the installation instruc-
tions provided by the manufacturer of
the child-restraint system.
To unlock the safety beltRelease the safety belt, remove the
child's seat and retract the safety belt to
its end position on the belt retractor.

54n
Vehicle Memory, Key Memory How it worksNo doubt you have often reflected on
how great it would be if you could
permanently configure your vehicle's
various features and adjustments to
mirror your own personal preferences.
In engineering your vehicle, BMW has
included a number of options for
storing personal adjustment data.
These can be programmed at your
BMW center.
The available configuration data fall into
two categories, according to whether
their primary orientation is the vehicle
(Vehicle Memory) or the individual (Key
Memory). Provided that each person
has a separate remote-control key, you
can have your BMW center enter basic
adjustment data for up to four individ-
uals in the system.
The system relies on a bilateral data
exchange to identify the individual user
and dial in the selected settings when-
ever the remote control unit is used to
disengage the locks.
Color-coded decals have been
provided to help you distinguish the
different keys with their individual
settings.What the system can doYou can learn about the entire array of
features this system offers at your BMW
center. Here are just a few examples:
Examples for Vehicle Memory:
>Various confirmation signals when
you lock or unlock the vehicle, refer
to pages 29, 31
>Activation/deactivation of the "Follow
me home" lamps, refer to page 82
>Activation/deactivation of the
daytime driving lamps, refer to
page 82.Examples for Key Memory:
>Engagement of the vehicle's door
locks as soon as it starts to move,
refer to page 32
>Automatic seat adjustment according
to the individual's personal settings
when the vehicle is unlocked, refer to
page 45
>Option of unlocking the driver's door
first, and then the rest of the vehicle,
refer to page 32.
At various points in this Owner's
Manual you will see this symbol
indicating that the system or function
described in the adjacent section can
be adjusted to reflect your personal
preferences.<

55n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Ignition lock Starting the engine 0 Steering locked
1 Steering unlocked
2 Ignition switched on
3 Starting engine
Vehicles with automatic transmis-
sion:
Do not move the selector lever from
position "P" until the engine is running
(ignition key position 2).
Your vehicle is equipped with an inter-
lock. Therefore, the ignition key cannot
be turned to position 0 and removed
until the selector lever is in
position "P".<
Vehicles with manual transmis-
sion:
Step on the clutch when starting the
vehicle. A lockout prevents the engine
from starting if the clutch is not
depressed.<
Steering lockedThe key can only be inserted and
removed in this position.
After removing the key, turn the
steering wheel slightly to the left or right
until you hear the lock engage.
The sound system remains operational
for approx. 20 minutes after you switch
off the ignition (ignition key in position 0
or key removed). Simply switch it back
on.Steering unlocked You will find that it is often easier to turn
the ignition key from position 0 to posi-
tion 1 when you move the steering
wheel slightly to help disengage the
lock.
Individual electrical accessories are
ready for operation.
Before starting>Engage the parking brake
>Ensure that the gearshift lever is in
neutral, or, with an automatic trans-
mission, that the selector lever is in
Park
>Depress the clutch pedal.
Do not allow the engine to run in
enclosed spaces. 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 unat-
tended vehicle with a running engine
represents a potential safety hazard.<
When driving, standing at idle,
and parking the vehicle, take care
to avoid contact between the hot
exhaust system and flammable mate-
rials (grass, hay, leaves, etc.). Such
contact could lead to a fire, resulting in
serious personal injury and property
damage.<
>Start the engine. Do not press the
accelerator pedal.

56n
Starting the engine Switching off the engine
Do not actuate the starter for too
short a time, but do not actuate it
for more than approx. 20 seconds.
Release the ignition key immediately
when the engine starts.
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.<
If the engine does not start on the first
attempt (if it is very hot or cold, for
instance):
>Press the accelerator pedal halfway
down while engaging the starter.
Cold starts at extremely cold tempera-
tures of approx. +5 7 (Ð15 6) or below
and at high altitude over 3,300 ft
(1,000 m):
>On the first start attempt, engage the
starter for a longer period (approx.
10 seconds)
>Press the accelerator pedal halfway
down while engaging the starter.
The engine's idle speed is controlled by
the engine-management system. A high
idle after starting is normal and should
decrease as the engine warms up. If the
idle speed does not decrease, service
is required.
To prevent the battery from discharging,
always switch off electrical devices that
are not in use. Switch the ignition off
when the vehicle is not being driven.
Extended starting attempts, char-
acterized by excessively frequent
or long periods with the starter
engaged, can lead to damage to the
catalytic converter.<
Turn the ignition key to position 1 or 0.
You should never remove the igni-
tion key when the vehicle is in
motion, as the steering lock could
engage.
When you leave the vehicle, always
remove the ignition key and engage the
steering lock.
Vehicles with manual transmission:
Always engage the parking brake when
parking on hills and slopes, as first gear
or reverse may not provide adequate
resistance to rolling.
Vehicles with automatic transmission:
Place the selector lever in "Park".<