2002 BMW 540I SEDAN automatic transmission

70n
Automatic transmission
*
The automatic transmission of your
BMW is equipped with Adaptive Trans-
mission Control (ATC), a system which
reacts with precision to your individual
driving style and vehicle operating
conditions. ATC operates by automati-
cally selecting from among a range of
available control programs.390us625
Selector lever positions
P R N D 4 3 2
The transmission range display varies
according to the equipment of your
vehicle (refer to the illustrations).
Starting the engineThe selector lever must be in "Park" or
"Neutral" before it is possible to start
the engine.390us045
Range selectionA detent prevents inadvertent shifts into
some selector lever positions. To disen-
gage the detent, press the button on
the front of the shift knob (arrow).
While the vehicle is stationary and
before shifting out of "Park" or
"Neutral," depress the footbrake in
order to disengage the selector lever's
lock mechanism (Shiftlock).
Hold the footbrake down until starting
off. Otherwise the vehicle will "creep"
when a drive position is engaged.< 390us734

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OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Automatic transmission
*
Before leaving the vehicle when
the engine is running, shift the
selector lever to the "Park" or "Neutral"
position and apply the parking brake to
prevent the vehicle from rolling.
Never leave the vehicle unattended
with the engine running. An unattended
vehicle with a running engine repre-
sents a potential safety hazard.
If you should accidentally select
"Neutral" while traveling at high speed,
remove your foot from the accelerator
pedal immediately. Allow the engine
speed to drop to idle before selecting
the desired drive position. Damage
could otherwise occur due to excessive
engine speed.<
P ParkSelect only when the vehicle is
completely stopped. The transmission
locks to prevent the rear wheels from
turning.R ReverseSelect only when the vehicle is
completely stopped.
N NeutralSelect only if your journey is interrupted
for a longer period.D Drive
(automatic shift program)This position is designed for driving
under all normal operating conditions.
All forward gears are available.4 Ð Sport ProgramThe Sport Program is designed for
performance-oriented driving.
3 and 2 Ð shift limiterSelect this range when you wish to limit
gear changes (on steep uphill or down-
hill slopes, for instance). The transmis-
sion shifts up only as far as the selected
gear."Kickdown" In the "kickdown" mode, you achieve
maximum performance.
Depress the accelerator pedal past the
detent at the full-throttle position.

72n
Automatic transmission
*
Electronic transmission control
module
If the indicator lamp comes on
and/or if the message "TRANS.
FAILSAFE PROG" appears in
the Check Control
* display panel, this
indicates a malfunction in the transmis-
sion control system.
Bring the vehicle to a stop, select the
"Park" position, apply the parking brake
and shut the engine off (ignition key
position 0). Restart the engine after a
few seconds. If the indicator lamp goes
out again after a few seconds, the
normal transmission functions have
been restored. You may continue to
drive as usual.
If the indicator lamp does not go out,
you can move the selector lever to all
positions. However, the vehicle will now
only drive forward with limited gear
selection.
You should respond by avoiding
extreme engine loads and referring the
problem to the nearest BMW center.
Never perform work in the engine
compartment without first
ensuring that the transmission is in
"Park" or "Neutral" as the vehicle could
otherwise start to move off on its own.<
For jump-starting, towing and tow-
starting, refer to pages 162 and 163.

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OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
You can drive as with a normal auto-
matic transmission. In addition, you can
also shift manually.
When you move the selector lever from
the "D" position to the left into the M/S
range, the performance-oriented shift
programs of the automatic transmission
are engaged. Steptronic enters the
manual selection mode and executes
the desired shift whenever you tap the
selector lever in the direction indicated
by "+" or "Ð." When you wish to use the
automatic transmission mode again,
move the selector lever to the right into
the "D" position.
Selector lever positions
P R N D M/S
Starting the engineThe engine can only be started in
selector lever positions P ("Park") or N
("Neutral").390us607
Range selectionA detent prevents inadvertent shifts to
the "Reverse" or "Park" selector lever
positions. To disengage the detent,
press the button on the front side of
the shift knob (arrow).
While the vehicle is stationary and
before shifting out of "Park" or
"Neutral," depress the footbrake in
order to disengage the selector lever's
lock mechanism (Shiftlock).
Hold the footbrake down until starting
off. The vehicle will otherwise "creep"
when a drive position is engaged.< 390de718

74n
Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
To prevent the vehicle from
starting off on its own, always
move the selector lever to position P or
N and engage the parking brake before
leaving your car with the engine
running. Do not leave the vehicle unat-
tended with the engine running. An
unattended vehicle with a running
engine represents a potential safety
hazard.
P ParkSelect "Park" only when the vehicle is
completely stopped. The transmission
locks to prevent the rear wheels from
turning.R ReverseSelect "Reverse" only when the vehicle
is completely stopped.N NeutralSelect "Neutral" only if your journey is
interrupted for a longer period.
D Drive
(automatic shift program)This position is designed for driving
under all normal operating conditions.
All forward gears are available."Kickdown"In the "kickdown" mode, you achieve
maximum acceleration and top speed
in position D.
Depress the accelerator pedal past the
detent at the full-throttle position.
M/S Manual mode and
Sport ProgramWhen you change from "D" to "M/S,"
the Sport Program is activated. This is
indicated by "D S" in the gear selection
display. The Sport Program is designed
for performance-oriented driving.
With the first brief touch, the automatic
transmission shifts from the Sport
Program to the manual mode. When-
ever you move the selector lever in the
"+" direction, the transmission upshifts,
and when you move it in the "Ð" direc-
tion, the transmission downshifts.
M1...M5 will be displayed in the gear
indicator.390de721

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OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
ATC executes upshifts and downshifts
only when the new gear will provide a
suitable combination of vehicle and
engine speed, i.e., ATC will not execute
downshifts that would cause the engine
to overrev. The gear selected will
appear briefly in the instrument cluster
followed by the current gear.
If you are driving in the manual
mode and wish to accelerate
rapidly from low road speeds (when
passing, for instance), you must shift
down manually or with the "kickdown"
function.<
You can only change from "S/M" to
selector lever positions "P," "R," and
"N" via the "D" position.
Electronic transmission control
module
If the indicator lamp comes on
or the message "TRANS. FAIL-
SAFE PROG" appears in the
Check Control
*, there is a fault in the
transmission system.
Bring the vehicle to a stop. Move the
transmission selector lever to "P."
Engage the parking brake and turn the
engine off (ignition key to position 0).
Wait a few seconds, then start the
engine.
If the indicator lamp goes out after a
few seconds, normal transmission
performance has been restored. You
may continue to drive as usual. If the
indicator lamp does not go out, you can
place the selector lever in all positions.
However, the vehicle will now only drive
forward with limited gear selection.
If this happens, avoid extreme engine
loads and refer the problem to the
nearest BMW center.
Never perform work in the engine
compartment without first
ensuring that the transmission is in
"Park" or "Neutral" as the vehicle could
otherwise start to move off on its own.<
For jump-starting, towing and tow-
starting, refer to pages 162 and 163.

113n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
The conceptThe BMW Universal Transmitter
replaces up to three hand-held transmit-
ters to control different devices such as
a garage door opener, alarm systems or
a door locking system. The BMW
Universal Transmitter recognizes and
"learns" the transmitted signal from each
of the original hand-held transmitters.
The signal of an original hand-held
transmitter can be programmed on one
of the three channel buttons. Following
that, each of the devices can be actu-ated with the appropriately-programmed

channel button. The indicator lamp
flashes to confirm transmission of the
signal.
Before you sell your vehicle, the
programmed channel buttons should
be cleared. Refer to page 115 for the
description of this process.
To prevent potential injuries or
damage during the programming
operation and before every remote trig-
gering of a programmed device using
the BMW Universal Transmitter, be sure
that there are no persons, animals or
objects within the range of movement
of the respective device. Also, comply
with the safety precautions of the orig-
inal hand-held transmitter.<
To Canadian residents:
During programming, your hand-
held transmitter may automatically stop
transmitting after two seconds. This
may not be long enough to program the
BMW Universal Transmitter. If you are
programming from one of these hand-
held transmitters, the Universal Trans-
mitter's lamp may begin to flash in a
series of double flashes. If this occurs,
continue to hold the button on the
Universal Transmitter while you reacti-
vate your hand-held transmitter. You
may have to repeat this function several
times while programming.<
Before programming, read the
"User's information" section on
page 115.<
The original hand-held transmitter
If this symbol is depicted on the
packaging or in the user's
instructions for the original
hand-held transmitter, it may be
assumed that this original hand-held
transmitter is compatible with the BMW
Universal Transmitter.
Checking for the change codeIn order to determine whether the orig-
inal hand-held transmitter is equipped
with a change code system, you may
either refer to the instructions for the
original hand-held transmitter or
program a channel button as described
in the left column on page 114 under
"Programming."
Following that, press and hold the
programmed channel button of the
BMW Universal Transmitter. If the indi-
cator lamp of the BMW Universal
Transmitter flashes rapidly for two
seconds and then stays on continu-
ously, the original hand-held transmitter
is equipped with a change code
system. If the change code system is
available, program the channel buttons
as described in the right-hand column
on page 114 under "Programming a
hand-held transmitter with change
code."
If you have additional questions,
please consult your BMW center
or call 1-800-355-3515.<
BMW Universal Transmitter
*

140n
Engine oilChecking oil level1. Park the vehicle on a level surface
2. Shut the engine off after it has
reached normal operating tempera-
ture
3. After approx. 5 minutes, pull the
dipstick out and wipe it off with a
clean lint-free cloth, paper towel, or
similar material
4. Carefully push the dipstick all the
way into the guide tube and pull it
out again
5. The oil level should be in between
the two marks on the dipstick.
As with fuel economy, oil consumption
is directly influenced by your driving
style and vehicle operating conditions.390de647
The oil volume between the two marks
on the dipstick corresponds to approx.
1.1 US quarts (1 liter). Do not fill beyond
the upper mark on the dipstick. Excess
oil will damage the engine.460de189
Adding engine oilWhile you should wait until the level has
dropped to just above the lower gradu-
ation before adding oil, you should
never allow the oil level to fall below
this marking.
BMW engines are designed to
operate without oil additives; the
use of additives could lead to damage
in some cases. This is also true for the
manual transmission, the automatic
transmission, the differential, and the
power steering system.<
Recommendation: have the oil changed
by your BMW center only.390de626