2002 BMW M3 COUPE Owner's Manual

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OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Mirrors Airbags Interior rearview mirror with
automatic dimming featureThis mirror automatically dims through
an infinitely variable range and switches
automatically to its clear, undimmed
mode whenever you engage reverse
gear.
There are two photocells for automatic
dimming. One photocell (arrow) is posi-
tioned in the mirror's frame, while the
other is slightly offset on the opposite
side of the mirror.
For the mirror to function perfectly,
keep the photocells clean and the area
between the inside rearview mirror and
the windshield free of any obstruction,
like stickers, etc.
1 Front airbags on the driver and
passenger sides
2 Side Impact Head Protection System
on the driver and passenger sides
(front)
3 Side airbags on the driver and
passenger sides (front and rear
*)
Protective effectThe front airbags protect the driver and
passenger in the event of a frontal
impact where the protection provided
by the safety belt alone would not be
adequate. The Side impact Head
Protection System and the side airbags
help provide protection in the event of a
collision from the side. Each of the side
airbags is designed to help support the
seat occupant's upper body.

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Airbags
The side airbags in the rear
passenger area
* of your vehicle
may already have been deactivated
either at the time of manufacture or by a
BMW center. You may have them acti-
vated if you desire to do so. Please
contact your BMW center for additional
information.<
For information on the correct sitting
position, refer to page 42.
The airbags will not be triggered in
the event of a minor accident, a
vehicle rollover, or collisions from the
rear.<
Do not apply adhesive materials to
the cover panels of the airbags,
cover them or modify them in any other
way. Do not attempt to remove the
airbag restraint system from the
vehicle. In the event of a malfunction,
deactivation, or triggered actuation (as
a response to an accident) of the airbag
restraint system, consult your BMW
center for checking, repairs or removal.
Modifications may not be made on
either the wiring or the individual
components in the airbag system.
These include the padded steering
wheel hub, the instrument panel, the
side trim panels of the front or rear
doors and the roof pillars or the sides of
the headliner. Do not attempt to remove
or dismantle the steering wheel. To
ensure compliance with official safety
regulations, entrust disposal of airbag
generators to a BMW center. Unprofes-
sional attempts to service the system
could lead to failure in an emergency or
undesired airbag activation, either of
which could result in personal injury. Do
not touch the individual components
directly after the system has been trig-
gered, as otherwise there is a danger of
burns.<
At all times, occupants should sit
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 automo-
bile 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 side airbag, if so equipped.
For example, a child Ð even though
belted Ð may fall asleep with his or her
head against the side airbag. It may be
difficult for a driver to ensure that chil-
dren in the rear seat will remain prop-
erly 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 provided,
be deactivated if you plan to transport
children in the rear seat.

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OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
AirbagsThe rear seat side airbags may already
have been deactivated, either at the
time of manufacture or by a BMW
center. Labels in the rear door opening
should indicate the status of your rear
seat side airbags. If you are uncertain of
their status, or wish to have the airbags
activated 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.
Airbag warning information is also
provided on the sun visors. This is the right way a child should sit in
a child-restraint device 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.

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Airbags Transporting children safelyOperational status
The indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster displays the opera-
tional status of the airbag
system from ignition key position 1.
System operational:
>The indicator lamp comes on briefly
when you turn the ignition key to
position 1 or higher.
System malfunction:
>The indicator lamp fails to come on,
when the ignition key is turned
>The indicator lamp fails to go out
after the engine has been started, or
it comes on during normal driving.
Please respond to any malfunctions in
the system by immediately having it
inspected at your BMW center; other-
wise the airbag could fail to respond to
an accident in which both the angle and
the severity of the impact would
normally trigger airbag deployment.
Commercially available child-restraint
systems are designed to be secured
with a lap belt or with the lap belt
portion of a combination lap/shoulder
belt. Improperly 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 have been provided
(refer to the arrows in the illustration).
Depending on the location selected for
seating in the rear passenger area,
attach the strap hook to the corre-
sponding 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 head restraint lift the head
restraint and pass the tether strap
between the head restraint and the seat
back.
Adjust the tether strap according to the
child-restraint manufacturer's instruc-
tions.

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OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Transporting children safely
Before installing any child-
restraint device or child seat,
please read the following:
Never install a rearward-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 rearward-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, since the
impact of the airbag against the child
restraint's backrest could lead to
serious or fatal injuries.
If it is necessary for a child (not an
infant) to ride in the front seat, certain
precautions 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 rearward-facing child-
restraint system in the front passenger
seat.
We strongly urge you to carefully read
and observe the instructions for instal-
lation and use provided by the child-
restraint's manufacturer whenever you
use such a device.
Be sure that all occupants (of all ages)
remain properly and securely restrained
at all times.c
All rear seating positions in your vehicle
meet the recommendations of SAE
J1819, a industry recommended prac-
tice for securing child-restraint systems
in motor vehicles.
LATCH child-restraint system
installationRemove the cover from the outside
mount by pulling forward. When re-
installing ensure that the recess is on
the top.

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Transporting children safelyThe illustration shows the mounts for a
LATCH child-restraint system in the
right rear seat.
To mount the LATCH child-
restraint system, please follow the
manufacturer's operating and safety
precautions.<< < <
Child 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.
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.Unlock the safety beltRelease the safety belt, remove the
child-restraint device and retract the
safety belt to its end position on the belt
retractor.

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OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Vehicle Memory, Key Memory How the system functionsNo doubt you have reflected at one
time or another on how great it would
be if you could permanently configure
your vehicle's various features and
adjustments to mirror your own indi-
vidual preferences. In engineering your
vehicle, BMW has incorporated a
number of options for personal adjust-
ment that can be programmed into your
vehicle 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 adjustment data for as many as
four different individuals into the
system.
The system then relies on a bilateral
data exchange to identify the individual
user and dial in the selected settings
whenever the remote control unit is
used to disengage the door locks.
Color-coded decals have been
provided to help you distinguish indi-
vidual keys with different settings.What the system can doYour BMW center can provide you with
details on the possibilities that the
Vehicle and Key Memory systems offer.
Examples for Vehicle Memory:
>Various signals as acknowledgment
when locking or unlocking your
vehicle, refer to pages 29, 30
>Activate/deactivate the "Follow me
home" lamps function, refer to
page 80.Examples for Key Memory:
>Locks the vehicle after driving off,
refer to page 33
>Automatically adjusts the seat and
exterior mirrors to your personal
programmed settings, refer to
page 46
>Calls up customized settings for the
automatic climate control when
unlocking using the remote control,
refer to page 87
>After the engine is started, calling up
of the last selected driving program
for each shifting mode, refer to
page 63.
You will see this symbol through-
out the Owner's Manual. It is to
remind you at appropriate places of the
settings that are available to you.<

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Ignition key positions0 Steering locked
1 Steering unlocked
2 Ignition switched on
3 Starting engineSteering locked The key can be inserted or removed in
this position only.
After removing the key, turn the
steering wheel slightly to the left or right
until you hear the lock engage.
If the key is not removed, an acoustic
signal is sounded after the driver's door
has been opened.
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. 1. Engage the parking brake
2. Gearshift lever in idling position
3. Press the clutch pedal at low
temperatures
4. Start the engine. Do not press the
accelerator pedal. Do not actuate the
starter for too short a time. Do not
turn 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, begin
driving immediately at a moderate
engine speed.
Vehicles with sequential M gearbox
*
SMG II: refer to the instructions on
page 60.
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.<
Ignition lock Starting the engine