
Contents
© 2001 BMW M GmbH
Munich, Germany
Reprinting, including excerpts, only with the
written consent of BMW AG, Munich.
Order no. 01 41 0 156 225
US English VIII/01
Printed in Germany
Printed on environmentally friendly paper
(bleached without chlorine, suitable for recycling).
Overview
Controls and features
Cockpit14
Instrument cluster15
Indicator and warning lamps16
Steering wheel with multifunction
buttons19
Warning triangle20
First-aid kit20
Refueling20
Fuel specifications22
Tire inflation pressure22
Opening and closing:
Keys26
Central locking system26
Opening and closing Ð via the
door lock27
Opening and closing Ð via the
remote control28
Opening and closing Ð
from the inside31
Luggage compartment lid32
Luggage compartment34
Alarm system35
Electric power windows36
Sliding/tilt sunroof38
Adjustments:
Correct sitting posture40
Seats40
BMW M sport seat41
BMW comfort seat42
Head restraints43
BMW active seat43
Safety belts44
Seat, mirror and
steering wheel memory45
Seat heating46
Steering wheel47
Mirrors48
Passenger safety systems:
Airbags49
Transporting children safely52
Vehicle Memory, Key
Memory55
Driving:
Steering/Ignition lock56
Starting the engine56
Switching off the engine57
Parking brake58
Manual transmission58
Turn signal/Headlamp flasher59
Washer/Wiper system/Rain
sensor60
Cruise control61
Everything under control:
Odometer, outside temperature
display63
Tachometer64
Engine oil temperature64
Fuel gauge64
Temperature gauge65
Service Interval Display65
Check Control66
Multi-Information Display
(MID)69
Digital clock70
Computer73
Contents

35n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Alarm systemThe conceptThe vehicle alarm system responds:
>When a door, the hood or the
luggage compartment lid are opened
>To movement inside the vehicle (inte-
rior motion sensor)
>Variations in the vehicle's tilt angle of
the kind that occur during attempts to
steal the wheels or tow the vehicle
>To interruption of battery voltage.
The system responds to unauthorized
vehicle entry and attempted theft by
simultaneously activating the following:
>Sounding an acoustical alarm for
30 seconds
>The hazard warning flashers are acti-
vated for approx. five minutes
>The high beams flash on and off in
the same rhythm as the hazard
warning flashers.
To arm and disarm the
alarm systemWhen the vehicle is locked or unlocked
with the key or the remote control, the
alarm system is also simultaneously
armed or disarmed.
You can have different acknowl-
edgment messages set to confirm
arming and disarming.<
You can also open the luggage
compartment lid when the system is
armed by pressing the button on the
remote control (refer to page 29). When
you close the luggage compartment lid,
the luggage compartment is secured
again.
Indicator lamp displays>The indicator lamp below the interior
rearview mirror flashes continuously:
the system is armed
>The indicator lamp flashes during
arming: a door (or doors), the hood,
luggage compartment lid or rear
window are not completely closed.
Even if you do not respond by
securing the indicated area, the
system will start monitoring all other
areas, and the indicator lamp flashes
continuously after 10 seconds.
However, the interior motion sensor
is not activated
>If the indicator lamp goes out when
the system is disarmed: no manipula-
tion or attempted intrusions have
been detected in the period since the
system was armed39mde084

45n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Seat, mirror and steering wheel memory
You can store and call up three different
seat, exterior mirror and steering wheel
positions. The illustration shows the
buttons on the driver's door for making
these position adjustments.
The setting for the lumbar support is
not stored in memory. 390de032
To store1. Turn the key to ignition key position
1 or 2
2. Adjust to the desired positions for
the seat, door mirror and steering
wheel
3. Press the
MEMORY button: the indi-
cator lamp in the button lights up
4. Press memory button 1, 2 or 3, as
desired. The indicator lamp goes out.
To select a stored settingConvenience function:
1. The driver's door remains open after
unlocking or the ignition key is in
position 1
2. Briefly press memory button 1, 2
or 3, as desired.
Movement stops immediately when
one of the seat adjustment or
memory buttons is activated during
the adjustment process.
Security function:
1. With the driver's door closed and the
ignition key either removed or in
position 0 or 2
2. Maintain pressure on the desired
memory button (1, 2 or 3) until the
adjustment process is completed.
If you should happen to press the MEMORY button by mistake: press the
button a second time; the indicator
lamp goes out.
Do not call up a position from the
memory while the vehicle is
moving. There is a risk of accident from
unexpected movement of the seat or
steering wheel.<

46n
Seat, mirror and steering wheel memory Seat heating
Your BMW center can adjust your
vehicle's systems in such a
manner that your personalized settings
are automatically called up for the seat,
mirror and steering wheel positions
when you unlock the vehicle with your
personal remote control key.<
Before using the key memory
feature to unlock the vehicle
always ensure that no objects are
stored in the footwell behind the
driver's seat. If you fail to do so,
persons or objects could be injured or
damaged if the seat should move back-
ward.<
Passenger-side exterior mirror tilt
function(automatic curb monitor)
1. Move the mirror selector switch
(arrow) to the "driver's mirror" posi-
tion
2. When the selector lever is placed in
"Reverse," the passenger-side mirror
tilts downward. This brings e. g. the
lower area adjacent to the vehicle
(curbs, etc.) into the driver's field of
vision while parking.
You can deactivate this automatic
feature by setting the mirror selection
switch to the "passenger side" position.390de720
The seat cushion and backrest can
be heated with the ignition key in posi-
tion 2. You can select different heating
modes by repeatedly pressing the keys.
You can also switch the higher heating
modes off directly:
Press the key and hold it slightly longer.390de720

47n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Steering wheelAdjustmentsThe steering wheel can be moved in
any of four directions. Adjust by moving
the control lever in the desired direc-
tion.
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while the vehicle is moving. There
is a risk of accident from unexpected
movement.<
To store the steering wheel setting,
refer to "Seat, mirror and steering
wheel memory" on page 45.39mde134
Automatic steering wheel
adjustmentIn order to make it easier to get into and
out of the vehicle, the steering wheel
automatically moves into the top posi-
tion and returns to the driving (memory)
position.
This automatic feature is controlled by
the position of the ignition key and by
the driver's door.
Your BMW center can adjust your
vehicle's systems in such a
manner that your personalized setting is
automatically called up for the steering
wheel position when you unlock the
vehicle with your personal key.<

48n
Mirrors Exterior mirrors1 Switch for 4-way adjustment
2 Selection switch for changing
between mirrorsTo adjust manuallyThe mirrors can also be adjusted by
hand:
Press the edge of the lens.
To store mirror settings, refer to "Seat,
mirror and steering wheel memory" on
page 45.390us733
Curved-lens mirror
The passenger-side mirror
features a convex lens. When esti-
mating the distance between yourself
and other traffic, bear in mind that the
objects reflected in the mirror are closer
than they appear.<
Your BMW center can adjust your
vehicle's systems in such a
manner that your personalized setting is
automatically called up for the mirror
position when you unlock the vehicle
with your personal remote control.<
Self-defrosting mirrors Both mirrors are automatically
defrosted with the ignition key in
position 2.
Interior and exterior mirrors,
automatic dimming feature These mirrors automatically respond to
glare from following vehicles by
dimming through an infinitely variable
range. The mirrors automatically revert
to their clear, undimmed setting when-
ever you select reverse.
The interior rearview mirror's dimming
function is regulated by two photocells;
one is integrated in the mirror's lens
(arrow), while the other is located at an
offset position on the rear of the mirror.
To ensure that the mirror continues to
operate efficiently, ensure that the area
adjacent to the photocells remains
clear and unobstructed. Refrain from
attaching stickers or other objects to
windshield immediately behind the
rearview mirror.39mde082

55n
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 two personal adjustments for two
different individuals into the system.463de029
When your vehicle is unlocked with the
remote control, the vehicle recognizes
the individual user by means of a data
exchange with the key, and makes
adjustments accordingly.
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 capabilities of the Vehicle
Memory and Key Memory systems. A
few examples follow below:
Examples for Vehicle Memory:
>Various signals as acknowledgment
when locking or unlocking your
vehicle
>Activates/deactivates the "Follow me
home" function.Examples for Key Memory:
>Locks the vehicle when you start off
>Automatically adjusts the driverÕs
seat, the exterior mirrors and the
steering wheel position to your
personal programmed settings when
you unlock the vehicle
>The automatic climate control
assumes your preset comfort settings
when you unlock the vehicle.
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.<

60n
Washer/Wiper system/Rain sensor0 Wipers retracted
1 Intermittent mode or rain sensor
*
2 Normal wiper speed
3 Fast wiper speed
4 Brief wipe
5 Cleaning windshield
6 Intensive cleaning
7 Rotary dial for control of the wipe
interval or the sensitivity of the rain
sensor39mde136
Intermittent mode or rain sensor
*
Intermittent mode:
You can set the wipe interval to four
stages with rotary dial 7.
In addition, the wipe interval varies
automatically depending on road
speed.
Rain sensor:
The rain sensor is positioned on the
windshield, directly ahead of the inte-
rior rearview mirror.
To activate the rain sensor:
Move the lever to position 1 with the
ignition key in position 1 or higher. The
wipers travel once across the wind-
shield, regardless of the weather
conditions.
You can leave the lever permanently in
position 1. Whenever the ignition key is
in position 1 or 2, all you then need to
do to activate the rain sensor is briefly
turn the rotary dial 7.
Activate by briefly turning rotary dial 7.
To adjust the sensitivity of the rain
sensor:
Turn rotary dial 7.
To deactivate the rain sensor:
Put lever in position 0.Turn the rain sensor off in auto-
matic car washes. Failure to do so
could result in damage caused by
undesired wiper activation.<
Normal wiper speedWhen the vehicle is stationary, the
wipers automatically revert to intermit-
tent wipe (not on vehicles with rain
sensor).Fast wiper speedWhen the vehicle is stationary, the
wipers operate at normal speed (not on
vehicles with rain sensor).Cleaning windshieldThe system sprays washer fluid against
the windshield and activates the wipers
for a brief period.Intensive cleaningAs in setting 5. In addition, an intensive-
action washer fluid is first sprayed on
the windshield.