2003 BMW M3 COUPE ECU

56
Depending on the location selected for
seating in the rear passenger area,
attach the tether strap to the corre-
sponding anchorage point to secure the
child-restraint system, as shown in the
illustration.
If the respective seating position is fit-
ted with a headrest lift the headrest and
pass the tether strap between the
headrest and the seat back.
It is recommended to readjust the head
restraint in the lowest possible position.
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 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 rear-facing child-restraint sys-
tem – 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 seri-
ous 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 air-
bag and the child. Older children
should be tightly secured with the
safety belt after they have outgrown a
booster seat that is appropriate for their
age, height, and weight.
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 comply with the instructions for
installation and use provided by the
child-restraint's manufacturer whenever
you use such a device.
Do not attempt to modify child-restraint
systems. If you do this, the protection
provided by these systems could be
impaired.
Be sure 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 recommended
practice for securing child-restraint sys-
tems in motor vehicles.
Transporting children safely
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57
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.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 belt Release the safety belt, remove the
child seat and retract the safety belt to
its end position on the belt retractor.
LATCH child-restraint mounting
systemLATCH: Lower Anchors and Tether for
CHildren
Canadian models only:
The LATCH anchorage points are iden-
tified by buttons.
Transporting children safely
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63
Switching off the engine
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.<
Always engage the parking brake
when parking on downhill roads.
Engaging a gear may not sufficiently
secure the vehicle against rolling.<
Manual transmissionTurn the ignition key to position 1 or 0.Sequential M gearbox SMG IIIf you turn the ignition key to position 1
or 0 with the selector lever in the for-
ward or reverse position, a gear auto-
matically remains engaged.
If you turn the ignition key to position 1
or 0 with the selector lever in position 0,
a warning tone and the flashing gear
indicator in the SMG display remind you
that the vehicle is not secured against
rolling.
The warning stops after approx.
10 seconds. If you move the selector
lever into a forward or reverse position
during this time, a gear is automatically
engaged.
Parking brakeThe parking brake is designed primarily
to prevent the vehicle from rolling when
it is parked. It operates against the rear
wheels.To engageThe detent engages automatically, and
the indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster comes on when the ignition key
is in position 2, refer to page 18.To releasePull up slightly on the lever, press the
button – see arrow – and lower the
lever.
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64
If exceptional circumstances
make it necessary to engage the
parking brake while the vehicle is in
motion, do not pull it with excessive
pressure. Keep your thumb pressed
against the release button while care-
fully pulling the lever up.
Excessive pressure can lead to over-
braking and loss of traction – fishtailing
– at the rear axle.
The brake lamps do not come on when
the parking brake is engaged.
Always engage the parking brake when
parking on downhill roads. Engaging a
gear may not sufficiently secure the
vehicle against rolling.<
To avoid corrosion and one-sided
braking, apply the parking brake
lightly from time to time when coasting
to a standstill – at a traffic signal, for
instance – provided that it is safe to do
so.<
Manual transmission
When shifting gears in the 5th/6th
gear plane, be sure to press the
gearshift lever to the right in order to
prevent inadvertent selection of a gear
in the 3rd/4th gear plane. Do not hold
the vehicle in place on slopes by slip-
ping or "riding" the clutch. Use the
parking brake instead. Riding the clutch
causes the clutch assembly to wear out
sooner.<
ReverseSelect only when the vehicle is station-
ary. Press the shift lever to the left to
overcome the resistance.
As you do this, the backup lamps will
light up automatically when the ignition
key is in position 2.
Parking brake
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67
Shifting gears with shift paddles on
steering wheel:
>To upshift, briefly pull the right pad-
dle +
>To downshift, briefly pull the left pad-
dle –.
Shift paddles with various widths
matched to the shape of your
hand are available from your BMW cen-
ter.<
Shifting gears with selector lever:
>To upshift, pull the selector lever
backward in the "+" direction
>To downshift, push the selector lever
in the "–" direction.
No automatic upshifting is carried out in
the sequential mode.
You accelerate from higher gears, e.g.
during passing, by manually downshift-
ing.
In the following situations the SMG II
helps you think in the sequential mode:
>Upshifts and downshifts are only exe-
cuted when the new gear will provide
a suitable combination of vehicle and
engine speed, i.e., downshifts that
would cause the engine to overrev
will not be executed
>During a stop the gearbox is auto-
matically downshifted into the first
gear so that, e.g. before a traffic light,
it is only necessary to accelerate to
continue driving
>When the speed is reduced, the
gearbox is automatically down-
shifted shortly before a gear-depen-
dent minimum speed is reached with-
out you taking any action.A – Automated modeEach time the engine is started, the
automated mode is activated as soon
as you move the selector lever into the
forward driving position.
In the automated mode all forward
gears are automatically shifted.Changeover from sequential to auto-
mated mode: tap the selector lever to
the right toward "A". Watch the display
in the instrument cluster, refer to
page 66.
For rapid acceleration, e.g. during
passing, depress the accelerator pedal
completely – kick-down. The gearbox
now downshifts in dependence on the
selected driving program.
Even in the automated mode, you can
help specify the shifting point: if a gear-
dependent minimum speed is
exceeded, you can upshift by slowly
reducing pressure on the accelerator
pedal. In the process, the respective
driving situation is detected by sensors
and taken into account.
Sequential M gearbox SMG II*
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69
Indicator lamp
The transmission indicator lamp
in the instrument cluster goes
out after the engine is started.
>If it does not go out, or if it lights up
during driving, a fault has occurred.
The available functions may be lim-
ited under certain circumstances.
Drive carefully and with the Dynamic
Stability Control (DSC) activated.
Have the system checked by the
nearest BMW center
>If the indicator lamp flashes while
driving, the system is overloaded.
Avoid high loads until the indicator
lamp goes out again permanently.
Shift lightsTo achieve the best possible vehicle
acceleration with a sporty driving style
in the sequential mode, shift lights in
the instrument cluster indicate the opti-
mum shifting point shortly before the
maximum engine speed is reached.
1. When the maximum engine speed is
approached, yellow indicator fields –
shift lights – in the tachometer light
up consecutively to indicate the
approaching upshift time
2. Shift at the latest when the last indi-
cator field lights up red.
Tire replacement, snow chainsFollowing a tire or wheel change and
after mounting or removing snow
chains, the slip recognition of the
SMG II must become familiar with the
changed condition.
Reinitialize the system afterwards.
1. Move the selector lever into
position 0 on a straight stretch of
road at a speed of over 20 mph /
30 km/h
2. Pull both shift paddles for approx.
2 seconds.
If you do not carry out the initialization,
the system automatically learns the
changed condition gradually during
driving. This can become apparent due
to brief opening and closing of the
clutch.
Sequential M gearbox SMG II*
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81
Dynamic Stability Control (DSC)The conceptDSC maintains vehicle stability, even in
critical driving situations.
The system optimizes vehicle stability
during acceleration and when starting
from a full stop, as well as optimizing
traction. In addition, it recognizes
unstable vehicle conditions, such as
understeering or oversteering, and,
within physically feasible limits, helps
keeping the vehicle on a steady course
by reducing the engine speed and
brake applications to the individual
wheels.
DSC starts up automatically each time
you start the engine.
The laws of physics cannot be
repealed, even with DSC. The
results of driving irresponsibly rest with
the driver. We therefore urge you to
avoid using the additional safety margin
of the system as an excuse for taking
risks.
Do not make any modifications to the
DSC system. Allow only authorized
technicians to perform service proce-
dures on the DSC. At first, you may
need some time to become accus-
tomed to this system's intervention.
However, it guarantees optimum drive
force and at the same time, the best
possible vehicle stability. The indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster will go out shortly
after the ignition has been
switched on, refer to page 20.
>Indicator lamp flashes: DSC is active
and is controlling the drive torque
based on driving conditions
>If the indicator lamp fails to go out
after the engine has been started, or
if it comes on during normal driving
and stays on: DSC has been deacti-
vated via the button or is defective.
You can continue to drive the vehicle
normally, but without DSC. Please
consult your BMW center for repairs.
To deactivate DSCPress the button briefly; the indicator
lamp comes on and stays on.
The vehicle does not execute the stabil-
ity-enhancement and traction-control
functions when DSC is deactivated.
We recommend that you deactivate
DSC for increased traction:
>When rocking the vehicle or starting
off in deep snow or on loose surfaces
>When driving with snow chains
>When driving on snow-covered
grades, in deep snow, or on a snow-
covered surface that has been
packed down from being driven on.
To maintain vehicle stability,
always drive with the DSC acti-
vated on whenever possible.<
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100Loading and transporting
Through-loading systemFolding the rear backrest1. Pull the corresponding lever to
release – see arrows
2. The backrest moves forward slightly
when released. Reach into the gap
and fold it down.
When folding the backrest back
into its original position always
ensure that the detent engages
securely. A loose backrest might fail to
prevent cargo from entering the pas-
senger compartment during sudden
braking or evasive maneuvers, posing a
potential hazard to occupants.<
Rear center 3-point safety belt*You can roll up the rear 3-point belt
before folding back the through-loading
system:
>Retracting the 3-point-safety belt:
Loosen the safety belt and insert the
buckle latch into the support mount
provided on the rear window shelf –
see arrow.
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