2004 BMW 645CI COUPE&CONVERTIBLE Owners Manual

Driving tips
103Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
road surface. This phenomenon is referred
to as hydroplaning, and is characterized
by a partial or complete loss of contact
between the tires and the road surface, ulti-
mately undermining your ability to steer
and brake the vehicle.<
The risk of hydroplaning increases as the
tread depth of the tires decreases, also
refer to Tire tread on page 167.
Driving through water
Do not drive through water on the
road if it is deeper than 1 ft/30 cm,
and then only at walking speed at the most.
Otherwise, the vehicle's engine, the electri-
cal systems and the transmission may be
damaged.<
Braking safely
Your BMW is equipped with ABS as stan-
dard. The best way to achieve optimized
braking response from the ABS is to apply
maximum pressure to the brake pedal in
situations where this is required: panic
stops. Since the vehicle maintains steering
responsiveness, you can nevertheless
avoid possible obstacles with a minimum
of steering effort.
Pulsation at the brake pedal combines with
sounds from the hydraulic circuits to indi-
cate to the driver that ABS is in its active
mode.
Do not drive with your foot resting on
the brake pedal. Even light but con-
sistent pedal pressure can lead to high
temperatures, brake wear and possibly
even brake failure.<
Driving in wet conditions
While driving in wet conditions and in
heavy rain, it is a good idea to apply light
pressure to the brake pedal every few
miles. Monitor traffic conditions to ensure
that this maneuver does not endanger
other road users. The heat generated in this
process helps dry the pads and rotors to
ensure that full braking efficiency will then
be available when you need it.
Hills
To prevent overheating and thus
reduced efficiency of the brake sys-
tem, downshift to a gear in which only min-
imal brake applications are needed when
descending long or steep downhill
stretches. Even light but consistent pedal
pressure can lead to high temperatures,
brake wear and possibly even brake fail-
ure.<
You can further enhance the engine's brak-
ing effect by selecting a lower gear in the
automatic transmission's manual mode,
downshifting as far as first gear on
extremely steep stretches, refer to
page 59. This strategy helps you avoid
placing excessive loads on the brake sys-
tem.
Never drive with the clutch pressed
or allow the vehicle to coast with the
transmission in Neutral – or with the engine
switched off – there is no engine braking
when the transmission is in Neutral, and no
power assist for brakes and steering when
the engine is not running.
Never allow floor mats, carpets or any other
objects to protrude into the area around the
accelerator and brake pedals and obstruct
their movement.<
Corrosion on brake rotors
When the vehicle is driven only occasion-
ally, during extended periods when the
vehicle is not used at all, and in operating
conditions where brake applications are
less frequent, there is an increased ten-
dency for corrosion to form on rotors, while
contaminants accumulate on the brake
pads. This occurs because the minimum
pressure which must be exerted by the
pads during brake applications to clean the
rotors is not reached.
Should corrosion form on the brake rotors,
the brakes will tend to respond with a pul-
sating effect that even extended applica-
tion will fail to cure.

Things to remember when driving
104
Mobile communication devices in
vehicle
BMW advises against using mobile
communication devices, e.g. portable
phones, in the inside of the vehicle without
a direct connection to an external antenna.
Otherwise, the vehicle electronics and
mobile communication device can influ-
ence one another. It is not ensured that the
waves emitted during transmission are led
out of the vehicle interior.<
Cargo loading
To avoid loading the tires beyond
their approved carrying capacity,
never overload the vehicle. Overloading
can lead to overheating and increases the
rate at which damage develops inside the
tires. The ultimate result can assume the
form of a sudden air loss.<
Determining loading limit
1.Locate the following statement on your
vehicle's placard
*:
The combined weight of occu-
pants and cargo should never
exceed XXX lbs. or YYY kg, as other-
wise the vehicle may be damaged and
unstable driving conditions may
result.<
2.Determine the combined weight of the
driver and passengers that will be riding
in your vehicle
3.Subtract the combined weight of the
driver and passengers from XXX lbs. or
YYY kg4.The resulting figure equals the available
amount of cargo and luggage load
capacity.
For example, if the XXX amount equals
1400 lbs. and there will be five 150-lbs.
passengers in your vehicle, the amount
of available cargo and luggage load
capacity is 650 lbs.:
1400 lbs. minus 750 lbs. = 650 lbs.
5.Determine the combined weight of lug-
gage and cargo being loaded on the
vehicle. That weight may not safely
exceed the available cargo and luggage
load capacity calculated in step 4
6.If your vehicle will be towing a trailer,
part of the load from your trailer will be
transferred to your vehicle. Consult the
manual for transporting a trailer to
determine how this may reduce the
available cargo and luggage load
capacity of your vehicle.
Load
The permitted load is the total of the weight
of occupants and cargo/luggage. The
greater the weight of occupants, the less
cargo/luggage can be transported.

Driving tips
105Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Stowing cargo
>Load heavy cargo as far forward and
as low as possible, placing it directly
behind the bulkhead behind the rear
seats
>Cover sharp edges and corners.
Securing cargo
>Use the luggage net* or securing straps
to hold down small and lightweight lug-
gage and cargo
>Heavy-duty cargo straps
* for securing
larger and heavier objects are available
at your BMW center. Four lashing eyes
fitted in the luggage compartment are
used to secure these heavy-duty cargo
straps, refer to arrows
>Please observe the special instructions
supplied with the heavy-duty cargo
straps.
Always position and secure the load
as described above. If you do not, it
can even endanger the passengers during
braking or evasive maneuvers.
Never exceed either the approved gross
vehicle weight or either of the approved
axle loads, refer to page 190, as excessive
loads can pose a safety hazard, and may also place you in violation of freeway safety
laws.
You should never transport heavy or hard
objects unsecured in the passenger com-
partment, as they could fly around and
even pose a safety hazard to the vehicle's
occupants during abrupt braking or evasive
maneuver.<
Pad on base of luggage
compartment
If required, you can use the pad e.g. to
transport dirty or soiled objects. The rub-
berized side is washable and has an anti-
slip effect.

Navigation
This chapter describes how you can
enter destinations and specify your route
so that your navigation system guides you
reliably to your destination.

Starting navigation system
108
Starting navigation system
Your navigation system can use satellites
to ascertain the precise position of your
vehicle and guide you reliably to any desti-
nation you enter.
Navigation DVD
Special navigation DVDs are required;
these are available from your BMW center.
Inserting navigation DVD
1.Insert the navigation DVD with the
labeled side up
2.Allow approx. 8 seconds for the system
to scan the data from the DVD.
Removing navigation DVD
1.Press button 1.
The DVD is ejected from the navigation
computer
2.Remove the DVD.
Opening navigation
Enter data only when the vehicle is
stationary, and always obey the traffic
regulations and road signs in the event of
any contradiction between traffic and road
conditions and the instructions issued by
the navigation system. If you do not
observe this precaution, you may be in vio-
lation of the law, and can endanger vehicle
occupants and other road users.<
Control Center, for principle details, refer to
page 16:
1.Press button.
The start menu is opened
2.Move the controller to the right to open
"Navigation"
3.Select "Navigation" and press the con-
troller.
*

Navigation
Driving tips
109Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
Display in assistance
window
You can display the route or the current
position in the assistance window. This dis-
play remains visible even if you switch to
another application.
1.Move the controller to the right to enter
the assistance window
2.Press the controller.
Other menu items are displayed
3.Select the desired view of the route or
"Current position"
4.Press the controller.
The contents of the assistance window is
continually updated as you drive.
Displaying current position
Control Center, for principle details, refer to
page 16:
1.Select "Navigation" and press the con-
troller
2.Select "Current position" and press the
controller.
The current position of your BMW is dis-
played.
If the navigation system is unable to identify
a town or city, your current map coordi-
nates will appear.
To exit the menu:
Select and press the controller.
You can also have the current position
displayed on a map, refer to page 120.

Destination entry
110
Destination entry
In entering your destination you can select
from among the following options:
>Entering a destination manually, see
below
>Selecting destination using information,
refer to page 113
>Selecting from among recent destina-
tions, refer to Destination list, page 113
>Selecting destination from address
book, refer to page 114.
After selecting your destination you can
proceed to start the destination guidance,
refer to page 118.
Entering a destination
manually
The system supports the wordmatch prin-
ciple to make it easier for you to enter the
names of streets or towns/cities. This
enables input of different spellings and
supplements your input automatically so
that stored names can be applied as desti-
nations as quickly as possible.
Control Center, for principle details, refer to
page 16:
1.Select "Navigation" and press the con-
troller
2.Select "New destination" and press the
controller
3.Select "Enter address" and press the
controller.The system also supports you with the fol-
lowing features:
>If you do not enter a street, the system
will guide you to the downtown area of
a town or city
>You can skip the entry of country and
locality if the current entries are being
retained for your new destination
>The commands of the voice command
system for destination entry differ from
those of the individual menu items on
the Control Display. You can have the
system list the possible voice com-
mands, refer to page 21.
Selecting country of destination
1.Select "State / Province" or the dis-
played country and press the controller.
A list of available countries appears on
the display
2.Select the country of destination and
press the controller.
In order to be able to start the destination
guidance, at least the city of destination or
its zip code must be entered.