2004 BMW 645CI COUPE belt

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13Reference
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Indicator and warning
lamps
Technology that monitors itself
The indicator and warning lamps identified
by the
+ symbol are subjected to an oper-
ation check each time you switch on the
ignition or start the engine. They each light
up once for different periods of time.
When a malfunction occurs in a monitored
system, the corresponding lamp will either
fail to go out when the engine is started, or
it will come on again during normal driving,
usually accompanied by a Check Control
message. You will find more details on the
specified pages.
Fixed indicator and warning lampsColors The indicator and warning lamps can light
up in different colors and combinations.
>Red:
Stop immediately
or
important reminder
>Red and yellow:
Continue to drive; drive cautiously
>Yellow:
Have the system checked at the earliest
opportunity
or
for your information
>Green or blue:
For your information.
Variable indicator and warning lamps
On the display 5 of the instrument cluster,
other indicator and warning lamps appear
as necessary. Pay attention to the instruc-
tions of the accompanying Check Control
messages, also refer to page 66. Turn signals60
Active steering
+80
Brake system
+
With handbrake engaged55
With handbrake released78, 173
With other warning lamps78
Brake system for Canadian models
Airbags
+81
Service Engine Soon
+176
If the indicator lamp comes on
either continuously or intermit-
tently, this indicates a malfunction
the emissions-related electronic
systems.
Although the vehicle remains oper-
ational, you should have the sys-
tems checked by your BMW center
at the earliest possible opportunity
Service Engine Soon indicator
lamp for Canadian models
Front fog lamps86
ABS Antilock Brake System +78
DTC Dynamic Traction Control78
High beams/headlamp flasher86
Please fasten safety belt
+47
DSC Dynamic Stability
Control
+78
Check Gas Cap162
Lamp for US models

Adjustments
42
Adjustments
Sitting safely
The ideal sitting position can make a vital
contribution to relaxed, fatigue-free driving.
The sitting position also plays an important
role together with the safety belts and air-
bags in providing occupants with maximum
levels of passive safety in an accident. To
ensure that the safety systems operate with
optimal efficiency, we strongly urge you to
observe the instructions contained in the
following section.
For additional information on transporting
children safely, refer to page 51.
Sitting safely with airbags
Always maintain an adequate dis-
tance between yourself and the air-
bags. Always hold the steering wheel by
its rim with hands at the 9 o'clock and
3 o'clock positions, to minimize the risk of
injuries to your hands and arms in the event
of airbag deployment.
No one and nothing is to come between the
airbags and the seat occupant.
Do not use the cover of the front airbag on
the front passenger side as a storage area.
Make sure that the front passenger is sit-
ting correctly and does not rest feet or legs
on the instrument panel, otherwise leg inju-
ries can occur if the knee and front airbags
are triggered.
Never let an occupant's head rest near or
on a side airbag because the inflating air-
bag could cause a serious or fatal injury.<
Even if you adhere to all the instructions
injuries resulting from contact with airbags
cannot be fully excluded, depending on the
circumstances. The ignition and inflation
noise may provoke a mild – usually tempo-
rary – hearing loss in extremely sensitive
individuals.
For airbag locations and additional infor-
mation on airbags, refer to page 81.
Sitting safely with safety belts
Fasten your safety belt before starting any
trip. Airbags complement the safety belt as
an additional safety device, but they do not
represent a substitute.
Your vehicle has four seats that are all
equipped with a safety belt.
At all times, occupants should sit
upright and be properly restrained:
infants and small children in appropriate
child-restraint systems; larger children and
adults using the safety belts.
Never allow more than one person to wear
a single safety belt. Never allow infants or
small children to ride in a passenger's lap.
Expectant mothers should always wear
their safety belts, taking care to position
the lap belt against the lower hips, where it
will not exert pressure against the abdomi-
nal area.
Do not route the belt across your neck, or
run it across sharp edges. Be sure that the
belt does not become caught or jammed.
Avoid twisting the belt while routing it firmly
across the hips and shoulder. Do not allow
the belt to rest against hard or fragile
objects. Otherwise, in the event of a frontal
impact, a loose lap belt could slide over
your hips, leading to abdominal injury.
Avoid wearing clothing that prevents the
belt from fitting properly and pull the lap
belt periodically to readjust the tension
across your shoulder in order to avoid a
reduction in the retention effect of the
safety belt.<
For instructions on operating safety belts,
refer to page 47.

Controls
43Reference
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Seats
Note before adjusting
Never attempt to adjust your seat
while operating the vehicle. The seat
could respond with unexpected move-
ment, and the ensuing loss of vehicle con-
trol could lead to an accident.
On the front passenger side as well, do not
tilt the backrest too far toward the rear
while driving. Failure to observe this pre-
caution can prevent the belt from providing
effective protection against injury, as the
passenger could slide under the belt in an
accident.
Make sure that the footwell behind the
driver's and front passenger's seat is empty
and unobstructed. If you fail to do so, any
persons or objects behind the seat could
be injured or damaged by a rearward
movement of the seat.<
Also observe the instructions regarding
damage to the safety belt on page 47.
Convertible: with the wind deflector
fitted, do not incline the front seat
backrests too far backwards if the seat is to
be moved back to the end position, as oth-
erwise the wind deflector will be dam-
aged.<
Seat adjustment
To ensure that the safety systems
continue to provide optimized protec-
tion, please observe the adjustment
instructions above.<
1Inclination
2Longitudinal direction
3Height4Backrest
5Convertible: head restraints, refer to
page 45
With the sports seat
*, you can also adjust
the thigh support manually:
Pull the lever and move the thigh support in
a longitudinal direction.
Lumbar support* adjustment
You can also adjust the contours of the
backrest to obtain additional support in the
lumbar region.
The upper hips and spinal column receive
supplementary support to help you main-
tain a relaxed, upright sitting position.
>Press the switch forwards or back-
wards: increase or decrease curvature
>Press the switch up or down: shift cur-
vature at top or bottom.

Adjustments
46
Adjusting tilt angle
Swivel the head restraints.
Entry to the rear
Before moving off, fold back both seat
backrests. Otherwise, there is a risk
of accident from unexpected movement.<
Coupe: releasing backrest
Pull the lever upwards and fold the back-
rest forwards.
The lever is designed in such a way that the
safety belt can be stored there. This
enables you to fasten the safety belt more
conveniently.
Convertible: releasing backrest
The belt system integrated in the seat
ensures easier entry in the rear.
1.Pull lever 1 upwards and fold the back-
rest forwards
2.Press and hold button 2 until the seat
has moved to the desired position
3.After entry to the rear, fold back the
backrest and lock it in place
4.Press and hold button 3. The seat
moves back to its previous position.
If you release button 3 before this, the
seat stops in its current position.
You can lock the backrest in place
when it is folded forward. This is use-
ful, for example, when you get into the vehi-
cle when it is parked on a hill. Press the
backrest until it audibly locks into place. To
fold it back, you do not have to use lever 1
to release it.<
Lock backrest warning lamp:
Lights up when the backrest is not
locked. At the same time, an addi-
tional message appears on the Control Dis-
play.

Controls
47Reference
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Safety belts
Fasten your safety belt before starting any
trip. Airbags complement the safety belt as
an additional safety device, but they do not
represent a substitute.
Fastening
Make sure you hear the latch plate engage
in the belt buckle.
Please fasten safety belt
warning lamp:
Lights up until the driver and front
passenger have fastened their safety belts.
Depending on the model, a signal
* sounds
or a message
* appears on the Control Dis-
play at the same time.
The warning is also issued when the driver
or front passenger removes his or her
safety belt while driving.
The warning can also take place if
objects are placed on the passenger
seat.<
Releasing
1.Hold the belt firmly
2.Press the red button in the belt buckle
3.Guide the belt into its reel.
The shoulder strap's anchorage point will
be in the correct position for adults of every
build if the seat is correctly adjusted, refer
to page 43.
Damage to safety belts
If the safety belts are damaged or
stretched in an accident: have the
entire belt system, including the tensioning
mechanisms, replaced at your BMW cen-
ter. Have the belt anchorage points
inspected for damage at the same time.
Failure to observe this precaution may pre-
vent the safety belts from effectively pro-
viding optimal protection when needed.<
Heated seats
The system regulates the temperatures of
the seat cushion and backrest.
The temperature setting progresses one
step through its control sequence each
time you press the button.
To switch off:
Maintain pressure on the button for several
seconds.

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51Reference
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Transporting children safely
The right place for children
Children always in the rear
Accident research shows that the safest
place for children in a vehicle is in the rear
seat.
Older children should be tightly secured
with a safety belt, after they have outgrown
a booster seat that is appropriate for their
age, height and weight.
Child-restraint system in the rear
Children under 13 years of age and
children less than 5 ft/150 cm tall
should always ride in the rear and the
restraint systems should be secured with
the vehicle's safety belts.<
Younger children should be secured in an
appropriate forward-facing child-restraint
system that has first been properly
secured. 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.
All rear sitting positions in your vehicle
meet the recommendations of SAE J1819,
an industry-recommended practice for
securing child-restraint systems in motor
vehicles.
Exception for front passenger seat
Should it become necessary to use
a child-restraint system on the front
passenger seat, the airbags on the passen-
ger's side must be deactivated. Deactivat-
ing the passenger airbags is only possible
on the Coupe. Your BMW center will be
glad to advise you. restraint system in the front passen-
ger seat of this vehicle if the passenger air-
bag is not deactivated. If you do so, the
child could be severely injured when the
airbag is triggered.
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 Ibs./9 kg – would be within the air-
bag's deployment range, you should never
mount such a system in the front passenger
seat, since the impact of the airbag against
the child restraint's backrest could lead to
serious or fatal injuries.<
Installing child-restraint
systems
Before installing any child-restraint system
or child seat, read the following:
Observe the child-restraint system
manufacturer's instructions for instal-
lation and use. Otherwise the degree of
protection can be reduced.
After an accident, have all parts of the
child-restraint system and of the relevant
vehicle safety belt system checked by a
BMW center and replaced if necessary.<
Commercially-available child-restraint sys-
tems are designed to be secured with a lap
belt or with the lap belt portion of a combi-
nation 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.

Transporting children safely
52
Child seat security
All of the rear belt retractors and the front
passenger's safety belt can be locked for
mounting and securing child-restraint sys-
tems.
Information regarding this is located near
the buckle latch of each safety belt.
To lock safety belt
Pull the entire length of the belt from the
belt retractor. 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.
To unlock safety belt
Release the buckle, remove the child-
restraint system and allow the belt retractor
to reel the belt completely in.
Coupe: child-restraint system with
tether strap
If you use a child-restraint system with a
tether strap, two additional tether anchor-
age points have been provided – refer to
the arrows in the illustration. Depending on
the location selected for sitting in the rear
passenger area, attach the tether strap to the corresponding anchorage point to
secure the child-restraint system, as
shown in the illustration below.
Each sitting position is fitted with a head
restraint.
The head restraint must be adjusted into
the lowest possible position. Pass the
tether strap over the head restraint.
Adjust the tether strap according to
the child-restraint manufacturer's
instructions.<
LATCH child-restraint fixing
LATCH: Lower Anchor and Tethers for
CHildren.
The rear outer sitting positions are pro-
vided with anchors for a LATCH child-
restraint fixing.
To fit the LATCH child-restraint fixing,
follow the operating and safety
instructions of the system manufacturer.<
Access to anchorage points
The illustrations show the right rear seat as
an example. The outer anchorage points
for the LATCH child-restraint fixing are
identified by flags.

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53Reference
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Canadian models only:
The anchorage points for the LATCH child-
restraint fixing are identified by buttons.
Installation guide
The installation guide makes it easier to fit
the LATCH child-restraint fixing and at the
same time protects the surface of the
seats.
The installation guide is available at
your BMW center. Always observe
the related operating instructions and
safety precautions.<
1.Pull the belt away from the area of the
child-restraint fixing
2.Firmly press the installation guide into
the gap between the upholstery on seat
and backrest, continuing until the two
funnel-shaped guides snap into place in
the LATCH support braces in the seat.
Pull the installation guide to remove.