2004 BMW M3 COUPE Owner's Manual

81
Average fuel consumptionIf you continue to press and hold the
button on the turn signal lever, the aver-
age fuel consumption being displayed
is recalculated from that point.
If you wish, you can have the aver-
age fuel consumption displayed in
a different unit of measure. the cruising range on the operating
conditions in the preceding period and
on the remaining fuel in the tank.
It is important that you refuel when
the cruising range falls below
approx. 35 miles/50 kilometers. Other-
wise, the engine cannot be guaranteed
to operate properly and damage may
result.<
Average speedIf you continue to press and hold the
button on the turn signal lever, the aver-
age speed being displayed is recalcu-
lated from that point in time.
Any time spent when the vehicle is sta-
tionary and the engine is shut off is
ignored for the calculation.
Computer
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82Technology for safety and driving convenience
Park Distance Control (PDC)*The conceptPDC assists you when you back into a
parking space. Acoustic signals alert
you to the momentary distance to an
object behind your vehicle. To do this,
four ultrasonic sensors in the rear
bumper measure the distance to the
nearest object. The range for the sen-
sors located at both rear corners ends
approx. 2 ft/60 cm behind the bumpers.
The range for the two middle sensors is
slightly less than 5 ft/1.50 m.
PDC is a parking aid that can
identify objects if they are
approached slowly, as is generally the
case when parking. Avoid driving
towards objects rapidly; due to underly-
ing physical principles, the system may
otherwise alert you too late for you to
take evasive steps.<
The system starts to operate automati-
cally approx. one second after you shift
into Reverse or move the selector lever
into the R position with the ignition key
in position 2.
Let this short period elapse before
driving backwards.<
PDC is deactivated when you shift back
out of Reverse.
You can have a signal set to con-
firm that the PDC has been acti-
vated. The signal then sounds when
you shift into Reverse or move the
selector lever into the R position. indicated by a tone sounding at various
intervals. As the distance between vehi-
cle and object decreases, the intervals
between the tones become shorter. A
continuous tone indicates the pres-
ence of an object less than 1 ft/30 cm
away.
The warning signal is canceled after
approx. three seconds if the distance to
the object remains constant during this
time – if you are moving parallel to
a wall, for instance.
System malfunctions will be indicated
by a continuous high-pitched tone
when the system is activated the first
time. Please have your BMW center
resolve the problem.
PDC does not replace the driver's
personal responsibility for evaluat-
ing the distance between the vehicle
and any objects. Even when sensors
are involved, there is a blind spot in
which objects cannot be detected. This
applies especially in those cases where
the system approaches the physical
limits of ultrasonic measurement, as
occurs with tow bars and trailer cou-
plings, and in the vicinity of thin or
wedge-shaped objects. Moreover, low
objects that have already been
detected – such as a curb edge – can
disappear out of the detection range of
the sensors before a continuous tone
sounds.
Loud sources of sound from outside or
inside the vehicle could drown out the
PDC signal tone.<
Keep the sensors clean and free
of ice or snow in order to ensure
that they will continue to operate effec-
tively.
Do not apply high pressure spray to the
sensors for a prolonged period of time.
Always maintain a distance of more
than 4 in/10 cm.<

83
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.<
Indicator lamp
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.
Please consult your BMW center for
repairs.
You can continue to drive the vehicle
normally without DSC.
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84
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.<
To reactivate DSCPress the button again; the indicator
lamp goes out.
Flat Tire MonitorThe conceptAs you drive, the Flat Tire Monitor
keeps track of pressure levels in all four
tires. The system alerts you whenever
the inflation pressure of a tire falls sig-
nificantly below the pressure of another
tire.
Controlling the tire pressure is based
on monitoring the rpm that the tires
have relative to each other. A flat tire is
detected and reported because the rpm
suddenly deviate drastically from one
another.Functional requirementsIn order for the Flat Tire Monitor to learn
the correct tire inflation pressure,
please do the following:
1. Check the tire inflation pressures in
all tires
2. Compare them with the tire inflation
pressure table on page 25 and cor-
rect them, if necessary
3. Initialize the system.
Dynamic Stability Control (DSC)

85
System limitations
The Flat Tire Monitor cannot pro-
vide you with advance warning of
sudden and severe tire damage caused
by external factors and does not detect
the balanced and very gradual pressure
loss that takes place in all four tires
over an extended period of time.<
On the other hand, the following situa-
tions can lead to a delayed detection of
pressure loss and even to the system
not functioning:
>Driving on snow-covered or slippery
roads
>Performance-oriented driving: slip at
the drive wheels, high levels of lateral
acceleration
>When driving with snow chains, false
warnings and undetected pressure
losses may occur.
Initializing the system
Each time you correct the pres-
sure in a tire, or change a wheel or
tire, reinitialize the system immediately
afterwards. This requires a bit of driv-
ing.<
1. Before driving off, start the engine
but do not start driving
2. Press the button as long as you need
to until the yellow indicator lamp in
the instrument cluster lights up for a
few seconds
3. Drive off.
It takes a few minutes before the Flat
Tire Monitor can detect a flat tire and
issue a warning.
When driving with snow chains,
do not initialize the system.<
Flat Tire Monitor
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86
To activate/deactivate the systemThe system is automatically activated in
ignition key position 2 and conse-
quently is on whenever the vehicle is
operated.
To deactivate the system: tap the but-
ton, the indicator lamp will light up yel-
low.
To activate the system: tap the button
again; the indicator lamp goes out.
Deactivate the system when snow
chains are mounted, since false warn-
ings and undetected losses in pressure
are possible under these kinds of con-
ditions.
Flat tire
The indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster lights up red. In
addition, an acoustic signal is
sounded.
1. Carefully reduce speed and come to
a stop. Avoid sudden braking and
steering maneuvers
2. Determine which wheel is damaged
If this cannot be determined, con-
tact your BMW center.<
3. Fix the flat tire using the M Mobility
system, refer to page 136.
After replacing the damaged tire, initial-
ize the system.
System malfunction
The indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster lights up yellow.
The Flat Tire Monitor is malfunc-
tioning or out of order. Please contact
your BMW center for additional infor-
mation.
Flat Tire Monitor

87
M Engine dynamics controlThe system – Sport mode – will cause
the engine to respond more spontane-
ously to any motion of the accelerator
pedal.Activating/deactivating Sport
modeActivating: with the ignition key in posi-
tion 2, press the SPORT button. The
indicator lamp will come on.
Each time you activate the sys-
tem, the vehicle may gain speed
without any additional pressure on the
accelerator pedal.<
Deactivating: press the SPORT button
again; the indicator lamp will go out.
The Sport mode is deactivated every
time the engine is started.
Brake force displayThe brake force display indicates to the
driver of the vehicle behind you how
hard you are braking your vehicle.
The display has two levels:
>Normal braking: the brake lamps
among the rear lamps and the center
brake lamp light up
>Hard braking or use of ABS: the tail
lamps light up with the same bright-
ness as the brake lamps and thereby
intensify the visual effect of the brake
lamps.
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex

88Lamps
Parking lamps/Low beamsParking lamps
The front, rear and side vehicle
lighting is switched on. You can
use this to signal the position of
the vehicle when it is parked. For light-
ing on one side for parking as an addi-
tional feature, refer to page 89.
Low beams
When you switch the ignition off
with the low-beam headlamps
on, only the parking lamps will
remain on.
Follow me home lampsWhen you activate the headlamp
flasher after parking the vehicle and
switching off the lights, the low beams
will come on for a brief period.
You can also have this function
deactivated.<
LIGHTS ON warningWhenever you open the driver's door
after having turned the ignition key to
position 0, you will hear an acoustic
signal for a few seconds to remind you
that the lamps have not been switched
off.Daytime driving lamps*If you desire, the light switch can be left
in the low-beam position: when the
ignition is switched off, the external
lighting is also switched off.
When required, switch on the parking
lamps as usual as described under
Parking lamps.
You can have the activation set-
tings for the daytime driving lamps
programmed on your vehicle. When the switch is in this posi-
tion the system automatically
responds to changes in ambient
light – in tunnels, at dusk, etc. – and in
the event of rain and snow – by switch-
ing the low beams on or off.
The vehicle's external lamps
remain on constantly when you
switch on the front fog lamps after the
headlamps have come on automati-
cally.<
Automatic headlamp control can-
not serve as a substitute for your
personal judgement in determining
when the lamps should be switched on.
For example, the sensors are not able
to detect fog. In such situations switch
on the lamp manually, as otherwise a
safety hazard will result.<
You can have the sensitivity of
your vehicle's automatic head-
lamp control adjusted.<