Contents
© 2004 Bayerische Motoren Werke
Aktiengesellschaft
Munich, Germany
Reprinting, including excerpts,
only with the written consent of
BMW AG, Munich.
Order No. 01 41 0 158 286
US English III/04
Printed in Germany
Printed on environmentally friendly paper,
bleached without chlorine, suitable for recycling.
Notes
Overview
Controls and features
About this Owner's Manual8
Symbols used8
Your individual vehicle8
Status at time of printing9
For your own safety9
Symbol on vehicle parts10
Service and Warranty10
Reporting safety defects10Cockpit14
Instrument cluster15
Indicator and warning lamps19
Buttons on steering wheel23
Warning triangle24
First-aid kit24
Refueling24
Fuel specifications26
Locks and security systems:
Keys30
Central locking system30
Opening and closing:
from outside31
Opening and closing:
from inside34
Liftgate35
Tailgate36
Alarm system38
Windows39
Panorama glass roof41
Adjustments:
Sitting safely43
Seats44
Mechanical seat adjustment45
Power seat adjustment46
Head restraints47
Power rear-seat backrest
adjustment48
Safety belts49
Seat, mirror and steering wheel
memory50
Heated seats52
Steering wheel52
Steering wheel heater53
Mirrors54
Contents
43n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
The ideal sitting position can make a
vital contribution to relaxed driving that
is as fatigue-free as possible. The sit-
ting position also plays an important
role together with the safety belts and
airbags in providing occupants with
maximum levels of passive safety in an
accident. To ensure that the safety sys-
tems operate with optimized efficiency,
we strongly urge you to observe the
instructions contained in the following
section.
For additional information on transport-
ing children safely, refer to page 59.Sitting safely with airbags
Always maintain an adequate dis-
tance between yourself and the
airbags. 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 passen-
ger is correctly seated and does not
rest feet or legs on the instrument clus-
ter, otherwise leg injuries can occur if
the knee and front airbag are triggered.
Never let an occupant's head rest near
or on a side airbag because the inflating
airbag could cause a serious or fatal
injury.<
Even if you adhere to all the instructions
injuries resulting from contact with air-
bags cannot be fully excluded, depend-
ing on the circumstances. The ignition
and inflation noise may provoke a mild –
usually temporary – hearing loss in
extremely sensitive individuals.
For airbag locations and additional
information on airbags, refer to
page 57.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 five 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 appropri-
ate child-restraint systems; larger chil-
dren and adults using the safety belts.
Even pregnant women should also
always wear the safety belt and espe-
cially ensure that the lap belt is posi-
tioned low on the hip and does not
press on the lower body.
Only one person should ever wear a
safety belt, and infants and children
may not be seated on the lap of another
passenger.
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. Other-
wise, 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 the safety
belt, refer to page 49.
Sitting safely
44n
SeatsNote before adjusting
Never try to adjust your seat while
operating the vehicle. The seat
could respond with unexpected move-
ment, and the ensuing loss of vehicle
control 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
precaution can prevent the belt from
providing effective protection against
injury, as the passenger could slide
under the belt in an accident.<
Seat adjustment>Mechanical seat adjustment, refer to
following columns
>Power seat adjustment, refer to
page 46
>Head restraints, refer to page 47
>Power rear-seat backrest adjustment,
refer to page 48.
48n
Head restraints Power rear-seat backrest adjustment
*
Removing front head restraint 1. Pull the head restraint upward to the
stop
2. Press the button, refer to arrow, and
remove the head restraint.Installation – front 1. Press the button, refer to arrow, and
insert the head restraint into the
guides
2. Adjust the head restraint for your
personal comfort.Removal and installation – rearTo remove the head restraint, pull it
outward with a firm movement.
To install it, press it down firmly. 530de323
You can make separate adjustments of
the backrest tilt angle on the right and
left sides.
You can select a comfortable sitting
position and also increase the capacity
of the cargo area by moving the back-
rests into their most upright position.
From the rear seats: press the corre-
sponding switch.
You can prevent adjustments of
the power rear-seat backrest from
the rear passenger area with the safety
switch for the power windows, refer to
page 40.< 530us143
From the cargo area: the switches are
located on both sides of the cargo area. 530de224
49n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Safety beltsPut on the safety belt before each trip,
as the airbags supplement the safety
belts as an additional restraint device,
however do not replace them.Locking Make sure you hear the latch plate
engage in the belt buckle.
Lights up for a few seconds or
until driver's safety belt is fas-
tened. Depending on model,
together with an acoustic signal
* or a
message
* in the Check Control.
530us034
Unlocking1. Press the red button in the belt
buckle
2. Hold the belt firmly
3. Guide the belt back into its reel.
In the rear the center safety belt
buckle is intended exclusively for
the center passenger.
If it is not possible to extract the center
belt, this indicates that the larger back-
rest is not securely locked, refer to
page 124.<
Safety belt height adjustment You can adjust the safety belts to fit
your own physical dimensions by using
the safety belt height adjustment:
Slide the button up or down as
required.
Also observe the instructions on adjust-
ing the seats on page 43.
In the event of loads caused by
accidents or other damage: have
the belt system, including the belt ten-
sioners and any child restraint systems,
replaced by a BMW Sports Activity
Vehicle center and have the belt anchor
points checked.c530de259
52n
Heated seats
*
Steering wheel
Front The seat cushion and backrest can be
heated when the ignition key is in posi-
tion 2.
You can call up different heating modes
by repeatedly pressing the button.
You can also switch the higher heating
modes off directly:
Press the button and hold it slightly
longer.530de233
Rear The operating concept is the same as
for the front heated seats. You can
select between two heating modes.530de234
Adjustments The steering wheel can be moved in
any of four directions. Adjust the steer-
ing wheel by moving the control lever in
the desired direction.
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 50. 530de255
59n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Airbags Transporting children safely Airbag system operational
The warning lamp in the instru-
ment cluster indicates the oper-
ational readiness of the entire
airbag system and the safety belt ten-
sioners as of ignition key position 1.
The warning lamp goes out after a few
seconds.
Airbag system malfunction
Have the airbag system checked
immediately if a malfunction
occurs, as otherwise there is a danger
of the system failing to respond in the
expected manner to an impact occur-
ring within its normal response range.<
A fault has occurred in the air-
bag system:
>Warning lamp does not light up as of
ignition key position 1
>Warning lamp lights up continuously
>Warning lamp lights up while the
vehicle is being driven.
The right place for children Children always in the rear:
Accident research shows that the saf-
est place for children in a vehicle is in
the rear seat.
Older children should be tightly secured
with a safety belt, after they have out-
grown a booster seat that is appropri-
ate for their age, height and weight.
A child sitting in the rear seat and
not properly restrained may place
his or her head on or near the airbag, if
so equipped. For example, a child –
even though belted – may fall asleep
with his or her head against the side air-
bag. It may be difficult for a driver to
ensure that children in the rear seat will
remain properly positioned at all times
and do not place their heads on or near
the side airbag. Therefore, we recom-
mend that the rear side airbags, if pro-
vided, be deactivated if you plan to
transport children in the rear seat.<
Child-restraint systems in the rearChild-restraint systems appropriate for
every age group and weight are avail-
able at your BMW Sports Activity Vehi-
cle center.
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.<
No universal child-restraint sys-
tems facing the rear of the vehicle
may be mounted on the rear seats.
If you want to use a rearward-facing
child-restraint system in the rear, then
the BMW Baby Seat with or without the
LATCH child-restraint fixing is suitable
for this purpose.<
Younger children should be secured in
an appropriate forward-facing child-
restraint system that has first been
properly secured with a safety belt.
All rear sitting positions in your
vehicle meet the recommendations of
SAE J1819, an industry-recommended
practice for securing child-restraint sys-
tems in motor vehicles.
119n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Glove compartment Storage compartments Opening Pull the handle. The lamp inside the
glove compartment comes on.Closing Fold the cover up.
To prevent injury in the event of an
accident, close the glove com-
partment immediately after use.< 530de275
Engaging locks Use one of the master keys. A master
key is also required for unlocking.
If you turn over only your spare
key for valet parking, for example,
refer to page 30, access to the glove
compartment is not possible.< Rechargeable flashlight Located on the left-hand side of the
glove compartment.
Features integral overload-protection,
so it can be left in its holder continu-
ously.
To avoid completely discharging
and possibly damaging the lamp,
always ensure that it is switched off
before inserting it in the socket.<
You will find two storage compartments
in the armrest between the front seats.
To open the top compartment:
Press the button, refer to arrow 1.
An installed cellular phone
* is located
in this compartment.
To move the armrest or open the lower
compartment:
Pull the handle, refer to arrow 2.
This compartment contains a coin tray
and a storage compartment* for cas-
settes or CDs.
You will find additional storage com-
partments in all of the doors as well as
on the backrests of the front seats.
530de276