2005 BMW 325I SEDAN weight

Controls
39Reference
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Mobility
Seats
Note before adjusting
Never attempt to adjust your seat while
the vehicle is moving. The seat could
respond with unexpected movement, and the
ensuing loss of vehicle control could lead to an
accident.
On the front passenger seat as well, do not
incline the backrest too far to the rear while the
vehicle is being driven, as otherwise there is a
danger in the event of an accident of sliding
under the safety belt, eliminating the protection
normally provided by the belt.<
Comply with the instructions on head restraint
height on page40, and on damaged safety
belts on page43.
Seat adjustment
Observe the adjustment instructions on
page39 to ensure the best possible per-
sonal protection.<
Longitudinal direction
Pull lever 1 and slide the seat to the desired
position.
After releasing the lever, move the seat gently
forward or back to make sure it engages prop-
erly.
Height
Pull lever 2 and apply your weight to the seat or
lift it off, as necessary.
Backrest
Pull lever 3 and apply your weight to the back-
rest or lift it off, as necessary.
Lumbar support*
You can also adjust the contour of the backrest
to obtain additional support in the lumbar
region.
The upper hips and spinal column receive sup-
plementary support to help you maintain a
relaxed, upright sitting position.
>Increase or decrease curvature: push
switch forward or back.
>Shift curvature up or down: push switch up
or down.
Electric seat adjustment
Comply with the adjusting instructions
mentioned above to ensure the best pos-
sible personal protection.<

Adjustments
40 1Longitudinal direction
2Height
3Angle
4Backrest
The head restraints are adjusted manually, refer
to Head restraints below.
Sports seat*
On this seat, you can manually adjust the thigh
support, the tilt angle and the width of the back-
rest.
Thigh support
Pull the lever and move the thigh support for-
ward or back.
Angle
Pull the lever and apply your weight to the seat
or lift it off, as necessary.
Backrest width
You can change the width of the backrest to suit
your individual preferences by adjusting the lat-
eral-support pads.
Push switch forward or back.
Backrest width decreases or increases accord-
ingly.
Head restraints
A correctly adjusted head restraint reduces the
risk of neck injury in the event of an accident.
Adjust the head restraint in such a way
that its center is at approx. ear level. Oth-
erwise, there is a risk of injury should an acci-
dent occur.<

Transporting children safely
46
Transporting children safely
The right place for children
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle, as they could otherwise endan-
ger themselves and/or other persons by open-
ing the doors, for example.<
As a general rule, the front passenger's seat
and outer rear seats are suitable for installing
universal child-restraint systems for all age
groups, provided that they have been approved
for the age group in question.
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.
If your BMW is equipped with rear side
airbags, do not allow children to lean
towards the door trim, as serious injuries could
occur if the side airbags are deployed and chil-
dren are too close to the airbags.<
Deactivating rear seat side airbags
Labels in the rear door opening should indicate
the status of your rear seat side airbags. If you
are uncertain of their status, or wish to have the
airbags activated or deactivated, please contact
your BMW center.
Child-restraint system in the rear
Children under the age of 13 or smaller
than 5 ft/150 cm may only be transported
in suitable child-restraint systems on one of the
outer rear seats; otherwise, there is an
increased risk of injury in the event of an acci-
dent.<
Younger children should be secured in an
appropriate child-restraint system that has
been first properly secured to the vehicle.All rear seating positions in your vehicle meet
the recommendations of SAE J1819, an indus-
try-recommended practice for securing child-
restraint systems in motor vehicles.
Exception for front passenger seat
Should it be necessary to use a child-
restraint system on the front passenger
seat, the front passenger airbags must be deac-
tivated. Otherwise, a child traveling on that seat
will be at considerable risk of injury if the airbags
are triggered off, even with a child-restraint sys-
tem. Your vehicle is equipped with an airbag
supplemental restraint system for the front pas-
senger. 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 airbag'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.<
For more information on automatic deactivation
of the front passenger airbags refer to page83.
Seat height
Before installing a universal child-restraint sys-
tem, move the front passenger's seat up as far
as it will go to ensure that the safety belt will be
ideally positioned. Do not change the seat
height afterward.
Backrest width
The backrest width of the front passen-
ger's seat must be adjusted to its widest
setting.<
1.After unlocking the vehicle, sit down on the
front passenger seat and close the door.
2.Adjust the backrest width to its widest set-
ting, refer to page40.
3.Install the child seat.

Controls
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Mobility
3Side airbags in the seat backrests
Protective action
Observe the adjustment instructions on
page38 to ensure the best possible per-
sonal protection.<
The front airbags help protect the driver and
front passenger by responding to frontal
impacts in which safety belts alone cannot pro-
vide adequate restraint. When needed, the
head and side airbags help provide protection in
the event of side impact. The relevant side air-
bag supports the side upper body area. The
head air bag supports the head.
The airbags will purposely not be activated by
every collision, e.g. not by more minor acci-
dents, certain roll-over situations and rear-end
collisions.
Labels in the rear door opening should
indicate the status of your rear seat side
airbags. If you are uncertain of their status, or
wish to have the airbags activated or deacti-
vated, please contact your BMW center.<
For information on the correct sitting position,
refer to page38.
Do not apply adhesive materials to the
cover panels of the airbags, cover them or
modify them in any other way. Do not attach
seat covers, cushions or other objects not spe-
cifically approved for seats with integral side air-
bags to the front seats. Do not hang items of
clothing such as coats or jackets over the back-
rests. Do not attempt to remove the airbag
retention system from the vehicle. Do not mod-
ify the individual components of the system or
its wiring in any way. This includes the uphol-
stered covers on the steering wheel, instrument
panel, seats and roof posts, as well as the sides
of the roof lining. Do not attempt to remove or
dismantle the steering wheel.
Do not touch the individual components imme-
diately after the system has been triggered,
because there is a danger of burns.
In the event of malfunctions, deactivation, or
triggering of the airbag restraint system, have
the testing, repair, removal, and disposal of air-
bag generators executed only by a BMW center or a workshop that works according to BMW
repair procedures with correspondingly trained
personnel and has the required explosives
licenses. Unprofessional attempts to service
the system could lead to failure in an emer-
gency or undesired airbag activation, either of
which could result in personal injury.<
Airbag warning information is also provided on
the sun visors.
Automatic deactivation of front
passenger airbags
Your BMW has a seat occupation detection
system. By evaluating the weight on the front
passenger seat, the system detects whether or
not the seat is occupied by a child in the child-
restraint system or an adult.
>When a child is seated in the child-restraint
system, or with an empty seat, the front and
side airbags are automatically deactivated
on the passenger side.
>When an adult is traveling in the front seat,
the front and side airbags remain active on
the passenger side.
Although not desired, it can occur in the
case of heavier children that the front
passenger airbags remain active, or in the case
of very light adults or young persons that the
front passenger airbags are deactivated. In
these cases, have the person ride in the rear
seat, refer to Passenger airbag status lamp
below. Do not load the passenger seat with any
items in addition to the person to be trans-
ported. Do not attach seat covers, seat cushion
padding, ball mats or other items to the front
passenger seat unless they are specifically rec-
ommended by BMW. Do not place any items
under the seat. Otherwise, the function of the
seat occupation detection could be impaired.<

Things to remember when driving
108 the transmission in neutral and there will be no
power assistance to the brakes or steering
while the engine is switched off.
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 occasionally,
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 tendency 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 pulsating
effect that even extended application will fail to
cure.
When the vehicle is parked
Condensation forms while the automatic cli-
mate control is in operation, and then exits
under the vehicle. Traces of condensed water
under the vehicle are therefore normal.
Before driving into a car wash
For general information about taking care of
your BMW, refer to the Caring for your vehicle
brochure.
Cargo loading
To avoid loading the tires beyond their
approved carrying capacity, never over-
load the vehicle. Overloading can lead to over-
heating and increases the rate at which damage
develops inside the tires. The ultimate result
can assume the form of a sudden blow-out.<
Determining loading limit
1.Locate the following statement on your
vehicle's placard
*:
The combined weight of occupants
and cargo should never exceed
XXX kg or YYY lbs. Otherwise, overloading
can result in damage to the vehicle and
unstable driving conditions.<
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 kilograms or YYY
pounds.
4.The resulting figure equals the available
amount of cargo and luggage load capacity.
For example, if the YYY amount equals
1,400 lbs. and there will be five 150 lbs.
passengers in your vehicle, the amount of
available cargo and luggage load capacity is
650 lbs.:
1,400 lbs. minus 750 lbs. = 650 lbs.
5.Determine the combined weight of luggage
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.

Driving tips
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Mobility
Load
The permissible load is the total of the weight of
occupants and cargo/luggage. The greater the
weight of the occupants, the less cargo/lug-
gage can be transported.
Stowing cargo
>Position heavy objects as low and as far for-
ward as possible, ideally directly behind the
respective seat backs.
>Cover sharp edges and corners.
>For very heavy cargo when the rear seat is
not occupied, secure each safety belt in the
opposite buckle.
Securing cargo
>Smaller and relatively light items can be
retained with tensioning straps or draw
straps
*.
>Heavy-duty cargo straps
* for securing
larger and heavier objects are available at
your BMW center. Four lashing eyes are
provided for attaching the cargo straps.
Two lashing eyes are located on the rear
panel of the luggage compartment 1, two
others are on the side panels of the luggage
compartment 2.
Comply with the information supplied with
the cargo straps.
Always position and secure the cargo as
described above, so that it cannot endan-
ger the car's occupants, for example if sudden
braking or swerves are necessary.
Never exceed either the approved gross vehicle
weight or either of the approved axle loads, refer
to page201, as excessive loads can pose a
safety hazard, and may also place you in viola-
tion of traffic safety laws.
Heavy or hard objects should not be carried
loose inside the car, since they could be thrown
around, for example as a result of heavy braking,
sudden swerves, etc., and endanger the occu-
pants.<
Roof-mounted luggage rack*
A special rack system is available as an option
for your BMW. Please comply with the precau-
tions included with the installation instructions.

Things to remember when driving
110
Mounting points
Open the covers.
Loading roof-mounted luggage rack
Because roof racks raise the vehicle's center of
gravity when loaded, they have a major effect on
vehicle handling and steering response.
You should therefore always remember not to
exceed the approved roof load capacity, the
approved gross vehicle weight or the axle loads
when loading the rack.
You can find the specified weights on page201.
The roof load must be uniformly distributed and
should not be too large in area. Heavy items
should always be placed at the bottom. Be sure
that adequate clearance is maintained for rais-
ing the glass sunroof, and that objects do not
project into the opening path of the luggage
compartment lid.
Secure roof-mounted cargo correctly and
securely to prevent it from shifting or falling off
during the trip.
Drive smoothly. Avoid sudden acceleration and
braking maneuvers. Take corners gently.

Mobility
169Reference
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Required fuel
Premium Unleaded Gasoline
The minimum octane rating is 91.
If you use gasoline with this minimum octane
rating, the engine may produce knocking
sounds when starting at high outside tempera-
tures. This has no affect on the engine life.
Minimum octane rating corresponds to the Anti
Knock Index AKI and is determined according
to the so-called (R+M)/2 method.
Do not fill the tank with leaded fuel, as this
would cause permanent damage to the
catalytic converter.<
Use high-quality brands
Field experience has indicated significant dif-
ferences in fuel quality: volatility, composition,
additives, etc., among gasolines offered for sale
in the United States and Canada. Fuels contain-
ing up to and including 10 % ethanol or other
oxygenates with up to 2.8 % oxygen by weight,
that is, 15 % MTBE or 3 % methanol plus an
equivalent amount of co-solvent, will not void
the applicable warranties with respect to
defects in materials or workmanship.
The use of poor-quality fuels may result in
drivability, starting and stalling problems
especially under certain environmental condi-
tions such as high ambient temperature and
high altitude.
Should you encounter drivability problems
which you suspect could be related to the fuel
you are using, we recommend that you respond
by switching to a recognized high-quality
brand.
Failure to comply with these recommendations
may also result in unscheduled maintenance.<