
At a glance
 13Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
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. 
Detailed information is provided on the 
specified pages. 
Fixed indicator and warning lamps
Colors
The indicator and warning lamps can light 
up in different colors and combinations. 
>Red:
Stop the vehicle immediately 
or 
an important reminder
>Red and yellow:
Continue to drive; drive cautiously
>Yellow:
Have the system inspected at the earli-
est opportunity
or
for your information
>Green:
For your information
>Blue:
For your information.
Variable indicator and warning lamps 
In the display 8 of the Info Display, addi-
tional indicator and warning lamps appear 
when necessary. Observe the instructions 
for action of the accompanying Check Con-
trol messages, also refer to page83. Please fasten safety belts 
+51
DSC Dynamic Stability 
Control
+93 
DTC Dynamic Traction Control93 
ABS Antilock Brake System 
+92 
Brake system
+
With other warning lamps94,197
Warning lamp on Canadian models
With parking brake released66
With parking brake set64 
Warning lamp on Canadian models
Automatic parking brake, 
Automatic Hold 
+65,66 
Service Engine Soon +200
Indicator lamp on Canadian 
models
Airbags 
+98 
Turn signals71
High beams/
headlamp flasher101 
Front fog lamps101  

Adjustments
46
Adjustments
Sitting safely 
The ideal sitting position can make a vital 
contribution to relaxed driving that is as 
fatigue-free as possible. The sitting posi-
tion plays an important role together with 
the safety belts and airbags in an accident. 
To ensure that the safety systems operate 
with optimized efficiency, we strongly urge 
you to observe the instructions contained 
in the following section.
For additional information on transporting 
children safely, refer to page58. 
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 cor-
rectly seated and does not rest feet or legs 
on the instrument panel, otherwise leg inju-
ries 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 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 page98.
Sitting safely with safety belts 
Even though there is an airbag, wear a 
safety belt every time you get in the vehicle. 
Although airbags enhance safety by pro-
viding added protection, they are not a 
substitute for safety belts.
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 appropriate 
child-restraint systems; larger children and 
adults using the safety belts.
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 abdominal 
area.
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. 
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 page51.  

Transporting children safely
58
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.
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 airbag. It may be 
difficult for a driver to ensure that children 
in the rear seat will remain properly posi-
tioned at all times and do not place their 
heads on or near the side airbags. There-
fore, we recommend that the rear side air-
bags, if provided, be deactivated if you plan 
to transport children in the rear seat.<
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 
restrained. We strongly urge you to care-
fully 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. The pas-
senger airbag indicator lamp above the 
interior rearview mirror must light up con-
tinuously. Otherwise, the front passenger 
airbags remain active and there is consid-
erable risk of injury to children if the airbags 
are triggered, even with a child-restraint 
system. In this case, children should be 
seated in the rear and the system should be 
checked at your BMW center.<
Never install a rearward-facing child-
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.< 
More information on Automatic deactiva-
tion of the front passenger airbags, refer to 
page98.
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.
Following an accident, have all parts of the  

Transporting children safely
60
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 manufacturer.< 
If the vehicle is equipped with power seats 
in the rear, return these to their standard 
adjustment setting before using a LATCH 
child-restraint fixing, refer to page49.
Access to anchorage points 
The illustration shows the left rear seat as 
an example. 
The anchorage points for the LATCH child-
restraint fixing are located underneath the 
identifying symbols.
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 all 
instructions for operation and use provided 
by the manufacturer in the installation 
guide.<
1.Engage the center safety belt into the 
belt buckle
2.Pull the belt away from the area of the 
child-restraint fixing3.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 guides to remove. 
On journeys
Make sure that children do not lean 
out of the child's seat towards the 
door panels. Otherwise severe injuries can 
be caused if the side airbags are trig-
gered.< 
Child-safety locks for rear doors 
Slide down the safety levers on the rear 
doors:  

Technology for comfort, convenience and safety
98
Airbags 
The following airbags are located under the 
marked covers:
1Front airbags for driver and front pas-
senger 
2Head airbags in front and rear
3Side airbags in front and rear
* 
4Knee airbags for driver and front pas-
senger
Protective effect 
The front airbags help protect the driver 
and front passenger by responding to fron-
tal impacts in which safety belts alone can-
not provide adequate restraint. When 
needed, the head and side airbags help 
provide protection in the event of side 
impact. The side airbags help restrain the 
side of the occupant's upper torso, and the 
head airbags help support the head while 
also helping provide protection against any 
objects penetrating into the passenger 
compartment. The knee airbags help pro-
tect the legs against impact against the 
cockpit. 
The airbags are deliberately not triggered in 
every impact situation, e.g. less severe 
accidents, certain roll-over conditions, or 
rear-end collisions.
The rear seat side airbags may 
already have been deactivated by a 
BMW center. Labels in the rear door open-
ing 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.
Do not apply adhesive materials to 
the cover panels of the airbags, cover 
them or modify them in any other way.
Do not attempt to remove the airbag reten-
tion system from the vehicle. Never modify 
or tamper with either the wiring or the indi-
vidual components in the airbag system. 
This category includes the upholstery in the 
center of the steering wheel, on the instru-
ment panel, the doors and the roof pillars 
along with the sides of the headliner. Do 
not attempt to remove or dismantle the 
steering wheel. 
Do not touch the individual components 
directly after the system has been trig-
gered, because there is a danger of burns. 
In case of malfunctions, storage or after the 
airbag restraint system has been triggered, 
only have checking, repair or dismantling 
and the scrapping of the airbag generators 
carried out by a BMW center or a workshop 
that uses personnel trained in accordance 
with BMW requirements and equipped with 
the required explosives permits. Unprofes-
sional attempts to service the system could 
lead to failure in an emergency or undes-
ired 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‘s seat, the system detects  

Controls
 99Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
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 automat-
ically deactivated on the passenger's 
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 per-
sons that the front passenger airbags are 
deactivated.
The state of the front passenger airbags is 
shown with the indicator lamp, refer to Indi-
cator lamps in the following. In this case 
transport the corresponding persons on the 
rear seat.
Except when persons to be transported, do 
not increase the load on the front passen-
ger seat with additional items. Do not fit 
seat covers, seat cushion padding, ball 
mats or other items to the front passenger 
seat unless they are specifically recom-
mended by BMW. Do not place any items 
under the seat. Otherwise, the function of 
the seat occupation detection could be 
impaired.<
Indicator lamps
Airbag system ready for use 
The warning lamp indicates the operational 
readiness of the entire airbag system and 
the safety belt tensioners from the radio position: the warning lamp goes out after 
afew seconds.
The indicator lamp above the interior rear-
view mirror indicates whether the front-pas-
senger airbag system is activated or deacti-
vated as of ignition key radio position.
The indicator lamp refers exclusively 
to the front-passenger airbag sys-
tem.<
>The indicator lamp goes out after a few 
seconds.
The front passenger airbags are active, 
e.g. when transporting an adult
>The indicator lamp lights up continu-
ously. The front passenger airbags are 
deactivated, e.g. when transporting a 
child in the child-restraint system or 
when the seat is unoccupied.
For more information on the operating prin-
ciple of the front passenger airbag system 
and seat occupation detection, refer to 
Automatic deactivation of the front passen-
ger airbags.
Airbag system malfunction
Have the airbag system checked 
immediately if a malfunction occurs, 
as otherwise there is a danger of the sys-
tem failing to respond in the expected man-
ner to an impact occurring within its normal 
response range.< 
A fault has occurred in the airbag 
system:
>The warning lamp fails to come on as of 
ignition radio mode
>Warning lamp lights up continuously
>Warning lamp lights during driving. 

Everything from A to Z
218
Everything from A to Z 
Index 
A
A/C operation
– automatic climate 
control105
"ABC..." for navigation132
ABS Antilock Brake 
System92
– indicator lamp13
ACC, refer to Active cruise 
control75
"ACCEPT" for 
navigation137,143
Accepting call
– automatic177
– during a call179
Accessories, refer to Your 
individual vehicle5
Accident, refer to
– Giving and receiving 
assistance209
– Roadside Assistance182
"ACTIVATE", 
BMW Assist182
Activated-charcoal 
filter108
Active cruise control75
– malfunction80
Active head restraints, 
front49
Active seat53
Active seat ventilation52
Adapter for spare key35
Adaptive Head Light101
Address
– deleting143
– displaying142
– entering143
– storing142
– storing current 
position143
"Address book" for 
navigation142
Adjust cooling capacity of 
rear air conditioner109Adjusting interior 
temperature105
Adjusting seats47
Air, drying, refer to 
A/C operation105
Airbags98
– indicator lamp13
– safe sitting position46
Air conditioner in the 
rear109
Air conditioner mode105
Air conditioning in rear109
Air conditioning while 
parked110
Air distribution
– automatic climate 
control104,107
– individual108
Airing, refer to 
Ventilation106,110
Air jets, refer to 
Ventilation106,110
Air pressure, refer to Tire 
inflation pressure188
Air recirculation, refer to 
Recirculated air105
Air supply
– automatic climate 
control105
– rear air conditioner109
Air vents, refer to 
Ventilation106
AKI, refer to Fuel 
specifications187
Alarm system42
– avoiding unintentional 
alarms43
All-season tires, refer to 
Winter tires193
Altering stretch of road140
Alternate route, refer to 
Detour140
"AM..."
– audio mode148
– radio152,154AM waveband152
"ANGLE" for 
DVD mode169
Antenna174
Antenna for portable 
phone174
Antifreeze
– coolant196
– washer fluid73
Antilock Brake System ABS
– indicator lamp13
Anti-theft alarm system35
– refer to Alarm system42
Anti-trapping mechanism
– glass roof, electric45
– power windows44
Armrest, refer to Center 
armrest115,118
"Arrow display" for 
navigation139,140
Arrow display for 
navigation140
"AS ADDRESS", navigation
– creating directory142
– current position143
– destination entry133
– destination list137
– home address142
– recent destinations136
"AS DEST.", navigation
– recent destinations136
Ashtray117
– front117
– rear117
Assist182
Assistance system, refer to 
DSC Dynamic Stability 
Control93
Assistance window
– help texts22
– refer to Control Center22
– status lines23
AUC Automatic 
recirculated-air 
control105 

Everything from A to Z
224 "FM..."
– audio mode148
– radio152
FM, waveband152
Fog lamps101
– indicator lamp11
Footbrake, refer to 
Driving notes123
Front airbags98
Front armrest115
Front fog lamps
– indicator lamp11
Front passenger airbags, 
deactivating58
Fuel187
– average consumption86
– gauge86
– quality187
– volume217
Fuel filler door186
– releasing in the event of 
an electrical defect186
Fuel level, refer to 
Fuel gauge85
Fuel level gauge, refer to 
Fuel gauge85
Fuel level indicator, refer to 
Fuel gauge86
Fuel-saving driving, refer to 
Energy Control86
Fuel tank capacity217
"FULL MENU" in DVD 
mode167,168
"Full Release", 
Control Center24
Fuses207
G
Garage door opener, refer 
to Integrated universal 
remote control112
Gasoline, refer to Fuel 
specifications187
Gear changes, refer to 
Automatic transmission 
with Steptronic70
Gear indicator68
General driving notes122
Glasses compartment116Glass roof, electric, 
convenience 
operation36,38
Glove compartment115
GPS, refer to Navigation 
system130
Grills, refer to 
Ventilation106
Gross weight, refer to 
Weights216
H
Handbrake64
– Automatic Hold65
– indicator lamp13
Hands-free mode177
Hands-free system177
Hazard warning flashers15
Head airbags98
Headlamp control, 
automatic100
Headlamp cover, care, 
refer to the Caring for 
your vehicle brochure
Headlamp flasher71
– indicator lamp13
Headlamps100
– bulb replacement201
– care, refer to the Caring 
for your vehicle brochure
Headlamp washer fluid 
tank, capacity, refer to 
Filling capacities217
Headlamp washer system
– cleaning headlamps72
– fluid tank73
– washer fluid73
Head Light, refer to 
Adaptive Head Light101
Headphones25
Head restraints49
– front head restraints, 
active49
Heated mirrors53
Heated rear window, 
automatic climate 
control104
Heated seats52
Heated steering wheel54Heated windshield, 
automatic climate 
control105
Heating103
– exterior mirrors53
– seats52
– steering wheel54
Heating and ventilation103
Heating while stopped105
Heavy cargo, refer to 
Stowing cargo124
Height, refer to 
Dimensions215
Height adjustment
– seats47
– steering wheel54
"Help", Control Center22
Help text on Control 
Display22
High beams101
– bulb replacement202
– headlamp flasher101
– indicator lamp13
Highs, refer to Tone 
settings150
High temperatures122
Highway137
Hills123
Holders for beverage 
cans116
Home address142,143
Hood194
Horn11
Hydraulic Brake Assistant, 
refer to DBC Dynamic 
Brake Control94
Hydraulic system, 
brakes197
Hydroplaning123
I
Ice warning81
iDrive, refer to 
Control Center17
Ignition62
Ignition key34
Ignition lock62
– with Comfort Access62
Illuminated vanity mirror54