2005 BMW X3 2.5I Seat belt

Adjustments
24
Adjustments
Sitting safely
The ideal sitting position can make a vital con-
tribution to relaxed driving that is as fatigue-free
as possible. The sitting position plays an impor-
tant role together with the safety belts, head
restraints and airbags in providing occupants
with maximum levels of passive safety in an
accident. Therefore, observe the following
instructions, as otherwise the protective func-
tion of the safety systems may be impaired.
For additional information on transporting chil-
dren safely, refer to page31.
Airbags
Always maintain an adequate distance
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 mini-
mize the risk of injuries to your hands and arms
in the event of airbag deployment.
No one and nothing is to come between the air-
bags 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 correctly seated
and does not place feet or legs against the
instrument panel, as otherwise leg injuries can
result if the front airbag is triggered. Never let an
occupant's head rest near or on a side airbag
because the inflating airbag could cause a seri-
ous or fatal injury.<
Even if you adhere to all the instructions, inju-
ries resulting from contact with airbags cannot
be fully excluded, depending on the circum-
stances. 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 page31.
Safety belts
Make sure the safety belts are worn in all occu-
pied seats every time you drive. Although air-
bags enhance safety by providing added pro-
tection, they are not a substitute for safety
belts.
Your vehicle has five seats that are all equipped
with a safety belt.
Occupants should sit upright and be
properly restrained at all times: 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 sin-
gle safety belt. Infants and children must not
ride on a 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 abdominal area. The
safety belt must not rest against the neck, nor
be wedged in any way or permitted to rub
against sharp edges. Avoid twisting the belt
while routing it snugly across the hips and
shoulder, as close to the body as possible, with-
out resting against hard or fragile objects. Oth-
erwise, 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 shoulder belt upward periodically to read-
just the tension across your lap in order to avoid
a reduction in the restraining action of the
safety belt.<
If the middle safety belt in the rear is used, then
the wider backrest must be secured, refer to
page67, otherwise, the safety belt cannot exert
any restraining action.
For fastening safety belts, refer to page27.

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Seats
Note before adjusting
Never try to adjust your seat while operat-
ing the vehicle. The seat could respond
with unexpected movement, and the ensuing
loss of vehicle control could lead to an accident.
On the passenger side as well, do not recline
the backrest too far while the vehicle is being
driven, as otherwise there is a danger of sliding
under the safety belt during an accident, elimi-
nating the protection normally provided by the
belt.<
Please observe the information on using safety
belts provided on page27 and the information
on the head restraints on page25.
Seat adjustment
To ensure that the safety systems con-
tinue to provide optimized protection,
please observe the adjustment instructions
above.<
1Longitudinal direction
Pull the lever and slide the seat into the
desired position.
After you release the lever, move the seat
forward or backward slightly so that it
engages fully.
2Height
Pull the lever and apply weight to or remove
weight from the seat as required.3Backrest
Pull the lever and apply weight to or remove
weight from the backrest as required.
Adjusting sports seat*
You can also adjust the tilt and the thigh
support:
1Upward tilt
Pull the lever as many times as required to
set the desired tilt.
2Downward tilt
Press the lever as many times as required to
set the desired tilt.
3Thigh support
Pull the lever and move the thigh support in
a longitudinal direction.
Head restraints
Head restraints reduce the risk of injury to
cervical vertebrae when accidents occur.
Adjust the head restraints so that their middles
are approximately at ear height.<

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3.Press the MEMORY button:
The indicator lamp in the button lights up.
4.Press the desired memory button 1, 2 or3:
The indicator lamp goes out.
Requesting a stored setting
Do not request a position from the mem-
ory while the vehicle is moving, as other-
wise there is a risk of accident from unexpected
seat movement.<
Convenience mode
1.Open the driver's door after unlocking or
turn the ignition key to position 1.
2.Briefly press the desired memory button 1,
2 or3.
The system immediately cancels the
adjustment procedure when you press one
of the seat adjustment buttons or use one of
the memory buttons.
Safety feature
1.Close the driver's door and turn the ignition
key to position 0 or 2.
2.Press the desired memory button 1, 2 or3
and maintain pressure until the adjustment
process has been completed.
If you press the
MEMORY button acci-
dentally:
Press the button a second time – the indicator
lamp goes out.<
You can have your vehicle programmed
to automatically recall your own individual
adjustment settings for the seat and exterior
mirror position whenever you use your personal
remote control to unlock the vehicle.<
If you make use of this adjustment, be
sure that the footwell behind the driver's
seat is unobstructed before unlocking the vehi-
cle. If you fail to do so, any persons, animals or
objects behind the seat could be injured or
damaged by a rearward movement of the
seat.<
Heated seats*
The seat cushion and backrest can be heated
when the ignition key is in position 2.
To request different temperature levels: press
the button repeatedly.
To switch off from a higher heat setting: press
the button and hold it slightly longer.
Safety belts
To ensure that the safety systems con-
tinue to provide optimal protection,
please follow the instructions on page24.<
Make sure the safety belts are worn in all occu-
pied seats every time you drive. Although air-
bags enhance safety by providing added pro-
tection, they are not a substitute for safety
belts.
Fastening
Make sure you hear the latch plate engage in
the belt buckle.
Releasing
1.Press the red button in the belt buckle.
2.Hold the belt firmly.

Adjustments
28 3.Guide the belt back into its reel.
The upper shoulder strap's anchorage point will
be in the correct position for seat occupants of
every build if the seat is correctly adjusted, refer
to page24.
The two rear safety belt buckles integrated into
the rear seat are for passengers sitting on the
left and right. The belt buckle embossed with
the word CENTER is intended exclusively for
use by passengers riding in the center posi-
tion.<
Safety belt reminder for front seats
The indicator lamp flashes or lights up.
In addition, a signal sounds. Please
make sure that the safety belts are
being worn correctly.
The safety belt reminder is activated if the
safety belt on the driver's side has not yet been
fastened.
At speeds greater than 5 mph/8 km/h, the
safety belt reminder is also activated if the pas-
senger side safety belt has not yet been fas-
tened, if heavy objects are placed on the pas-
senger's seat, or if the front passenger's safety
belt is released.
Damage to safety belts
If the safety belts are damaged or
stretched in an accident: have the entire
belt system, including the tensioning mecha-
nisms, replaced at your BMW Sports Activity
Vehicle Center or at a workshop that works
according to BMW repair procedures with cor-
respondingly trained personnel. Have the belt
anchorage points inspected for damage at the
same time. Failure to observe this precaution
may prevent the safety belts from effectively
providing optimal protection when needed. If a
child-restraint system was in the vehicle during
an accident, consult the manufacturer's
instructions regarding replacement.<
Steering wheel
Adjustments
Do not adjust the steering wheel while the
vehicle is moving. There is a risk of acci-
dent from unexpected movement.<
1.Fold the clamping lever downward.
2.Adapt the steering wheel in the longitudinal
direction and height of the seat position.
3.Fold the clamping lever back up.
Steering wheel heater*
The button for steering wheel heater is located
on the steering wheel, refer to page12.
Steering wheel heater: switching on/off
The steering wheel heater operates as of igni-
tion key position 2.
Press the button to activate or deactivate this
system.
The indicator lamp within the button lights up
when the steering wheel heater is in operation.
Mirrors
Exterior mirrors
The mirror on the passenger side fea-
tures a lens with a more convex surface
than the mirror installed on the driver's side.
When estimating the distance between yourself
and other traffic, bear in mind that the objects
reflected in the mirror are closer than they
appear. This means that estimations of the

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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.
If your vehicle is equipped with rear side
airbags, do not allow children to lean
toward the door trim, as serious injuries could
occur if the side airbags are deployed and chil-
dren are too close to the airbags.<
Deactivating side airbags in the rear
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 Sports Activity Vehicle Center.
Child-restraint system in rear
Children under 13 years of age and chil-
dren less than 5 ft/150 cm tall should
always ride in the rear and the restraint systems
should be properly secured.<
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 the front passenger seat
Should it become necessary to use a
child-restraint system on the front pas-
senger seat, the airbags on the passenger side
must be deactivated. The passenger airbag
indicator lamp above the interior rearview mirror
must light up continuously. Otherwise, the front
passenger airbags remain active and there is considerable risk of injury to children if the air-
bags 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 Sport Activity Vehicle Center.<
Never install a rearward-facing child-
restraint system in the front passenger
seat of this vehicle if the passenger airbag 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 supple-
mental 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 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.<
More information on automatic deactivation of
the front passenger airbags, refer to page52.
Installing child-restraint
systems
Before installing any child-restraint system or
child seat, read the following:
Observe the child-restraint system man-
ufacturer's instructions for selection,
installation and use of the child-restraint sys-
tem. Otherwise the degree of protection can be
reduced.
After an accident, have all parts of the relevant
vehicle safety belt system checked by a BMW
Sports Activity Vehicle Center and replaced if
necessary.<
Commercially-available child-restraint systems
are designed to be secured with a lap belt or
with the lap belt portion of a combination lap/
shoulder belt. Improperly or inadequately
installed restraint systems can increase the risk

Transporting children safely
32 of injury to children. Always read and follow the
instructions that come with the system.
Child seat security
All of the rear belt retractors and the front pas-
senger's safety belt can be locked for mounting
and securing child-restraint systems.
Information regarding this is located near the
buckle latch of each safety belt.
To lock the 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 the safety belt
Release the buckle, remove the child-restraint
system and allow the belt retractor to reel the
belt completely in.
Child-restraint system with tether
strap
If you use a child-restraint system with a tether
strap, three additional tether anchorage points
have been provided, refer to the arrows in the
illustration. To gain access to this anchor fitting lift the plastic plug with the help of a screw-
driver. Depending on the location selected for
seating 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.
Routing of tether strap
Outer seating positions:
Route the tether strap through the center
between the head restraint and the backrest.
Center seating position:
Fold the center armrest forward and pull the
tether strap through the opening. Then fold up
the center armrest and engage it.
When using the cargo area cover: tether strap
must run between the rear backrest and the
cargo area cover.

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Adjust the tether strap according to the
child-restraint manufacturer's instruc-
tions.<
LATCH child-restraint fixing system*
LATCH: Lower Anchor and Tethers for CHil-
dren.
The rear outer seating positions are provided
with anchors for a LATCH child-restraint fixing
system.
To fit the LATCH child-restraint fixing
system, follow the operating and safety
instructions of the system manufacturer.<
Access to anchorage points
The picture shows the right rear seat as an
example. The anchorage points for the LATCH
child-restraint fixing system are located behind
the cover caps.
Remove the cover caps toward the front.
Press on to remount.
Before attachment of the LATCH child-restraint
fixing system, remove the cover caps and pull
the belt out of the region of the child-restraint
fixing system.
For driving
With side airbags in the rear, make sure
that children do not lean out of the child's
seat toward the door panel, as otherwise major
injuries can result if the side airbags are trig-
gered.<
You can have the rear side airbags permanently
deactivated.
Your BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Center will
be happy to advise you.
Child-safety lock of rear doors
Slide down the safety levers on the rear doors:
The door can now be opened from the outside
only.
Safety switch for power windows
Always press the safety switch for the power
windows, refer to page20, when children are in
the rear of the vehicle.

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The display consists of two stages:
>Normal braking:
The brake lamps 1 and the center brake
lamp light up.
>Heavy braking and braking with ABS:
The brake lamps 1 and 2 light up together
with the center brake lamp.
Airbags
The following airbags are located beneath the
marked covers:
1Front airbags for driver and front passenger
2Head airbags in front and rear
3Side airbags in front and rear
*
Protective action
To ensure that the safety systems con-
tinue to provide optimal protection,
please follow the instructions on page24.<
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
respective head air bag supports the head.
The airbags are deliberately not triggered in
every impact situation, e.g. less severe acci-
dents, certain roll-over situations or 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 Sports Activity
Vehicle Center.<
For information on the correct sitting position,
refer to page24.
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 retention
system from the vehicle. Never modify or
tamper with either the wiring or the individual
components in the airbag system. This cate-
gory includes the upholstery in the center of the
steering wheel, on the instrument cluster, the
side trim panels on the doors, and the roof pil-
lars 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 triggered,
because there is a danger of burns. When there
are malfunctions, when deactivating, or after
the triggering of the airbag restraint system,
have the testing, repair, removal, and disposal
of the airbag generators executed only by your
BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Center or at a
workshop that works according to BMW repair
procedures with correspondingly trained per-
sonnel 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.