
Notes
6
For your own safety 
Maintenance and repair 
Advanced technology, e.g. the use of 
modern materials and high-performance 
electronics, requires specially adapted mainte-
nance and repair methods. Therefore, only have 
corresponding work on your BMW carried out 
by a BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Center or a 
workshop that works according to BMW repair 
procedures with correspondingly trained per-
sonnel. If work is carried out improperly, there is 
a danger of consequential damage and the 
related safety risks.< 
California Proposition 65 Warning 
California law requires us to state the following 
warning:
Engine exhaust and a wide variety of 
automobile components and parts, 
including components found in the interior fur-
nishings in a vehicle, contain or emit chemicals 
known to the State of California to cause cancer 
and birth defects and reproductive harm. In 
addition, certain fluids contained in vehicles and 
certain products of component wear contain or 
emit chemicals known to the State of California 
to cause cancer and birth defects or other 
reproductive harm. 
Battery posts, terminals and related accesso-
ries contain lead and lead compounds. Batter-
ies also contain other chemicals known to the 
State of California to cause cancer. Wash your 
hands after handling. Used engine oil contains 
chemicals that have caused cancer in labora-
tory animals. Always protect your skin by wash-
ing thoroughly with soap and water.<
Parts and accessories
For your own safety, use genuine parts 
and accessories approved by BMW.
When you purchase accessories tested and 
approved by BMW and Genuine BMW Parts, 
you simultaneously acquire the assurance that 
they have been thoroughly tested by BMW to 
ensure optimum performance when installed 
on your vehicle.
BMW warrants these parts to be free from 
defects in material and workmanship.
BMW will not accept any liability for damages 
resulting from installation of parts and accesso-
ries not approved by BMW.
BMW cannot test every product made by other 
manufacturers to verify if it can be used on a 
BMW safely and without risk to either the vehi-
cle, its operation or its occupants.
Genuine BMW Parts, BMW Accessories and 
other products approved by BMW, together 
with professional advice on using these items, 
are available from all BMW Sports Activity Vehi-
cle Centers.
Installation and operation of non-BMW 
approved accessories such as alarms, radios, 
amplifiers, radar detectors, wheels, suspension 
components, brake dust shields, telephones, 
including operation of any mobile phone from 
within the vehicle without using an externally 
mounted antenna, or transceiver equipment, for 
instance CBs, walkie-talkies, ham radios or sim-
ilar accessories may cause extensive damage 
to the vehicle, compromise its safety, interfere 
with the vehicle's electrical system or affect the 
validity of the BMW Limited Warranty. Refer to 
your BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Center for 
additional information.<
Maintenance, replacement, or repair of 
the emission control devices and sys-
tems may be performed by any automotive 
repair establishment or individual using any cer-
tified automotive part.< 

Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Mobility
 7
Service and warranty 
We recommend that you read this publication 
thoroughly.
Your BMW is covered by the following warran-
ties:
>New Vehicle Limited Warranty
>Rust Perforation Limited Warranty
>Federal Emissions System Defect Warranty
>Federal Emissions Performance Warranty
>California Emission Control System Limited 
Warranty.
Detailed information about these warranties is 
listed in the Service and Warranty Information 
Booklet for US models or in the Warranty and 
Service Guide Booklet for Canadian models.
Reporting safety defects 
The following only applies to vehicles owned 
and operated in the US.
If you believe that your vehicle has a defect 
which could cause a crash or could cause injury 
or death, you should immediately inform the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
NHTSA in addition to notifying BMW of North 
America, LLC, P.O. Box 1227, Westwood, 
New Jersey 07675-1227, telephone toll-free 
1-800-831-1117. 
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may 
open an investigation, and if it finds that a safety 
defect exists in a group of vehicles, it may order 
a recall and remedy campaign. However, 
NHTSA cannot become involved in individual 
problems between you, your dealer, or BMW of 
North America, LLC.
To contact NHTSA, you may either call the Auto 
Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-800-424-9393 or 
366-0123 in Washington, D.C. area, or write to: 
NHTSA, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
Washington, D.C. 20590. You can also obtain 
other information about motor vehicle safety 
from the Hotline. 

At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Mobility Reference
 13
>Cruise control 
>Selected telephone functions
>Voice command system
In order to operate a system, the corre-
sponding system must be switched on.< 
Telephone*/voice command system*
Press briefly:
Accept incoming call, start dialing, terminate 
call.
Extended pressure:
Activate/deactivate voice command system
Telephone*/audio sources*
Display/hide phonebook. Display the entries 
consecutively with the buttons for fast forward/
reverse
Fast forward/reverse
>Radio
Press briefly: next station
>CD
Press briefly: skip track
Extended pressure: fast forward/reverse
>Phone
Browse through list of names
Volume
On the sports steering-wheel* the buttons +/– 
for volume are located on the left-hand side of 
the steering wheel.
Cruise control* 
Cruise control: resumeCruise control: storing and accelerating 
+ as 
well as braking and storing 
–
On the sports steering-wheel* the buttons +/– 
for the cruise control are located on the right-
hand side of the steering wheel.
Cruise control: activating/interrupting/deacti-
vating
Recirculated-air mode/steering wheel 
heater*
Depending on the equipment, there is a 
button for the recirculated-air mode or 
steering wheel heater.< 
Switching recirculated-air mode on and off
Steering wheel heater: switching on/off, refer to 
page28. 

Opening and closing
20
Windows 
Opening and closing windows 
As of ignition key position 1: 
>Press the switch up to the resistance point:
The window continues to move as long as 
you continue to press the switch. 
>Briefly press the switch beyond the resis-
tance point:
The window moves downward automati-
cally. Briefly press the switch again to stop 
the opening motion. 
You can close the windows in the same manner 
by pulling the switch.
After switching off ignition
You can operate the power windows for up to 
15 minutes as long as neither of the front doors 
has been opened.
When leaving the vehicle, always remove 
the key and close the doors, as otherwise 
children could operate the windows and injure 
themselves.<
For convenience operation using the door lock, 
refer to page18. 
Anti-trapping mechanism 
If the closing force rises beyond a predefined 
threshold during closing, the system will imme-
diately stop moving the window prior to lower-
ing it slightly.
Despite the anti-trapping mechanism you 
should always inspect the window's travel 
path prior to closing it, as the safety system 
might fail to detect certain kinds of obstruc-
tions, such as very thin objects, and the window would continue closing.
You can disable the anti-trapping mechanism 
by pressing the switch beyond the resistance 
point and holding it.< 
Following interruptions in electrical 
power supply 
After disconnecting the battery, the anti-trap-
ping mechanism must be reinitialized. To do 
this, open and close the windows once and con-
tinue pull the switch for longer than 2 seconds 
after closing.
Safety switch 
With the safety switch, you can prevent the rear 
windows from being opened or closed via the 
switches in the rear passenger area, by chil-
dren, for example. The indicator lamp lights up 
when this safety feature is activated.
Always press the safety switch when chil-
dren ride in the rear, as otherwise 
unchecked closing of the windows could lead to 
injuries.<
You can deactivate the function again as 
of ignition key position 1.<
Accessories in window area
After installing any accessory – such as a 
clamp-on antenna for a portable phone – within 
the window's travel range, you will need to have 
the system reinitialized for use under the new 
conditions. Please contact your BMW Sports 
Activity Vehicle Center. 

Practical interior accessories
66
Car phone preparation* 
Hands-free system 
In vehicles with car phone preparation*, the 
hands-free microphone is located on the head-
liner near the interior lamp.
For more information on the car phone, refer to 
the Owner's Manual for Telephone. 
Ski bag* 
The ski bag allows the safe and clean transport 
of up to 4 pairs of standard skis or up to two 
snowboards.
The ski bag itself plus the additional capacity 
provided by the cargo area make it possible to 
transport skis with a length of up to 6.9 ft/
2.10 m. When skis of 6.9 ft/2.10 m in length are 
loaded the ski bag will tend to narrow, reducing 
its overall capacity. 
Loading
1.Fold down the center armrest, pull off the 
cover, press the button and remove the 
cover.
2.Press the button again; the cover in the 
cargo area opens. If you press the button firmly the first time, this also opens the 
cover in the cargo area.
3.Place the ski bag between the front seats 
and load. 
The zipper facilitates access to the stowed 
items.
4.Insert the belt tongue of the ski bag retain-
ing belt into the center safety belt buckle.
Make sure to load only clean skis into the ski 
bag. Wrap sharp edges so that no damage 
occurs.
Securing load
After loading, secure the ski bag and its con-
tents. Tension the retaining strap on the ten-
sioning buckle for this purpose.
Secure the ski bag in this way. If you fail to 
do so, it could endanger occupants dur-
ing braking or evasive maneuvers.< 
To store the ski bag, perform the above steps in 
reverse order. 

Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Mobility
 73
Hot exhaust system 
As in all vehicles equipped with a catalytic 
converter, extremely high temperatures 
are generated in this vehicle. Do not remove the 
heat shields installed adjacent to various sec-
tions of the exhaust system, and never apply 
undercoating to them. When driving, standing 
at idle and while parking take care to avoid pos-
sible contact between the hot exhaust system 
and any highly flammable materials such as hay, 
leaves, grass, etc. Such contact could lead to 
a fire, resulting in serious personal injury and 
property damage.<
Mobile communications devices in 
vehicle
BMW does not recommend using mobile 
communications devices, e.g. portable 
phones, in the interior of the vehicle without a 
direct connection to an outside antenna. Other-
wise the vehicle electronics and mobile com-
munications device can affect each other. In 
addition, there is no assurance that the radia-
tion which results during transmission will be 
dissipated from the vehicle interior.<
Inside rearview mirror, automatically 
dimming*
 
The inside rearview mirror contains two photo-
cells that control the automatic dimming func-
tion. One is integrated into the mirror glass, the 
other is located on the back of the mirror.
For trouble-free operation, keep the photocells 
clean and do not cover the area between the 
interior rearview mirror and the windshield. Do 
not attach any kind of stickers on the windshield 
in front of the mirror, either.
When the vehicle is parked 
Condensation forms in the air conditioner sys-
tem during operation, and then exits under the 
vehicle. Traces of condensed water under the 
vehicle are thus normal.
Before driving into a car wash 
Fold in the exterior mirrors, refer to page28, as 
otherwise they could be damaged due to the 
width of the vehicle. 
Deactivate the rain sensor as otherwise dam-
age could result from undesired wiper activa-
tion, refer to page39.
Hydroplaning 
When driving on wet or slushy roads, 
reduce road speed. If you do not, a wedge 
of water can form between tires and road sur-
face. This phenomenon is referred to as hydro-
planing, and is characterized by a partial or 
complete loss of contact between tires and 
road surface, ultimately undermining your abil-
ity to steer and brake the vehicle.<
Driving through water
Do not drive through water on the road if it 
is deeper than 20 in/50 cm, and then only 
at walking speed. Otherwise, the vehicle's 
engine, the electrical systems and the trans-
mission may be damaged.<
Use handbrake on inclines
Do not hold the vehicle in place on slopes 
by slipping or riding the clutch, use the 
handbrake instead. Otherwise greater clutch 
wear will result.<
Safe braking 
Your BMW is equipped with ABS as standard 
equipment. The best way to brake is to apply 
maximum pressure to the brake pedal during 
emergency: panic braking. Since the vehicle 
maintains steering responsiveness, you can 
nevertheless avoid possible obstacles with a 
minimum of steering effort. 

Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Mobility
 103
Giving and receiving assistance 
Receiving assistance
The Roadside Assistance of the BMW Group 
offers you assistance in the event of a break-
down around the clock, as well as on weekends 
and public holidays.
The phone numbers of the Roadside Assis-
tance control center in your home country can 
be found in the BMW Dealer directory.
In the case of vehicles with the corresponding 
equipment, you can use buttons in the head-
liner to contact Roadside Assistance or initiate 
an emergency call.
When the emergency call is initiated, a tele-
phone connection is established to the BMW 
Assist response center.
In vehicles with BMW Assist enabled, if the cur-
rent location of your vehicle can be determined, 
it will be transmitted to the BMW Assist 
response center.
The conditions for initiating an emergency call 
or contacting Roadside Assistance:
>Ignition key from position 1
>The car phone is logged on to a mobile tele-
phone network
>The emergency call system is operable
Access to buttons*
To open the cover:
Briefly press the cover, refer to arrow.
1Emergency call
2Roadside Assistance
Initiating an emergency call* 
Press button 1 for at least 2 seconds. 
The indicator lamp over the button lights up. 
As soon as the voice connection to the BMW 
Assist response center has been established, 
the indicator lamp flashes.
If the indicator lamp flashes, but you are unable 
to hear the response center, you can still be 
heard by the response center.
For technical reasons, the emergency call 
cannot be guaranteed under the most 
unfavorable conditions.< 
Under certain conditions, an emergency call is 
initiated automatically immediately after a 
severe accident. The automatic emergency call 
is not affected by the button being pressed.
Roadside Assistance* 
Press button 2 for at least 2 seconds.
The indicator lamp over the button lights up. 
As soon as the voice connection to Roadside 
Assistance has been established, the indicator 
lamp flashes.
On a country-specific basis, with BMW Assist 
enabled, the current location of your vehicle is 
determined at the same time. 
Warning triangle* 
To open the side trim panel: press the button.
Always observe all legal regulations 
requiring a warning triangle to be carried 
in the vehicle.<  

Everything from A to Z
114 Black ice, refer to Ice 
warning44
Blower
– air conditioner57
– automatic climate control60
BMW maintenance system93
Bottle holder, refer to Cup 
holders63
Brake fluid92
– level92
– warning lamp92
Brake Force Display50
Brake lamps
– Brake Force Display50
– indicator lamp, defective 
lamp12,53
– replacing bulbs98
Brake pads
– breaking-in72
Brake pedal, refer to Safe 
braking73
Brake rotors
– brake system72
– breaking-in72
Brakes73,92
– ABS73
– brake fluid92
– breaking in72
– handbrake35
– indicator/warning lamp11
Brake system92
– brake fluid92
– brake pads92
– breaking-in72
– disc brakes74
– warning lamp92
Brake wear warning
– brake pads92
– warning lamp92
Breakdown service, refer to 
Receiving assistance103
Breaking-in72
Bulb replacement, refer to 
Lamps and bulbs95
Buttons on steering wheel12
C
California law
– Event Data Recorders94
– Proposition 65 Warning6
Calling, refer to telephone 
Owner's Manual
Can holder, refer to Cup 
holders63
Capacities112
Capacity, cargo area112
Car care, refer to the Caring 
for your vehicle brochure
Car-care products, refer to the 
Caring for your vehicle 
brochure
Care, refer to the Caring for 
your vehicle brochure
Cargo, securing75
Cargo area67
– capacity112
– cover67
– emergency operation, refer 
to Manual unlocking19
– floor cover69
– folding rear seat backrest67
– lashing eyes69
– lid, refer to Tailgate19
– opening, remote control17
– power socket69
Cargo loading74
– determining load limit74
– securing cargo75
– stowing cargo75
– vehicle74
Caring for artificial leather, 
refer to the Caring for your 
vehicle brochure
Caring for leather, refer to the 
Caring for your vehicle 
brochure
Caring for plastic, refer to the 
Caring for your vehicle 
brochure
Caring for the carpet, refer to 
the Caring for your vehicle 
brochureCaring for the vehicle finish, 
refer to the Caring for your 
vehicle brochure
Car keys, refer to Key set16
Car phone, refer to separate 
Owner's Manual
Car phone preparation66
Car radio, refer to Owner's 
Manual for Radio/Onboard 
Computer
Car wash73
– refer to the Caring for your 
vehicle brochure
Cassette operation, refer to 
Owner's Manual for Radio/
Onboard Computer
Catalytic converter, refer to 
Hot exhaust system73
CD operation, refer to Owner's 
Manual for Radio/Onboard 
Computer
Central locking system16
– interior18
Changes, technical, refer to 
For your own safety6
Changing a wheel99
Changing gears
– automatic transmission with 
Steptronic37
Changing wheels86
Charge-current indicator 
lamp12,101
Charging battery101
Check Gas Cap, warning 
lamp12,80
Checking oil level90
Child's seats, refer to Child-
restraint systems31
Child-restraint fixing system 
LATCH33
Child-restraint systems31
Child-safety locks33
Chock99
Chrome parts, care, refer to 
the Caring for your vehicle 
brochure
Cigarette lighter65