
Cockpit
10
Cockpit
Around the steering wheel: controls and displays
3Adjusting exterior mirrors, automatic curb 
monitor
*45
1Safety switch for electric rear 
windows38 
2
Opening and closing windows37 4
Parking lamps93
Low beams93
Automatic headlamp control
*93
Adaptive Head Light
*95
5
Fog lamps
*95 

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Indicator and warning lamps
The concept
Indicator and warning lamps can light up in var-
ious combinations and colors in both the indica-
tor area 1 and the display 2.
Some lamps are checked for proper functioning 
and thus come on briefly when the engine is 
started or the ignition is switched on.
Explanatory text messages
Text messages at the lower edge of the Control 
Display explain the meaning of the displayed 
indicator and warning lamps.
You can call up more information, e.g. on the 
cause of a malfunction and on how to respond, 
via Check Control, refer to page79.In urgent cases, this information will be shown 
immediately as soon as the corresponding lamp 
comes on.
Indicator lamps without text messages
The following indicator lamps in the indicator 
area1 signal that the associated functions are 
activated:
High beams/headlamp flasher95
Fog lamps
*95
Lamp flashes:
DSC or DTC is regulating the propul-
sive forces in order to maintain driving 
stability85
Handbrake engaged54 

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becomes clear, your vehicle will accelerate to 
the speed you have selected by increasing the 
throttle setting and shifting gears automatically 
or by the driver as needed. Your selected speed 
will be held when driving downhill, too.
Since this active cruise control system is a new 
technology and operates differently from con-
ventional cruise control systems which you may 
be accustomed to, you are strongly urged to 
read all of the pages relating to this system 
before use. Pay special attention to the System 
limitations section beginning on page66.
Braking sensation
The system's automatic brake operation results 
in a braking sensation that is slightly different 
from what you feel when you brake the vehicle 
yourself in a similar situation. Possible noises 
during automatic deceleration are normal.
Manual transmission/SMG
You can shift gears while cruise control is acti-
vated. An indicator lamp notifies you that you 
should shift gears when you drive for an 
extended period at very high or very low engine 
speeds, or the system is deactivated.
In Drive mode, the SMG acts similarly to an 
automatic transmission in position D.
Range of applications
The minimum desired speed is 20 mph or 
30 km/h, and the maximum desired speed is 
110 mph or 180 km/h.
As with conventional cruise control sys-
tems, active cruise control in no way 
diminishes or substitutes for the driver’s own 
personal responsibility, alertness and aware-
ness in adjusting speed, braking or otherwise 
controlling the vehicle. The driver should 
decide when to use the system on the basis of 
road, traffic, visibility, and weather conditions. 
Active cruise control is intended for use on 
highway-type roadways where traffic is moving 
relatively smoothly. Do not use this system in 
city driving; heavy traffic such as during rush 
hour; on curvy, winding roads, slippery roads or 
roads with sharp curves such as highway off-ramps; during inclement weather such as snow, 
strong rain or fog; or when entering inter-
changes, service/parking areas or toll booths. 
It is also important to regulate your vehicle's 
speed and distance setting within applicable 
legal limits. Always be ready to take action or 
apply the brakes if necessary, especially when 
the system is actively following a vehicle in front 
of you. Otherwise, driving conditions could 
result which violate the law or pose a risk of 
accident.<
One lever for all functions
1Store and increase desired speed
2Store and decrease desired speed
3Deactivate system, refer to page65
4Resume stored desired speed and dis-
tance, refer to page65
5Select distance to vehicle driving ahead, 
refer to page64
Maintaining current speed
Briefly press the lever, arrow 1, or briefly pull it, 
arrow 2, at a driving speed of more than approx. 
20 mph or 30 km/h. 

Technology for driving comfort and safety
90 tiously and think well ahead. Have the system 
checked.
If the warning lamp lights up during the first 
engine starting following a power supply inter-
ruption, the system must be activated by being 
initialized.
Brake Force Display*
The brake lamps light up in two stages, 
depending on how sharply you apply the 
brakes.
>Normal braking: 
The brake lamps and the center brake lamp 
light up.
>Sharp braking: 
The illuminated surface of the brake lamps 
is enlarged, as long as the rear fog light is 
not switched on.
Airbags
The following airbags are located under the 
marked covers:
1Front airbags
2Head airbags
3Side airbags
Protective action
Observe the adjustment instructions on 
page40 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.
Do not apply adhesive materials to the 
cover panels of the airbags, cover them or 
modify them in any other way. Do not attach  

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Lamps
Parking lamps/low beams
0Lamps off and daytime driving lamps
1Parking lamps and daytime driving lamps
2Low beams
3Automatic headlamp control
* and Adaptive 
Head Light
*
Parking lamps
In switch position1, the front, rear and side 
vehicle lighting is switched on. You can use the 
parking lamps for parking. For the additional 
option of roadside parking lamps on one side of 
the car only, refer to page95.
The parking lamps will discharge the bat-
tery. Therefore, do not leave them on for 
unduly long periods of time, otherwise the bat-
tery might not have enough power to start the 
engine.<
Low beams
The low beams light up when the light switch is 
in position 2 and the ignition is on.
If desired, the light switch can remain in the low-
beam headlamp position. The exterior lamps 
are automatically switched off after the vehicle 
is parked.
If necessary, switch on the parking lamps as 
described in the section about parking lamps.
Automatic headlamp control*
When the switch is in position3, the low beams 
are switched on and off automatically depend-ing on ambient light conditions, e.g. in a tunnel, 
in twilight, or if there is precipitation. The LED 
next to the symbol is illuminated when the low 
beams are on.
When driving into tunnels with bright overhead 
lights, there may be a delay before the head-
lamps come on.
The headlamps may also come on when the 
sun is sitting low on a blue sky.
The low beams remain switched on inde-
pendent of the ambient lighting condi-
tions when you switch on the fog lamps
*.
When the daytime driving lamps are activated, 
refer to page94, the low-beam headlamps are 
always switched on when the switch is in posi-
tion 3 and the ignition is on.<
If desired, the light switch can remain in position 
3. The exterior lamps are automatically 
switched off after the vehicle is parked.
The automatic headlamp control cannot 
serve as a substitute for your personal 
judgment in determining when the lamps 
should be switched on in response to ambient 
lighting conditions. For example, the system 
cannot detect fog or hazy weather. To avoid 
safety risks, you should always switch on the 
lamps manually under these conditions.<
Adjusting sensitivity
You can program how sensitively the system 
reacts to ambient light.
iDrive concept, refer to page16.
1.Press the   button.
This opens the start menu.
2.Press the controller to open the   menu.
3.Select "Vehicle settings" and press the 
controller. 

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5.Select "Daytime running light" and press 
the controller.
 The daytime driving lamps are switched 
on.
Adaptive Head Light*
The concept
Adaptive Head Light is a variable headlamp 
control system that enables better illumination 
of the road surface. Depending on the steering 
angle and other parameters, the light from the 
headlamp follows the course of the road.
Activating Adaptive Head Light
With the ignition on, turn the light switch to the 
automatic headlamp control position, refer to 
page93.
To avoid dazzling the drivers of oncoming vehi-
cles, Adaptive Head Light is not active when the 
car is driven in reverse, and directs the light to 
the front passenger's side when the vehicle is at 
a standstill.
Malfunction
The LED next to the symbol for automatic head-
lamp control flashes. Adaptive Head Light is 
malfunctioning or has failed. Have the system 
checked as soon as possible.
High beams/roadside parking 
lamps
1High beams
2Headlamp flasher
3Roadside parking lamps
*
Roadside parking lamps, left or right*
There is an additional option of switching on the 
lamps on the side of the car facing the road 
when parked, if permitted in the country of use.
After parking the vehicle, press the lever up or 
down beyond the pressure point, arrow 3.
The roadside parking lamps drain the bat-
tery. Therefore, do not leave them on for 
unduly long periods of time, otherwise the bat-
tery might not have enough power to start the 
engine.<
Fog lamps*
The parking lamps or low beams must 
be switched on for the fog lamps to 
operate. The green indicator lamp in 
the instrument cluster lights up whenever the 
fog lamps are on. 

Lamps
96 Depending on your vehicle's equipment ver-
sion, the fog lamps are switched off when you 
activate the headlamp flasher or switch on the 
high beams
*.
If the automatic headlamp control is acti-
vated, the low beams will come on auto-
matically when you switch on the fog lamps.<
Instrument lighting
You can adjust the brightness of the instrument 
lighting only when the parking lamps or the low 
beams are switched on.
1.Lightly push button 1 up or down repeat-
edly until the appropriate symbol appears in 
the display, accompanied by the brightness 
and the word "SET".
2.Press button 2.
3.Lightly push button 1 up or down to select 
the brightness; the setting is stored imme-
diately.
4.Press button 2 in the turn indicator stalk.
The display again shows the outside tem-
perature and the time.
Interior lamps
The interior lamps, the footwell lamps*, the lug-
gage compartment lamp and the courtesy 
lamps
* are controlled automatically.
The LEDs for the courtesy lamps
 are set in the 
door handles and illuminate the ground in front 
of the doors.
To avoid draining the battery, all lamps 
inside the car are switched off about 
15 minutes after the ignition is switched off, 
refer to Start/stop button on page52.<
Switching interior lamps on/off 
manually
Interior lamps, front and rear*:
To switch on and off, press the button.
To switch off the lamp permanently, press the 
button for the front interior lamp for about 
3seconds.
Reading lamps
There are reading lamps at the front and rear*, 
next to the interior lamps. To switch on and off, 
press the button. 

Replacing components
206 lasers, are officially designated as Class 1 light-
emitting diodes.
Do not remove the covers or expose the 
eyes directly to the unfiltered light source 
for several hours at a time, otherwise this could 
cause irritation to the retina.<
Xenon lamps*
The service life of these bulbs is very long and 
the probability of a failure is very low, provided 
that they are not switched on and off an unusual 
number of times. If a xenon lamp fails neverthe-
less, switch on the fog lamps and continue the 
journey with great care, provided that local leg-
islation does not prohibit this.
Have work on the xenon lighting system 
performed only by your BMW Center or a 
workshop that works according to BMW repair 
procedures with correspondingly trained per-
sonnel. Due to the high electrical voltages 
present, there is a risk of potentially fatal acci-
dents if work is performed inappropriate.<
Parking lamps, roadside parking lamps
In the event of a malfunction, please contact 
your BMW Center or a workshop that works 
according to BMW repair procedures with cor-
respondingly trained personnel.
Halogen lamps
H7 bulb, 55 watts
Always wear gloves and eye protection; 
the atmosphere within the H7 bulb is 
pressurized. Otherwise there is a risk of injury if 
the bulb is damaged.<
There are separate headlamp covers for low-
beam headlamps and high-beam headlamps.
Be careful when installing the covers, oth-
erwise leaks could occur and cause dam-
age to the headlamp system.<
For checking and adjusting headlamp 
aim, please contact your BMW Center.<
Access to the lamps
The high-beam headlamp can be accessed 
from the engine compartment, whereas the low-beam headlamp is accessed through a flap 
in the wheel well.
1Cover for high-beam headlamp
2Cover for low-beam headlamp
3Turn signal bulb socket
To remove the covers:
1.Fold the respective wire bracket to the side, 
see arrows.
2.Flip open the cover and take it out of the 
guide.
Follow the same steps in reverse order to reat-
tach the covers.
Access through the wheel well
Only for low-beam headlamps and turn signals:
1.Turn the wheel inwards.
2.Open the flap in the wheel well. To do so, 
turn the fastener counterclockwise using a 
coin, for example.
Changing low-beam and high-beam 
bulbs
1.Remove the relevant cover for the head-
lamp.
2.Disconnect the plug from the lamp.