
At a glance
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6Buttons on steering wheel
7Instrument cluster12
10Ignition lock5911Horn, entire surface
14Releasing hood216
15Opening luggage compartment lid/
tailgate35,34 Mobile phone
*182:
>Press: accepting and ending 
call, starting dialing
* for 
selected phone number and 
redialing if no phone number 
is selected
>Press longer: redialing
Volume
Activating/deactivating voice 
command system
* 22
Changing radio station164
Selecting music track174
Scrolling in phone book and in lists 
with stored phone numbers
Individually programmable
*53 
Individually programmable53 
8
Windshield wipers66
Rain sensor66
Sports Wagon: rear window 
wiper67
9Starting/stopping engine and 
switching ignition on/off 59
12
Steering wheel heater*53
Steering wheel adjustment53
13
Cruise control
*68
Active cruise control
*69
16
Head-Up Display
*98
BMW Night Vision
*100
17
Parking lamps103
Low beams103
Daytime running lamps
*104
Automatic headlamp control
*103 
Daytime running lamps
*104
Adaptive Head Light
*104 
18
Instrument lighting105
Fog lamps
*105 

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Indicator and warning lamps
The concept
The indicator and warning lamps can light up in 
different combinations and colors.
Some lamps are tested for proper function by 
briefly lighting up during starting of the engine 
or when the ignition is switched on.
Explanatory text messages
Text messages at the bottom edge of the Con-
trol Display explain the meaning of the dis-
played indicator and warning lamps.
Additional information, e.g. on the cause of a 
malfunction and on the corresponding need to 
take action can be displayed via the Check Con-
trol, refer to page80.In urgent cases, this information will be shown 
as soon as the corresponding lamp comes on.
Indicator lamps without text messages
The following indicator lamps indicate that the 
associated functions are activated:
Handbrake applied61
Handbrake applied for Canadian 
models
Fog lamps
*105
DTC Dynamic Traction Control88
High beams/headlamp flasher105
Lamp flashes:
DSC or DTC controls the drive and 
braking forces for maintaining vehicle 
stability88 

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Things to know about active cruise control
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.<
Always remember that the range and abil-
ity of the system does have physical limi-
tations. It will not apply the brakes or decelerate 
your vehicle when there is a slow-moving vehi-
cle, stopped vehicle or stationary object ahead 
of you, as for example, at a traffic light or a 
parked vehicle. Also, the system does not react 
to oncoming traffic, pedestrians or other types 
of potential traffic such as a rider on horseback. 
It is also possible that the system may not 
detect smaller moving objects such as motor-
cycles or bicycles. Be especially alert when 
encountering any of these situations as the sys-
tem will neither automatically brake, nor provide 
a warning to you. Also, be aware that every decrease in the distance setting allows your 
vehicle to come closer to a vehicle in front of 
you and requires a heightened amount of alert-
ness.<
If while your vehicle is actively following a vehi-
cle in front of you and the vehicle ahead speeds 
up or the lane ahead becomes clear, then your 
vehicle will accelerate to the speed you have 
selected. Be aware that changing to a clear, 
unobstructed lane will also result in your vehicle 
accelerating.
Be certain to deactivate the system when 
you pull into an exit lane for a highway off-
ramp.<
Also, vehicles traveling in a staggered manner 
on a highway may cause a delay in the system's 
reaction to a vehicle in front of you or may cause 
the system to react to a vehicle actually in the 
lane next to you. Always be ready to take action 
or apply the brakes if necessary.
Active cruise control can only decelerate the 
vehicle to approx. 20 mph/30 km/h. If the sys-
tem reduces vehicle speed below 20 mph/
30 km/h or if DSC/ABS is engaged while driving, 
the system will automatically deactivate.
Remember, the system cannot stop your 
vehicle. In addition, the system is deacti-
vated whenever the driver applies the vehicle 
brakes, shifts the transmission to neutral/N, or 
deactivates DSC. After any deactivation, the 
system will no longer automatically activate the 
vehicle brakes, which means the driver must 
intervene and resume manual braking. You 
should then reactivate the system only when 
you are fully aware of the prior speed and dis-
tance settings.< 

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>in dense fog, heavy rain or snowfall
>when displaying very hot objects such as 
transformers, car exhausts etc.
>when the image briefly freezes during nor-
mal system adjustment.
BMW Night Vision's potential benefits 
can be limited by the driving style of the 
driver, the size and relative temperature of the 
detected objects, dirt or contamination on the 
camera lens, adverse weather like snow, rain or 
fog, and other factors not mentioned here. It will 
always be the driver's responsibility to drive at a 
speed and in a manner that recognizes potential 
hazards and adjust accordingly.
BMW Night Vision is not a substitute or replace-
ment for driver responsibility or for accommo-
dating the visibility conditions and the traffic sit-
uation. The forward view illuminated by the 
headlamps must always be the basis for making 
safe driving decisions, otherwise a safety risk 
will result.<
Activating BMW Night Vision
1.Turn the light switch to position2 or3, refer 
to page103.
2.With low beams switched on:
>Press the   button. Depending on the 
vehicle's equipment, the location of the 
button may differ somewhat.
>Press one of the programmable buttons 
on the steering wheel, refer to page53.
The image will be displayed on the Control Dis-
play after a few seconds. Depending on the last 
mode selected, either the normal or full screen 
image will be displayed.Due to the system's need to adjust periodically, 
a still image is displayed at certain intervals for 
fractions of a second. This is normal and not an 
indication of a problem.
To prevent driving without headlamps, at a 
speed of more than approx. 3 mph/5 km/h and 
when dark, the thermal image on the Control 
Display is only shown when the low beams are 
on.
Deactivating BMW Night Vision
>Press the   button.
>Press the button on the steering wheel.
>Press the   button.
>Via iDrive, refer to Selecting settings.
Selecting settings
iDrive, for explanation of principle, refer to 
page16.
1.Activate BMW Night Vision.
2.Press the controller to display the menu 
items.
3.Select the menu item and press the control-
ler:
>"Night Vision off":
Deactivate BMW Night Vision. 

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Lamps
Parking lamps/low beams
0Lights off and daytime running lamps*
1Parking lamps and daytime running lamps*
2Low beams
3Automatic headlamp control
*, daytime run-
ning lamps
* 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.
The parking lamps drain the battery. Do 
not leave them switched on for long peri-
ods of time, otherwise it may no longer be pos-
sible to start the engine. It is preferable to 
switch on the roadside parking lamps on one 
side, refer to page105.<
Low beams
The low beams light up when the light switch is 
in position 2 and the ignition is on.
If the light switch remains in position 2, the 
exterior lamps are switched off automatically 
when the driver's door is opened while the igni-
tion is off.
Switch on the parking lamps if required as 
described under Parking lamps.
Automatic headlamp control*
In switch position3, the system activates the 
low beams and switches them on or off in 
response to changes in ambient light condi-
tions, for instance, in a tunnel, at dawn and dusk 
and in case of precipitation. Adaptive Head 
Light
* is active. The LED next to the symbol is 
illuminated when the low beams are on.
When driving into a tunnel with bright overhead 
lighting, switching on of the lights may be 
delayed.
A blue sky with the sun low on the horizon can 
cause the lights to be switched on.
The low beams remain switched on inde-
pendent of the ambient lighting condi-
tions when you switch on the fog lamps
*.<
If desired, the light switch can be left in posi-
tion3. The exterior lamps are automatically 
switched off after switching off the vehicle.
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 sensors 
cannot detect fog of hazy weather. To avoid 
safety risks, you should always switch on the 
low beams manually under these conditions.<
Pathway lighting
When you activate the headlamp flasher after 
parking the vehicle and switching off the lamps, 
the low beams will come on for a brief period. 
You can set the duration or deactivate the func-
tion via iDrive.
iDrive, for explanation of principle, refer to 
page16.
1.Press the   button.
This opens the start menu.
2.Press the controller to open the   menu.
3.Select "Settings" and press the controller.
4.Select "Vehicle / Tires" and press the con-
troller. 

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High beams/
roadside parking lamps
1High beams
2Headlamp flasher
3Roadside parking lamps
Roadside parking lamps, left or right*
You also enjoy the option of lighting up just one 
side of your vehicle when parking:
Switching on
After parking the vehicle, press the lever up or 
down beyond the resistance point, arrow 3.
The roadside parking lamps drain the bat-
tery. Do not leave them switched on for 
long periods of time, otherwise it may no longer 
be possible to start the engine.<
Switching off
Briefly press the lever in the opposite direction 
up to the resistance point, arrow3.
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.
The fog lamps are switched off whenever the 
high beams are switched on.
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 control the lighting intensity by using 
the knurled wheel.
Interior lamps
Control of the interior lamps, footwell lamps, 
door entry lighting, cargo bay lamps
* and cour-
tesy lamps
* is automatic.
With the courtesy lamps, LED lamps are located 
in the door handles to illuminate the exterior 
area before the doors.
To protect the battery, all lamps in the 
vehicle are switched off approx. 15 min-
utes after radio readiness is switched off, refer 
to Start/Stop button on page59.< 

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With destination guidance switched off
1.Open the start menu.
2.Move the controller to the right to open 
"Navigation".
3.Select "Traffic Info" and press the control-
ler.
The current traffic information is shown on 
the Control Display sorted according to the 
distance to the current vehicle position.
Displaying detailed traffic information
Select a traffic information item from the list and 
press the controller.
To exit the menu:
 Select the arrow and press the controller.
Symbols for traffic informationDepiction of traffic information in map 
view
The traffic information symbols are shown in 
the map view up to a scale of 100 miles/200 km.
Traffic light failure
Roadworks
General traffic obstruction
Transport of hazardous load
Oncoming vehicle
Danger
Height restriction
No parking
Fog
Strong precipitation
Slippery road
Cross winds
Smog
Road close
Slow traffic
Traffic back up
Stopped traffic
Icy roads
Uneven surface
Accident
Narrow road
Delay
Police checkpoint
Traffic event with map scales greater 
than 5 miles/10 km, arrow points in 
the direction of travel concerned
Several traffic events have been 
received. These are displayed indi-
vidually at a larger scale.  

Replacing components
224
High beams
H7 bulb, 55 watts
1.Turn the bulb holder to the left and remove.
2.Remove and replace the bulb.
Parking and roadside parking lamps
5-watt bulbs, W5W
One bulb each is located above the low beams 
and high beams.
1.Turn the cover cap for low beams or high 
beams to the left and remove.
2.Pull out the bulb holder.
3.Remove and replace the bulb.
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 one of these bulbs should 
nevertheless fail, it is possible to continue driv-
ing with great caution using the fog lamps, pro-
vided traffic laws in your area do 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 voltage present in the 
system, there is a danger of fatal injuries when 
work is carried out improperly.<
Parking and roadside parking lamps
In the event of a malfunction, please go to your 
BMW center or a workshop that works accord-
ing to BMW repair procedures with correspond-
ingly trained personnel.
Turn signals, front
21-watt bulb, PY21W
1.Turn the bulb holder to the left and remove.
2.Apply gentle pressure to the bulb while 
turning it to the left for removal and replace-
ment.
Side-mounted turn signals
5-watt bulb, W5W
1.Press back against the front edge of the 
lamp with the tip of your finger, then pivot it 
out.
2.Turn the bulb holder to the left and remove.
3.Remove the bulb for replacement.