Driving tips
113Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
flammable materials such as hay, leaves, grass,
etc. Such contact could lead to a fire, and with it
the risk of serious property damage as well as
personal injury. Do not touch hot exhaust tail
pipes. Otherwise there is a risk of burns.<
Mobile communications devices in
vehicle
BMW discourages the use of mobile
communications devices, e. g. mobile
phones, inside the vehicle without a direct con-
nection to an outside antenna. Otherwise, the
vehicle electronics and mobile communication
device can influence one another. In addition,
there is no assurance that the radiation which
results from transmission will be dissipated
from the vehicle interior.<
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 the tires and
the road surface, ultimately undermining your
ability to steer and brake the vehicle.<
The risk of hydroplaning increases as the tread
depth of the tires decreases, refer also to Mini-
mum tire tread on page200.
Driving through water
Do not drive through water on the road if it
is deeper than 1 ft/30 cm, and then only at
walking speed at the most. Otherwise, the vehi-
cle's engine, the electrical systems and the
transmission may be damaged.<
Starting off
On slopes
The starting assistant enables starting off on
slopes virtually without rolling back.
1.Hold the vehicle with the footbrake.
2.Make sure that the handbrake is released.
3.Release the footbrake and drive off quickly.The starting assistant holds the vehicle
for approx. 1 second after releasing the
footbrake. Depending on the load, the vehicle
may also roll back slightly during this time.
After releasing the footbrake, drive off quickly,
otherwise the starting assistant no longer holds
the vehicle after approx. 1 second and it begins
to roll back.<
Start off quickly on slopes. Do not hold
the vehicle on a hill by pressing the accel-
erator, but apply the footbrake or handbrake
instead. Otherwise overheating and heavy wear
can result in the area of the Sequential Manual
Transmission.<
To protect the clutch of the Sequential Manual
Transmission from overheating, the starting-off
behavior is changed under heavy loading, e.g. a
rapid succession of starts on slopes. This can
be noticed from shaking during starting off.
On a slippery surface
1.Select "P 400" program of M Engine
Dynamic Control, refer to page58.
2.Gently press accelerator pedal to prevent
wheels from spinning when starting off.
Clutch protection with manual
transmission
Be sure to avoid riding the clutch for longer peri-
ods.
Your BMW M5 is equipped with an overload
protection for the clutch. Riding the clutch for
longer periods is detected and the engine man-
agement system limits the engine speed to pro-
tect the clutch. This can result in the vehicle fail-
ing to accelerate when the clutch pedal is
partially depressed.
Braking safely
Your BMW is equipped with ABS as a standard
feature. In situations that require it, it is best to
brake with full force. Since the vehicle maintains
steering responsiveness, you can still avoid
possible obstacles with a minimum of steering
effort.
The pulsing of he brake pedal indicates that the
ABS is controlling braking.
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Navigation
Driving tips
123Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
Selecting country
1.Select "State / Province" or the displayed
country and press the controller.
The list of available countries appears on
the display.
2.Select the country of destination and press
the controller.
In order to be able to start the destination guid-
ance, at least the town/city of the destination or
its zip code must be entered.
Entering destination via town/city
name
1.Select "Town / City" or the displayed town/
city and press the controller.
2.Select the starting letter and press control-
ler.
A list of all towns/cities starting with this let-
ter appears on the Control Display.
3.To delete the letter entered if necessary:
>Delete individual numbers or letters:
Move the controller toward the right to
select and press the controller.
>Delete all numbers or letters:
Move the controller toward the right to
select and press and hold the con-
troller.4.If necessary, enter more letters.
The list gradually grows smaller each time
you enter a new letter.
>Enter blank space if necessary:
Select the symbol and press the con-
troller.
5.Change to the third field from the top if nec-
essary. Turn the controller until the town/
city name is selected from the list and press
the controller.
Entering destination by zip code
1.Select "Town / City" and press the control-
ler.
2.Enter the zip code:
Select the desired digits and press the con-
troller.
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Navigation
Driving tips
125Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
Entering house number
All house numbers stored for the street on the
navigation DVD can be entered.
1.Select "House number" and press the con-
troller.
2.Enter the house number:
Select the desired digits and press the con-
troller.
3.Change into the third field from the top.
Turn the controller until the house number
is selected and press the controller.
Starting destination guidance with
manual destination entry
>Select "Start guidance" and press the con-
troller.
Destination guidance starts immediately.
>If the destination guidance does not need to
be started immediately:
Select "Add to destination list" and press
the controller.
The destination is stored in the destination
list, refer to page129.
Entering destination via
voice*
You can enter a desired destination via the
voice command system. When entering the
destination, it is possible to change between
voice command and iDrive at any time. Reacti-
vate the voice command function for this pur-
pose if necessary.
With {Options} you can have the possible
commands read aloud.<1.Press the button on the steering wheel
or in the center console.
Selecting country
1.Wait for the system to ask for the country of
destination.
Say the name of the country of destination in
the language of the voice command system.
Entering destination
The destination can be spelled or entered as an
entire word.
Spelling destination
To enter the destination, spell it using the
orthography of the country of destination.
Pronounce the letters smoothly and at normal
volume, avoiding excessive emphasis and
pauses.
The system can suggest up to 20 desti-
nations that match your entries. Up to
6 entries are displayed at once on the Con-
trol Display.
2.{Enter address}
2.Say the name of the country of destina-
tion.
1.Spell town/city name:
Say at least the first three letters of the
destination. The more letters you say,
the more exactly the system recognizes
the town/city.
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Destination entry
132
Storing home address
You can store your current position or the cur-
rent destination as the home address in the
address book. This entry occupies the second
position in the address book.
1.Select "Address book" and press the con-
troller.
2.Change into the third field from the top.
Turn the controller until "Home address" is
selected and press the controller.
3.Select "Use current location as address", or
"Save current destination" during the desti-
nation guidance, and press the controller.
4.Select "Store in address book" and press
the controller.
Adopting home address as destination
1.Select "Home address" and press the con-
troller.
2.Select "Start guidance" and press the con-
troller.
Changing home address
1.Select "Home address" and press the con-
troller.
2.Select "Edit address" and press the con-
troller. For operation, refer to Entering a
destination manually, page122.
Selecting route
You can influence the calculated route by
choosing certain route criteria. You can change
the route criteria as often as you like while
entering the destination and whenever the des-
tination guidance is active.
The route is planned according to fixed rules.
The type of road is taken into account, e.g.
whether it is a highway or a winding road. The
road types are stored on the navigation DVD.
As a result, the routes recommended by the
navigation system may not always be the same
ones that you would choose based on personal
experience.
Changing route criteria
1.Select "Navigation" and press the control-
ler.
2.Change into the third field from the top.
Turn the controller until "Route preference"
is selected and press the controller.
The various criteria are listed on the Control
Display.
3.Select a route criterion for the route:
>"With highways"
Freeways and major traffic arteries are
given priority
>"Avoid highways"
Freeways are avoided where possible
>"Fast route"
The short traveling time, being a combi-
nation of the shortest possible route and
the fastest roads
>"Short route"
Short route, irrespective of how fast or
slow progress will be
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Destination guidance
134
Destination guidance
Starting destination
guidance
Via iDrive
iDrive, for explanation of principle, refer to
page16.
1.Change to upper field if necessary. Turn the
controller until "Navigation" is selected and
press the controller.
2.Select a destination from the destination list
and press the controller or enter a new des-
tination, refer to page122.
3.Select "Start guidance" and press the con-
troller.
After the route has been calculated, destination
guidance is indicated by arrows or a map dis-
play on the Control Display.
If the route criteria "Avoid highways",
"Avoid tollroads" or "Avoid ferries" are
selected, the calculation time for the route can
increase considerably.
Select the symbol and press the controller.
During destination guidance, you can operate
other equipment via iDrive at any time. You will
be punctually notified of a change of direction
by spoken instructions and the display of the
direction arrow.
With programmable memory/direct
selection buttons
Press the ... button on which the
desired destination is stored. Also refer to
page22.
Terminating/continuing
destination guidance
In arrow or map display
Select the symbol and press the controller.
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Navigation
Driving tips
135Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
In destination list
This symbol indicates the current destina-
tion.
1.Select the current destination and press the
controller.
2.Select "Stop guidance" and press the con-
troller.
When you park the vehicle before reaching the
entered destination, the following question is
displayed before beginning the next trip:
"Continue guidance to destination?".
The destination guidance starts automatically
after a short time.
To start the destination guidance:
Select "Yes" and press the controller.
Displaying route
You have the option of displaying various views
of the route during destination guidance.
From another menu, you can change
directly to the screen last displayed,
refer to Comfort opening of menu items,
page18.<
Displaying arrow display
1.Select "Navigation" and press the control-
ler.
2.Change into the fourth field from the top.
Turn the controller until "Arrow display" is
selected and press the controller.
The arrow display is shown.
1Switching voice instructions on/off
2Manually displaying traffic information
*
3Selecting route criteria
4Starting/ending destination guidance
5Arrow to destination from a bird's eye view
6Distance to the next change of direction
7Current position
8Direction of travel
>Outline arrow:
Destination guidance on the calculated
route.
>Solid arrow:
Arrow shows the route to be calculated
from a bird's eye view when the vehicle
is not located in an area contained on the
navigation DVD, e.g. in a multi-level
parking lot.
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Destination guidance
136 Depending on the equipment, the estimated
time of arrival and the distance to the destina-
tion are displayed in the top or bottom line of the
Control Display.
Before a change in direction, the representation
of the arrow changes.
1Street name for change of direction
2Distance up to change of direction
3Change of direction
To exit the menu:
Select the arrow and press the controller.
Displaying map view
You can have your current position displayed on
a map. After starting the destination guidance,
the planned route is shown on the map.
1.Select "Navigation" and press the control-
ler.
2.Change into the fourth field from the top.
Turn the controller until the desired map
view is selected:
>"Map facing north"
>"Map direction of travel"
>"Perspective"
3.Press the controller.1Switching voice instructions on/off
2Starting/ending destination guidance
3Map-guided destination selection
4Display the menu in which the information
last selected can be displayed/hidden, refer
to Selecting destination via information on
page128
5Changing map display
> "Map facing north"
> "Map direction of travel"
> "Perspective"
6Changing route criteria
7Manually displaying traffic information*
8Arrow to destination from a bird's eye view
The estimated time of arrival and the distance
to the destination are shown in the bottom line
of the Control Display.
To exit the menu:
Select the arrow and press the controller.
At scales of less than 250 miles/500 km, you
have the option of deciding whether to orient
the map to north or toward your current direc-
tion of travel. At scales of 250 miles/500 km or
greater, the map always points toward north.
Changing map display
Select the corresponding symbol and press the
controller.
The next map display is displayed.
Changing scale
Turn the controller to adjust the scale.
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Navigation
Driving tips
137Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
Displaying streets and towns/cities of
route
You can have the roads and towns along the
route displayed during destination guidance.
The distances remaining to be traveled on each
individual road are also displayed.
1.Select "Navigation" and press the control-
ler.
2.Change into the third field from the top.
Turn the controller until "Route list" is
selected and press the controller.
To exit the menu:
Select the arrow and press the controller.
Destination guidance via
voice instructions
Switching voice instructions on/off
Voice instructions can be switched on or off
during the destination guidance in the arrow or
map view:
Select the symbol and press the controller.To switch the voice instructions on and off at
any time:
1.Press the button.
This opens the start menu.
2.Press the controller to open the menu.
3.Turn the controller until "Settings" is
selected and press the controller.
4.Turn the controller until "Language / Units"
is selected and press the controller.
5.Change to upper field if necessary. Turn the
controller until "Languages" is selected and
press the controller.
6.Select "Navigation voice instructions" and
press the controller.
The voice instructions are switched on.
The setting is stored for the remote control cur-
rently in use
*.
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