
Technology for comfort, convenience and safety
92
Brake force display
The brake lamps light up in two stages depend-
ing on how strongly you brake.>Normal braking
The brake lamps and the center brake lamp
light up.
>Heavy breaking
The brake lamps in the liftgate also light up.
Airbags
The following airbags are located under the
marked covers:
1Front airbags
2Head airbags
3Side airbags in backrests
Protective action
To ensure that the safety systems con-
tinue to provide optimized protection,
please observe the adjustment instructions on
page40.<
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 are deliberately not triggered in
every impact situation, e. g. less severe acci-
dents or 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 attempt to
remove the airbag restraint system from the
vehicle. Do not modify or tamper with either the
wiring or the individual components in the air-
bag system. This category includes the uphol-
stery in the center of the steering wheel, on the
instrument panel, the doors and the roof pillars
along with the sides of the headliner. Do not
attempt to remove or dismantle the steering
wheel. Do not touch the individual components
immediately after the system has been trig-
gered, because there is a danger of burns.
In the event of malfunctions, deactivation, or
triggering of the airbag restraint system, have
the testing, repair, removal, and disposal of air-
bag generators executed only by a BMW Sports

Things to remember when driving
126
Roof-mounted luggage rack*
A special rack system is available as an option
for your BMW. Please comply with the precau-
tions included with the installation instructions.
Loading roof-mounted luggage rack
Because roof racks raise the vehicle's center of
gravity when loaded, they have a major effect on
its handling and steering response. You should
therefore always remember not to exceed the
approved roof load capacity, the approved
gross vehicle weight or the axle loads when
loading the rack.
You can find the specified weights under
Weights on page244.
The load on the roof must be evenly distributed
and must not extend outward beyond the limits
of the loading surface. Always stow the heaviest
pieces on the bottom. Be sure that adequate
clearance is maintained for raising the pan-
orama glass sunroof, and that objects do not
project into the opening path of the liftgate.
Secure roof-mounted cargo correctly and
securely to prevent it from shifting or falling off
during the trip.
Drive smoothly. Avoid sudden acceleration and
braking maneuvers. Take corners gently.
Driving on poor roads
Your X5 is at home on all roads and surfaces.
It combines a 4-wheel drive system with the
advantages of a normal passenger car.
Driving on unpaved terrain can cause
damage to the vehicle.<
When you are driving on poor roads, there are a
few points which you should strictly observe for
your own safety, for that of your passengers,
and for the safety of the vehicle:
>Familiarize yourself with the vehicle before
driving off and avoid taking risks at all costs.
>Adapt your driving speed to the road condi-
tions. The steeper and rougher the road
surface is, the lower the speed should be.>You can operate your vehicle on uphill and
downhill gradients with a maximum slope of
50 %. If you want to drive on uphill or down-
hill gradients of this kind, make sure before-
hand that the engine oil and coolant levels
are near the MAX mark, refer to page225.
>Use the HDC Hill Descent Control when
driving down extremely steep grades, refer
to page85. It is possible to start off on
grades of up to 33 %.
The permissible body roll is 50 %.
>While driving, watch carefully for obstacles
such as rocks or holes. Try to avoid these
obstacles whenever possible.
>Please make sure that the undercarriage
does not touch the ground, for example on
crests and bumpy roads. The ground clear-
ance of the vehicle is a maximum of approx.
8.0 in/20 cm. Please note that the ground
clearance can vary depending on loading
and the driving conditions of the vehicle.
>Only drive through water on roads up to a
maximum depth of 20 in/50 cm and only at
walking speed, making sure not to stop in
the process.
>After driving through water at low speed,
lightly press the brake pedal several times
to dry the brakes and to prevent the braking
effect from being reduced by wetness.
>Depending on the condition of the surface,
it may be practical to briefly activate DTC,
refer to DTC Dynamic Traction Control on
page85.
>If the drive wheels spin on one side, depress
the accelerator pedal sufficiently so that the
driving stability control systems can distrib-
ute the drive forces to the individual wheels.
Please note the following points after driving on
poor roads to maintain the driving safety of your
BMW:
>Clean the coarsest dirt from the body.
>Clean mud, snow, ice etc. from the wheels
and tires and check the tires for damage.

Destination entry
134 1.Change to upper field.
The arrow is selected.
2.Turn the controller to the right until the
request for the entry of a street in the coun-
try appears and press the controller.
3.Change to the second field from the top and
enter the street.
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 page138.
Entering destination via
voice*
You can enter a desired destination with 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 system for this pur-
pose if necessary.
With {Options} you can have the possible
commands read aloud.<
1.Press the button on the steering wheel.
2.{Enter address}

Destination guidance
146 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.Open the start menu.
2.Press the controller to open the menu.
3.Select "Settings" and press the controller.4.Select "Language / Units" 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.
Repeating and canceling voice
instructions
With the programmable buttons on the steering
wheel you can also make the following settings,
refer to page50:
>Repeat the voice instruction:
Press the button.
>Switch voice instructions on/off:
Hold the button down.
Setting volume of voice instructions
The volume can only be adjusted while a voice
instruction is being output.
1.Repeat the last voice instruction, if neces-
sary.
2.Turn the button during the voice instruction
to select the desired volume.

On/Off and settings
154
On/Off and settings
The following audio and video sources have
common controls and adjustment options:
>Radio
>CD player
>CD changer
*
Controls
The audio and video sources can be operated
with:
>Buttons in the area of the CD player
>iDrive
>Buttons
on steering wheel, refer to page11
>Programmable memory/direct selection
buttons, refer to page21
Buttons on CD player
Equipment with a single drive
1Entertainment sound output on/off, volume
>Press: switch on/off.
When you switch on, the last set radio
station or CD track is played.
>Turn: adjust volume.
2 Eject CD
3Drive for audio CDs
4 Station scan/track search
>Change radio station.
>Select track for CD player and
CD changer.
Equipment with two drives
1Entertainment sound output on/off, volume
>Press: switch on/off.
When you switch on, the last set radio
station or CD track is played.
>Turn: adjust volume.
2Drive for audio CDs
3 Eject CD
4 Station scan/track search
>Change radio station.
>Select track for CD player and
CD changer.
5Drive for navigation DVDs
Operation via iDrive
iDrive, for explanation of concept, refer to
page16.
1.Press the button.
This opens the start menu.
2.Move the controller backwards to open
"Entertainment".

Navigation
Entertainment
Driving tips
155Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Mobility
You have the following choices:
>"FM" and "AM": radio reception
>"WB": Weather Band station
>"SAT": satellite radio
*
>"CD": CD player or changer
>"AUX": external audio device
>"Set": depending on the audio source,
other adjustments can be made, e.g. with
the radio: update station with strongest
reception, store station, tone control, sam-
ple stations.
From another menu, you can change
directly to the screen last displayed,
refer to Comfort opening of menu items on
page18.<
From radio readiness, the selected audio
source is stored for the remote control currently
in use.
Switching on/off
To switch the Entertainment sound output on
and off:
Press knob1 on the CD player.
This symbol on the Control Display indi-
cates that sound output is switched off.
For equipment with a single drive, the sound
output is available for approx. 20 minutes with
the ignition switched off.
Switch on the sound output again for this pur-
pose.
Adjusting volume
Turn knob1 on the CD player until the desired
volume is set.
You can also adjust the volume with buttons on
the steering wheel, refer to page11.
From radio readiness, the setting is stored for
the remote control currently in use.
Tone control
You can alter various tone settings, e. g. treble
and bass, or the speed-dependent volume
increase.
The tone settings are set for all audio sources at
once.
From radio readiness, the settings are stored
for the remote control currently in use.
Changing tone settings
1. 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.Select "Audio" or "Tone / volume" and
press the controller.
The tone settings can also be selected when
you have opened "Entertainment" in the start
menu:
Select "Set" and then "Tone", and press the
controller.
Treble and bass
1.Select "Treble / Bass" and press the con-
troller.

Radio
158
Radio
Your radio provides reception of the FM and AM
wavebands.
Listening to radio
Press the knob if the sound output is switched
off.
iDrive, for explanation of concept, refer to
page16.
1.Press the button.
This opens the start menu.
2.Move the controller backwards to open
"Entertainment".
3.Change to upper field if necessary. Select
"FM" or "AM".
4.Press the controller.
Stations are shown on the Control Display on
the basis of various selection criteria, e. g. "Pre-
sets".
If "Autostore" does not display any stations or
if the stations displayed can no longer be
received in the AM reception range, to update the station with the strongest signal, refer to
page159.
Changing stations
Turn the controller.
Buttons on CD player
Press the button for the corresponding
direction.
The system changes to the next displayed sta-
tion.
You can also change stations with buttons on
the steering wheel, refer to page11.
Changing selection criteria
In addition to the stations currently displayed,
you can have stations with another selection
criterion displayed.
You can choose from the following selection
criteria:
>"All stations":
Stations that can currently be received in
the "FM" waveband.
>"Autostore":
The stations with the strongest received
signals in the "AM" waveband.
>"Presets":
Stations you have previously stored, refer to
page160.

CD player and CD changer
166
Starting CD changer
Filling CD changer, refer to page169.
Via iDrive
1.Press the button.
This opens the start menu.
2.Move the controller backwards to open
"Entertainment".
3.Change to upper field if necessary. Select
"CD" and press the controller.
4.Change to the second field from the top if
necessary. Select the desired CD and press
the controller.
At the end of the last track, the next CD will be
selected.
With programmable memory/direct
selection buttons
You can store a CD compartment of the CD
changer on the programmable memory/direct
selection buttons to start the CD changer, refer
to page21.
Selecting a track
Buttons on CD player
Press the button for the corresponding
direction repeatedly until you reach the desired
track.
The track is displayed on the Control Display.
You can also change the track with buttons on
the steering wheel, refer to page11.
Via iDrive
Select a track by turning the controller.
Compressed audio files
1.Select the directory if necessary and press
the controller.
2.Select the track and press the controller.
3.Select "Play" and press the controller.