
Cockpit
10
Cockpit
Around the steering wheel: controls and displays
1Rear window safety switch41
2Sedan: sun blind
* for rear window122
3Opening and closing windows40
4Adjusting exterior mirrors53
Automatic curb monitor
*53
5Folding exterior mirrors in and out
*53
6
Turn signals67
High beams, 
headlamp flasher110
High-beam assistant
*110
Roadside parking lamps110
Check Control83
Computer79 

At a glance
 11Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
7Buttons on steering wheel
8Instrument cluster12
11Ignition lock6112Horn, entire surface
15Releasing hood230 Mobile phone
*194:
>Press: accepting and ending 
call, starting dialing
* for 
selected phone number and 
redialing if no phone number is 
selected
>Press and hold: redialing
Volume
Activating/deactivating voice 
command system
* 23
Changing radio station172
Selecting music track183
Scrolling in phone book and in 
lists with stored phone numbers
Individually programmable
*54 
Individually programmable
*54 
Leaving lane warning
*106
9
Windshield wipers68
Rain sensor68
Sports Wagon: rear window 
wiper69
10Starting/stopping engine and 
Switching ignition on/off 61
13
Steering wheel heater*54
Steering wheel adjustment54
14
Cruise control
*69
Active cruise control70
16Opening luggage compartment lid/
tailgate33, 35
17
Head-Up Display
*102
BMW Night Vision
*104
18Parking lamp108
Daytime running lamps
*109
Low beams108
Welcome lamps108
Automatic headlamp control
*108 
Daytime running lamps
*109
Welcome lamps108 
Adaptive Head Light
*110 
High-beam assistant
*110
19
Instrument lighting112
Fog lamps
*112 

At a glance
 17Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Menu overview
Communication
>Telephone*
>BMW Assist* or TeleService*
Navigation or onboard information
>Navigation system*
>Onboard information, e.g. for displaying 
the average fuel consumption
Entertainment
>Radio
>CD player and CD changer
*
>AUX-In connection
>USB/audio interface
*
Climate
>Vent settings
>Automatic programs
>Seat heater distribution
*
>Parked car operation*
 menu
>Switching off Control Display
>Tone and display settings
>Settings for your vehicle, e.g. for the central 
locking system
>Display of maintenance intervals and dead-
lines for legally mandated inspections
>Settings for telephone
Operating principle
From radio readiness, refer to page61, the fol-
lowing message is shown on the Control Dis-
play:
To hide the message:
Press the controller.
This displays the start menu.
The message is automatically hidden after 
approx. 10 seconds.
Start menu
You can call up all the functions of iDrive using 
five menu items.
Opening start menu
Press the   button.
To open the start menu from the   menu:
Press the   button twice. 

Controls
 29Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Personal Profile
The concept
You can set a number of functions of your BMW 
individually according to your preferences. 
Personal Profile ensures that most of these set-
tings are stored for the remote control currently 
in use without you having to do anything. When 
the vehicle is unlocked, the corresponding 
remote control is detected and the settings 
stored for it are called up and carried out.
This means that you will always find your BMW 
set to your own personal settings even if 
another person with his/her own remote control 
and settings has used the vehicle since the last 
time you drove it. The individual settings are 
stored for a maximum of four remote controls.
Personal Profile settings
Details on the settings are provided on the 
specified pages.
>Behavior of the central locking system 
when unlocking vehicle, refer to page30
>Automatic locking of the vehicle, refer to 
page32
>Programming buttons
* on steering wheel, 
refer to page54
>Displays on Control Display:
>Brightness of the Control Display, refer 
to page88
>Measuring units for consumption, route/
distances, temperature, and pressure, 
refer to page88
>12h/24h clock format, refer to page87
>Date format, refer to page87
>Language on Control Display, refer to 
page88
>Lighting settings:
>Triple turn signal activation, refer to 
page67
>Welcome lamps, refer to page108
>Pathway lighting, refer to page109
>Daytime running lamps
*, refer to 
page109>High-beam assistant
*, refer to page110
>PDC Park Distance Control
*: optical warn-
ing, refer to page90
>Head-Up Display
*: selection and bright-
ness of display, refer to page102
>BMW Night Vision
*: display settings, refer 
to page105
>Automatic climate control: AUTO program 
and intensity, cooling function, and auto-
matic recirculated air control/recirculated 
air mode, temperature, air distribution, tem-
perature in the upper body region, refer to 
text starting on page115
>Navigation system
*: voice instructions for 
destination guidance, refer to page142
In addition, the following, most recently 
selected settings are recalled during unlocking:
>Programmable memory/direct selection 
buttons: selecting stored functions, refer to 
page21
>Positions of driver's seat, outside mirrors, 
and steering wheel
*, refer to page47
>Audio sources: volume and tone settings, 
refer to page169
>Radio:
>Display of stored stations, refer to 
page172
>Switching RDS Radio Data System on/
off
*, refer to page175
>Phone: volume setting, refer to 
pages200,206
Central locking system
The concept
The central locking system is ready for opera-
tion whenever the driver's door is closed.
The system simultaneously engages and 
releases the locks on the following:
>Doors
>Luggage compartment lid or tailgate and 
rear window
>Fuel filler door 

Technology for comfort, convenience and safety
90
Technology for comfort, convenience and 
safety
PDC Park Distance Control*
The concept
The PDC assists you when you are parking. 
Acoustic signals and an optical display
* alert 
you to the approach of an object from behind 
your vehicle. To measure the distance, there 
are four ultrasonic sensors in each bumper. 
The range of these sensors is approx. 7 ft/2 m. 
However, an acoustic warning first sounds for 
the sensors at the front and at the two rear cor-
ners at approx. 24 in/60 cm, and for the center 
rear sensors at approx. 5 ft/1.50 m.
PDC is a parking aid that can indicate 
objects when they are approached 
slowly, as is usually the case when parking. 
Avoid approaching an object at high speed, oth-
erwise the physical circumstances would mean 
that the system warning was too late.<
Automatic activation
The system starts to operate approx. one sec-
ond after you shift into reverse or move the 
selector lever into position R with the engine 
running or the ignition switched on.
Wait this short time before driving off.
Manual activation
Press the button, the LED lights up.
Manual deactivation
Press the button again; the LED goes out.
Automatic deactivation
After driving approx. 165 ft/50 m or at over 
approx. 20 mph/30 km/h, the system is 
switched off and the LED goes out. You can 
reactivate the system manually as needed.
Signal tones
When nearing an object, the position is corre-
spondingly indicated by an interval tone. Thus, 
an object detected to the left rear of the vehicle 
will be indicated by a signal tone from the left 
rear speaker, etc. As the distance between 
vehicle and object decreases, the intervals 
between the tones become shorter. If the dis-
tance to the nearest object falls to below 
roughly 1 ft/30 cm, then a continuous tone 
sounds.
An intermittent tone is interrupted after approx. 
3seconds:
>if you remain in front of an object that was 
only detected by one of the corner sensors
>if you drive parallel to a wall
Malfunction
The LED in the button flashes and a message 
appears on the Control Display. PDC is mal-
functioning. Have the system checked.
To prevent this problem, keep the sensors 
clean and free of ice or snow in order to ensure 
that they will continue to operate effectively. Do 
not spray the sensors with high-pressure clean-
ers for long periods and maintain a distance of 
at least 4 in/10 cm to them.
PDC with visual warning*
You can also have the system show distances 
to objects on the Control Display. Objects that 
are farther away are already shown there before 
a signal tone sounds. The setting is stored for 
the remote control currently in use.
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16. 

Lamps
108
Lamps
Parking lamps/low beams
0Lights off and daytime running lamps*
1Parking lamps and daytime running lamps*
2Low beams and welcome lamps
3Automatic headlamp control
*, daytime run-
ning lamps
*, welcome lamps, Adaptive 
Head Light
* and high-beam assistant*
If you open the driver's door with the ignition 
switched off, the exterior lighting is automati-
cally switched off when the light switch is in 
position0, 2 or 3.
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 page110.<
Low beams
The low beams light up when the light switch is 
in position 2 and the ignition is on.
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 
lights up when the low beams are on. You can 
activate the daytime running lamps, refer to 
page109. In the situations named above, the 
system then automatically switches over to the 
low beams.
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
*.<
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.<
Welcome lamps
If you leave the light switch in position2 or 3 
when parking the vehicle, then when you unlock 
the vehicle, the parking lamps and interior light-
ing remain illuminated for a brief time.
Activating/deactivating welcome 
lamps
iDrive, for operating 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. 

Lamps
110
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.
In tight curves at speeds up to approx. 45 mph/
70 km/h, e.g. on mountainous roads or when 
negotiating curves, turning lamps are switched 
on that light up the inside area of the curve.
Activating Adaptive Head Light
With the ignition switched on, turn the light 
switch into position 3, refer to page108.
The turning lamps are automatically switched 
on depending on the steering angle or the use 
of turn signals.
To avoid blinding oncoming traffic, the Adaptive 
Head Light directs light towards the front pas-
senger side when the vehicle is at a standstill. 
When driving in reverse, only the turning lamps 
are active and illuminate the outer area of 
curves.
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.
High-beam assistant*
The concept
This system automatically switches the high 
beams on and off. A sensor on the front side of 
the inside rearview mirror controls the process. 
The assistant makes sure that the high beams 
are switched on whenever traffic conditions 
permit. This relieves you of the burden of con-
stantly switching back and forth and simulta-
neously provides you with the best possible vis-
ibility. Naturally, you can intervene at any time to 
switch the high beams on and off as usual.
Activating system
1.Turn the light switch to position3, refer to 
page108.
2.With the low beams switched on, briefly 
press the turn signal lever in the high-beam 
direction. 

Lamps
112
Switching off via iDrive
iDrive, for operating 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.
5.Change to upper field if necessary. Turn the 
controller until "Lighting" is selected and 
press the controller.
6.Select "High-beam assistant" and press 
the controller.
 High-beam assistant is switched off.
The setting is stored for the remote control cur-
rently in use.
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, courtesy lamps
* and the 
cargo bay lamps
* is automatic.
With the courtesy lamps, LED lights 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 page61.<
Switching interior lamps on and off 
manually
Press the button.
If the interior lamps, footwell lamps, door entry 
lighting and courtesy lamps are to remain