
Controls
 47Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Adjusting
Sitting safely
The ideal sitting position can make a vital con-
tribution to relaxed, fatigue-free driving. In the 
interaction with the safety belts, the head 
restraints and the airbags, the seat position 
plays an important role in an accident. To 
ensure that the safety systems operate with 
optimal efficiency, we strongly urge you to fol-
low the instructions contained in the following 
section.
For additional information on Transporting chil-
dren safely, refer to page56.
Airbags
Always maintain an adequate distance 
between yourself and the airbags. Always 
hold the steering wheel by its rim with hands at 
the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to mini-
mize the risk of injuries to your hands and arms 
in the event of airbag deployment.
No one and nothing is to come between the air-
bags and the seat occupant.
Do not use the cover of the front airbag on the 
front passenger side as a storage area. Make 
sure that the front passenger is sitting correctly 
and does not rest feet or legs on the instrument 
panel, otherwise leg injuries can occur if the 
knee and front airbags are triggered.
Make sure that occupants do not rest their head 
on the side or head airbags; otherwise, injuries 
can occur if the airbags are triggered.<
Even if you adhere to all the instructions, inju-
ries resulting from contact with airbags cannot 
be fully excluded, depending on the circum-
stances. The ignition and inflation noise may 
provoke a mild hearing loss in extremely sensi-
tive individuals. This effect is usually only tem-
porary.
For airbag locations and additional information 
on airbags, refer to page94.
Head restraints
A correctly adjusted head restraint reduces the 
risk of injury to cervical vertebrae in an accident.
Adjust the head restraint so that its center 
is approx. at ear level. Otherwise, there is 
increased danger of injury in the event of an 
accident.<
Head restraints, refer to page50.
Safety belt
Before every drive, make sure that safety belts 
are being worn at all of the occupied seats. Air-
bags complement the safety belt as an addi-
tional safety device, but they do not represent a 
substitute.
Your vehicle has four seats that are each 
equipped with a safety belt.
Never allow more than one person to 
wear a single safety belt. Never allow 
infants or small children to ride in a passenger's 
lap. Make sure that the belt lies low around the 
hips in the lap area and does not press on the 
abdomen. The safety belt must not lie across 
the neck, rub against sharp edges, be routed 
over solid or breakable objects or be pinched. 
Wear the safety belt without twisting, snugly 
across the lap and shoulders, as close to the 
body as possible. Otherwise, the belt can slip 
over the hips in the lap area in a frontal impact 
and injure the abdomen. Avoid wearing clothing 
that prevents the belt from fitting properly and 
pull the shoulder belt upward periodically to 
readjust the tension across your lap in order to 
avoid a reduction in the restraining effect of the 
safety belt.<
Safety belts refer to page52. 

Technology for comfort, convenience and safety
94
Airbags
The following airbags are located under the 
marked covers:
1Front airbags
2Coupe: Head airbags
3Side airbags
4Knee airbag
5Knee airbag
Protective action
To ensure that the safety systems con-
tinue to provide optimized protection, 
please follow the adjustment instructions on 
page47.<
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 a side impact. The relevant side air-
bag supports the side upper body area. The 
head airbag supports the head. The knee airbag 
protects the legs from colliding with the cockpit.
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 side trim panels on the 
doors and on the Coupe, 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 
directly after the system has been triggered, 
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 carried out only by a BMW cen-
ter or a workshop that works according to BMW 
repair procedures with appropriately trained 
personnel and has the required explosives 
licenses. Otherwise unprofessional attempts to 
service the system could lead to failure in an 
emergency or undesired airbag triggering, 
either of which could result in personal injury.<
Warnings and information on the airbags is also 
provided on the sun visors.
Automatic deactivation of front 
passenger airbags
The occupation of the seat is detected by eval-
uating the impression on the occupied seat sur-
face of the front passenger seat. The system 
correspondingly activates or deactivates the 
front, knee and side airbags on the front pas-
senger side.
The current status of the front passenger 
airbags, i.e. deactivated or activated, is 
indicated by the indicator lamp over the interior 
rearview mirror, refer to Operating state of front 
passenger airbags below.<
Before transporting a child in the front 
passenger seat, read the safety informa-
tion and follow the instructions under Trans-
porting children safely, refer to page56. 

Lamps
106 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
First switch on the parking lamps or the low 
beams. The green indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster lights up when the fog lamps are 
switched 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 sill 
panel lighting
* 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 page58.<
Switching interior lamps on and off 
manually
Press button 1.
If the interior lamps, footwell lamps, door entry 
lighting, courtesy lamps and sill panel lighting 
are to remain switched off continually, press the 
button for approx. 3 seconds. 

Controls
 113Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
You can set two different times for the system 
to start. The parked car ventilation can also be 
switched on and off directly. It remains 
switched on for 30 minutes.
Since the system uses a substantial amount of 
electrical current, you should refrain from acti-
vating it twice in succession without allowing 
the battery to be recharged in normal operation 
between uses.
The air emerges through the upper body region 
vent outlets in the instrument panel. Therefore, 
please open the vent outlets.
The parked car ventilation system is operated 
via iDrive.
Switching on and off directly
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16.
1.Open the start menu.
2.Move the controller to the left to open "Cli-
mate".
3.Select "Parked car operation" and press the 
controller.
4.Select "Automatic ventilation" and press 
the controller.
5.Select "Parked car ventilation" and press 
the controller.
 The parked car ventilation is switched on.
The   symbol on the display of the automatic 
climate control flashes.
Preselecting activation times
1.Open the start menu.
2.Move the controller to the left to open "Cli-
mate".
3.Select "Parked car operation" and press the 
controller.
4.Select "Activation time" and press the con-
troller.
5.Move the controller to the left or right to 
select "Timer 1" or "Timer 2".
6.Select the time and press the controller. 
The first time setting is selected.
7.Turn the controller to make the adjustment.
8.Press the controller to apply the setting. 
The next adjustment is selected.
9.Make the remaining adjustments. After the 
last adjustment, the time is stored. 

Maintenance
222
Socket for OBD Onboard 
Diagnostics interface
Components which are decisive for the 
exhaust-gas composition can be checked via 
the OBD socket with a device.
This socket is located under a cover on the left 
side of the driver's footwell, directly under the 
instrument panel.
Exhaust-gas values
The warning lamp lights up. The 
exhaust-gas values are deteriorating. 
Have the vehicle checked as soon as 
possible.
Display of the previously described 
malfunction on Canadian models.
The lamp flashes under certain conditions. This 
is a sign of excessive misfiring of the engine. In 
this case, you should reduce speed and drive to 
the nearest BMW center as soon as possible. 
Heavy engine misfiring causes serious damage 
to the emission-relevant components, espe-
cially the catalytic converter, within a short time.
If the fuel filler cap is not properly tight-
ened, the OBD system can detect the 
escape of fuel vapor. This causes a display to 
light up. If the cap is then tightened, the display 
should go out within a few days.<
Event data recorders
Your vehicle may be equipped with one or sev-
eral measuring and diagnosis modules, or with a 
device for recording or transmitting certain 
vehicle data or information. If you have also sub-
scribed to BMW Assist, then certain vehicle 
data can be transmitted or recorded to enable 
corresponding services.
Care
Important information on care and maintenance 
of your BMW is contained in the Caring for your 
vehicle brochure. 

Everything from A to Z
250
I
IBOC, refer to High Definition 
Radio166
Ice, refer to Outside 
temperature warning74
ID3-Tag, refer to Information 
about track174
Identification mark
– recommended tire 
brands215
– run-flat tires214
– tire coding212
iDrive16
– adjusting brightness83
– assistance window20
– changing date and time82
– changing language84
– changing menu page19
– changing settings82
– changing units of measure 
and display form84
– controller16
– controls16
– displays, menus17
– operating principle17
– selecting menu item19
– selecting or confirming 
entry19
– start menu17
– status information20
– symbols18
Ignition58
– switched off59
– switched on58
Ignition key, refer to Keys/
remote control28
Ignition key position 1, refer to 
Radio readiness58
Ignition key position 2, refer to 
Ignition on58
Ignition lock58
– starting engine with comfort 
access38
i menu17
Imprint2Indicator/warning lamps
– ABS Antilock Brake 
System88
– active steering93
– airbags95
– brake system88
– DSC13,87
– DTC13,88
– Flat Tire Monitor90
– fog lamps13,106
– handbrake13,60
– safety belt warning52
– TPM Tire Pressure 
Monitor92
Indicator and warning lamps, 
overview13
Inflation pressure, refer to Tire 
inflation pressure210
Inflation pressure monitoring
– refer to Flat Tire Monitor89
– refer to Tire Pressure 
Monitor90
Info menu17
Information
– on another location140
– on current position140
– on town/city of 
destination140
"Information" for navigation 
system140
Information menu, refer to 
imenu17
"Information on 
destination"141
"Info sources"77
Initializing
– Flat Tire Monitor89
– radio, refer to Storing 
stations164
– refer to Power failure226
– seat, mirror and steering 
wheel memory49
– time and date82
"Input map"139
Installation location
– CD changer176
– drive for navigation DVD132Instructions for navigation 
system, refer to Voice 
instructions149
Instrument cluster12
Instrument illumination, refer 
to Instrument lighting106
Instrument lighting106
Instrument panel, refer to 
Cockpit10
Instrument panel, refer to 
Instrument cluster12
Integrated key28
Integrated universal remote 
control115
Interesting destination for 
navigation140
"Interim time"82
Interior lamps106
– switching on with remote 
control31
Interior motion sensor36
– switching off36
Interior rearview mirror, 
automatic dimming 
feature54
Intermittent wiper mode64
J
Jacking points225
Joystick, refer to iDrive16
Jump starting228
K
Keyless-Go, refer to Comfort 
access36
Keyless opening and closing, 
refer to Comfort access36
Key Memory, refer to Personal 
Profile29
"Keypad"194
Keys28
– key-related settings, refer to 
Personal Profile29
– spare key28
Kick-down, Sport automatic 
transmission61