2008 BMW M3 engine

Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Contents
The fastest way to find information on a partic-
ular topic or item is by using the index, refer to
page246.
Using this Owner's Manual
4Notes
6Reporting safety defects
At a glance
10Cockpit
16iDrive
23Voice command system
Controls
28Opening and closing
40Adjustments
51Transporting children safely
54Driving
67Everything under control
81Technology for driving comfort and
safety
92Lamps
96Climate
102Practical interior accessories
Driving tips
114Things to remember when driving
119BMW M3 engineering
Navigation
124Starting the navigation system
126Destination entry
139Destination guidance
148What to do if …
Entertainment
152On/off and settings
156Radio
162Satellite radio
165CD player and CD changer
171AUX-In port
172USB-audio interface
Communications
178Telephoning
193BMW Assist
Mobility
204Refueling
206Wheels and tires
212Maintenance
214Care
218Under the hood
223Replacing components
230Giving and receiving assistance
Reference
238Technical data
242Short commands for the voice command
system
246Everything from A - Z

Notes
6 to the vehicle, compromise its safety, interfere
with the vehicle's electrical system or affect the
validity of the BMW Limited Warranty. See your
BMW center for additional information.<
Maintenance, replacement, or repair of
the emission control devices and sys-
tems may be performed by any automotive
repair establishment or individual using any cer-
tified automotive part.<
California Proposition 65 warning
California law requires us to issue the following
warning:
Engine exhaust and a wide variety of
automobile components and parts,
including components found in the interior fur-
nishings in a vehicle, contain or emit chemicals
known to the State of California to cause cancer
and birth defects and reproductive harm. In
addition, certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear contain or
emit chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cancer and birth defects or other
reproductive harm.
Battery posts, terminals and related accesso-
ries contain lead and lead compounds. Wash
your hands after handling.
Used engine oil contains chemicals that have
caused cancer in laboratory animals. Always
protect your skin by washing thoroughly with
soap and water.<
Service and warranty
We recommend that you read this publication
thoroughly.
Your BMW is covered by the following warran-
ties:
>New Vehicle Limited Warranty
>Rust Perforation Limited Warranty
>Federal Emissions System Defect Warranty
>Federal Emissions Performance Warranty
>California Emission Control System Limited
Warranty
Detailed information about these warranties is
listed in the Service and Warranty Information
Booklet for US models or in the Warranty and
Service Guide Booklet for Canadian models.
Reporting safety defects
For US customers
The following only applies to vehicles owned
and operated in the US.
If you believe that your vehicle has a defect
which could cause a crash or could cause injury
or death, you should immediately inform the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
NHTSA, in addition to notifying BMW of North
America, LLC, P.O. Box 1227, Westwood, New
Jersey 07675-1227, Telephone 1-800-831-
1117.
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may
open an investigation, and if it finds that a safety
defect exists in a group of vehicles, it may order
a recall and remedy campaign. However,
NHTSA cannot become involved in individual
problems between you, your dealer, or BMW of
North America, LLC.
To contact NHTSA, you may call the Vehicle
Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-888-327-4236
(TTY: 1-800-424-9153); go to
http://www.safercar.gov; or write to: Adminis-
trator, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20590. You can also obtain
other information about motor vehicle safety
from http://www.safercar.gov

At a glance
11Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
7Instrument cluster12
10Ignition lock54
11Buttons on the steering wheel12Horn: the entire surface
13Adjusting the steering wheel46
15Releasing the hood218
16Opening the luggage compartment lid33 6
Turn signals63
High beams, headlamp flasher94
Roadside parking lamps
*94
Computer68
Settings and information about the
vehicle71
Instrument lighting94
8
Windshield wipers64
Rain sensor
*64
9Switching the ignition on/off and
starting/stopping the engine54
Telephone
*:
>Press: accepting and ending a
call, starting dialing
* selected
phone numbers. Redialing if
no phone number is selected
>Press longer: redialing
Volume
Activating/deactivating voice com-
mand system
*23
Changing radio station
Selecting music track
Scrolling through phone book and
lists with stored phone numbers
MDrive*, calling up individual
settings47
Individually programmable
*47
Individually programmable47
14
Cruise control65

Cockpit
12
Instrument cluster
1Speedometer
2Indicator lamps for turn signals
3Indicator and warning lamps13
4Tachometer67
5Shift Lights
*61
6Engine oil temperature68
7Display for
>Clock67
>Outside temperature67
>Indicator and warning lamps77
>With dual clutch transmission:
Computer688Display for
>Gear display M dual clutch transmission
with Drivelogic
*57
>With manual transmission:
Computer68
>Date of next scheduled service, and
remaining distance to be driven72
>Odometer and trip odometer67
>Checking oil level219
>Settings and information71
> There is a Check Control
message77
9Fuel gauge68
10Resetting the trip odometer67

At a glance
13Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Indicator and warning lamps
The concept
Indicator and warning lamps can light up in a
variety of combinations and colors.
Some lamps are checked for proper functioning
and thus come on briefly when the engine is
started or the ignition is switched on.
Explanatory text messages
Text messages at the lower edge of the Control
Display explain the meaning of the displayed
indicator and warning lamps.
You can call up more information, e.g. on the
cause of a malfunction and on how to respond,
via Check Control, refer to page77.
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 notify you that
certain functions are active:
Parking lamps/low beams92
High beams/headlamp flasher94
Parking brake applied56
MDrive
*48
M Dynamic Mode
*82
Lamp flashes:
DSC is regulating the drive forces in
order to maintain driving stability82
Engine malfunction with adverse
effect on exhaust emissions213
Canada: engine malfunction with
adverse effect on exhaust
emissions213

At a glance
15Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
1Microphone for voice command system*
and for telephone in hands-free mode*
2SOS: initiating an Emergency Request
call
*230
3Reading lamps95
4Glass roof, electric
*38
5Interior lamps95
6Passenger airbag status lamp
*90
7Control Display16
8Hazard warning flashers
9Flat Tire Monitor FTM
*84
Tire Pressure Monitor TPM
*86
10Central locking system32
11Automatic climate control
12Ejecting audio CD15213Changing
>Radio station156
>Track166
14Selecting radio, CD and CD changer
15Selecting AM or FM waveband
16Ejecting navigation DVD124
18Controller16
Can be turned, pressed, or moved horizon-
tally in four directions
19Opening start menu on Control Display17
20Dynamic Stability Control DSC82
21Electronic Damper Control EDC
*84
22M Engine Dynamics Control POWER63
23Drive for navigation DVD124
24Programmable memory keys21
25Switching audio sources on/off and adjust-
ing volume152
26Drive for audio CD152 Air distribution to the
windshield97
Air distribution to the upper body
area97
Air distribution to the footwell97
Automatic air distribution and flow
rate98
Cooling function99
Automatic recirculated-air control
AUC98
Recirculated-air mode98
Maximum cooling98
Residual heat mode99
Air flow rate98
Defrosting windows99
Rear window defroster99
17
Heated seats*43
Roller sun blind
*105

Controls
29Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
>Calling up the preferred program of the M
Engine Dynamics Control POWER and
Electronic Damper Control EDC
* when
starting the vehicle, refer to Key-dependent
settings on page49
>Triple turn signal activation, refer to
page63
>Settings for the displays on the Control Dis-
play and in the instrument cluster:
>12h/24h format of the clock, refer to
page76
>Date format, refer to page76
>Brightness of the Control Display, refer
to page80
>Language on the Control Display, refer
to page79
>Units of measure for fuel consumption,
distance covered/remaining distances,
and temperature, refer to page71
>Show visual warning for Park Distance Con-
trol PDC
*, refer to page81
>Light settings:
>Welcome lamps, refer to page92
>Pathway lighting, refer to page93
>Daytime running lamps, refer to page93
>Automatic climate control: activating/deac-
tivating AUTO program, cooling function
and automatic recirculated-air control, set-
ting temperature, air flow rate and distribu-
tion, refer to page97 ff
>Entertainment:
>Audio volume, refer to page153
>Tone control, refer to page153
>Speed-dependent volume control, refer
to page153
Central locking system
The concept
The central locking system functions when the
driver's door is closed.The system simultaneously engages and
releases the locks on the following:
>Doors
>Luggage compartment lid
>Fuel filler door
Operating from outside
>Via the remote control
>Via the door lock
>In cars with convenient access
*, via the
handles on the driver's and front passen-
ger's doors
The anti-theft system is also operated at the
same time. It prevents the doors from being
unlocked using the lock buttons or door han-
dles. In addition, if the remote control is used,
the welcome lamps, interior lamps and the
door's courtesy lamps
* are switched on or off.
The alarm system
* is also armed or disarmed.
For further details of the alarm system,
refer to
page34.
Operating from inside
By means of the button for central locking, refer
to page32.
In the event of a sufficiently severe accident, the
central locking system unlocks automatically. In
addition, the hazard warning flashers and inte-
rior lamps come on.
Opening and closing:
Using the remote control
Persons or animals in a parked vehicle
could lock the doors from the inside. You
should therefore take the remote control with
you when you leave the vehicle so that the latter
can be opened from outside.<
Unlocking
Press the button.
The interior lamps, the courtesy lamps
* and the
welcome lamps come on.

Controls
35Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
>The indicator lamp flashes after locking:
doors, hood or luggage compartment lid are
not properly closed. Even if you do not close
the alerted area, the system begins to mon-
itor the remaining areas, and the indicator
lamp flashes continuously after approx.
10 seconds. The interior motion sensor and
the tilt alarm sensor are not activated.
>The indicator lamp goes out after unlocking:
your vehicle has not been disturbed while
you were away.
>If the indicator lamp flashes after unlocking
until the remote control is inserted in the
ignition, but for no longer than approx.
5 minutes: your vehicle has been disturbed
while you were away.
Tilt alarm sensor
The tilt of the vehicle is monitored. The alarm
system reacts, e.g. to attempts to steal a wheel
or tow the vehicle.
Interior motion sensor
In order for the interior motion sensor to func-
tion properly, the windows and glass roof must
be completely closed
*.
Avoiding unintentional alarms
The tilt alarm sensor and interior motion sensor
may be switched off at the same time. This pre-
vents unintentional alarms, e.g. in the following
situations:
>In duplex garages
>During transport on car-carrying trains,
boats/ships or on a trailer
>When animals are to remain in the vehicle
Switching off tilt alarm sensor and
interior motion sensor
Press the button on the remote control
again as soon as the vehicle is locked.
The indicator lamp lights up briefly and then
flashes continuously. The tilt alarm sensor and
the interior motion sensor are switched off until
the next time the vehicle is unlocked and subse-
quently locked again.
Convenient access*
Convenient access enables you to enter your
vehicle without needing to hold the remote con-
trol in your hand. All you need to do is wear the
remote control close to your body, e.g. in your
jacket pocket. The vehicle detects the corre-
sponding remote control within the immediate
vicinity or in the passenger compartment.
Convenient access supports the following
functions:
>Unlocking/locking the vehicle
>Unlocking the luggage compartment lid
separately
>Starting the engine
>Convenient closure
Functional requirement
>The vehicle or the luggage compartment lid
can only be locked when the vehicle detects
that the remote control currently in use is
outside of the vehicle.
>The vehicle cannot be locked or unlocked
again until after approx. 2 seconds.
>The engine can only be started when the
vehicle detects that the remote control cur-
rently in use is inside the vehicle.
Comparison to the standard remote
control
In general, there is no difference between using
convenient access or pressing the buttons on
the remote control to carry out the functions
mentioned above. You should therefore first
familiarize yourself with the instructions on
opening and closing starting on page28.
Special features regarding the use of conve-
nient access are described below.
If you notice a brief delay while opening or
closing windows or the glass roof, the
system is checking whether a remote control is
inside the vehicle. Please repeat the opening or
closing procedure, if necessary.<