Transporting children safely
56
Transporting children safely
The right place for children
Do not leave children unattended in the
vehicle; otherwise, they could endanger
themselves and other persons, e.g. by opening
the doors.<
Children always in the rear
Accident research shows that the safest place
for children is in the back.
Children younger than 13 years of age or
with a height under 5 ft/150 cm may only
be transported in the rear in child restraint sys-
tems which correspond to the age, weight and
height of the child. Otherwise, there is an
increased danger of injury in an accident.<
Children 13 years of age or older must wear a
safety belt as soon as a suitable child restraint
system can no longer be used due to their age,
size and weight.
Exception for front passenger seat
Should it be necessary to use a child
restraint system on the front passenger
seat, the front, knee and side airbags on the
passenger side must be deactivated before
doing so. Otherwise, there is an increased risk
of injury to the child if the airbags are triggered,
even with a child restraint system.<
For more information on automatic deactivation
of the front passenger airbags, refer to page91.
Installing child restraint
systems
Follow child restraint system manufac-
turer's instructions for the selection,
installation and use of child restraint systems.
Otherwise, the degree of protection they offer
may be reduced.<
On front passenger seat
After mounting a child restraint system on
the front passenger seat, make sure that
the front and side airbags on the front passen-
ger side are deactivated, as otherwise there is
an increased risk of injury if the airbags are trig-
gered.<
Backrest width
Before mounting a child restraint system
on the front passenger seat, the backrest
width adjustment must be completely open.<
1.Adjust the backrest width to the fully open
position, refer to page46.
2.Install child's seat.
Child seat security
All rear safety belts and the safety belt for the
front passenger can be locked against pulling
out to secure child restraint systems.
Locking safety belt
1.Secure the child restraint system with the
belt.
2.Pull out the belt webbing completely.
3.Allow the belt webbing to be pulled in and
pull taut against the child restraint system.
The safety belt is locked.
Controls
91Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
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.
The front, knee and side airbags on the front
passenger side can be deactivated for teenag-
ers and adults in certain sitting positions; the
indicator lamp for the front passenger airbags
lights up when this occurs. In these cases,
change the sitting position so that the front pas-
senger airbags are activated and the indicator
lamp goes out. If the desired status cannot be
produced by changing the sitting position,
transport the corresponding person in the rear
seat.
Do not fit seat covers, seat cushion padding,
beaded mats or other items onto the front pas-
senger seat unless they are specifically recom-
mended by BMW. Do not place objects under
the seat which could press against the seat from below. Otherwise, a correct evaluation of
the occupied seat surface cannot be ensured.<
Operating state of front passenger
airbags
The illustration here shows a possible arrange-
ment in the Coupe. With some vehicle equip-
ment packages or in the Convertible, the
arrangement of the switches and indicator
lamps may differ somewhat.
The indicator lamp for the front passenger air-
bags indicates the operating status of the front,
knee and side airbags on the front passenger
side depending on whether the seat is occu-
pied. The indicator lamp shows whether the
front passenger airbags are activated or deacti-
vated.
>The indicator lamp lights up when a child in
a child restraint system intended for the
purpose is properly detected on the seat.
The front, knee and side airbags on the front
passenger side are deactivated.
Most child seats are detected by the sys-
tem. Especially the child seats required
by the NHTSA at the time the vehicle is manu-
factured. After installing a child seat, make sure
that the indicator lamp for the front passenger
airbags lights up. This indicates that the child
seat has been detected and the front passenger
airbags are not activated.<
>The indicator lamp does not light up when,
for example, a correctly seated person of
sufficient height is detected on the seat.
The front, knee and side airbags on the front
passenger side are activated.
>The indicator lamp does not light up when
the seat is empty.
Technology for comfort, convenience and safety
92 But the front, knee and side airbags on the
front passenger side are still deactivated.
Operational readiness of airbag system
From radio readiness, refer to page59, the
warning lamp lights up briefly, indicating the
operational readiness of the entire airbag sys-
tem and the safety belt tensioners.
Airbag system malfunction
>Warning lamp does not light up as of radio
readiness.
>Warning lamp lights up continuously.
Have the airbag system checked immedi-
ately in case of a malfunction; otherwise,
there is a danger that the airbag system may not
respond in the expected manner in an accident
despite an impact of corresponding intensity.<
Convertible: rollover
protection system
The rollover protection system is automatically
activated in the event of an accident or a critical
driving situation, extreme inclination on the lon-
gitudinal axis, or loss of ground contact. The
rollover bars located behind the rear head
restraints are deployed within fractions of a sec-
ond.
As a supplement to the rollover bar integrated
into the windshield frame, the rollover protec-
tion system ensures that all vehicle occupants
have the necessary headroom.
Always keep the path of movement of the
rollover protection system clear.
In less severe accidents, you are protected by
the fastened safety belt and, depending on the severity of the accident, the belt tensioner and
the multistage airbag restraint system.<
Lowering
If the rollover protection system experienced no
impact after automatic activation, then it can be
lowered again. No tools are necessary for this
purpose.
1.Press the release backward and hold in that
position.
2.Press the rollover protection unit halfway
down from above.
3.Let go of the release.
4.Press the rollover protection unit down until
it snaps into place.
5.Use the same procedure for the second roll-
over protection unit.
Have the rollover protection system checked
after unexpected triggering.
Never move the convertible top when the
rollover protection system is raised.
No changes of any nature may be made to the
individual components of the rollover protec-
tion system and wiring.
Work on the rollover protection system may
only be performed at a BMW center.
Unprofessional attempts to service the system