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For Canadian customers
Canadian customers who wish to report a 
safety-related defect to Transport Canada, 
Defect Investigations and Recalls, may call 
1-800-333-0510 toll-free from anywhere in 
Canada or 1-613-993-9851 from the Ottawa 
region and from other countries, or contact 
Transport Canada by mail at: Transport Can-
ada, ASFAD, Place de Ville, Tower C, 
330 Sparks Street, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0N5.
You can also obtain other information about 
motor vehicle safety from http://www.tc.gc.ca 

At a glance
 21Reference
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Letters and numbers
Entering letters and numbers
1.Turn the controller: select the letters or 
numbers.
2.Select additional letters or numbers if 
needed.
3."OK": confirm the entry.
Switching between letters and 
numbers
Depending on the menu, you can switch 
between entering letters and numbers:
Wordmatch concept during navigation
Entry of names and addresses: the selection is 
narrowed down every time a letter is entered 
and letters may be added automatically.
Destination search: the entries are continuously 
compared to the data stored in the vehicle.
>The only letters offered for entering 
addresses are those for which data are 
available.
Town/city names can be entered with the spell-
ing used in any of the languages available on the 
Control Display.
SymbolFunction
Press the controller: delete one letter 
or number
Press the controller for an extended 
period: delete all letters or numbers
Enter a blank space
SymbolFunction
Entering letters
Entering numbers 

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position. The luggage compartment lid 
opens slightly.
2.Open the luggage compartment lid, press 
the cargo bay partition upward and stow the 
cargo in the cargo bay.
3.Press down the cargo bay partition until it 
engages on both sides and close the lug-
gage compartment lid.
4.Press the   button for a longer period to 
fold the retractable hardtop back in.
Confirmation signals
You can activate or deactivate the confirmation 
signals.
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16.
1."Settings"
2."Door locks"
3."Flash when lock./unlock."
4.Press the controller.
 Flashing when locking/unlocking the vehi-
cle is switched on.
Malfunctions
The remote control may malfunction due to 
local radio waves. If this occurs, unlock and lock 
the car at the door lock with the integrated key.
Coupe: in vehicles without an alarm system
* or 
convenient access
*, only the driver's door can 
be locked and unlocked with the integrated key 
via the door lock.
Convertible: if hardtop movement via the 
remote control is interrupted briefly, the move-
ment will be completed more quickly if you keep 
the corresponding button pressed continu-
ously.If the car can no longer be locked with a remote 
control, the battery in the remote control is dis-
charged. Use the remote control on an 
extended trip to recharge the battery, refer to 
page26. The remote control for convenient 
access
* contains a battery that may have to be 
changed, refer to page35.
For US owners only
The transmitter and receiver units comply with 
part 15 of the FCC/Federal Communications 
Commission regulations. Operation is gov-
erned by the following:
FCC ID:
LX8766S 
LX8766E 
LX8CAS
Compliance statement: 
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC 
Rules. Operation is subject to the following two 
conditions:
>This device must not cause harmful inter-
ference, and
>This device must accept any interference 
received, including interference that may 
cause undesired operation.
Any unauthorized modifications or 
changes to these devices could void the 
user's authority to operate this equipment.<
Opening and closing:
Using the door lock
You can set the way in which the car is 
unlocked, refer to page27. 

Opening and closing
32
Unlocking separately
Push the switch in the direction of arrow 2.
Emergency release
Pull the lever in the cargo bay. The luggage 
compartment lid is unlocked.
Closing
The handle recesses on the interior trim of the 
luggage compartment lid make it easier to pull 
down.
Make sure that the closing path of the 
luggage compartment lid is clear, other-
wise injuries may result.<
Coupe
Convertible
To close the luggage compartment lid, 
press it down lightly. The lid is closed 
automatically.<
Alarm system*
The concept
The vehicle alarm system responds:
>When a door, the hood or the luggage com-
partment lid is opened
>To movements inside the vehicle: Interior 
motion sensor, refer to page33
>When the car's inclination changes, for 
instance if an attempt is made to jack it up 
and steal the wheels or to raise it prior to 
towing away
>When there is an interruption in the power 
supply from the battery
The alarm system signals unauthorized entry 
attempts for a short time by means of:
>An acoustic alarm
>Switching on the hazard warning flashers
>Flashing the high beams 

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Arming and disarming
When you lock or unlock the vehicle, either with 
the remote control or at the door lock, the alarm 
system is armed or disarmed at the same time.
You can open the luggage compartment lid 
even when the alarm system is armed, by 
pressing the   button on the remote control, 
refer to page28. The lid is locked and moni-
tored again as soon as you close it.
Panic mode*
You can trigger the alarm system if you find 
yourself in a dangerous situation:
Press the   button for at least three seconds.
To switch off the alarm: press any button.
Switching off an alarm
>Unlock the car with the remote control, refer 
to page27.
>Insert the remote control all the way into the 
ignition lock.
Indicator lamp displays
>The indicator lamp under the inside rear-
view mirror flashes continuously: the sys-
tem is armed.
>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 m o t i o n  s e n s o r  a n d  
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
Coupe
In order for the interior motion sensor to func-
tion properly, the windows and glass roof must 
be completely closed
*.
Convertible
The interior of the car is monitored up to the 
height of the seat cushions. Thus the alarm sys-
tem is activated together with the interior 
motion sensor even if the hardtop is open. The 
alarm can be triggered unintentionally by falling 
objects such as leaves, refer to Avoiding unin-
tentional alarms.
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  

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Removing the wind deflector
Proceed in the reverse order as used for instal-
lation.
Protective caps are provided in the vehicle for 
the holders of the wind deflector.
Folding
Slide the red release lever towards the middle of 
the wind deflector and push the two halves 
apart.
Loading function
Cargo can still be loaded on the rear seat of the 
vehicle even if the wind deflector has been 
installed.
1.Lower all windows.
2.Fold down the top section of the wind 
deflector, arrow1.3.Turn the rotary handle to position  , 
arrow2.
Fold both sections of the wind deflector forward 
and rest them against the front seats, arrow 3.
To protect the seat cushions or to use the bag 
holders, you can fold the rear backrest down, 
refer to page110. 

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transporting anyone on that seat. Otherwise, 
the passenger will be without protection from 
the head restraint.<
Front active head restraints
In a rear collision of a sufficient strength, the 
active head restraint reduces the distance to 
the head.
Do not use seat or head restraint covers 
that could impair the function of the active 
head restraint. Otherwise, the protective func-
tion of the active head restraint will not be 
ensured and its full potential in reducing the risk 
of injury in the event of a rear collision may not 
be realized.
In the event of malfunctions, deactivation or 
triggering of the active head restraints, have the 
testing, repair and removal executed only by a 
BMW center or a workshop that works accord-
ing to repair procedures of BMW with corre-
spondingly trained personnel and that has the 
required explosives licenses. Unprofessional 
attempts to work on the system could lead to 
failure in an emergency or to undesired airbag 
activation, either of which could result in per-
sonal injury.<
For technical reasons, the head restraint 
cannot be removed.<
Front seats
Coupe: height adjustment
>To raise: pull up.
>To lower: press the button, arrow1, and 
slide the head restraint down.
Convertible: height adjustment
>To raise: press the button upward.
>To lower: press the button downward.
Convertible: adjusting the distance to 
the back of the head
>Forward: pull.
>Back: press the button and push the head 
cushion toward the rear.
Do not insert objects behind the head 
cushion; otherwise, the head restraint 
may not function properly.<
Coupe: rear seats
Height adjustment
>To raise: pull up. 

Driving
58
Changing selector lever positions
>With the ignition switched on or the engine 
running, the selector lever can be moved 
out of position P: interlock.
>Before moving the lever away from P or N 
with the vehicle stationary, first depress the 
brake; otherwise the selector lever will 
refuse to move: shiftlock.
To prevent the vehicle from creeping 
after you select a driving position, 
depress the brake until you are ready to 
start.<
A lock prevents you from inadvertently engag-
ing selector lever positions R and P. To cancel 
the lock, press the button on the front of the 
selector lever, see arrow.
P Park
Select this only when the vehicle is stationary. 
The rear wheels are locked.
R Reverse
Select this only when the vehicle is stationary.
N Neutral
You can select this in a car wash, for example. 
The vehicle can roll.
D Drive, automatic position
Position for normal vehicle operation. All for-
ward gears are selected automatically.
Under normal operating conditions, fuel con-
sumption is lowest when you are driving in posi-
tion D.
Kick-down
Kick-down enables you to achieve maximum 
performance. 
Press the accelerator pedal beyond the full-
throttle resistance point.
Sport program and manual operation 
M/S
Move selector lever from position D toward the 
left into the M/S shifting slot:
The sport program is activated and DS is dis-
played in the instrument cluster. This position is 
recommended for a performance-oriented driv-
ing style.
To use the automatic mode again, move the 
selector lever to the right into position D.
Shifting gears via the selector lever
When you press the selector lever forwards or 
backwards, the manual mode is activated and 
Steptronic changes gear. M1 through M6 are 
displayed in the instrument cluster.
Upshifts and downshifts are executed only 
when they will result in a plausible combination 
of engine and vehicle speed; thus, for example, 
a downshift that would cause the engine to 
overrev will not be executed by the system. The 
gear selected is briefly displayed in the instru-
ment cluster, followed by the gear actually in 
use.
Shifting gears via shift paddles* on the 
steering wheel
The shift paddles allow you to shift gears 
quickly since both hands can remain on the 
steering wheel.