
Cockpit
12
Instrument cluster
1Indicator lamps for turn signals
2Speedometer
3Indicator and warning lamps13
4Displays for
>Active cruise control
*75
>Leaving lane warning
*106
5Tachometer79
6Energy Control80
7Display for
>Clock/date79
>Outside temperature79
>Indicator and warning lamps84
>Speed of cruise control
*71
>Desired speed for active cruise 
control
*758Display for
>Odometer and trip odometer79
>Computer80
>Date and remaining travel distance 
for service requirements82
>Automatic transmission with 
Steptronic
*64
>Sport automatic transmission
*67
>HDC Hill Descent Control
*93 93
>High-beam assistant
*110
> Check Control message present84
9Fuel gauge80
10Resetting trip odometer79 

Controls
 51Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
To cancel the request: 
Select "Deactivated" and press the controller.
Head restraints
A correctly adjusted head restraint reduces the 
risk of spinal injury in the event of an accident.
Adjust the head restraint so that its center 
is approximately at ear level. Otherwise 
there is increased danger of injury in the event 
of an accident.Only remove the head restraints 
if no one will be sitting on the seat in question. 
Reinstall the head restraints before transport-
ing passengers, as otherwise the head restraint 
cannot provide its protective function.<
Active front head restraints
In the event of a rear-end collision of sufficient 
severity, the active head restraint reduces the 
distance to the head.
Do not use seat covers or head restraint 
covers that could impede the proper 
functioning of the active head restraint. Other-
wise, there is no assurance that the active head 
restraint will perform its protective function and 
it is not possible to take advantage of its injury-
reducing potential in the event of a rear-end 
collision.
Have the active head restraints reset after they 
are triggered in a rear-end collision. Only have 
this work carried out by a BMW center or a 
workshop that works according to BMW repair 
procedures with correspondingly trained per-
sonnel. Otherwise, this safety equipment will 
not function properly.<
Please contact a BMW center if you wish 
to have the front head restraints removed 
and installed.<
Front seats: height adjustment
Front seats: adjusting distance to the 
back of the head
>Forward: pull up.
>Back: push the button and slide the head-
rest cushion toward the rear.
Do not place any objects behind the 
headrest cushion. Otherwise, you can 
impair the proper function of the head 
restraint.<
Comfort seat*
You can adjust the distance to the back of the 
head with the shoulder support, refer to 
page48. 

Controls
 79Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Everything under control
Odometer, outside 
temperature display, clock, 
date
1Time, outside temperature and date
2Odometer and trip odometer
3Press button:
>with ignition switched on, trip odometer 
is reset
>with ignition switched off, time, outside 
temperature, and odometer are briefly 
displayed.
From radio readiness the outside temperature 
and the time are displayed.
Date retrieval: 
Press CHECK button on turn signal lever, refer 
to page85.
Time and date setting, refer to page87.
You can set the unit of measure 7 or 6 on the 
Control Display, refer to Units of measure on 
page89.
Outside temperature warning
If the display drops to +377/+36, a signal 
sounds and a warning lamp lights up. A mes-
sage appears on the Control Display. There is 
an increased danger of ice.
Even at temperatures above +377/
+36 ice can form. Therefore, drive care-
fully, e.g. on bridges and sections of road in the 
shade, otherwise there is an increased accident 
risk.<
Tachometer
Avoid engine speeds in the white-striped 
advance warning field, arrow1, if possible.
Be sure to avoid engine speeds in the red warn-
ing field, arrow2. At high revs in this range, the 
flow of fuel is interrupted to protect the engine.
Coolant temperature
Should the coolant, and with it the engine 
become too hot, a warning lamp lights up. In 
addition, a message appears on the Control 
Display.
Checking coolant level, refer to page235. 

Everything under control
80
Energy Control
Displays the current fuel consumption. This 
allows you to see whether your current driving 
style is conducive to fuel economy with mini-
mum exhaust emissions.
Fuel gauge
Fuel tank capacity: approx. 18.5 US gal/
70 liters, including the reserve capacity of 
approx. 2.1 US gal/8 liters.
550i: approx. 2.6 US gal/10 liters reserve 
capacity. 
You will find information on refueling on 
page220.
If the tilt of the vehicle varies for a longer period, 
when you are driving in mountainous areas, for 
example, the indicator may fluctuate slightly.
Reserve
After the reserve quantity has been reached, a 
message briefly appears on the Control Display; 
the remaining range is shown in the computer. 
Below a range of approx. 30 miles/50 km, the 
message remains on the Control Display.
Refuel as soon as possible once your 
cruising range falls below 30 miles/50 km, otherwise engine functions are not 
ensured and damage can occur.<
Computer
Displays in instrument cluster
Press the button on the turn signal lever.
The following information is displayed in the 
specified order:
>Cruising range
>Average speed
>Average fuel consumption
>No information
Cruising range
Displays the estimated cruising range available 
with the remaining fuel. The range is projected 
based on the driving style over the last 20 miles/
30 km.
Refuel as soon as possible once your 
cruising range falls below 30 miles/
50 km, otherwise engine functions are not 
ensured and damage can occur.<
Average speed
Periods with the vehicle parked and the engine 
switched off are not included in the calculations 
of average speed.
To reset average speed: press BC button on 
turn signal lever for approx. 2 seconds.
Average fuel consumption
The average fuel consumption is calculated for 
the time during which the engine is running. 

Controls
 81Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
To reset average fuel consumption: press BC 
button on turn signal lever for approx. 2 sec-
onds.
For different routes
You can display the average speed and average 
consumption for two different routes on the 
Control Display, refer to the following and to 
Trip computer
*.
Displays on Control Display
You can also call up the computer via iDrive. 
For operating principle refer to page16.
1.Press the   button.
This opens the start menu.
2.Move the controller to the right to open 
"Navigation".
 Without navigation system
*:
Open "Car Data".
3.Select "Car Data" and press the controller.
4.Select "Onboard info" and press the con-
troller.>Estimated time of arrival at destination and 
remaining distance:
>Entering a distance manually in the com-
puter, see below.
>Entering a destination in the navigation 
system
*, refer to page144.
>Cruising range
>Average speed
>Average fuel consumption
Resetting values
You can reset the values for the average speed 
and average fuel consumption:
1.Select the respective menu item and press 
the controller.
2.To confirm your selection, press the con-
troller again.
Entering a distance manually
1.Select "Distance to dest." and press the 
controller.
2.Turn the controller to select the distance to 
your destination.
3.Press the controller to apply the setting.
The distance is automatically preset during the 
destination guidance of the navigation sys-
tem
*.
Trip computer*
The trip computer is suitable, for example, for a 
vacation trip.
1.Open the start menu.
2.Open "Navigation".
Without navigation system
*:
Open "Car Data". 

Everything under control
82 3.Select "Car Data" and press the controller.
4.Select "Trip computer" and press the con-
troller.
>Departure time
>Driving time
>Distance traveled
>Average speed
>Average fuel consumption
Starting or stopping the trip computer, or reset-
ting all values:
1.Select "Set" and press the controller.
2.Select the desired menu item.
3.Press the controller.
Display options
You can display the computer or the trip com-
puter in the assistance window.
1.Move the controller to the right to change to 
the assistance window and press the con-
troller.
2.Select "Onboard info" or "Trip computer".3.Press the controller.
Service requirements
The remaining driving distance and the date for 
the next maintenance are displayed briefly with 
the ignition switched on.
Your BMW Service Advisor can deter-
mine your vehicle's current service 
requirements by reading out the data stored in 
the remote control.<
Additional information
You can select a display of more detailed infor-
mation on the maintenance scope on the Con-
trol Display. For operating principle refer to 
page16.
1.Open the start menu.
2.Press the controller to open the   menu.
3.Select "Info sources" and press the control-
ler.
4.Select "Service Info" and press the control-
ler. 

Controls
 87Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
4.Select "Stopwatch" and press the control-
ler.
Starting, stopping or resetting
>Select "Start" and press the controller. 
The stopwatch starts at the displayed time.
>Select "Reset" and press the controller. 
The stopwatch is reset and it restarts if it 
was running beforehand.
>Select "Stop" and press the controller. 
This stops the timer.
Taking an intermediate time reading
Select "Interim time" and press the controller. 
The interim time appears below the ongoing 
primary stopwatch count.
All of the other functions remain available 
even while the stopwatch is running. The 
stopwatch continues operation in the back-
ground.<
Settings on Control Display
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16.
1.Press the   button once or twice until 
the start menu appears.
2.Press the controller to open the   menu.3.Turn the controller until "Settings" is 
selected and press the controller.
Setting time
1.Turn the controller until "Time / Date" is 
selected and press the controller.
2.Move the controller once to the front if nec-
essary to change to the first field from the 
top. 

Technology for comfort, convenience and safety
96 5.Change to upper field if necessary. Turn the 
controller until "FTM" is selected and press 
the controller.
6.Start the engine, but do not start driving.
7.Select "Reset" and press the controller.
8.Select "Yes" and press the controller.
9.Start to drive.
"resetting FTM …" is displayed. 
The initialization finishes during driving.
Indication of a flat tire
The warning lamp lights up red. A mes-
sage appears on the Control Display. 
In addition, an acoustic signal sounds. 
There is a flat tire or extensive inflation pressure 
loss.
1.Reduce speed and stop the vehicle care-
fully. Avoid sudden braking and steering 
maneuvers.
2.Identify damaged tire.
If identification is not possible, con-
tact a BMW center.<
3.Replace the damaged wheel, refer to 
Changing wheels on page248.
Run-flat tires*
1.Cautiously reduce speed to below 50 mph/
80 km/h. Avoid severe braking and steering 
maneuvers and do not exceed a speed of 
50 mph/80 km/h.
If the vehicle is not equipped with run-
flat tires, refer to page229, do not 
continue driving. Continuing to drive with a 
flat tire could cause severe accidents.<
2.At the next opportunity, check the air pres-
sure in all four tires.
If the tire inflation pressure in all four 
tires is correct, the Flat Tire Monitor 
may not have been initialized. The system 
must then be initialized.<
3.In the event of complete tire pressure loss, 
0 psi/0 kPa, you can estimate the possible 
distance for continued driving on the basis 
of the following guide values:
>With a light load: 
1 to 2 persons without luggage: 
approx. 155 miles/250 km
>With a medium load: 
2 persons, cargo bay full, or 
4 persons without luggage: 
approx. 94 miles/150 km
>With a full load: 
4 or more persons, cargo bay full: 
approx. 30 miles/50 km
Drive cautiously and do not exceed 
50 mph/80 km/h or else you run the risk of 
causing an accident. In the event of pressure 
loss, vehicle handling changes. This includes 
reduced tracking stability in braking, extended 
braking distance and altered natural steering 
characteristics.
If unusual vibrations or loud noises occur while 
the vehicle is being driven, this can indicate final 
failure of the damaged tire. Reduce speed and 
stop at a suitable location as soon as possible, 
otherwise pieces of the tire could become 
detached and cause an accident. Do not con-
tinue driving, but instead contact your BMW 
center.<