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
page228.
Using this Owner's Manual
4Notes
6Reporting safety defects
At a glance
10Cockpit
16iDrive
21Letters and numbers
22Voice activation system
Controls
26Opening and closing
37Adjustments
46Transporting children safely
49Driving
62Everything under control
75Technology for driving comfort and
safety
85Lamps
89Climate
94Practical interior accessories
Driving tips
106Things to remember when driving
111BMW M3 engineering
Navigation
116Navigation system
117Destination entry
127Destination guidance
133What to do if …
Entertainment
136On/off and tone
139Radio
142Satellite radio
144CD player and CD changer
151Music collection
155AUX-IN port
156USB-audio interface/mobile phone audio
interface
Communications
162Telephone
173Contacts
175BMW Assist
Mobility
184Refueling
186Wheels and tires
192Under the hood
197Maintenance
199Care
203Replacing components
210Giving and receiving assistance
Reference
218Technical data
221Short commands for the voice activation
system
228Everything from A - Z
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5Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
The individual vehicle
When you ordered your BMW, you chose vari-
ous items of equipment. This Owner's Manual
describes the entire array of options and equip-
ment available with a specific BMW model.
Please bear in mind that the manual may con-
tain information on accessories and equipment
that you have not specified for your own vehicle.
Sections describing options and special equip-
ment are marked by asterisks
* to assist you in
identifying possible differences between the
descriptions in this manual and your own vehi-
cle's equipment.
If equipment in your BMW is not described in
this Owner's Manual, please refer to the accom-
panying Supplementary Owner's Manuals.
Editorial notice
BMW pursues a policy of continuous, ongoing
development that is conceived to ensure that
our vehicles continue to embody the highest
quality and safety standards combined with
advanced, state-of-the-art technology. For this
reason, it is possible in exceptional cases that
features described in this Owner's Manual
could differ from those on your vehicle.
For your own safety
Maintenance and repair
Advanced technology, e.g. the use of
modern materials and powerful electron-
ics, requires specially adapted maintenance
and repair methods. You should therefore have
the corresponding work on your vehicle per-
formed only by your BMW center or at a work-
shop that works according to BMW repair pro-
cedures with correspondingly trained
personnel. If this work is not carried out prop-
erly, there is a danger of subsequent damage
and related safety hazards.<
Parts and accessories
For your own safety, use genuine parts
and accessories approved by BMW.
When you purchase accessories tested and
approved by BMW and Original BMW Parts, you
simultaneously acquire the assurance that they
have been thoroughly tested by BMW to ensure
optimum performance when installed on your
vehicle.
BMW warrants these parts to be free from
defects in material and workmanship.
BMW will not accept any liability for damage
resulting from installation of parts and accesso-
ries not approved by BMW.
BMW cannot test every product made by other
manufacturers to verify if it can be used on a
BMW safely and without risk to either the vehi-
cle, its operation, or its occupants.
Original BMW Parts, BMW Accessories and
other products approved by BMW, together
with professional advice on using these items,
are available from all BMW centers.
Installation and operation of non-BMW
approved accessories such as alarms, radios,
amplifiers, radar detectors, wheels, suspension
components, brake dust shields, telephones,
including operation of any mobile phone from
within the vehicle without using an externally
mounted antenna, or transceiver equipment, for
instance, CBs, walkie-talkies, ham radio or sim-
ilar accessories, may cause extensive damage
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Cockpit
10
Cockpit
Around the steering wheel: controls and displays
3Folding exterior mirrors in and out*42
4Adjusting exterior mirrors, automatic curb
monitor
*42
1Safety switch for electric rear
windows35
2
Opening and closing windows34 5
Parking lamps/low beams85
Low beams85
Automatic headlamp control
*85
Adaptive Head Light
*86
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At a glance
11Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
7Instrument cluster12
10Ignition lock49
11Buttons on the steering wheel12Horn: the entire surface
13Adjusting the steering wheel43
15Releasing the hood192
16Opening the luggage compartment lid30 6
Turn signals58
High beams, headlamp flasher87
Roadside parking lamps
*87
Computer63
Settings and information about the
vehicle65
Instrument lighting87
8
Windshield wipers59
Rain sensor
*59
9Switching the ignition on/off and
starting/stopping the engine49
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 acti-
vation system
*22
Changing radio station
Selecting music track
Scrolling through phone book and
lists with stored phone numbers
MDrive
*, calling up individual
settings44
Recirculated-air mode91
14
Cruise control60
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Voice activation system
22
Voice activation system
The concept
The voice activation system allows you to con-
trol operation of various vehicle systems with-
out removing your hands from the steering
wheel.
Individual menu items on the Control Display
can be spoken as commands. It is not neces-
sary to use the controller.
The voice activation system transforms your
oral commands into control signals for the
selected systems and provides support in the
form of instructions or questions.
The voice activation system uses a special
microphone located in the area of the interior
rearview mirror, refer to page14.
Precondition
Via iDrive, select the language in which the
voice activation system is operating, so that the
spoken commands can be identified. Selecting
the language for iDrive, refer to page73.
Symbols in the Owner's Manual
Saying commands
Activating voice activation system
1.Press the button on the steering wheel. This symbol on the Control Display and
an acoustic signal indicate that the voice
activation system is ready to receive spo-
ken commands.
2.Say the command.
The command appears on the Control Dis-
play.
This symbol appears on the Control Display
when you can enter additional commands.
If no further commands are possible, continue
by operating the item of equipment via iDrive.
Terminating or canceling voice
activation system
Press the button on the steering wheel
or
In dialogs that call for a text of your choice, the
procedure can only be canceled using the but-
ton on the steering wheel.
Possible commands
The commands available in each case depend
on the menu item selected on the Control Dis-
play.
To have the available commands read aloud:
For example, if "CD/DVD" is selected, the com-
mands for operating CD/Multimedia are read
aloud.
*
{...} Say the specified commands word for
word.
{{...}} Indicates responses of the voice acti-
vation system.
{Cancel}
{Voice commands}
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At a glance
23Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Using alternative commands
There are often a number of commands to run a
function, e.g.:
Calling up functions immediately via
short commands
Short commands enable you to perform certain
functions immediately, irrespective of which
menu item is selected, refer to page221.
Example: selecting the track of a CD
1.If necessary, switch on entertainment audio
output.
2.Press the button on the steering wheel.
Setting the voice dialog
You can set whether the system should use the
standard dialog or a shorter variant. In the
shorter variant of the voice dialog, the prompts
and responses from the system are abbrevi-
ated.
1."Settings"
2."Language/Units"
3."Speech mode:"
4.To select the setting:
>"Default"
>"Short"
Notes
For information on voice control of the
telephone, refer also to the separate
Owner's Manual.<
For voice commands, bear in mind the follow-
ing:
>Do not use the voice activation system to
initiate an Emergency Request. In stressful
situations, the voice and vocal pitch can
change. This can unnecessarily delay the
establishment of a telephone connection.
>Pronounce the commands and digits
smoothly and at normal volume, avoiding
excessive emphases and pauses. This also
applies when spelling out and saying a full
word during destination entry.
>When selecting a radio station, use the
standard pronunciation of the station name.
>For entries in the voice-activated phone
book, only use names in the language of the
voice activation system and no abbrevia-
tions.
>Keep the doors, windows and glass roof
closed to prevent interference from outside
noise.
>Avoid ambient noise in the vehicle while
speaking. {Radio on} or {Radio}
3.Select the music track, e.g.:
{CD track 4}
System says:
{{Track 4}}
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Opening and closing
26
Opening and closing
Remote control
Each remote control contains a rechargeable
battery that is automatically recharged when it
is in the ignition lock while the car is being
driven. Use each remote control at least twice a
year for longer road trips in order to maintain the
batteries' charge status. In cars with convenient
access
*, the remote control contains a replace-
able battery, refer to page34.
The settings called up and implemented when
the car is unlocked depend on which remote
control is used to unlock the car, refer to Per-
sonal Profile below.
In addition, information about service require-
ments is stored in the remote control, refer to
Service data in the remote control, page197.
Integrated key
Press button1 to release the key.
The integrated key fits the following locks:
>Glove compartment, refer to page97
>Driver's door, refer to page29
New remote controls
Your BMW center can supply new remote con-
trols with integrated keys as additional units or
as replacements in the event of loss.
Personal Profile
The concept
You can set many of your BMW's functions to
suit your personal needs and preferences.
Without any action on your part, Personal Pro-
file ensures that most of these settings are
stored for the remote control currently in use.
When you unlock the car, the remote control
used for the purpose is recognized and the set-
tings stored for it are called up and imple-
mented.
This means that your personal settings will be
activated for you, even if in the meantime your
car was used by someone else with another
remote control and the corresponding settings.
The individual settings are stored for a maxi-
mum of four remote controls. They are stored
for two remote controls if convenient access
* is
in use.
Personal Profile settings
For more information on specific settings, refer
to the specified pages.
>Assignment of programmable memory
keys, refer to page20
>Response of the central locking system
when the car is unlocked, refer to page27
>Automatic locking of the vehicle, refer to
page29
>Automatic call-up of the driver's seat posi-
tion after unlocking, refer to page40
>Programming buttons on the steering
wheel, refer to page44
>MDrive
*, refer to page44
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Controls
31Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Locking or unlocking separately
The switch is located in the glove compartment.
1Locking the luggage compartment lid
2Unlocking the luggage compartment lid
Locking separately
Push the switch in the direction of arrow 1.
The luggage compartment lid is locked and
cannot be unlocked using the central locking
system.
If you give the remote control without the inte-
grated key to someone else while the glove
compartment is locked, the luggage compart-
ment lid cannot be opened. This is an advan-
tage when valet parking, for example. Locking
the glove compartment, refer to page98.
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.<
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 page32
>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
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
using the button of the remote control even
if the alarm system is armed, refer to page28.
The lid is locked and monitored again as soon
as it is closed.
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