
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 beginning 
on page232.
Using this Owner's Manual
4Notes
7Reporting safety defects
At a glance
10Cockpit
16iDrive
21Letters and numbers
22Voice activation system
Controls
26Opening and closing
43Adjustments
52Transporting children safely
55Driving
63Controls overview
75Technology for driving comfort and 
safety
86Lamps
91Climate
96Practical interior accessories
Driving tips
108Things to remember when driving
Navigation
116Navigation system
117Destination entry
126Destination guidance
133What to do if …
Entertainment
136On/off and tone
139Radio
142Satellite radio
147CD/DVD player and CD changer
154Music collection
159External devices
Communications
166Telephone
178Contacts
180BMW Assist
Mobility
188Refueling
190Wheels and tires
198Under the hood
203Maintenance
205Care
209Replacing components
215Giving and receiving assistance
Reference
222Technical data
227Short commands for the voice activation 
system
232Everything from A - Z 

 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 accessories not 
approved by BMW, 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 
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,  

 7Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
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 center, 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
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
 11Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
7
Fog lamps*89
8
Turn signals59
High beams, headlamp flasher88
High-beam assistant
*88
Roadside parking lamps
*88
Computer64
Settings and information about the 
vehicle66
9Instrument cluster12
10
Windshield wipers60
Rain sensor
*60
11Switching the ignition on/off and 
starting/stopping the engine55
12Ignition lock55
13Buttons on the steering wheel
Telephone
*:
Accepting and ending a call; dial-
ing
* the selected phone number; 
redialing if no phone number is 
selected
Volume
Activating/deactivating the voice 
activation system
*
Changing the radio station
Interrupting a traffic bulletin
Selecting a music track
Scrolling through the redial list
Next entertainment source
Recirculated-air mode93
14
Steering wheel heating
*51
15Horn, entire surface
16Adjusting the steering wheel51
17
Cruise control
*61
18Releasing the hood198
19Opening the trunk lid31 

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.
Several of the lamps are checked for proper 
functioning and light up temporarily when the 
engine is started or the ignition is switched on.
Text messages
Text messages at the upper edge of the Control 
Display explain the meaning of the displayed 
indicator and warning lamps.
Supplementary text messages
You can call up more information on the Control 
Display, e.g. on the cause of a malfunction and 
on how to respond, via Check Control, refer to 
page71.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:
High beams/headlamp flasher88
Fog lamps
*89
Lamp flashes:
DSC or DTC is regulating the propul-
sive forces in order to maintain driving 
stability77
Canada: parking brake applied57
Parking brake applied57
Canada: engine malfunction with 
adverse effect on emissions204
Engine malfunction with adverse 
effect on emissions204 

At a glance
 15Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
1Coupe: microphone for voice activation 
system
* and for telephone in hands-free 
mode
*
Convertible: microphone on steering col-
umn
2SOS: initiating an Emergency Request 
call
*215
3Reading lamps
*90
4Coupe: glass roof, electric
*36
5Interior lamps90
6Passenger airbag status lamp84
7Control Display16
8Dynamic Traction Control DTC76
9Hazard warning flashers
10Central locking system30
11Automatic climate control
12CD/DVD drive
*136
13Selecting AM or FM waveband14Changing the audio and entertainment 
sources
15Changing
>Radio station139
>Track147
17Controller16 
Can be turned, pressed, or moved in four 
directions
18Buttons on the controller17
Selecting menus directly
19Programmable memory keys20
20Switching entertainment audio sources on/
off and adjusting volume136
21Ejecting a CD/DVD
*147 Air distribution to the 
windshield92
Air distribution to the upper body 
area92
Air distribution to the footwell92
Automatic air distribution and flow 
rate92
Cooling function93
Automatic recirculated-air control 
AUC and recirculated-air mode93
Maximum cooling92
ALL program93
Air volume93
Defrosting windows93
Rear window defroster93
Heated seats
*48
16Convertible: opening the convert-
ible top38
Convertible: closing the convertible 
top38 

iDrive
16
iDrive
iDrive integrates the functions of a large num-
ber of switches. This allows these functions to 
be operated from a single central position. The 
following section provides an introduction to basic menu navigation. The control of the indi-
vidual functions is described in connection with 
the relevant equipment.
Controls
1Control Display
2Controller with buttons
You can use the buttons to open the menus 
directly. The controller can be used to 
select the menu items and create settings.
>Move in four directions, arrow3
>Turn, arrow 4
>Push, arrow 5
Operate the controller only when traffic 
and road conditions allow this, to avoid 
endangering the car's occupants and other 
road users by being distracted.< 

At a glance
 17Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Buttons on the controller
Operating principle
With the ignition at radio readiness or beyond, 
refer to page55, the following message is dis-
played on the Control Display:
To hide the message: 
Press the controller.
The main menu is displayed.
The message is automatically hidden after 
approx. 10 seconds.
Opening the main menu
Press the MENU button.
The main menu is displayed.All iDrive functions can be called up via the main 
menu.
Selecting a menu item
The menu items shown in white can be 
selected.
1.Turn the controller until the desired menu 
item is highlighted.
2.Press the controller.
A new menu is displayed or the function is exe-
cuted.
ButtonFunction
MENU Open the main menu
RADIO Open the Radio menu
CD Open the CD/Multimedia menu
NAV Open the Navigation menu
TEL Open the Telephone menu
BACK Display the previous menu
OPTION Open the Options menu