
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 
page248.
Using this Owner's Manual
4Notes
6Reporting safety defects
At a glance
10Cockpit
16iDrive
21Letters and numbers
22Voice activation system
Controls
26Opening and closing
42Adjustments
52Transporting children safely
55Driving
69Controls overview
81Technology for driving comfort and 
safety
93Lamps
98Climate
103Practical interior accessories
Driving tips
118Things to remember when driving
Navigation
126Navigation system
127Destination entry
136Destination guidance
142What to do if …
Entertainment
146On/off and tone
149Radio
152Satellite radio
157CD/DVD player and CD changer
164Music collection
169External devices
Communications
176Telephone
188Contacts
190BMW Assist
Mobility
198Refueling
200Wheels and tires
212Under the hood
217Maintenance
219Care
223Replacing components
230Giving and receiving assistance
Reference
238Technical data
242Short commands for the voice activation 
system
248Everything 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,  

At a glance
 11Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
9Instrument cluster12
12Ignition lock5513Buttons on the steering wheel
15Horn, entire surface
16Adjusting the steering wheel51
18Releasing the hood212
19Opening the trunk lid31 8
Turn signals59
High beams, headlamp flasher95
High-beam assistant
*95
Roadside parking lamps
*95
Computer70
Settings and information about the 
vehicle72
10
Windshield wipers60
Rain sensor
*60
11Switching the ignition on/off and 
starting/stopping the engine55
Telephone*:
Accepting and ending a call; dial-
ing
* the selected phone number; 
redialing if no phone number is 
selected
Volume
Activating/deactivating voice acti-
vation system
*22
Changing the radio station
Interrupting a traffic bulletin
Selecting a music track
Scrolling through the redial list
Next entertainment source
Recirculated-air mode100
14
Steering wheel heating
*51
17
Cruise control
*61
Active cruise control
*63 

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
*230
3Reading lamps97
4Coupe: glass roof, electric
*36
5Interior lamps97
6Passenger airbag status lamp
*91
7Control Display16
8Hazard warning flashers
9Dynamic Traction Control DTC82
10Central locking system30
11Automatic climate control
12CD/DVD drive
*15713Changing the audio and entertainment 
sources
14Selecting AM or FM waveband
15Changing
>Radio station149
>Track157
17Controller16 
Can be turned, pressed, or moved in four 
directions
18Buttons on the controller16
Selecting menus directly
20Programmable memory keys20
21Switching entertainment audio sources on/
off and adjusting volume146
22Ejecting a CD/DVD
*157 Air distribution to the 
windshield99
Air distribution to the upper body 
area99
Air distribution to the footwell99
Automatic air distribution and flow 
rate99
Cooling function100
Automatic recirculated-air control 
AUC and recirculated-air 
mode100
Maximum cooling99
ALL program100
Air volume100
Defrosting windows100
Rear window defroster100
Heated seats
*47
16
Park Distance Control PDC*81
Coupe: 
Roller sun blind
*106
Coupe: 
Hill Descent Control HDC
*83
19Convertible:
Opening and closing retractable 
hardtop38 

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.
Menu items in the Owner's Manual
In the Owner's Manual, menu items that can be 
selected are set in quotation marks, e.g. "Set-
tings".
Changing between panels
After selecting a menu item, e.g. "Radio", a new 
menu is displayed on a panel. The panels can 
overlap.
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 

At a glance
 19Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
4.Turn the controller until "Time:" is high-
lighted, and then press the controller.
5.Turn the controller to set the hours and 
press the controller.
6.Turn the controller to set the minutes and 
press the controller.
Status information
1Time
2Display for:
>Reception strength of the wireless 
network, depends on the mobile phone
>Incoming, outgoing or missed call
>SMS
* received
3Display for:
>Entertainment:
Radio, CD/DVD, external devices
>Telephone
*:
Name of the mobile phone paired with 
the vehicle4Sound output is switched off or
 display for traffic bulletins
*:
>"TI": 
Traffic bulletins are switched on.
>No display: 
Traffic bulletins are switched off.
Other displays:
Status information is temporarily hidden during 
Check Control message displays or entries via 
the voice activation system
*.
Switching the Control Display 
off/on
1.Press the OPTION button.
2."Switch off Control display"
Press the controller to switch on.
Professional navigation system: split 
screen
Additional information, e.g. from the computer, 
can be displayed on the right side of the split 
screen.
On the split screen, this information remains 
visible even when you change to another menu.
Switching the split screen on and off
1.Press the OPTION button.
2."Split screen"
 The split screen is activated.
Selecting the display for the split 
screen content
When the split screen is switched on, you can 
select the content displayed on the screen. 

At a glance
 23Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
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.
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 page242.
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
To operate the phone by voice, refer to 
page183.<
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. {Voice commands}
3.Select the music track, e.g.: 
{C D track 4}
System says: 
{{Track 4}} 

Controls
 29Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Confirmation signals
You can activate or deactivate the confirmation 
signals.
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 
Comfort 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 Comfort 
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.
Coupe
In vehicles without an alarm system* or 
Comfort Access
*, only the driver's door 
can be locked via the door lock.<
To lock all doors, the fuel filler flap and the trunk 
lid at once:
1.With the doors closed, lock the vehicle 
using the button for the central locking sys-
tem in the interior, refer to page30.
2.Unlock and open the driver's or front pas-
senger door, refer to page30.