
Controls
 89Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Initializing system
The initialization finishes during driving, 
which can be interrupted at any time. 
When driving resumes, the initialization is con-
tinued automatically. The system is initialized 
after this activation phase.
The initialization process adopts the set infla-
tion tire pressures as reference values for the 
detection of a flat tire. Initialization is started by 
confirming the inflation pressures.<
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16:
1."Vehicle Info"
2."Vehicle status"
3."Reset"
4.Start the engine - do not drive away.
5.Start the initialization using "Reset".
"Activating…" is displayed on the Control 
Display.
6.Start to drive.
The initialization finishes during driving, which 
can be interrupted at any time. "Flat Tire Moni-
tor active" is displayed on the Control Display.
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 page226.
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 page208, 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- 

Lamps
100
Lamps
Parking lamps/low beams
0Lights off and daytime running lamps*
1Parking lamps and daytime running lamps*
2Low beams and welcome lamps
3Automatic headlamp control
*, daytime run-
ning lamps
*, welcome lamps, Adaptive 
Light Control* and High-beam Assistant
*
If you open the driver's door with the ignition 
switched off, the exterior lighting is switched off 
when the light switch is in position2 or 3. The 
daytime running lamps have already been 
switched off at the same time as the ignition.
For this reason, switch on the parking lamps as 
needed, switch position1; otherwise, the vehi-
cle is not lit.
Parking lamps
In switch position1, the front, rear and side 
vehicle lighting is switched on. You can use the 
parking lamps for parking.
The parking lamps drain the battery. Do 
not leave them switched on for long peri-
ods of time, otherwise it may no longer be pos-
sible to start the engine. It is preferable to 
switch on the roadside parking lamps on one 
side, refer to page102.<
Low beams
The low beams light up when the light switch is 
in position 2 and the ignition is on.
Automatic headlamp control*
In switch position3, the system activates the 
low beams and switches them on or off in 
response to changes in ambient light condi-
tions, for instance, in a tunnel, at dawn and dusk 
and in case of precipitation. Adaptive Light 
Control* is active. The LED next to the symbol 
lights up when the low beams are on. You can 
activate the daytime running lamps, refer to 
page101. In the above-mentioned situations, 
the system then switches to the low beams.
A blue sky with the sun low on the horizon can 
cause the lights to be switched on.
The low beams remain switched on inde-
pendent of the ambient lighting condi-
tions when you switch on the fog lamps
*.<
The automatic headlamp control cannot 
serve as a substitute for your personal 
judgment in determining when the lamps 
should be switched on in response to ambient 
lighting conditions. For example, the sensors 
cannot detect fog of hazy weather. To avoid 
safety risks, you should always switch on the 
low beams manually under these conditions.<
Welcome lamps
If you leave the light switch in position2 or 3 
when parking the vehicle, then when you unlock 
the vehicle, the parking lamps and interior light-
ing remain illuminated for a brief time.
Activating/deactivating welcome 
lamps
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16.
1."Settings"
2."Lighting" 

Destination entry
134 To delete letters:
>To delete individual letters:
Turn the controller to select  , and 
then press the controller.
>To delete all letters:
Turn the controller to select  , and 
then press the controller for an extended 
period.
To enter spaces:
>Select the   symbol.
The list gradually grows smaller each time 
you enter a new letter.
3.Move the controller to the right.
4.Select the name of the town/city from the 
list.
If there are several towns/cities with the same 
name:
1.Change to the list of town/city names.
2.Highlight the town/city: a preview map is 
displayed.
3.Select the town/city.
Entering the postal code
1.Select "Town/City/Postal Code" or the dis-
played town/city.
2.Select the  symbol.
3.Select the digits.
4.Change to the list of postal codes and 
towns/cities.
5.Highlight the postal code: a preview map is 
displayed.
6.Select the postal code.
Entering street and intersection
1.Select "Street" or the displayed street.
2.Enter a street and intersection as you would 
the town/city.
After the street you can also enter the intersec-
tion or the house number.
If there are several streets with the same name:1.Change to the list of street names.
2.Highlight the street: a preview map is dis-
played.
3.Select the street.
Entering a street without a destination 
town/city
You can also enter a street without specifying a 
town/city. In this case all streets of the entered 
country are offered for selection. The related 
town/city is displayed after the street name.
If a town/city has already been entered, you can 
undo this entry. This may be practical if the 
desired street does not exist in the entered des-
tination, because, for example, it belongs to 
another part of the town/city.
1."Navigation"
2."Enter address"
3.Select "Street" or the displayed street.
4.Change to the list of street names.
5.Select "In" with the country currently dis-
played.
6.Select the letters.
7.Change to the list of street names.
8.Highlight the street: a preview map is dis-
played.
9.Select the street.
Entering house number
You can enter any house number stored in the 
navigation data for the street.
1."House number"
2.Select the digits.
3.Change to the list of house numbers. 

Navigation
Driving tips
 137Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
1."Search area"
2.Select the location where the system is to 
search for the special destination:
>"At current location"
>"At destination"
>"At a different destination"
>"Along route"
Special destination category
1."Category"
2.Select "All" or a specific category, e.g., 
hotels or restaurants.
Category details
For some special destinations, additional 
details can be displayed that are available in the 
navigation data, e.g., Italian-style restaurant.
"Category details"
Starting the search for special 
destinations
1."Start search"
2.A list of the special destinations is dis-
played.
>"At current location"
Special destinations are listed according to their distance from the current loca-
tion and are displayed with a directional 
arrow pointing to the destination.
>"At destination", "At a different destina-
tion", "Along route"
Special destinations are listed according 
to their distance from the location where 
the search is being performed.
>Destinations of the selected category 
are displayed in the map view as sym-
bols. The view depends on the map 
scale and the category.
3.Highlight a special destination: The desti-
nation is displayed in the preview map.
4.Select the special destination.
5.Select the   symbol.
6."Start guidance" or "Add as another dest.".
If a phone number is available, a connection 
can be established, if desired.
Destination entry via BMW Assist*
A connection is established to the BMW Con-
cierge service, refer to page193.
1."Navigation"
2."Enter address"
3.Open "Options".
4."BMW Assist dest. entry"
Entering special destinations by name
1."Navigation"
2."Points of Interest"
3."Name, A-Z search"
4.Enter the letters.
Depending on the distance, the search may 
take some time. The list can contain a max-
imum of 100 entries.
5.Change to the list of special destinations.
6.Highlight a special destination: The desti-
nation is displayed in the preview map.
7.Select the special destination.
8.Select the   symbol.
9."Start guidance" or "Add as another dest.". 

Navigation
Driving tips
 139Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
addition, pressing the controller makes further 
functions available:
> Select a symbol and "Start guid-
ance", if necessary.
>"Exit interactive map"
>Map view
>"Display destination"
The map section around the destination 
is displayed.
>"Display current location"
The map section around your current 
location is displayed.
>"Find points of interest", refer to 
page136.
Entering a destination by 
voice commands*
General information
You can enter a desired destination via the 
voice activation system. When entering the 
destination, it is possible to change between 
voice command and iDrive at any time. Reacti-
vate the voice command function for this pur-
pose if necessary.
You can have the possible commands 
read aloud via {Voice commands}.<
Saying the entries
>Countries, towns and cities, streets and 
intersections can be said as whole words or 
spelled in the system language, refer to 
page82.Example: to enter a destination in a US state 
as a complete word, the system language 
must be English.
>The town/city, street and house number 
can be said as a single sentence.
*
>Spell the entry if the language region and 
the system language differ.
>Say the letters smoothly, and avoid exag-
gerating the pronunciation and inserting 
lengthy pauses between the letters.
Entering an address*
1.Press the   button on the steering wheel.
3.Wait for a request from the system.
4.Say the town or city, street and house num-
ber in a single sentence.
5.Continue making the entry as prompted by 
the system.
6.If necessary, individually name the separate 
components of the address, e.g., the town/
city.
Entering a town/city
The town/city can be spelled or entered as a 
complete word
*.
The methods of entry depend on the nav-
igation data in use and the country and 
language settings.<
2.Wait for the system to prompt you for the 
town/city.
3.Say the name of the town/city, or name at 
least the first three letters.
Depending on the entry, up to 20 towns/cit-
ies may be suggested.
2.{Enter address}
1.{City} or {Spell city}.
4.Select town/city:
>Select a recommended town/city: 
{Yes}
>Select other town/city: {New entry}
>Select an entry, e.g., {Entry 2}
>Spell an entry: {Spell city} 

Destination guidance
142
Destination guidance
Starting destination 
guidance
1."Navigation"
2."Enter address"
3.Select the destination.
4."Accept destination"
5."Start guidance"
The route is displayed on the Control Display 
after it is calculated.
Terminating destination 
guidance
1."Navigation"
2."Map"
3.Select the   symbol.
4."Stop guidance"
Continuing destination 
guidance
If the destination was not reached during the 
last trip, destination guidance can be resumed.
"Resume guidance"
Route criteria
General information
You can influence the calculated route by 
choosing certain route criteria. You can change 
the route criteria as often as you like while 
entering the destination and whenever the des-
tination guidance is active.
The route is planned according to fixed rules. 
The type of road is taken into account, e.g., 
whether it is a highway or a winding road. As a 
result, the routes recommended by the naviga-
tion system may not always be the same ones that you would choose based on personal expe-
rience.
The settings are stored for the remote control 
currently in use.
Changing route criteria
1."Navigation"
2."Map"
3."Route preference"
4.Selecting a criterion:
>"Fast route": time-optimized route, 
which is a combination of the shortest 
possible route and the fastest roads
>"Efficient route": optimized combination 
of the fastest and shortest roads
>"Short route": short distance, irrespec-
tive of how fast or slow progress will be
>"Alternative routes": other suggested 
alternative routes while destination 
guidance is active
5.Select additional route criteria, if desired. 
Where possible, the selected criteria will be 
avoided on the route.
>Avoid highways where possible:
"Avoid highways"
>Avoid toll roads where possible:
"Avoid toll roads"
>Avoid ferries where possible:
"Avoid ferries"
The setting applies to the current route and to 
the planning of future routes. 

On/off and tone
152
On/off and tone
The following audio and video sources share 
the same control elements and adjustments:
>Radio
>CD/DVD player
>CD changer
*
>Video*
>External devices, e.g., MP3 player
Controls
The audio and video sources can be controlled 
using the:
>Buttons in the area of the CD/DVD player
>iDrive
>Buttons on the steering wheel; refer to 
page11
>Programmable memory buttons, refer to 
page20
>Voice activation system
Buttons in the area of the CD/DVD 
player
1Sound output for entertainment on/off, vol-
ume
>Press: switch on/off
When the system is switched on, the 
most recently selected radio station or 
track is played.
>Turn: adjusting volume2 Station scan/track search
>Change the radio station
>Select the track for the CD/DVD player, 
CD changer and certain multimedia 
devices
3 Eject the CD/DVD
4CD/DVD drive
*
5MODE: change the audio and video 
sources
6FM/AM: change the radio station wave-
band
Switching on/off
To switch the entertainment sound output on 
and off:
Press knob1 next to the CD/DVD player.
 This symbol on the Control Display indicates 
that sound output is switched off.
Sound output is available for approx. 
20 minutes after the ignition is switched off.
Switch on the sound output again for this pur-
pose.
Adjusting volume
Turn knob1 next to the CD/DVD player until the 
desired volume is set.
You can also adjust the volume with the buttons 
on the steering wheel, refer to page11.
Tone control
You can alter various tone settings, e.g., treble 
and bass or the speed-dependent volume 
increase.
The tone settings are set for all audio sources at 
once.
The settings are stored for the remote key cur-
rently in use. 

Navigation
Entertainment
Driving tips
 159Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Mobility
Selecting a channel
Selecting a channel
1."Radio"
2."Satellite radio"
3.Select "All Channels" or the desired cate-
gory.
4.Select desired channel.
Storing a channel
1."Radio"
2."Satellite radio"
3.Open "All Channels" or the desired cate-
gory.
4.Open "Options".
5."Store Channel"
6.Call up the desired memory location.
The channel is stored. The channels of the last 
selection criterion are displayed once again 
after a short time.
Displaying information about another 
channel
Information can be displayed about a channel 
that is not being played.
1.Highlight the channel about which you wish 
to display information.
2.Open "Options".3."Channel info"
Changing the channel using the button 
next to the CD/DVD drive
Press the   button for the corresponding 
direction.
The system changes to the next enabled chan-
nel.
Notes
If no signal can be received for more than 4 sec-
onds, a message is displayed on the Control 
Display.
Reception may not be possible for certain 
reasons, e.g., environmental influences or 
topographical conditions. The satellite radio 
has no influence on this.
The signal may not be available in tunnels or 
underground garages, next to tall buildings, 
near trees, mountains or other sources of radio 
interference.
Reception is usually possible again as soon as 
the signal is available again.<