Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Contents
The fastest way to find specific topics is to use
the index, refer to page230.
Using this Owner's Manual
4Notes
7Reporting safety defects
At a glance
10Cockpit
16iDrive
21Letters and numbers
22Voice activation system
Controls
26Opening and closing
43Adjusting
52Transporting children safely
55Driving
65Controls Overview
75Technology for comfort, convenience
and safety
89Lamps
94Climate
100Practical interior accessories
Driving tips
108Things to remember when driving
112 BMW M6 Engineering
Navigation
116Navigation system
117Destination entry
126Destination guidance
132What to do if…
Entertainment
136On/off and tone
139Radio
142Satellite radio
144CD/DVD player and CD changer
151Music collection
156External devices
Communications
162Telephone
174Contacts
176BMW Assist
Mobility
184Refueling
186Wheels and tires
192Under the hood
197Maintenance
199Care
203Replacing components
212Giving and receiving assistance
Reference
220Technical data
224Short commands of voice activation
system
230Everything from A to Z
Notes
6
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 Genuine 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.
Genuine 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
such as CBs, walkie-talkies, ham radios or the
like may cause extensive damage to the vehicle,
compromise its safety, interfere with the vehi-
cle'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,
including components found in the interior fur-
nishings in a vehicle, contain or emit chemicals
known to the State of California to cause cancer
and birth defects and reproductive harm. In
addition, certain fluids contained in vehicles and
certain products of component wear contain or
emit chemicals known to the State of California
to cause cancer and birth defects or other
reproductive harm.
Battery posts, terminals and related accesso-
ries contain lead and lead compounds. Wash
your hands after handling.
Used engine oil contains chemicals that have
caused cancer in laboratory animals. Always
protect your skin by washing thoroughly with
soap and water.<
At a glance
11Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
8Shift paddles59
9Buttons on steering wheel
10Instrument cluster12
13Ignition lock55
14Horn, entire surface17Releasing hood192
Mobile phone
*162:
>Press: accepting and ending a
call, starting dialing
* of
selected phone number and
redialing if no phone number is
selected
Volume
Activating/deactivating voice acti-
vation system
* 22
Changing radio station139
Selecting music track144
Scrolling in phone book and in lists
with stored phone numbers
MDrive, call up individual
settings50
Changing entertainment source
11
Windshield wipers62
Rain sensor62
12Starting/stopping engine and
switching ignition on/off 55
15
Steering wheel heater
*50
Steering wheel adjustment50
16
Cruise control63
18Opening luggage compartment
lid31
19
Head-up Display
*86
20
Parking lamps89
Low beams89
Welcome lamps89
Automatic headlamp control89
Daytime running lamps
*90
Welcome lamps89
Adaptive Light Control
*90
High-beam Assistant
*91
21
Instrument lighting93
At a glance
15Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
1Microphone for hands-free mode for tele-
phone
*
and voice activation system*22
Convertible: microphone on steering col-
umn
2Reading lamps93
3SOS: initiating
an emergency request212
4Interior lamps93
5Passenger airbag status lamp84
6Control Display16
7Hazard warning flashers
8Central locking system30
9Automatic climate control94
10CD/DVD drive136
11Programmable memory buttons20
12Switching entertainment sound output on/
off and adjusting volume136
13Changing
>radio station139
>track13614Ejecting CD/DVD144
16Bracket for cupholder
*103
17Controller16
Can be turned, pressed, or moved in four
directions
18Buttons on the controller17
Selecting menus directly
19Drivelogic of Sequential Manual
Transmission59
20EDC Electronic Damper Control for
Sequential Manual Transmission79
21DSC Dynamic Stability Control for Sequen-
tial Manual Transmission76
22M Engine Dynamic Control POWER for
Sequential Manual Transmission60
23EDC Electronic Damper Control for manual
transmission
*79
24MDM
>M Dynamic Mode for manual
transmission
*76
>Switching DSC on and off in manual
transmission
*77 Temperature setting, left/right95
Automatic air distribution and
volume95
Cooling function96
AUC Automatic recirculated-air
control/recirculated-air mode96
Maximum cooling96
Residual heat mode97
Switching off automatic climate
control97
Air volume96
Defrosting windows and removing
condensation96
Rear window defroster96
15
Heated seats48
PDC Park Distance Control
*75
Flat Tire Monitor79
Convertible: opening the convert-
ible top38
Convertible: closing the convertible
top38
At a glance
17Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Basic operation
From radio readiness, refer to page55, the fol-
lowing message is shown on the Control Dis-
play:
To hide the message:
Press the controller.
This displays the start menu.
The message is hidden after approx. 10 sec-
onds.
Opens 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.
"Settings".
Changing between panels
After selecting a menu item, e.g. "Radio", a new
menu is displayed on a panel. The panels can
overlap.
Buttons on the controllerFunction
MENU Opens the main menu
RADIO Opens the Radio menu
CD Opens CD/Multimedia
NAV Opens the Navigation menu
TEL Opens the Telephone menu
BACK Opens the previous menu
OPTION Opens 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
>Phone book
* loading
>Roaming
* active
3Display for:
>Entertainment:
Radio, CD/DVD, external devices
>Phone book
*:
Name of the mobile phone paired with
the vehicle4Sound output is switched off or
traffic bulletin display
*:
>"TI":
Traffic bulletins are switched on.
>No display:
Traffic bulletins are switched off.
Other displays:
The status information is temporarily hidden
when there are Check Control instructions or
inputs via the voice activation system
*.
Switching the control display
on/off
1.Press the OPTION button.
2."Switch off display"
To switch on, press the controller.
Split screen
Additional information can be displayed on the
right side of the split screen, e.g. information
from the computer.
In the divided screen view, the so-called 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.
iDrive
20
Selecting the display for the split
screen content
When the split screen is switched on, you can
select the content displayed on the screen.
1.Move the controller to the right repeatedly
until the split screen content is selected.
2.Select the display.
Programmable memory
buttons
Certain iDrive functions can be stored on the
programmable memory keys and called up
directly, e.g. radio stations, navigation destina-
tions, phone numbers and entry points into the
menu.
Storing functions
1.Highlight the function via the iDrive.
2.... Press the desired button
longer than 2 seconds.
Example for programmable memory
keys
Switch the voice instructions for the navigation
on/off.
1."Navigation"
2."Map"
3.Select the symbol using the controller.
4.... Press the desired button
longer than 2 seconds.
Executing a function
... Press the button.The function is executed immediately. This
means, for example, that the number is dialed
when a phone number is selected.
Displaying button assignment
Touch the button with a finger. Do not wear
gloves or use objects.
Displaying short info
... Touch the button.
The key assignment is displayed at the top
edge of the screen.
Displaying detailed information
... Touch the button longer.
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 possible 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 page224.
An example: selecting the track of a CD
1.Switch on Entertainment sound output if
necessary.
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.Select a setting:
>"Default"
>"Short"
Notes
To operate the phone by voice, refer to
page169.<
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.
>Say the commands and numbers smoothly
and at normal volume, avoiding excessive
emphasis and pauses. This also applies
when spelling out and saying a full word
during destination entry.
>When selecting a radio station, use the
common 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 convertible
top closed to prevent interference from
ambient noise.
>Avoid making other noise in the vehicle
while speaking. {Voice commands}
3.Select the music track, e.g.:
{CD track 4}
System says:
{{Track 4}}