
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 page279.
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
55Transporting children safely
59Driving
71Everything under control
82Technology for comfort, convenience 
and safety
102Lamps
107Climate
115Practical interior accessories
Driving tips
130Things to remember when driving
Navigation
140Navigation system
141Destination entry
150Destination guidance
157What to do if …
Entertainment
160On/off and tone
163Radio
166Satellite radio
171CD/DVD player and CD/DVD changer
178Music collection
183External devices
187DVD system in rear
Communications
202Telephone
213Contacts
215BMW Assist
Mobility
224Refueling
229Wheels and tires
239Under the hood
244Maintenance
246Care
250Replacing components
261Giving and receiving assistance
Reference
268Technical data
273Short commands of voice activation 
system
279Everything from A to Z
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 5Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
The individual vehicle
When purchasing your BMW, you have decided 
in favor of a model with individualized equip-
ment and features. 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 that the features described 
in this Owner's Manual could differ from those 
on your vehicle.
For your own safety
Maintenance and repairs
Advanced technology, e.g. the use of 
modern materials and high-performance 
electronics, requires specially adapted mainte-
nance and repair methods. Therefore, have cor-
responding work on your BMW performed only 
by your BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Center or 
a workshop that works according to BMW 
repair procedures 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 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 Sports Activity Vehi-
cle 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 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. Refer to 
your BMW Sports Activity Vehicle 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.<
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 7Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Reporting safety defects
For US customers
The following applies only 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 dealer, 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
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At a glance
 11Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
9BMW X6: upshifting or downshifting 
with automatic transmission65
10Instrument panel12
13Ignition lock5914Buttons on steering wheel
15Horn, entire surface
18Releasing hood239 6
Parking lamps102
Low beams102
Automatic headlamp control
*102 
Adaptive Head Light
*103 
High-beam assistant
*104
7
Head-Up Display
*100
8
Turn signals67
High beams, headlamp flasher67
High-beam assistant
*104
Roadside parking lamps
*104
Time, date, outside temperature, 
Check Control71, 78
Computer73
11
Windshield wipers67
Rain sensor68
BMW X5: rear window wiper68
12Starting/stopping engine and 
switching ignition on/off 59
Telephone*:
Accepting and ending calls, start 
dialing
* selected phone number, 
redialing if no phone number is 
selected
Volume
Activating/deactivating voice acti-
vation system
* 22
Changing the radio station
Selecting a music track
Scrolling through the redial list
Next entertainment source
Recirculated-air mode, 110
Steering wheel heating
*54
16
Steering wheel adjustment53
17
Cruise control
*69
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At a glance
 15Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
1Microphone for hands-free mode for 
telephone
* and for voice activation 
system
*22
2Initiating
 an emergency request261
3Reading lamps106
4Glass sunroof38, 40
5Interior lamps106
6Passenger airbag status lamp98
7Control Display16 
Displays for menu navigation
8Hazard warning flashers
9Central locking system27
10Opening glove compartment118
11Automatic climate control with 2-zone 
control108 
Automatic climate control with 4-zone 
control
*112
12Changing
>radio station160
>track160
13Selecting radio, CD and CD/DVD changer
*
14Selecting AM or FM waveband
16Controller16 
Can be turned, pressed, or moved in four 
directions
17Buttons on the controller17
Selecting menus directly
18Automatic Hold61
19Parking brake61
20Adaptive Drive
*91
21Programmable memory buttons20
22Switching Entertainment sound output on/
off and adjusting volume160
23Ejecting audio CD Manual air distribution110
Automatic air distribution and 
volume108
Cooling function110
AUC Automatic recirculated-air 
control110 
Maximum cooling110 
Air volume109
Residual heat utilization110
Defrosting windows and removing 
condensation109
Rear window defroster109
Seat heating
*50
Active seat ventilation
*51
15
Opening liftgate30, 33
Active seat
*52
PDC Park Distance Control
*82
Top View
*84
rear view camera
*86
DSC Dynamic Stability 
Control88
DTC Dynamic Traction 
Control89
HDC Hill Descent Control90
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At a glance
 17Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Buttons on the controller
Operating principle
From radio readiness, refer to page59, the fol-
lowing message is shown on the Control Dis-
play:
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  button.
The main menu is displayed.All iDrive functions can be accessed 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.
Move the controller to the left or right to change 
between the panels.
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 Opening the Options menu
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At a glance
 19Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
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, TV
*
>Telephone*:
Name of the mobile phone paired with 
the vehicle
4Sound output is switched off or
 display for traffic bulletins
*:
>"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 
during inputs using the voice activation sys-
tem
*.
Switching Control Display 
off/on
1.Press the OPTIONbutton.
2."Switch off Control display"
To switch on, press the controller.
Split screen view, 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 split screen view on and off*
1.Press the OPTIONbutton.
2."Split screen"
 The split screen is activated.
Selecting display for 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.
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iDrive
20
Programmable memory 
buttons
Certain iDrive functions can be stored on the 
programmable memory buttons 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   ...   for 
longer than two seconds.
Sample use of programmable memory 
buttons
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   ...   for 
longer than two seconds.
Running function
Press button   ...  .
The function is run 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 button   ...  .
The button assignment is displayed at the top 
edge of the screen.
Displaying detailed information
Touch button   ...   for an extended 
period.
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