
 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 
Canada, 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
 21Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Letters and numbers
Entering letters and numbers
1.Turn the controller: select the letters or 
numbers.
2.Select additional letters or numbers if 
needed.
3."OK": confirm the entry.
Switching between letters and 
numbers
Depending on the menu, you can switch 
between entering letters and numbers:
Wordmatch concept during navigation
Entry of names and addresses: the selection is 
narrowed down every time a letter is entered 
and letters may be added automatically.
Destination search: the entries are continuously 
compared to the data stored in the vehicle.
>The only letters offered for entering 
addresses are those for which data are 
available.
>Town/city names can be entered with the 
spelling used in any of the languages avail-
able on the Control Display.
SymbolFunction
Press the controller: delete 
one letter or number
Press the controller for an 
extended period: delete all 
letters or numbers
Enter a blank space
SymbolFunction
Entering letters
Entering numbers 

Opening and closing
32
Closing
The handle recesses on the interior trim of the 
trunk lid make it easier to pull down.
Make sure that the closing path of the 
trunk lid is clear; otherwise, injuries may 
result.<
Alarm system*
The concept
The vehicle alarm system responds:
>When a door, the hood or the trunk lid is 
opened
>To movements inside the vehicle: interior 
motion sensor, refer to page33
>When the car's inclination changes, for 
instance if an attempt is made to jack it up 
and steal the wheels or to raise it prior to 
towing away: tilt alarm sensor, refer to 
page33
>When there has been an interruption of 
power supply from the battery
Depending on the market-specific version, the 
alarm system briefly signals unauthorized entry 
attempts by:
>An acoustic alarm
>Switching on
* the hazard warning flashers
Arming and disarming
When you lock or unlock the vehicle, either with 
the remote control or at the door lock, the alarm 
system is armed or disarmed at the same time.
You can open the trunk lid using the   button 
of the remote control even if the alarm system is armed, refer to page28. The lid is locked and 
monitored again as soon as it is closed.
Panic mode
You can trigger the alarm system if you find 
yourself in a dangerous situation.
Press the   button for at least three seconds.
To switch off the alarm: press any button.
Switching off an alarm
>Unlock the car with the remote control, refer 
to page27, or
>insert the remote control all the way into the 
ignition lock.
Indicator lamp displays
>The indicator lamp under the inside rear-
view mirror flashes continuously: the sys-
tem is armed.
>The indicator lamp flashes after locking: 
doors, hood or trunk lid are not properly 
closed. Even if you do not close the alerted 
area, the system begins to monitor the 
remaining areas, and the indicator lamp 
flashes continuously after approx. 
10 seconds. The interior motion sensor and 
the tilt alarm sensor are not activated.
>The indicator lamp goes out after unlocking: 
your vehicle has not been disturbed while 
you were away.
>If the indicator lamp flashes after unlocking 
until the remote control is inserted in the 
ignition, but for no longer than approx. 
5 minutes: your vehicle has been disturbed 
while you were away. 

Controls
 33Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Tilt alarm sensor
The tilt of the vehicle is monitored. The alarm 
system reacts, e.g. to attempts to steal a wheel 
or tow the vehicle.
Interior motion sensor
Coupe
In order for the interior motion sensor to func-
tion properly, the windows and glass roof must 
be completely closed
*.
Convertible
The interior of the car is monitored up to the 
height of the seat cushions. Thus the alarm sys-
tem is activated together with the interior 
motion sensor even if the convertible top is 
open. An alarm can be triggered unintentionally 
by falling objects such as leaves, refer to Avoid-
ing unintentional alarms.
Avoiding unintentional alarms
The tilt alarm sensor and interior motion sensor 
may be switched off at the same time. This pre-
vents unintentional alarms, e.g. in the following 
situations:
>In duplex garages
>During transport on car-carrying trains, 
boats/ships or on a trailer
>When animals are to remain in the vehicle
Switching off tilt alarm sensor and 
interior motion sensor
Press the   button on the remote control 
again as soon as the vehicle is locked.
The indicator lamp lights up briefly and then 
flashes continuously. The tilt alarm sensor and 
the interior motion sensor are switched off until 
the next time the vehicle is unlocked and subse-
quently locked again.
Comfort Access*
Comfort Access enables you to enter your vehi-
cle without needing to hold the remote control 
in your hand. All you need to do is wear the 
remote control close to your body, e.g. in your 
jacket pocket. The vehicle detects the corre-
sponding remote control within the immediate 
vicinity or in the passenger compartment.
Comfort Access supports the following func-
tions:
>Unlocking/locking the vehicle
>Unlocking the trunk lid separately
>Engine starting
>Convenient closing
Functional requirement
>The vehicle or the trunk lid can only be 
locked when the vehicle detects that the 
remote control currently in use is outside of 
the vehicle.
>The vehicle cannot be locked or unlocked 
again until after approx. 2 seconds.
>The engine can only be started when the 
vehicle detects that the remote control cur-
rently in use is inside the vehicle.
Comparison to the standard remote 
control
In general, there is no difference between using 
Comfort Access or pressing the buttons on the 
remote control to carry out the functions men-
tioned above. You should therefore first famil-
iarize yourself with the instructions on opening 
and closing starting on page26.
Special features regarding the use of Comfort 
Access are described below.
If you notice a brief delay while opening or 
closing windows, the glass roof or the 
convertible top, the system is checking whether 
a remote control is inside the vehicle. Please 
repeat the opening or closing procedure, if nec-
essary.< 

Opening and closing
42
Folding
Slide the red release lever towards the middle of 
the wind deflector and push the two halves 
apart. 

Controls
 59Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Sport program and manual operation 
M/S
Move selector lever from position D toward the 
left into the M/S shifting slot; the Sport program 
is activated. This position is recommended for a 
performance-oriented driving style.
DS is displayed in the instrument cluster.
To deactivate the sport program or manual 
mode M/S, move the selector lever to the right 
into position D.
Shifting gears via the selector lever
Move selector lever from position D toward the 
left into the M/S shifting slot:
When you press the selector lever forwards or 
backwards, the manual mode is activated and 
Steptronic changes gear.
The engaged gear, e.g. M1 is displayed in the 
instrument cluster.
Upshifts and downshifts are executed only 
when they will result in a plausible combination 
of engine and vehicle speed; thus, for example, 
a downshift that would cause the engine to 
overrev will not be executed by the system.
The gear selected is briefly displayed in the 
instrument cluster, followed again by the gear 
actually in use.
Shifting gears via shift paddles* on the 
steering wheel
The shift paddles allow you to shift gears 
quickly since both hands can remain on the 
steering wheel.>When you use the shift paddles on the 
steering wheel to shift gears in automatic 
mode, the transmission switches to manual 
mode.
>If you do not accelerate or shift gears using 
the shift paddles for a certain amount of 
time, the transmission switches back to 
automatic mode.
If the selector lever is in the M/S gear 
plane, manual mode remains active.<
>To upshift, briefly pull the right shift 
paddle +.
>To downshift, briefly pull the left shift pad-
dle –.
Upshifts and downshifts are executed only 
when they will result in a plausible combination 
of engine and vehicle speed; thus, for example, 
a downshift that would cause the engine to 
overrev will not be executed by the system.
The gear selected is briefly displayed in the 
instrument cluster, followed again by the gear 
actually in use.
Overriding selector lever lock
If the selector lever will not move out of 
position P even though the ignition is switched 
on, the brake is depressed, and the button on 
the selector lever is pressed, the selector lever 
lock can be overridden: 

Controls
 61Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Shifting into N, D, R
Briefly push the selector lever in the desired 
direction, overcoming a resistance point if nec-
essary. When shifting out of P or into R, simul-
taneously press the button 1
The engaged selector lever position is also dis-
played on the selector lever.
As soon as you release the selector lever, it 
returns to the center position.
Shifting into P
Press the button P.
P Park
Select this only when the vehicle is stationary. 
The rear wheels are locked.
The transmission is shifted into P if, with 
the engine running, you open the driver's 
door, do not have your safety belt fastened, and 
subsequently actuate neither the brake pedal 
nor the accelerator.<
The transmission is shifted into P as soon 
as you switch off the engine, unless the 
transmission is in N and the remote control is in 
the ignition lock, refer to page55. As soon as 
you remove the remote control from the ignition 
lock, then the transmission is shifted into P.<
R Reverse
Select this only when the vehicle is stationary.
N idle position
You can select this at a car wash, for example. 
The vehicle can roll.
After the engine is switched off, the trans-
mission remains in N if you leave the 
remote control in the ignition lock. You can use 
this function at a car wash, for example, refer to 
page210.<
D Drive mode
In Drive mode, all forward gears are shifted 
automatically.
Kickdown
For sudden acceleration maneuvers such as 
passing, depress the accelerator past the resis-
tance point. You achieve maximum accelera-
tion.
Sport program and manual operation 
M/S
Push selector lever toward the left from the 
selector lever position D , the Sport program is 
activated. This position is recommended for a 
performance-oriented driving style.
The engaged gear, e.g. S1, is displayed in the 
instrument cluster.
When you press the selector lever forwards or 
backwards, the manual mode is activated and 
Steptronic changes gear.
The engaged gear, e.g. M1 is displayed in the 
instrument cluster. 

Driving
62 In the following situations, the 7-gear Sports 
automatic transmission with double clutch 
does the thinking for you:
>Upshifts and downshifts are executed only 
when they will result in a plausible combina-
tion of engine and vehicle speed; thus, for 
example, a downshift that could cause the 
engine to overrev will not be executed by 
the system.
>At a stop, the transmission is automatically 
shifted down to the first gear.
>Shortly before the speed falls below a gear-
dependent minimum speed, the transmis-
sion automatically downshifts without your 
intervention.
Quick downshifting: even in sequential mode, 
you can skip over several gears in order to 
achieve an optimum acceleration. To do so, 
depress the accelerator past the resistance 
point.
To return to automatic mode, push the selector 
lever to the right.
Gear shifting
Upshift or downshift using the selector lever or 
the shift paddles. You do not have to let off of 
the gas to do this.
Using the selector lever
>To upshift, pull the selector lever toward the 
rear.
>To downshift, push it toward the front.
Using the shift paddles on the steering 
wheel
You can also shift manually using two shift pad-
dles on the steering wheel. The shift paddles 
allow you to shift gears quickly since both 
hands can remain on the steering wheel.
>When you use the shift paddles on the 
steering wheel to shift gears in automatic 
mode, the transmission switches to manual 
mode.
>If you do not accelerate or shift gears using 
the shift paddles for a certain amount of 
time, the transmission switches back to automatic mode if the selector lever is in 
position D.
>To upshift, briefly pull the right shift 
paddle +.
>To downshift, briefly pull the left shift pad-
dle –.
Driving dynamics control
The driving dynamics control permits you, at 
the push of a button, to have your BMW react in 
an even more sporty fashion when driving:
>Optimal use is made of the engine's speed 
range.
>Gear changes occur more quickly.
>The engine reacts more spontaneously to 
accelerator pedal movements.
Activating the system
Press the SPORT button.
The LED in the button lights up.
Deactivating the system
>Press the SPORT button again
>Switch off engine
The LED in the button goes out.