Page 11 of 286
At a glance
This overview of buttons, switches and displays
is intended to familiarize you with your vehicle's
operating environment. The section will also
assist you in becoming acquainted with the
control concepts and options available for
operating the various systems.
At a glance
Page 13 of 286

At a glance
11Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
8Instrument cluster12
11Ignition lock5512Buttons on the steering wheel
14Horn, entire surface
15Adjusting the steering wheel50
17Releasing the hood225
18Opening the tailgate/trunk lid31 7
Turn signals60
High beams, headlamp flasher99
High-beam assistant
*99
Roadside parking lamps
*99
Computer73
Settings and information about the
vehicle75
9
Windshield wipers61
Rain sensor
*61
Sports Wagon:
Rear window wiper62
10Switching 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 mode104
13
Steering wheel heating
*50
16
Cruise control
*62
Active cruise control
*64
Page 17 of 286

At a glance
15Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
1Microphone for voice activation system*
and for telephone* in hands-free mode
2SOS: initiating an Emergency Request
call
*246
3Reading lamps101
4Glass roof/panorama glass roof
*37
5Interior lamps101
6Passenger airbag status lamp
*95
7Control Display16
8Hazard warning flashers
9Dynamic Traction Control DTC86
10Central locking system30
11Automatic climate control
12CD/DVD drive
*161
13Changing the audio and entertainment
sources14Selecting AM or FM waveband
15Changing
>Radio station153
>Track162
17Controller16
Can be turned, pressed, or moved in four
directions
18Buttons on the controller16
Selecting menus directly
19Programmable memory keys20
20Switching entertainment audio sources on/
off and adjusting volume150
21Ejecting a CD/DVD
*161 Air distribution to the
windshield103
Air distribution to the upper body
area103
Air distribution to the footwell103
Automatic air distribution and flow
rate103
Cooling function104
Automatic recirculated-air control
AUC and recirculated-air
mode104
Maximum cooling103
ALL program104
Air volume104
Defrosting windows104
Rear window defroster104
Heated seats
*46
16
Park Distance Control PDC*84
Sedan:
Roller sun blind
*110
Hill Descent Control HDC
*86
Page 18 of 286
iDrive
16
iDrive
iDrive integrates the functions of a large num-
ber of switches. This allows these functions to
be operated from a single central position. The
following section provides an introduction to basic menu navigation. The control of the indi-
vidual functions is described in connection with
the relevant equipment.
Controls
1Control Display
2Controller with buttons
You can use the buttons to open the menus
directly. The controller can be used to
select the menu items and create settings.
>Move in four directions, arrow3
>Turn, arrow 4
>Push, arrow 5
Operate the controller only when traffic
and road conditions allow this, to avoid
endangering the car's occupants and other
road users by being distracted.<
Page 19 of 286

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 MENUbutton.
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".
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
Page 20 of 286

iDrive
18
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.
White arrows pointing to the left or right indi-
cate that additional panels can be opened.
Open the Options menu
Press the OPTIONbutton.
The "Options" menu is displayed.
Another possibility: move the controller to the
right repeatedly until the "Options" menu
appears.
The "Options" menu contains the following:
>Screen settings, refer to page19.
>Control options for the selected menu.
Adjusting settings
1.Select a field.
2.Turn the controller until the desired setting
is displayed.
3.Press the controller to confirm the setting.
The scroll bar on the right side indicates
whether additional menu items or set-
tings can be selected that are currently not vis-
ible.<
Example: setting the clock
1.Press the MENUbutton.
The main menu is displayed.
2.Turn the controller until "Settings" is high-
lighted, and then press the controller.
3.Turn the controller until "Time/Date" is
highlighted, and then press the controller.
Page 21 of 286

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 OPTIONbutton.
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 OPTIONbutton.
2."Split screen"
The split screen is activated.
Page 22 of 286

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 keys
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 key for
longer than two 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 key for
longer than two 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 memory key assignments
Touch the button with a finger. Do not wear
gloves or use objects.
Displaying brief information
... Touch the button.
The key assignment is displayed at the top
edge of the screen.
Displaying detailed information
... Touch the button for an
extended period.