
Practical interior accessories
118
Ski bag*
The ski bag is designed for safe, clean transport 
of up to 4 pairs of standard skis or up to 
2snowboards.
With the ski bag you can stow skis with a length 
of up to 6.9 ft 10 in/2.10 m. When skis of 6.9 ft 
10 in/2.10 m length are loaded, the overall 
capacity of the ski bag is reduced due to its 
tapered design.
Loading
1.Fold down the center armrest.
2.Press the button, reach into the recess and 
fold down the cover.
3.Open the Velcro fastener, spread the ski 
bag between the front seats and insert the 
skis or snowboards. 
The zip fastener makes objects in the ski 
bag easier to reach.
4.Insert the latch plate of the ski bag's retain-
ing strap in the center belt buckle.
Only place clean skis in the ski bag. Wrap sharp 
edges to prevent damage.
Securing cargo
After loading, secure the ski bag and its con-
tents. Tighten the retaining strap on the ten-
sioning buckle for this purpose.
Secure the ski bag in the manner 
described; otherwise, it could endanger 
the car's occupants, e.g. in case of heavy brak-
ing or sudden swerving.<
To store the ski bag, perform the steps 
described for loading in reverse order.
Removing the ski bag
The ski bag can be completely removed, e.g. for 
faste r drying or  to  allow you to use other inserts.
1.Fold down the center panel in the rear seat 
backrest.
2.Pull the handle, arrow1.
3.Pull out the insert, arrow 2.
For more information on the various 
inserts available, contact your BMW cen-
ter.< 

Driving tips
 123Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Drive defensively
Avoid unnecessary acceleration and braking 
maneuvers. To do so, keep an adequate dis-
tance between you and the vehicle in front of 
you. A defensive and smooth driving style 
keeps fuel consumption down.
Avoid high engine speeds
Only use first gear when setting off. In second 
and higher gears, accelerate without hesitation 
or pauses. When accelerating, shift up before 
reaching high engine speeds.
When you reach the desired speed, shift into 
the highest applicable gear and drive with the 
engine speed as low as possible and at a con-
stant speed.
As a rule: driving at low engine speeds lowers 
fuel consumption and reduces wear.
Coasting
When approaching a red light, take your foot off 
the accelerator and coast to a stop in the high-
est applicable gear.
On a downhill slope, take your foot off the accel-
erator and coast in a suitable gear.
The fuel supply is interrupted when coasting.
Switch off the engine during lengthy 
stops
Switch off the engine when stopping for lengthy 
periods, e.g. at traffic lights, railroad crossings 
or in traffic congestions. You achieve fuel sav-
ings even if standing time is as short as approx. 
4 seconds.
Switch off functions you do not need at 
the moment
Functions such as the air conditioner, seat 
heating or rear window defroster draw large 
amounts of power and consume additional fuel. 
Especially in city traffic and in stop and go driv-
ing they have a considerable impact. Therefore, 
switch these functions off when they are not 
really needed.
Have the vehicle serviced
Have the vehicle serviced regularly to achieve 
good economy and a long vehicle life. BMW 
recommends having the vehicle serviced at a 
BMW center. Also note the BMW service sys-
tem, refer to page231.
General driving notes
Close the trunk lid/tailgate
Operate the vehicle only when the trunk 
lid/tailgate and rear window are closed. 
Otherwise, exhaust fumes could enter the inte-
rior of the vehicle.<
If the vehicle must be driven with the trunk lid/
tailgate open:
1.Close all windows and the glass roof.
2.Greatly increase the air volume of the auto-
matic climate control system, refer to 
page104.
Hot exhaust system
In all vehicles, extremely high tempera-
tures are generated in the exhaust sys-
tem. Do not remove the heat shields installed 
adjacent to various sections of the exhaust sys-
tem, and never apply undercoating to them. 
When driving, standing at idle and while park-
ing, take care to avoid possible contact 
between the hot exhaust system and any highly 
flammable materials such as hay, leaves, grass, 
etc. Such contact could lead to a fire, with the 
risk of serious personal injuries and property 
damage. Do not touch hot exhaust tail pipes. 
Otherwise, there is a risk of burns.< 

Things to remember when driving
124
Diesel particulate filter*
The diesel particulate filter collects soot parti-
cles and burns them periodically at high tem-
peratures. This cleaning process takes several 
minutes. During cleaning, you may notice that 
the engine temporarily runs less smoothly and 
that a somewhat higher engine speed is neces-
sary to achieve the accustomed performance. 
Also, noises may be heard and a slight amount 
of smoke may emerge from the exhaust, even 
for a short period after the engine is switched 
off.
Hydroplaning
When driving on wet or slushy roads, 
reduce road speed. If you do not, a wedge 
of water can form between tires and road sur-
face. This situation, known as hydroplaning, 
means that the tire can completely lose contact 
with the road surface, so that neither the car can 
be steered nor the brake be properly applied.<
The risk of hydroplaning increases with declin-
ing tread depth on the tires, refer also to Mini-
mum tread depth on page222.
Driving through water
Drive through water on the road only if it is 
not deeper than 1 ft/30 cm, and then only 
at walking speed at the most. Otherwise, the 
vehicle's engine, the electrical systems and the 
transmission may be damaged.<
Use the parking brake on inclines
On inclines, do not hold the vehicle for a 
lengthy period using the clutch; use the 
parking brake instead. Otherwise, greater 
clutch wear will result.<
For more information about the drive-off 
assistant, refer to page87.
Braking safely
Your BMW is equipped with ABS as a standard 
feature. Applying the brakes fully is the most 
effective way of braking in situations in which 
this is necessary. Since the vehicle maintains 
steering responsiveness, you can still avoid 
possible obstacles with a minimum of steering 
effort.
Pulsation of the brake pedal, combined with 
sounds from the hydraulic circuits, indicate that 
ABS is in its active mode.
Driving in wet conditions
When roads are wet or there is heavy rain, 
briefly exert gentle pressure on the brake pedal 
every few miles. Monitor traffic conditions to 
ensure that this maneuver does not endanger 
other road users. The heat generated in this 
process helps dry the pads and rotors to ensure 
that full braking efficiency will then be available 
when you need it.
Hills
To prevent overheating and the resulting 
reduced efficiency of the brake system, 
drive long or steep downhill gradients in the 
gear in which the least braking is required. Even 
light but consistent brake pressure can lead to 
high temperatures, brake wear and possibly 
even brake failure.<
You can increase the engine's braking effect by 
shifting down, all the way to first gear if neces-
sary. This strategy helps you avoid placing 
excessive loads on the brake system. Down-
shifting in manual mode of the automatic trans-
mission, refer to page59.
Never drive with the clutch held down, 
with the transmission in neutral or with 
the engine switched off; otherwise, engine 
braking action will not be present or there will be 
no power assistance to the brakes or steering. 
Never allow floor mats, carpets or any other 
objects to protrude into the area around the 
pedals; otherwise, pedal function could be 
impaired.< 

Navigation
Driving tips
 137Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
Specifying the street
If the system cannot recognize a street, it dis-
plays a street name in the vicinity or the coordi-
nates of the destination.
Interactive map
In the interactive map, the scale can be adjusted 
and the visible map section can be shifted. In 
addition, pressing the controller makes further 
functions available:
> Select that 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 
page135.
Entering a destination by 
voice commands*
General information
You can enter a desired destination via the 
voice activation system. During the destination 
input, you can switch between voice entry and 
entry via iDrive at any time. To do so, reactivate 
the voice activation system 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 
page83.
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.
2.{Enter address}
1.{City} or {Spell city} 

Navigation
Driving tips
 141Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
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.
Dynamic destination guidance
"Dynamic guidance" is switched on:
The route is automatically changed in the event 
of traffic obstructions. The system does not 
point out traffic obstructions along the original 
route.
Depending on the type of road and the nature 
and length of the traffic obstruction, the route 
can also be calculated so that you travel 
through the traffic obstruction.
Activating Dynamic destination 
guidance
1."Navigation"
2.Open "Options".
3."Dynamic guidance"
If the "Avoid highways", "Avoid toll roads" 
or "Avoid ferries" route criteria are 
selected, route calculation may take consider-
ably longer.<
Route
General information
Depending on the equipment in your vehicle, 
various views of the route are available during 
destination guidance.
>List of streets and towns/cities
>Map view, refer to page142
Displaying a list of the streets or towns/
cities on the route
When destination guidance is started, a list of 
the streets and towns/cities on the route is dis-
played. The driving distances and traffic bulle-
tins are displayed for each route section.
1."Navigation"
2."Route information"
3.Highlight a section.
The section is displayed in the preview map.
Bypassing a section of the route
During destination guidance, you can revise the 
navigation system's route recommendations to 
avoid particular stretches of road. Enter the 
number of miles/kilometers that you want to 
travel before returning to the original route.
1."Navigation"
2."Route information"
3."New route for:"
4.Turn the controller: enter the desired num-
ber of miles.
5.Press the controller.
Resuming the original route
If the route section should no longer be 
bypassed:
1."Navigation"
2."Route information"
3."Remove blocking" 

Navigation
Driving tips
 145Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
Opening traffic bulletins
1."Navigation"
2."Map"
3.Move the controller to the left, if necessary.
4.Select the  symbol: "Traffic Info" 
First, the traffic bulletins on the planned 
route are displayed. The traffic bulletins are 
sorted in the order of their distance from the 
current vehicle position.
5.Select a traffic bulletin.
Additional information can be displayed for 
some traffic bulletins:
1.Select the  symbol.
2.Additional information is displayed.
3.To exit from the menu:
Move the controller to the left.
Traffic bulletins in the map
When the traffic bulletin map is activated, the 
Control Display changes to a grayscale display. 
This enables a better view of the traffic bulle-
tins. The day/night mode is disregarded in this 
setting. The symbols for the special destina-
tions are no longer displayed.
1."Navigation"
2."Map"
3.Open "Options".
4."Settings"
5."Traffic conditions/gray map"
Symbols in the map view
Depending on the scale of the map and the 
location of the traffic obstruction along the 
route, the symbols for the traffic obstructions 
are displayed.
Additional information in the map view
Depending on the map scale, a traffic obstruc-
tion's length, direction and impact are displayed 
on the map using triangles or gray bars along 
the calculated route. The colors displayed 
depend on the information transmitted by the 
traffic information service.
>Red: traffic jam
>Orange: stop-and-go traffic
>Yellow: heavy traffic
>Green: traffic flowing freely
>Gray: general traffic information, 
e.g. construction zone
Filtering of traffic bulletins
You can filter which traffic bulletins are to be 
displayed by the system:
1."Navigation"
2."Map"
3.Open "Options".
4."Traffic Info categories"
5.Select the desired categories.
Traffic bulletins of the selected categories are 
displayed.
>Traffic bulletins on incidents along the route 
are always displayed.
>For your own safety, traffic bulletins that 
notify you of potentially dangerous situa-
tions, such as wrong-way drivers, cannot be 
hidden. 

Destination guidance
146
Traffic bulletins during destination 
guidance
System response will vary depending on 
whether or not "Dynamic guidance" is selected, 
refer to page141.
During destination guidance, traffic obstruc-
tions on the route are taken into consideration.
Information on sources of great danger, such as 
wrong-way drivers, is displayed regardless of 
the setting.
Displaying traffic obstructions
When the navigation system receives a traffic 
obstruction message and "Dynamic guidance" 
is not selected, you will be shown certain infor-
mation, such as the length of the traffic jam, 
when you are approx. 30 miles/50 km away 
from the traffic obstruction.
The last possible detour exit is indicated just 
before you reach it.
This information is displayed even if you have 
called up another application on the Control 
Display.
Selecting a detour
Select the  symbol: "Detour".
"Dynamic guidance" is activated for the current 
destination guidance.
Dynamic route planning
When "Dynamic guidance" is selected, the 
route will be changed automatically in the event 
of a traffic obstruction. The system will not point 
out traffic obstructions on the original route.
Depending on the road type and the kind and 
extent of the traffic obstruction, the newly cal-
culated route may lead through the traffic 
obstruction. 

Reference 273
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Instructions for navigation 
system, refer to Voice 
instructions142
Instrument cluster12
Instrument combination, refer 
to Instrument cluster12
Instrument lighting101
Instrument panel, refer to 
Cockpit10
Integrated key26
Integrated universal remote 
control107
Interactive map137
Interior lamps101
– remote control28
Interior motion sensor34
Interior rearview mirror49
– automatic dimming 
feature49
– compass109
Interlock, refer to Disengaging 
the remote control58
Intermittent mode of the 
wipers61
Intersection, entering, 
navigation132
iPod, connecting, refer to 
AUX-IN port173
iPod, connecting, refer to USB 
audio interface174
J
Jacking points244
Joystick, refer to iDrive16
Jumpering, refer to Jump-
starting247
Jump-starting247
K
Key, refer to Integrated key/
remote control26
Keyless go, refer to Comfort 
Access34
Keyless opening and closing, 
refer to Comfort Access34Key Memory, refer to Personal 
Profile26
Kickdown58
– automatic transmission with 
Steptronic58
Knock control203
L
Lamps
– automatic headlamp 
control97
– parking lamps/low beams97
Lamps and bulbs, replacing 
bulbs238
Lap-and-shoulder belt, refer 
to Safety belts47
Lashing eyes, refer to 
Securing cargo126
Last destinations134
LATCH child restraint fixing 
system52
Leather care235
LED Light-emitting 
diodes238
Length, refer to 
Dimensions255
License plate lamp, replacing 
bulb243
Light
– high-beam assistant99
Light-alloy wheels235
Light-emitting diodes 
LED238
Lighter113
– connecting electrical 
appliances113
Lighting
– instruments101
– lamps and bulbs238
– vehicle, refer to Lamps97
Light switch97
Limit, refer to Speed limit82
Load126
Load securing equipment, 
refer to Securing cargo126
Lock buttons, doors, refer to 
Locking30Locking
– adjusting confirmation 
signal28
– from inside30
– from outside28
– without remote control, refer 
to Comfort Access34
Locking and unlocking doors
– confirmation signals28
– from inside30
– from outside27
Low beam control, refer to 
High-beam assistant99
Low-beam headlamps97
– automatic97
– replacing bulbs239
Lower back support, refer to 
Lumbar support44
Luggage rack, refer to Roof-
mounted luggage rack127
Lumbar support44
M
M+S tires, refer to Winter 
tires224
Maintenance, refer to Service 
Booklet
Maintenance system231
Malfunction
– automatic transmission with 
Steptronic60
– tires89
– trunk lid32
Malfunction warnings, refer to 
Check Control80
Manual car wash234
Manual mode, automatic 
transmission with 
Steptronic59
Manual operation
– door lock30
– driver's door30
– fuel filler flap202
– glass roof38
– panorama glass roof40
– parking lock, automatic 
transmission60
– trunk lid32