
 5Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
The individual vehicle
When you ordered your BMW, you chose vari-
ous items of equipment. 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 in exceptional cases that 
features described in this Owner's Manual 
could differ from those on your vehicle.
For your own safety
Maintenance and repair
Advanced technology, e.g. the use of 
modern materials and powerful electron-
ics, requires specially adapted maintenance 
and repair methods. You should therefore have 
the corresponding work on your vehicle per-
formed only by your BMW center or at a work-
shop that works according to BMW repair pro-
cedures 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 Original 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.
Original 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 accessories not 
approved by BMW, 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, for 
instance, CBs, walkie-talkies, ham radio 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. 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 
certified automotive part.< 

At a glance
 13Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Indicator and warning lamps
The concept
Indicator and warning lamps can light up in a 
variety of combinations and colors.
Several of the lamps are checked for proper 
functioning and light up temporarily when the 
engine is started or the ignition is switched on.
Text messages
Text messages at the top edge of the Control 
Display describe the meanings of the indicator 
and warning lamps.
Supplementary text messages
You can call up more information on the Control 
Display, e.g. on the cause of a malfunction and 
on how to respond, via Check Control, refer to 
page80.
In urgent cases, this information will be shown 
as soon as the corresponding lamp comes on.
Indicator lamps without text messages
The following indicator lamps notify you that 
certain functions are active:
High beams/headlamp flasher99
Fog lamps100
Lamp flashes:
DSC or DTC is regulating the propul-
sive forces in order to maintain driving 
stability86
parking brake applied57
Canada: parking brake applied57
engine malfunction with adverse effect 
on emissions232
Canada: engine malfunction with 
adverse effect on emissions232 

Voice activation system
22
Voice activation system
The concept
The voice activation system allows you to con-
trol operation of various vehicle systems with-
out removing your hands from the steering 
wheel.
Most menu items on the Control Display can be 
voiced as commands. It is not necessary to use 
the controller.
The voice activation system transforms your 
oral commands into control signals for the 
selected systems and provides support in the 
form of instructions or questions.
The voice activation system uses a special 
microphone located in the area of the interior 
rearview mirror, refer to page14.
Precondition
Via iDrive, select the language in which the 
voice activation system is operating, so that the 
spoken commands can be identified. Selecting 
the language for iDrive, refer to page83.
Symbols in the Owner's Manual
Saying commands
Activating voice activation system
1.Press the  button on the steering wheel. This symbol on the Control Display and 
an acoustic signal indicate that the voice 
activation system is ready to receive spo-
ken commands.
2.Say the command.
The command appears on the Control Dis-
play.
 This symbol appears on the Control Display 
when you can enter additional commands. 
If no further commands are possible, continue 
by operating the item of equipment via iDrive.
Terminating or canceling voice 
activation system
Press the  button on the steering wheel
or
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 available commands read aloud:
For example, if "CD" is selected, the commands 
for operating CD/Multimedia are read aloud.
*
{...} Say the specified commands word for 
word. 
{{...}} Indicates responses of the voice acti-
vation system.
{Cancel}
{Voice commands} or {Help} 

At a glance
 23Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
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 page259.
Example: selecting the track of a CD
1.If necessary, switch on entertainment audio 
output.
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.To select the setting:
>"Default"
>"Short"
Notes
To operate the phone by voice, refer to 
page189.<
For voice commands, bear in mind the 
following:
>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.
>Pronounce the commands and digits 
smoothly and at normal volume, avoiding 
excessive emphases and pauses. This also 
applies when spelling out and saying a full 
word during destination entry.
>When selecting a radio station, use the 
standard 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 glass roof/
panorama glass roof closed to prevent 
interference from outside noise.
>Avoid ambient noise in the vehicle while 
speaking. 3.Select the music track, e.g.: 
{C D track 4}
System says: 
{{Track 4}} 

Opening and closing
26
Opening and closing
Remote control
Each remote control contains a rechargeable 
battery that is automatically recharged when it 
is in the ignition lock while the car is being 
driven. Use each remote control at least twice a 
year for longer road trips in order to maintain the 
batteries' charge status. In cars with Comfort 
Access
*, the remote control contains a 
replaceable battery, refer to page36.
The settings called up and implemented when 
the car is unlocked depend on which remote 
control is used to unlock the car, refer to Per-
sonal Profile, next column.
In addition, information about service require-
ments is stored in the remote control, refer to 
Service data in the remote control, page231.
Integrated key
Press button1 to release the key.
The integrated key fits the following locks:
>Glove compartment, refer to page110
>Driver's door, refer to page29
New remote controls
Your BMW center can supply new remote 
controls with integrated keys as additional units 
or as replacements in the event of loss.
Personal Profile
The concept
You can set many of your BMW's functions to 
suit your personal needs and preferences. 
Without any action on your part, Personal 
Profile ensures that most of these settings are 
stored for the remote control currently in use. 
When you unlock the car, the remote control 
used for the purpose is recognized and the 
settings stored for it are called up and imple-
mented.
This means that your personal settings will be 
activated for you, even if in the meantime your 
car was used by someone else with another 
remote control and the corresponding settings. 
The individual settings are stored for a maxi-
mum of four remote controls. They are stored 
for two remote controls if Comfort Access
* is in 
use.
Personal Profile settings
For more information on specific settings, refer 
to the specified pages.
>Assignment of programmable memory 
keys, refer to page20
>Response of the central locking system 
when the car is unlocked, refer to page27
>Automatic locking of the vehicle, refer to 
page30
>Automatic call-up
* of the driver's seat 
position, refer to page46
>Triple turn signal activation, refer to 
page60 

Opening and closing
30
Manual operation
In the event of an electrical malfunction, you can 
lock and unlock the driver's door by turning the 
integrated key to the corresponding limit posi-
tions in the door lock.
Opening and closing:
From inside
This button serves to unlock or lock doors and 
the trunk lid/tailgate, but does not activate the 
anti-theft system. The fuel filler flap remains 
unlocked.
Automatic locking
You can also set the situations in which the car 
locks:
1."Settings"
2."Door locks"
3.Select the desired function:
>"Lock if no door is opened" 
The central locking system locks the 
vehicle after a short time, unless a door 
has been opened.>"Lock after start. to drive" 
The central locking system locks the 
vehicle when you drive away.
 The function is switched on and is stored 
for the remote control currently in use.
Unlocking and opening doors
>Either unlock the doors together using the 
button for the central locking system and 
then pull the door handle above the armrest 
or
>pull on the door handle of each door twice: 
the first time unlocks the door, the second 
time opens it.
Locking
>Use the central locking button to lock all of 
the doors simultaneously, or
>press down the safety lock button of a door. 
To prevent you from being locked out, the 
open driver's door cannot be locked using 
the lock button.
Persons or animals in a parked vehicle 
could lock the doors from the inside. You 
should therefore take the remote control with 
you when you leave the vehicle so that the latter 
can be opened from outside.< 

Controls
 31Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Trunk lid/tailgate
In order to avoid damage, make sure there 
is sufficient clearance before opening the 
trunk lid/tailgate.<
Opening from inside
Press the button: the trunk lid/tailgate opens 
unless it has been locked.
Opening from outside
Sedan
Press the button, see arrow, or the  button 
on the remote control for a longer period. The 
trunk lid will open slightly. It can now be swung 
upwards.
In the event of a malfunction, please con-
tact your BMW center or a workshop that 
works according to BMW repair procedures 
with correspondingly trained personnel.<
Sports Wagon
Press the button, see arrow, or the  button 
on the remote control for a longer period. The 
tailgate will open slightly. It can now be swung 
upwards.
When the button on the roller cover is 
pressed, refer to page115, the roller 
cover is raised. Before closing the tailgate, 
press the roller cover downward until it 
engages.< 

Controls
 33Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Sedan
Sports Wagon
Sports Wagon: opening and closing the 
rear window
Small items can be loaded and unloaded 
quickly when the rear window is opened sepa-
rately.
When the button on the roller cover is 
pressed, refer to page115, the roller 
cover is raised. Before closing the rear window, 
press the roller cover downward until it 
engages.<
Press the button: the rear window opens 
slightly. It can now be swung upwards.
Press the window shut to close it.Make sure that the corners of any pointed 
or sharp-edged cargo are padded if they 
could bump against the rear window while the 
vehicle is in motion; otherwise, the heating ele-
ments of the rear window could be damaged.<
Alarm system*
The concept
The vehicle alarm system responds:
>When a door, the hood or the trunk lid/tail-
gate is opened
>To movements inside the vehicle: Interior 
motion sensor, refer to page34
>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
>When there has been an interruption of 
power supply from the battery
The alarm system signals unauthorized entry 
attempts for a short time by means of:
>An acoustic alarm
>Switching on the hazard warning flashers
>Flashing the high beams
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/tailgate even when 
the alarm system is armed, by pressing the 
button on the remote control, refer to 
page28. The lid is locked and monitored again 
as soon as you close it.
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.