
Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Contents
The quickest way to find special topics is to 
consult the index, refer to page258.
Using this Owner's Manual
4Notes
7Reporting safety defects
At a glance
10Cockpit
16iDrive
21Letters and numbers
22Voice activation system
Controls
26Opening and closing
42Adjustments
52Transporting children safely
55Driving
75Controls overview
88Technology for driving comfort and 
safety
101Lamps
106Climate
111Practical interior accessories
Driving tips
126Things to remember when driving
Navigation
134Navigation system
135Destination entry
144Destination guidance
151What to do if …
Entertainment
154On/off and tone
157Radio
160Satellite radio
165CD/DVD player and CD changer
172Music collection
177External devices
Communications
184Telephone
196Contacts
198BMW Assist
Mobility
206Refueling
208Wheels and tires
222Under the hood
227Maintenance
229Care
233Replacing components
238Giving and receiving assistance
Reference
246Technical data
251Short commands for the voice activation 
system
258Everything from A to Z 

 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
 11Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
9Instrument cluster12
12Ignition lock5513Buttons on the steering wheel
15Horn, entire surface
16Adjusting the steering wheel51
18Releasing the hood222
19Opening the trunk lid31 8
Turn signals64
High beams, headlamp 
flasher103
High-beam assistant
*103
Roadside parking lamps
*103
Computer76
Settings and information about 
the vehicle79
10
Windshield wipers65
Rain sensor
*65
11Switching 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 
activation system
*22
Changing the radio station
Interrupting a traffic bulletin
Selecting a music track
Scrolling through the redial list
Next entertainment source
Recirculated-air mode108
14
Steering wheel heating
*51
17
Cruise control
*66
Active cruise control
*68 

At a glance
 15Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
1Coupe: microphone for voice activation 
system
* and for telephone* in hands-free 
mode
Convertible: microphone on steering col-
umn
2SOS: initiating an Emergency Request 
call
*238
3Reading lamps105
4Coupe: glass roof, electric
*37
5Interior lamps105
6Passenger airbag status lamp
*99
7Control Display16
8Hazard warning flashers
9Dynamic Traction Control DTC90
10Central locking system30
11Automatic climate control
12CD/DVD drive
*16513Changing the audio and entertainment 
sources
14Selecting AM or FM waveband
15Changing
>Radio station157
>Track165
17Controller16 
Can be turned, pressed, or moved in four 
directions
18Buttons on the controller16
Selecting menus directly
20Programmable memory keys20
21Switching entertainment audio sources on/
off and adjusting volume154
22Ejecting a CD/DVD
*165 Air distribution to the 
windshield107
Air distribution to the upper body 
area107
Air distribution to the footwell107
Automatic air distribution and flow 
rate107
Cooling function108
Automatic recirculated-air control 
AUC and recirculated-air 
mode108
Maximum cooling107
ALL program108
Air volume108
Defrosting windows108
Rear window defroster108
Heated seats
*47
16
Park Distance Control PDC*88
Coupe: 
Roller sun blind
*114
Coupe: 
Hill Descent Control HDC
*90
19Convertible:
Opening and closing retractable 
hardtop38 

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. 

At a glance
 23Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
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.
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 page251.
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 
page192.<
For voice commands, bear in mind the follow-
ing:
>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 
abbreviations.
>Keep the doors, windows and glass roof 
closed to prevent interference from outside 
noise.
>Avoid ambient noise in the vehicle while 
speaking. {Cancel}
{Voice commands} or {Help}
3.Select the music track, e.g.: 
{C D track 4}
System says: 
{{Track 4}} 

Controls
 27Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
>Settings for the display on the Control 
Display and in the instrument cluster:
>12h/24h format of the clock, refer to 
page83
>Date format, refer to page84
>Brightness of the Control Display, refer 
to page87
>Language on the Control Display, refer 
to page87
>Units of measure, refer to page80
>Show visual warning for Park Distance 
Control PDC
*, refer to page89
>Light settings:
>Welcome lamps, refer to page101
>Pathway lighting, refer to page102
>Daytime running lights, refer to 
page102
>High-beam assistant, refer to page103
>Automatic climate control: activating/deac-
tivating AUTO program, cooling function 
and automatic recirculated-air control, set-
ting temperature, air volume and distribu-
tion, refer to page107 ff
>Entertainment:
>Tone control, refer to page154
>Speed-dependent volume control, refer 
to page155
Central locking system
The concept
The central locking system functions when the 
driver's door is closed.
The system simultaneously engages and 
releases the locks on the following:
>Doors
>Trunk lid
>Fuel filler flap
>Convertible: glove compartment
Operating from outside
>Via the remote control
>Via the door lock
*
>In cars with Comfort Access*, via the 
handles on the driver's and front passenger 
doors
In addition, if the remote control is used, the 
welcome lamps, interior lamps and the door's 
courtesy lamps
* are switched on or off. The 
alarm system
* is also armed or disarmed.
For further details of the alarm system,
 refer to 
page32.
Operating from inside
By means of the button for central locking, 
refer to page30.
In the event of a sufficiently severe accident, the 
central locking system unlocks automatically. In 
addition, the hazard warning flashers and inte-
rior lamps come on.
Opening and closing:
Using the remote control
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.<
Convertible: to operate the retractable 
hardtop with the remote control, the 
doors and trunk lid must be closed and the 
cargo area partition must be folded down and 
engaged on both sides. Refer also to page39.<
Unlocking
Press the  button.
The interior lamps, the courtesy lamps
* and the 
welcome lamps come on. 

Controls
 29Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
3.Press down the cargo area partition until it 
engages on both sides and close the trunk 
lid.
4.Press the  button for a longer period to 
fold the retractable hardtop back in.
Confirmation signals
You can activate or deactivate the confirmation 
signals.
1."Settings"
2."Door locks"
3."Flash when lock/unlock"
4.Press the controller.
 Flashing when locking/unlocking the 
vehicle is switched on.
Malfunctions
The remote control may malfunction due to 
local radio waves. If this occurs, unlock and lock 
the car at the door lock with the integrated key.
Coupe: in vehicles without an alarm system
* or 
Comfort Access
*, only the driver's door can be 
locked and unlocked with the integrated key via 
the door lock.
Convertible: if hardtop movement via the 
remote control is interrupted briefly, the move-
ment will be completed more quickly if you keep 
the corresponding button pressed continu-
ously.
If the car can no longer be locked with a remote 
control, the battery in the remote control is dis-
charged. Use the remote control on an 
extended trip to recharge the battery, refer to 
page26. The remote control for Comfort 
Access
* contains a battery that may have to be 
changed, refer to page35.
For US owners only
The transmitter and receiver units comply with 
part 15 of the FCC/Federal Communications 
Commission regulations. Operation is gov-
erned by the following:
FCC ID:
LX8766S 
LX8766E 
LX8CAS
Compliance statement: 
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC 
Rules. Operation is subject to the following two 
conditions:
>This device must not cause harmful inter-
ference, and
>this device must accept any interference 
received, including interference that may 
cause undesired operation.
Any unauthorized modifications or 
changes to these devices could void the 
user's authority to operate this equipment.<
Opening and closing:
Using the door lock
You can set the way in which the car is 
unlocked, refer to page27.