
Cockpit
10
Cockpit
Around the steering wheel: controls and displays
3Folding exterior mirrors in and out*48
4Adjusting exterior mirrors, automatic curb 
monitor
*48
1Safety switch for electric rear 
windows37 
2
Opening and closing windows36 5
Parking lamps97
Low beams97
Automatic headlamp control
*97
Adaptive light control
*98
High-beam assistant
*99
6
Fog lamps100 

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 

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}} 

Adjustments
42
Adjustments
Sitting safely
The ideal sitting position can make a vital con-
tribution to relaxed, fatigue-free driving. In con-
junction with the safety belts, the head 
restraints and the airbags, the seated position 
has a major influence on your safety in the event 
of an accident. To ensure that the safety sys-
tems operate with optimal efficiency, we 
strongly urge you to observe the instructions 
contained in the following section.
For additional information on transporting chil-
dren safely, refer to page51.
Airbags
Always maintain an adequate distance 
between yourself and the airbags. Always 
grip the steering wheel on the rim, with your 
hands in the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions, 
to minimize the risk of injury to the hands or 
arms in the event of the airbag being triggered 
off. 
No one and nothing should come between the 
airbags and the seat occupant. 
Do not use the cover of the front airbag on the 
front passenger side as a storage area. Make 
sure that the front passenger is sitting correctly, 
e.g. not resting feet or legs on the dashboard; 
otherwise, leg injuries can occur if the front air-
bag deploys.
Make sure that passengers keep their heads 
away from the side airbag and do not lean 
against the cover of the head airbag; otherwise, 
serious injuries can result if the airbag 
deploys.<
Even if you follow all the instructions, injuries 
resulting from contact with airbags cannot be 
fully excluded, depending on the circum-
stances. The ignition and inflation noise may 
provoke a mild hearing loss in extremely sensi-
tive individuals. This effect is usually only tem-
porary.
For airbag locations and additional information 
on airbags, refer to page94.
Head restraint
A correctly adjusted head restraint reduces the 
risk of neck injury in the event of an accident.
Adjust the head restraint in such a way 
that its center is at approx. ear level. 
Otherwise, there is an increased risk of injury in 
the event of an accident.<
Head restraints, refer to page44.
Safety belt
Before every drive, make sure that all occupants 
wear their safety belts. Airbags complement the 
safety belt as an additional safety device, but 
they do not represent a substitute.
Your vehicle has five seats, each of which is 
equipped with a safety belt.
Never allow more than one person to 
wear a single safety belt. Never allow 
infants or small children to ride in a passenger's 
lap. Make sure that the belt in the lap area sits 
low across the hips and does not press against 
the abdomen. 
The safety belt must not rest against the throat, 
run across sharp edges, pass over hard or frag-
ile objects or be pinched. Fasten the safety belt 
so that it sits as snugly as possible against the 
lap and shoulder without being twisted. Other-
wise, the belt could slide over your hips and 
injure your abdomen in the event of a frontal 
collision. 
Avoid wearing bulky clothing and regularly pull 
the belt in the upper-body area taut; otherwise, 
its restraining effect could be impaired.
Sports Wagon: if the rear center safety belt is 
used, the wider backrest must be locked in 
place, refer to page115. Otherwise, the safety 
belt will have no restraining effect.<
Safety belts, refer to page47. 

Adjustments
50
Steering wheel
Adjustments
Do not adjust the steering wheel position 
while the car is in motion; otherwise, there 
is a risk of an accident due to unexpected move-
ment.<
1.Fold the lever down.
2.Move the steering wheel to the 
preferred height and angle to suit your 
seated position.
3.Swing the lever back up.
Do not use force to swing the lever 
back up; otherwise, the mechanism 
will be damaged.<
Steering wheel heating*
Press the button.
The LED in the button lights up when the steer-
ing wheel heating is switched on. 

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. 

Controls
 85Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
System limitations
Even with PDC, final responsibility for 
estimating the distance between the 
vehicle and any obstructions always remains 
with the driver. Even when sensors are pro-
vided, there is a blind spot in which objects can 
no longer be detected. The system is also sub-
ject to the physical limits that apply to all forms 
of ultrasonic measurement, such as those 
encountered with trailer towbars and hitches, 
t h i n  o r  w e d g e - s h a p e d  o b j e c t s ,  e t c .  L o w  o b j e c t s  
that have already been displayed, e.g. curbs, 
can disappear again from the detection area of 
the sensors before or after a continuous tone 
sounds. Higher, protruding objects, e.g. ledges, 
cannot be detected. Therefore, always drive 
cautiously; otherwise, there is a risk of personal 
injury or property damage.
Loud sound sources outside or inside the car 
can drown out the PDC signal. Therefore, 
always drive cautiously; otherwise, there is 
a risk of personal injury or property damage.<
Driving stability control 
systems
Your BMW has a number of systems that help 
to maintain the vehicle's stability even in 
adverse driving conditions.
Antilock Brake System ABS
ABS prevents locking of the wheels during 
braking. Safe steering response is maintained 
even during full braking. Active safety is thus 
increased.
The ABS is operational every time you start the 
engine. Braking safely, refer to page124.
Electronic brake-force distribution 
EBV
The system controls the brake pressure in the 
rear wheels to ensure stable braking behavior.
Dynamic Brake Control DBC
When you apply the brakes rapidly, this system 
automatically produces the maximum braking 
force boost and thus helps to achieve the short-
est possible braking distance during full brak-
ing. This system exploits all of the benefits pro-
vided by ABS.
Do not reduce the pressure on the brake for the 
duration of the full braking application.
Dynamic Stability Control DSC
DSC prevents the driving wheels from losing 
traction when you pull away from rest or accel-
erate. The system also recognizes unstable 
driving conditions, for example if the rear of the 
car is about to swerve or if momentum is acting 
at an angle past the front wheels. In these 
cases, DSC helps the vehicle maintain a safe 
course within physical limits by reducing engine 
output and through braking actions at the indi-
vidual wheels.
The laws of physics cannot be repealed, 
even with DSC. An appropriate driving 
style always remains the responsibility of the 
driver. Therefore, do not reduce the additional 
s a f e t y  m a r g i n  a g a i n  b y  t a k i n g  r i s k s ,  a s  t h i s  c o u l d  
result in an accident.<