2011 BMW 5 SERIES high beam

Cockpit
All around the steering wheel
1
Seating comfort functions* Seat, mirror, steering wheel mem‐
ory*  51
Active seat*  46
2 Roller sunblinds*  41
3 Rear window safety switch   41
4 Power windows   40
5 Exterior mirror operation  51
6 Driver assistance systems* Active Blind Spot Detec‐
tion*  92
Collision warning*  108
Lane departure warning*  91 Night Vision with pedestrian de‐
tection*  122
Head-up Display*  
124
7 Lamps Front fog lamps  
83 Parking lamps  
80 Low beams  80
Automatic headlamp con‐
trol*  81
Daytime running lights*  81
Adaptive light control
*  81
High-beam Assistant*  82 Instrument lighting  83
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Cockpit
ProCarManuals.com

8
Steering column stalk, left Turn signal  62
High beams, head‐
lamp flasher  62
High-beam Assistant*  82
Roadside parking lamps  81
Computer  75
9 Steering wheel buttons, left Store speed*  110  103
Resume speed  111  104
Cruise control on/off, interrupt‐
ing  110  102
Increase distance*  104
Decrease distance*  104
10 Instrument cluster   67
11 Steering wheel buttons, right Entertainment source
Volume Voice activation*  22
Telephone*  210
12 Steering column stalk, right Windshield wipers  62
Rain sensor*  
63 Clean the windshields and head‐
lamps*  62
13 Start/stop the engine and switch
the ignition on/off  59
14 Horn
15 Steering wheel heating*  53
16 Adjust the steering wheel  
53
17 Open the trunk lid  
35
18 Unlocking the hood
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Reference Mobility Communication Entertainment Navigation Driving tips Controls
At a glance
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If this occurs, open or close the vehicle using the
buttons
on the remote control or use a key in the
door lock.
To subsequently start the engine, hold the re‐
mote control against the marked area on the
steering column, refer to page 29.
Alarm system*
The concept
The vehicle alarm system responds to:
▷ Opening of a door, the hood or the trunk lid.
▷ Movements in the vehicle: interior motion
sensor, refer to page 40.
▷ Changes in the vehicle tilt, e.g., during at‐
tempts to steal a wheel or when towing the
car.
▷ Interruptions in battery voltage.
The alarm system briefly indicates tampering:
▷ By sounding an acoustic alarm.
▷ By switching on the hazard warning system.
▷ By flashing the high beams.
Arming and disarming the alarm
system
General information
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.
Door lock and armed alarm system
Unlocking via the door lock will trigger the alarm
on some country-specific versions.
Trunk lid and armed alarm system
The trunk lid can be opened using the remote
control, even if the alarm system is armed.
Press the button on the remote control
for approx. 1 second and release.
After the trunk lid is closed, it is locked and
monitored again by the alarm system. The haz‐
ard warning system flashes once. In some vehicle equipment variants, the trunk lid
can only be opened using the remote control if
the vehicle was unlocked first.
Panic mode*
Press

the button on the remote control
for at least 3 seconds.
Switching off the alarm
▷ Unlock the vehicle using the remote control.
▷ With Comfort Access: If you are carrying the
remote control with you, pull on the door
handle.
Indicator lamp on the interior rearview
mirror ▷
The indicator lamp flashes briefly every
2 seconds:
The system is armed.
▷ The indicator lamp flashes after locking:
The doors, hood or trunk lid is not closed
properly, but the rest of the vehicle is se‐
cured.
After

10 seconds, the indicator lamp flashes
continuously. The interior motion sensor is
not active.
▷ The indicator lamp goes out after unlocking:
The vehicle has not been tampered with.
▷ The indicator lamp flashes after unlocking
until

the engine is started, but no longer than
approx. 5 minutes:
An alarm has been triggered.
Tilt alarm sensor
The tilt of the vehicle is monitored. Seite 39
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Turn signal, high beams,
headlamp flasher
Turn signal
Using turn signals
Press the lever beyond the resistance point.
To
switch off manually, press the lever to the re‐
sistance point.
Unusually rapid flashing of the indicator lamp in‐
dicates that a turn signal bulb has failed.
Triple turn signal activation
Press the lever to the resistance point.
The turn signal flashes three times.
The function can be activated or deactivated:
1. "Settings"
2. "Lighting"
3. "Triple turn signal" Signaling briefly
Press the lever to the resistance point and hold
it

there for as long as you want the turn signal to
flash. High beams, headlamp flasher
▷
High beams, arrow 1.
▷ Headlamp flasher, arrow 2.
Washer/wiper system
Switching the wipers on/off and brief
wipe Do not switch on the wipers if frozen
Do

not switch on the wipers if they are fro‐
zen onto the windshield; otherwise, the wiper
blades and the windshield wiper motor may be
damaged.◀
Switching on Press the wiper levers up.
The lever automatically returns to its initial po‐
sition when released.
▷
Normal wiping speed: press up once.
The wipers switch to intermittent operation
when the vehicle is stationary.
▷ Fast wiping speed: press up twice or press
once beyond the resistance point.
The

wipers switch to normal speed when the
vehicle is stationary. Seite 62
62 Online Edition for Part no. 01 40 2 606 469 - 03 11 490
Driving
ProCarManuals.com

Overview: indicator/warning lamps
Symbol Function or system
Turn signal
Parking brake
Parking brake in Canadian models
Automatic Hold*
Front fog lamps*
High beams
High-beam Assistant*
Parking lamps, headlamp control
Active Cruise Control*
Vehicle detection, Active Cruise
Control*
Cruise control*
Lane departure warning*
DSC Dynamic Stability Control
DSC Dynamic Stability Control or
DTC Dynamic Traction Control
Tire Pressure Monitor* Symbol Function or system
Safety belts
Airbag system
Steering system
Emissions
Brake system
Brake system in Canadian models
Antilock Brake System ABS
Antilock Brake System ABS in Cana‐
dian models
Text messages
Text
messages in combination with a symbol in
the instrument cluster explain a Check Control
message and the meaning of the indicator and
warning lamps.
Supplementary text messages
Addition information, such as on the cause of a
fault or the required action, can be called up via
Check Control. The supplementary text of ur‐
gent messages is displayed automatically.
It is shown on the Control Display.
Symbols
Depending on the Check Control message, the
following functions can be selected.
▷ "Owner's Manual"
Display additional information about the
Check Control message in the integrated
owner's manual.
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Lamps
At a glance
1
Rear fog lamps*
2 Front fog lamps*
3 Automatic headlamp control / adaptive light
control* / high-beam assistant* / welcome
lamps / daytime running lights
*
4 Lamps off / daytime running lights*
5 Parking lamps / daytime running lights*
6 Low beams / welcome lamps / high-beam
assistant*
7 Instrument lighting
8 Headlamp range control*
Parking lamps/low beams,
headlamp control
Parking lamps
Switch position : the vehicle lamps light
up on all sides, e.g., for parking.
Do not use the parking lamps for extended pe‐
riods; otherwise, the battery may become dis‐
charged

and it would then be impossible to start
the engine.
When parking, it is preferable to switch on the
one-sided roadside parking lamps, refer to
page 81.
Low beams
Switch position with the ignition switched
on: the low beams light up. Welcome lamps
When parking the vehicle, leave the switch in
position or : the parking and interior
lamps light up briefly when the vehicle is un‐
locked.
Activating/deactivating
1. "Settings"
2. "Lighting"
3. "Welcome light" The setting is stored for the remote control cur‐
rently in use.
Headlamp courtesy delay feature
The

low beams stay lit for a short while after the
ignition is switched off, if the lamps are switched
off and the headlamp flasher is switched on.
Setting the duration
1. "Settings"
2. "Lighting"
3. "Pathway light.: s" 4.
Set the duration.
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Lamps
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To avoid blinding oncoming traffic, the adaptive
light control directs light towards the front pas‐
senger side when the vehicle is at a standstill.
When
driving in reverse, only the turning lamp is
active.
Self-leveling headlights
The self-leveling headlights feature adapts the
light distribution to the contours of the road.
The light distribution is lowered on hilltops to
avoid blinding oncoming traffic and tilted in de‐
pressions to increase visibility.
Malfunction
A Check Control message is displayed.
Adaptive light control is malfunctioning or has
failed. Have the system checked as soon as pos‐
sible.
Headlamp range control*
The headlamp range of the low beams can be
manually adjusted for the vehicle load to avoid
blinding oncoming traffic.
The values following the slash apply to trailer
operation.
0 / 1 = 1 to 2 people without luggage.
1 / 1 = 5 people without luggage.
1 / 2 = 5 people with luggage.
2 / 2 = 1 person, full cargo area.
High-beam Assistant*
The concept
When the low beams are switched on, this sys‐
tem automatically switches the high beams on
and off. The procedure is controlled by a sensor
on the front of the interior rearview mirror. The
assistant ensures that the high beams are
switched on whenever the traffic situation al‐
lows. The driver can intervene at any time and
switch the high beams on and off as usual. Activating the High-beam Assistant
1.
Turn the light switch to or .
2. Press the button on the turn signal lever, ar‐
row.
The indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster lights up.
When the lights are switched on, the
high beams are switched on and off automati‐
cally.
The system responds to light from oncoming
traffic

and traffic driving ahead of you, and to ad‐
equate illumination, e.g., in towns and cities.
Switching the high beams on and off
manually ▷
High beams on, arrow 1.
▷ High beams off/headlamp flasher, arrow 2.
To reactivate the High-beam Assistant, press
the button on the turn signal lever.
System limits
Personal responsibility
The high-beam assistant cannot serve as
a substitute for the driver's personal judgment
of

when to use the high beams. Therefore, man‐ Seite 82
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Lamps
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ually switch off the high beams in situations
where this is required to avoid a safety risk.
◀
The system is not fully functional in situations
such as the following, and driver intervention
may be necessary:
▷ In very unfavorable weather conditions,
such as fog or heavy precipitation.
▷ In detecting poorly-lit road users, such as
pedestrians, cyclists, horseback riders and
wagons; when driving close to train or ship
traffic; and at animal crossings.
▷ In tight curves, on hilltops or in depressions,
in cross traffic or half-obscured oncoming
traffic on freeways.
▷ In poorly-lit towns and cities and in the pres‐
ence of highly reflective signs.
▷ At low speeds.
▷ When the windshield in front of the interior
rearview mirror is fogged over, dirty or cov‐
ered with stickers, etc.
Camera The camera is located on the front of the interior
rearview mirror.
Keep the area in front of the interior rearview
mirror clear.
Fog lamps
Front fog lamps*
The parking lamps or low beams must be
switched on.
Press the button. The green indicator
lamp lights up. If the automatic headlamp control, refer to
page
81, is activated, the low beams will come
on automatically when you switch on the front
fog lamps.
Instrument lighting
Adjusting
The parking lamps or low beams
must
be switched on to adjust the
brightness.
Adjust the brightness using the
thumbwheel.
Interior lamps
General information
The interior lamps, footwell lamps, entry lamps
and courtesy lamps are controlled automati‐
cally.
The brightness of some of these lamps is influ‐
enced by the thumbwheel for the instrument
lighting. 1
Interior lamps
2 Reading lamp
Switching the interior lamps on and off Press the button.
To switch off permanently: press the button for
approx. 3 seconds.
To clear this setting: press the button. Seite 83
83Online Edition for Part no. 01 40 2 606 469 - 03 11 490

Reference Mobility Communication Entertainment Navigation Driving tips
Controls At a glance
ProCarManuals.com