2011 BMW 550I XDRIVE GT light

Driving in wet conditions
When
roads are wet or there is heavy rain, briefly
exert gentle pressure on the brake pedal every
few miles.
Ensure that this action does not endanger other
road users.
The heat generated in this process helps dry the
brake discs and pads.
In this way braking efficiency will be available
when you need it.
Hills
Drive long or steep downhill gradients in the gear
in which the least braking is required. Otherwise,
the brake system may overheat, resulting in a
reduction in the brake system efficiency.
You can increase the engine's braking effect by
shifting down in the manual mode of the auto‐
matic transmission, refer to page 73.
Avoid load on the brakes
Avoid placing excessive load on the brake
system. Light but consistent brake pressure can
lead to high temperatures, brake wear and pos‐
sibly even brake failure.◀
Do not drive in neutral
Do not drive in neutral or with the engine
stopped, as doing so disables engine braking. In
addition, steering and brake assist is unavailable
with the engine stopped.◀
Brake disc corrosion
Corrosion on the brake discs and contamination
on the brake pads are furthered by:
▷ Low mileage.
▷ Extended periods when the vehicle is not
used at all.
▷ Infrequent use of the brakes.
Corrosion occurs when the minimum pressure
that must be exerted by the pads during brake
applications to clean the discs is not reached.
Should corrosion form on the brake discs, the
brakes will tend to respond with a pulsating ef‐
fect that generally cannot be corrected. Condensation under the parked vehicle
When
using the automatic climate control, con‐
densation water develops that exits underneath
the vehicle.
Therefore, traces of condensed water under the
vehicle are normal.
Loading
Overloading the vehicle
To avoid exceeding the approved carrying
capacity of the tires, never overload the vehicle.
Overloading can lead to overheating and in‐
creases the rate at which damage develops in‐
side the tires. This could result in a sudden loss
of tire inflation pressure.◀
No fluids in the trunk
Make sure that fluids do not leak into the
trunk; otherwise, the vehicle may be damaged.◀
Determining the load limit 1.
Locate the following statement on your ve‐
hicle’s placard*:
▷The combined weight of occupants and
cargo should never exceed XXX kg or
YYY lbs. Otherwise, damage to the ve‐
hicle

and unstable driving situations may
result.
2. Determine the combined weight of the
driver and passengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver
and

passengers from XXX kilograms or YYY
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Things to remember when driving

4.
The resulting figure equals the available
amount
of cargo and luggage load capacity.
For example, if the YYY amount equals
1,000 lbs and there will be four 150 lbs pas‐
sengers in your vehicle, the amount of avail‐
able cargo and luggage load capacity is
400 lbs: 1,000 lbs minus 600 lbs = 400 lbs.
5. Determine the combined weight of luggage
and

cargo being loaded on the vehicle. That
weight may not safely exceed the available
cargo and luggage load capacity calculated
in Step 4.
Load The maximum load is the sum of the weight of
the occupants and the cargo.
The greater the weight of the occupants, the
less cargo that can be transported.
Stowing cargo
▷
Heavy cargo: stow as far forward and as low
as

possible, ideally directly behind the cargo
partition.
▷ Very heavy cargo: when the rear seat is not
occupied, secure each of the outer safety
belts in the opposite buckle.
▷ Cover sharp edges and corners. ▷
If necessary, fold down the rear backrests,
including the cargo partition, to stow cargo.
Securing cargo
Lashing eyes in the cargo area To secure the cargo, there are four lashing eyes
in the cargo area
Securing cargo
▷
Smaller and lighter items: secure with re‐
taining straps or with a

cargo net* or draw
straps.
▷ Larger and heavy objects: secure with cargo
straps*.
Cargo straps, cargo netting, retaining straps or
draw straps on the lashing eyes in the cargo
area.
Securing cargo
Always position and secure the cargo as
described

above; otherwise, it can endanger the
car's occupants if sudden braking or swerving
becomes necessary.
Heavy or hard objects should not be carried
loose inside the car; otherwise, they could be
thrown around as a result of hard braking, sud‐
den swerves, etc., and endanger the occu‐
pants.◀
Roof-mounted luggage rack
Note
Roof racks are available as special accessories. Seite 149
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Driving tips Controls At a glance

This is the fastest way for the cold engine to
reach its operating temperature.
Look well ahead when driving
Avoid unnecessary acceleration and braking.
By
maintaining a suitable distance to the vehicle
driving ahead of you.
Driving smoothly and looking ahead reduces
fuel consumption.
Use coasting conditions
When approaching a red light, take your foot off
the accelerator and let the vehicle coast to a halt.
On a downhill gradient, take your foot off the ac‐
celerator and let the vehicle roll.
The flow of fuel is interrupted while coasting.
Switch off the engine during longer
stops
Switch off the engine during longer stops, e.g.,
at traffic lights, railroad crossings or in traffic
congestion.
Fuel savings are achieved after the vehicle is
switched off for only approx. 4 seconds.
The Automatic Engine Start/Stop Function* of
your vehicle automatically switches off the en‐
gine during a stop.
Switch off any functions that are not
currently needed
Functions such as seat heating and the rear win‐
dow defroster require a lot of energy and con‐
sume additional fuel, especially in city and stop-
and-go traffic.
Therefore, switch off these functions if they are
not actually needed.
Have maintenance carried out
Have vehicles maintained regularly to achieve
optimal vehicle economy and operating life.
Have the maintenance carried out by your serv‐
ice center.
Please also note the BMW Maintenance Sys‐
tem.
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Driving tips Controls At a glance

Navigation*
Navigation system
General information
The navigation system can determine the pre‐
cise position of the vehicle, with the aid of sat‐
ellites and vehicle sensors, and can reliably
guide you to every entered destination.
Navigation
data are stored in the vehicle and can
be updated.
Entries in stationary vehicle
Enter data only when the vehicle is sta‐
tionary, and always give priority to the applicable
traffic regulations in the event of any contradic‐
tion between traffic and road conditions and the
instructions issued by the navigation system.
Failure to take to this precaution can place you
in violation of the law and put vehicle occupants
and other road users in danger.◀
Destination input
Manual destination entry
General information
The system supports you in entering street
names and house numbers by automatically
completing the entry and providing entry com‐
parisons, refer to page 24.
Stored town/city and street names can be called
up quickly.
▷ If the existing entries should not be changed,
the entries for the state/province and town/
city can be skipped.
▷ Destination guidance is started to the town/
city center if no street is entered.
Entering a state/province
1. Press the MENU button.
2. "Navigation" 3.
"Enter address" 4.
Select "State/Province" or the displayed
state/province.
Entering a town/city
1. Select "Town/City/Postal Code" or the dis‐
played town/city. 2.
Select letters, if necessary.
The list is narrowed down further with each
entry.
3. Move the controller to the right.
4. Select the town/city name from the list.
If there are several towns/cities with the same
name:
1. Change to the list of town/city names.
2. Highlight the town/city.
3. Select the town/city.
Entering the postal code*
1. Select "Town/City/Postal Code" or the dis‐
played town/city.
2. Select the symbol.
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Navigation

3.
Select the numbers.
4. Change to the list of postal codes and towns/
cities.
5. Highlight the entry.
6. Selecting an entry.
Entering a street and intersection
1. Select "Street" or the displayed street.
2. Enter a street and intersection in the same
way as you would enter a town/city.
If there are several streets with the same name:
1. Change to the list of street names.
2. Highlight the street.
3. Select the street.
Alternative: enter the street address
and house number
1. Select "Street" or the displayed street.
2. Enter the street as you would the town/city.
3. "House number"
4. Select the numbers.
5. Change to the list of house numbers.
6. Select a house number or range of house
numbers.
Street does not exist in the destination
city/town
The
desired street does not exist in the specified
city/town because it belongs to another part of
the city/town.
1. "Navigation"
2. "Enter address"
3. Select "Street" or the displayed street.
4. Change to the list of street names.
5. Select "In" the displayed country. All streets of the selected state/province are
offered. The associated town/city is dis‐
played after the street name.
6.
Select the letters.
7. Change to the list of street names.
8. Highlight the street.
9. Select the street.
Starting destination guidance after
entering the destination
1. "Accept destination"
2. "Start guidance" or "Add as another
destination"
Add a destination as a further destination,
refer to page 160.
Address book
Selecting a destination from the
address book
1. "Navigation"
2. "Address book"
Contacts with addresses are displayed if
these have been checked as destinations.
If the mobile phone* does not display the
contacts with addresses, they must first be
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Navigation Driving tips Controls At a glance

checked as a destination, refer to
page
231. 3.
Select a contact in the list or, if desired, with
"A-Z search".
4. "Business address" or "Home address"
Storing the destination in the address
book
After entering the destination, store the desti‐
nation in the address book.
1. Open "Options".
2. "Store as new contact" or "Add to existing
contact" 3.
Select an existing contact, if available.
4. "Business address" or "Home address"
5. Enter "Last name" and, if necessary, "First
name".
6. "Store in vehicle"
Storing the position
The current position can be stored in the ad‐
dress book.
1. "Navigation"
2. Open "Options". 3.
"Store position as contact" or "Add position
to contact" 4.
Depending on the selection, choose an ex‐
isting contact from the list. Select the type
of

address and enter the first and last name.
5. "Store in vehicle"
Editing or deleting an address
1. "Navigation"
2. "Address book"
3. Highlight the entry.
4. Open "Options".
5. "Edit in Contacts" or "Delete entry"
Using the home address as the
destination
The home address must be stored. Specify the
home address, refer to page 230.
1. "Navigation"
2. "Address book"
3. "Home" 4.
"Start guidance"
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Navigation

Last destinations
At a glance
The destinations previously entered are stored
automatically.
The
destinations can be called up and used as a
destination for destination guidance.
Calling up the last destination
1. "Navigation"
2. "Last destinations" Starting destination guidance
1.
"Navigation"
2. "Last destinations"
3. Select the destination.
4. "Start guidance"
Editing the destination
1. "Navigation"
2. "Last destinations"
3. Highlight the destination.
4. Open "Options".
5. "Edit destination"
Deleting the last destinations
1. "Navigation"
2. "Last destinations"
3. Highlight the destination.
4. Open "Options".
5. "Delete entry" or "Delete all last
destinations" Special destinations
Opening the search for special
destinations
To select special destinations, e.g., hotels or
tourist attractions:
1.
"Navigation"
2. "Points of Interest"
3. Select the search function.
Online Search*
1. "Google™ Search"
2. Select a special destination.
3. Select the symbol.
4. "Start guidance"
A-Z search
1. "A-Z search"
2. "Town/City"
Select or enter the town/city.
3. "Category"
4. Select the category.
5. "Category details"
For

some special destinations, multiple cat‐
egory details can be selected. Move the
controller to the left to leave the category
details.
6. "Keyword"
7. Enter the keyword.
A

list of the special destinations is displayed.
8. Select a special destination.
Details are displayed.
If multiple details are stored, you can leaf
through the pages.
If

a phone number is available, a connection
can be established if necessary.
9. Select the symbol.
"Start guidance" or "Add as another
destination"
Add a destination as a further destination,
refer to page 160.
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Navigation Driving tips Controls At a glance

4.
Say the name of the town/city, or say at least
the first three letters.
Depending
on the entry, up to 20 towns/cit‐
ies may be suggested.
5. Select the town/city.
▷To select a recommended town/
city: ›Yes‹
▷ To select a different town/city: ›New
entry‹
▷ Select an entry: ›Entry ...‹ e.g., entry 2
▷ To spell an entry: ›Spell city‹
6. Continue making the entry as prompted by
the system.
If there are several towns/cities with the same
name:
Towns/cities

of the same name are grouped in a
list and displayed as one location followed by an
ellipsis.
1. Select an entry: ›Yes‹ or ›Entry ...‹ e.g., En‐
try 2.
2. Select the desired town/city.
Entering a street or intersection
separately
Enter a street and intersection in the same way
as you would enter a town/city.
Entering a house number separately
Depending

on the data in the navigation system,
house numbers up to number 2000 can be en‐
tered.
1. ›House number‹
2. Say the house number.
Say each digit separately.
3. Continue making the entry as prompted by
the system.
Planning a trip with intermediate
destinations
New trip
A trip can be planned with several intermediate
destinations. 1.
"Navigation"
2. "Map"
3. Move the controller to the left if necessary.
4. "Guidance"
5. "Enter new destination"
6. Select the type of destination entry. 7.
Enter the intermediate destination.
8. "Start guidance"
Entering intermediate destinations
For
a trip, a max. of 30 intermediate destinations
can be entered.
1. "Enter new destination"
2. Select the type of destination entry.
3. Enter the intermediate destination.
4. "Add as another destination"
The intermediate destination is entered in
the destination list and is highlighted.
5. Turn the controller until the intermediate
destination

is located in the desired position
in the list.
6. Press the controller.
Starting the trip
1. After all intermediate destinations are en‐
tered, highlight the first destination.
If the second destination, for example, is
highlighted when destination guidance is
started, the first destination is skipped.
2. "Start guidance" This symbol marks the active leg of the
trip.
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Navigation