2011 BMW 550I XDRIVE light

Opening
Pull on the handle and fold open the cover.
Cupholders
Notes
Shatter-proof containers and no hot
drinks
Use light and shatter-proof containers and do
not
transport hot drinks. Otherwise, there is the
increased danger of injury in an accident.◀
Unsuitable containers
Do not forcefully push unsuitable contain‐
ers into the cupholders. This may result in dam‐
age.◀
Front: manual transmission
On the center console To open: press the button.
The insert folds out.
To

use as a storage compartment, fold the insert
back in. In the center armrest*
Fold the cupholder down.
Before closing the center armrest, fold the cu‐
pholder back up. Push the lever in the direction
of the arrow to do this.
Front: automatic transmission

* To open: press on the cover.
Rear
In the front center armrest.
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Storage compartments

Light and suitable objects only
Only hang light bags or suitable objects
from
the holders. Otherwise, there is a danger of
objects flying about during braking and evasive
maneuvers.
Only transport heavy luggage in the trunk if it has
been appropriately secured.◀
Storage compartment* under the cargo
floor panel Raise the cargo floor panel.
Storage compartment on the side

*
A storage compartment is located at the side of
the cargo area.
Lashing eyes
To secure the cargo, refer to page 149, there
are lashing eyes in the cargo area. Seite 142
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Storage compartments

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.
Manual transmission:
You can increase the engine's braking effect by
shifting down, going all the way to first gear, if
necessary.
Automatic transmission*:
You can increase the engine's braking effect by
shifting down in the manual mode of the auto‐
matic transmission, refer to page 65.
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‐ Seite 148
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Things to remember when driving

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
pounds.
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
area separating wall.
▷ 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 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.
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Reference Mobility Communication Entertainment Navigation
Driving tips Controls At a glance

Check the tire inflation pressure
regularly
Check
and, if necessary, correct the tire inflation
pressure at least twice a month and before start‐
ing on a long trip.
Low tire inflation pressure increases rolling re‐
sistance and thus raises fuel consumption and
tire wear.
Drive away without delay
Do not wait for the engine to warm up while the
vehicle remains stationary. Start driving right
away, but at moderate engine speeds.
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.
Avoid high engine speeds
Use 1st gear to get the vehicle in motion. Be‐
ginning with 2nd gear, accelerate rapidly. When
accelerating, shift up before reaching high en‐
gine speeds.
When you reach the desired speed, shift into the
highest applicable gear and drive with the en‐
gine speed as low as possible and at a constant
speed.
As a rule: driving at low engine speeds lowers
fuel consumption and reduces wear.
The gear shift indicator* of your vehicle indi‐
cates the most fuel efficient gear.
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.
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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Reference Mobility Communication Entertainment Navigation
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 21.
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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Reference Mobility Communication Entertainment
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