2011 BMW M3 COUPE Driving

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
17Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Buttons on the controller
Operating principle
With the ignition at radio readiness or beyond,
refer to page55, the following message is dis-
played on the Control Display:
To hide the message:
Press the controller.
The main menu is displayed.
The message is automatically hidden after
approx. 10 seconds.
Opening the main menu
Press the MENUbutton.
The main menu is displayed.All iDrive functions can be called up via the main
menu.
Selecting a menu item
The menu items shown in white can be
selected.
1.Turn the controller until the desired menu
item is highlighted.
2.Press the controller.
A new menu is displayed or the function is exe-
cuted.
Menu items in the Owner's Manual
In the Owner's Manual, menu items that can
be selected are set in quotation marks,
e.g. "Settings".
Changing between panels
After selecting a menu item, e.g. "Radio", a new
menu is displayed on a panel. The panels can
overlap.
ButtonFunction
MENU Open the main menu
RADIO Open the Radio menu
CD Open the CD/Multimedia menu
NAV Open the Navigation menu
TEL Open the Telephone menu
BACK Display the previous menu
OPTION Open the Options menu

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
21Reference
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Letters and numbers
Entering letters and numbers
1.Turn the controller: select the letters or
numbers.
2.Select additional letters or numbers if
needed.
3."OK": confirm the entry.
Switching between letters and
numbers
Depending on the menu, you can switch
between entering letters and numbers:
Wordmatch concept during navigation
Entry of names and addresses: the selection is
narrowed down every time a letter is entered
and letters may be added automatically.
Destination search: the entries are continuously
compared to the data stored in the vehicle.
>The only letters offered for entering
addresses are those for which data are
available.
>Town/city names can be entered with
the spelling used in any of the languages
available on the Control Display.
SymbolFunction
Press the controller: delete
one letter or number
Press the controller for an
extended period: delete all
letters or numbers
Enter a blank space
SymbolFunction
Entering letters
Entering numbers

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
This chapter is intended to provide you with
information for complete control of your vehicle.
All features and accessories that are useful for
driving and your safety, comfort and
convenience, are described here.
Controls

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.