2011 BMW X5 tire size

Wheels and tires
246
Tire inflation pressures for X6 xDrive50i
Tire size Pressure specifications in psi/kPa
Traveling speeds
up to a max. of
100 mph/160 km/hTraveling speeds
including those
exceeding
100 mph/160 km/h
All pressure specifications
in the table are indicated in
psi/kilopascal with cold tires.
Cold = ambient temperature
255/50 R 19 107 H M+S XL
255/50 R 19 107 V M+S XL33/230 33/230 41/280 42/290
Front: 255/50 R 19 107 W XL 36/250 - 42/290 -
Rear: 285/45 R 19 111 W XL - 36/250 - 42/290
Front: 275/40 R 20 106 W XL 36/250 - 44/300 -
Rear: 315/35 R 20 110 W XL - 36/250 - 44/300
Front: 285/35 R 21 105 W XL 36/250 - 45/310 -
Rear: 325/30 R 21 108 W XL - 36/250 - 45/310
Compact wheel
*:
T 155/90 D 18 113 M
T 155/80 R 19 114 M60/420 60/420 60/420 60/420
More details on the permissible load and weights can be found on page283.

Mobility
247Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Tire identification marks
Knowledge of the labeling on the side of the tire
makes it easier to identify and choose the right
tires.
Tire size
Speed letter
Q = up to 100 mph/160 km/h
T = up to 118 mph/190 km/h
H = up to 131 mph/210 km/h
V = up to 150 mph/240 km/h
W = up to 167 mph/270 km/h
Y = up to 186 mph/300 km/h
Tire Identification Number
Tires with DOT codes meet the guidelines of
the US Department of Transportation.
DOT code:
Tire age
The manufacturing date of tires is contained in
the tire coding: DOT ... 0810 indicates that the
tire was manufactured in week 8 of 2010.
BMW recommends that you replace all tires
after 6 years at most, even if some tires may last
for 10 years.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire sidewall between tread shoulder and
maximum section width. For example:
Tread wear 200 Traction AA
Temperature A
DOT Quality Grades
Tread wear
Traction AA A B C
Temperature A B C
All passenger car tires must conform to
Federal Safety Requirements in addition
to these grades.<
Tread wear
The tread wear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified gov-
ernment test course. For example, a tire graded
150 would wear one and one-half (1γ) times as
well on the government course as a tire graded
100. The relative performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of their use, how-
ever, and may depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving habits, service
practices and differences in road characteris-
tics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, B, and C.
Those grades represent the tire's ability to stop
on wet pavement as measured under controlled
conditions on specified government test sur-
faces of asphalt and concrete. A tire marked C
may have poor traction performance.
The traction grade assigned to this tire is
based on straight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include acceleration, cor-
nering, hydroplaning, or peak traction charac-
teristics.<
Temperature
The temperature grades are A, the highest, B,
and C, representing the tire's resistance to the
generation of heat and its ability to dissipate
For instance:
Nominal width in mm
Aspect
ratio in Ξ
Radial belt construction
Rim diameter in inches
Load rating
(not on ZR tires)
Speed code letter
(in front of the R on ZR tires)255/55 R18109 H
For instance:
Manufacturer code
for tire make
Tire size and
tire design
Tire ageDOT xxxx xxx 0810

Mobility
249Reference
At a glance
Controls
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Run-flat tires
You will recognize run-flat tires by the circular
symbol containing the letters RSC on the side
of the tire.
Run-flat tires consist of partially self-contained
tires and special rims. The sidewall reinforce-
ment ensures that the tire retains some residual
safety in the event of pressure drop and driving
remains possible to a restricted degree.
To continue driving with a damaged tire:
>With Flat Tire Monitor, refer to Indication of
a flat tire page100
>With Tire Pressure Monitor, refer to Mes-
sage with low tire inflation pressure
page103
New wheels and tires
Have new wheels and tires installed only
by your BMW Sports Activity Vehicle
Center or a tire shop that works according to
BMW repair procedures with correspondingly
trained personnel. If this work is not carried out
properly, there is a danger of subsequent dam-
age and related safety hazards. Make sure that
the new wheels are balanced.<
Retreaded tires
BMW does not recommend that you use
retreaded tires, as driving safety may be
impaired. The causes for this include the possi-
bly different tire casing structures and the often
wide variations in their age, which can result in a
limited service life.<
The right wheels and tires
When mounting new tires or changing over
from summer to winter tires and vice versa,
mount Run-flat tires for your own safety. Your
BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Center will be
happy to advise you.
BMW recommends that you use only
wheel and tire combinations that BMW
has tested and approved for your particular
vehicle. Variations in factors such as manufac-
turing tolerances mean that even wheels and
tires with identical official size ratings could
actually have different dimensions than the
approved units – these differences could lead to
body contact, and with it the risk of severe acci-
dents. If non-approved wheels and tires are
used, BMW cannot evaluate their suitability,
and therefore cannot be held liable for driving
safety.<
When changing to larger wheels and tires,
it may be necessary to make changes to
the wheelwell trim piece, as otherwise road
users could be endangered or the vehicle could
be damaged. Only have this work carried out by
a BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Center or a
workshop that works in accordance with BMW
guidelines and uses appropriately trained per-
sonnel.<
You can ask your BMW Sports Activity Vehicle
Center for the correct wheel/tire combination.
The correct wheel/tire combination also affects
various systems whose function would other-
wise be impaired, e.g. ABS, DSC, xDrive,
Dynamic Performance Control in the BMW X6,
or Flat Tire Monitor.
To maintain good handling and vehicle
response, use only tires of a single tread config-
uration from a single manufacturer. Following
tire damage, have the original wheel and tire
combination remounted on the vehicle as soon
as possible.
Wheels with electronics for
TPM Tire Pressure Monitor
When mounting new tires or changing from
summer to winter tires or vice versa, only use
wheels with TPM electronics, otherwise the

Wheels and tires
250 Tire Pressure Monitor cannot detect a flat tire,
refer to page101. Your BMW Sports Activity
Vehicle Center will be happy to advise you on
this subject.
Recommended tire brands
Certain tire makes are recommended by BMW
depending on the tire size. You can recognize
these from the clearly visible BMW marking on
the tire sidewall.
When used properly, these tires comply with
the most demanding standards for safety and
vehicle response.
Special characteristics of winter tires
BMW recommends using winter tires for opera-
tion on winter road or at temperatures below
+457/+76. Although all-season M+S tires
provide better winter traction than summer
tires, they generally fail to provide the same lev-
els of cold-weather performance as winter tires.
Paying attention to speed
Always observe the maximum permissi-
ble speed for the winter tires, otherwise
tire damage may occur, which can result in acci-
dents.<
Storage
Store wheels and tires in a cool, dry place with
as little exposure to light as possible. Always
protect tires against all contact with oil, grease
and fuels. Do not exceed the maximum tire
inflation pressure indicated on the side wall of
the tire.
Rotating wheels between axles
Even with tires of the same size, BMW
recommends that you not rotate the front
tires to the rear or vice versa as this can nega-
tively affect handling characteristics.
When the vehicle is equipped with different
tires sizes
*, rotating tires from one axle to the
other is not permitted.<
Snow chains*
BMW only tests certain fine-link snow chains,
classifies them as road-safe and recommends
them. Your BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Center
can provide you with this information.
BMW X5: use is only permitted in pairs on the
rear wheels with tires of the size:
>255/55 R 18
>255/50 R 19
BMW X6: it is only permissible to use snow
chains in pairs, on the 255/50 R 19 rear wheels.
Observe the manufacturer's instructions when
mounting snow chains. Do not exceed a speed
of 30 mph/50 km/h with the chains mounted.
After mounting snow chains, do not ini-
tialize the Flat Tire Monitor
*, as otherwise
incorrect displays can occur.
When you are driving with snow chains, it can
be beneficial to activate DTC briefly, refer to
page96.<

Replacing components
270 3.Position the new wheel or compact wheel.
Secure the wheel by screwing at least two
lug bolts into opposite bolt holes.
When you mount wheels other than Genu-
ine BMW light-alloy wheels, different lug
bolts may also be required.
4.Screw in the remaining lug bolts. Tighten all
the bolts securely in a diagonal pattern.
5.Lower the vehicle and remove the jack from
beneath the vehicle.
After mounting
1.Tighten the lug bolts in a diagonal pattern.
To ensure safety, always have the
lug bolts checked with a calibrated
torque wrench as soon as possible to
ensure that they are tightened to the speci-
fied torque. Otherwise, incorrectly tight-
ened lug bolts are a hidden safety risk. The
tightening torque is 101 lb ft/140 Nm.<
2.Stow the defective wheel in the cargo area.
The defective wheel cannot be stored
under the floor panel flap due to its
size.<
3.Check and correct the tire inflation pressure
at the earliest opportunity.
Protect valve stems with valve screw
caps against dirt and contamination.
Dirt in valve stems is a frequent source of
gradual air loss.<
4.Initialize the Flat Tire Monitor, refer to
page100, or reset the Tire Pressure Moni-
tor, refer to page102.
5.Replace the damaged tire as soon as possi-
ble and have the new wheel/tire balanced.
Driving with compact wheel
Drive reservedly and do not exceed a
speed of 50 mph/80 km/h. Otherwise,
changes in the driving characteristics could
result, for example reduced track stability on
braking, extended braking distance, and altered
self-steering characteristics in the limit range.
In conjunction with winter tires, these charac-
teristics are more pronounced. mounted. Restore the wheels and tires to
their original size as quickly as possible. Failure
to do so is a safety risk.<
Vehicle battery
Battery care
The battery is 100 % maintenance-free, i.e., the
electrolyte will last for the life of the battery
when the vehicle is operated in a temperate cli-
mate. Your BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Center
will be glad to advise in all matters concerning
the battery.
Replacing battery
Only use vehicle batteries that have been
approved for your vehicle by the manu-
facturer; otherwise, the vehicle could be dam-
aged and systems or functions may not be fully
available.<
After a battery replacement, have the battery
registered on the vehicle by your BMW Sports
Activity Vehicle Center to ensure that all com-
fort functions are fully available.
Charging battery
Only charge the battery in the vehicle via the
terminals in the engine compartment with the
engine switched off. Connections, refer to
Jump starting on page274.
Disposal
Have old batteries disposed of following
replacement at your BMW Sports Activity
Vehicle Center or bring them to a recycling cen-
ter. Maintain the battery in an upright position
for transport and storage. Always restrain the
battery to prevent it from tipping over during
transport.<
Power failure
Following a temporary power failure, e.g. due to
a discharged battery, the use of some equip-
ment will be restricted, requiring its reinitializa-

Everything from A - Z
306 The individual vehicle5
Third brake lamp, refer to
Center brake lamp265,268
3rd row seats48
Tightening torque of the lug
bolts, refer to After
mounting270
Tilt alarm sensor, switching
off35
Tilting down passenger-side
exterior mirror52
Timer, refer to Preselecting
activation times123
Tire inflation pressure
monitoring, refer to Flat Tire
Monitor99
Tire inflation pressures239
– checking239
Tire Pressure Monitor
TPM101
Tire Quality Grading247
Tires
– age247
– air loss100,103
– breaking-in138
– changing249
– condition248
– damage248
– flat tire, refer to Changing
wheels268
– inflation pressure239
– inflation pressure
monitoring, refer to FTM
Flat Tire Monitor99
– new wheels and tires249
– pressure loss100,103
– pressure monitoring, refer to
TPM Tire Pressure
Monitor101
– replacing268
– retreaded tires249
– run-flat249
– size247
– tread248
– wear indicators248
– wheel/tire combination249
– winter tires250Tires, run-flat
– driving with a damaged
tire100,103
– flat tire100,103
TMC station, refer to Traffic
bulletins161
Tone
– control168
– middle setting170
Tone on locking/unlocking28
Tools, refer to Onboard
toolkit262
Top 50 of music
collection189
Top View90
Torque
– engine280
– lug bolts, refer to After
mounting270
Torque, lug bolts, refer to
After mounting270
Tow fitting276
Towing275
– tow fitting276
Town/city, for navigation149
Tow-starting275
TPM Tire Pressure
Monitor101
– resetting system102
– system limits101
– warning lamp103
Track
– selecting on CD180
TRACTION, refer to DTC96
Traction-assist feature, refer
to DSC Dynamic Stability
Control95
Traction control, refer to
DSC Dynamic Stability
Control95
Traffic bulletins
– categories163
Traffic bulletins, filtering163
Traffic bulletins for
navigation161
– in map view163Traffic congestion
– displaying traffic
information161
– refer to Route, bypassing
sections159
Traffic information for
navigation
– during destination
guidance163
Transmission
– automatic transmission with
Steptronic63
Transmission positions, refer
to Automatic transmission
with Steptronic63
Transporting children
safely54
Transport securing device,
refer to Securing cargo142
Travel instructions, refer to
Voice instructions160
Tread depth, refer to Minimum
tread depth248
Trip-distance counter, refer to
Trip odometer76
Trip odometer76
Turning circle, refer to
Dimensions281
Turn signals65
– indicator lamp
12
– replacing bulbs263,266
U
Uniform Tire Quality Grading/
UTQR247
Units
– average fuel
consumption86
– temperature86
Universal garage-door
opener, refer to Integrated
universal remote
control124
Universal remote control124