© 2014 Bayerische Motoren Werke
Aktiengesellschaft
Munich, Germany
Reprinting, including excerpts, only with the written
consent of BMW AG, Munich.
US English X/14, 11 14 490
Printed on environmentally friendly paper, bleached
without chlorine, suitable for recycling.Online Edition for Part no. 01 40 2 956 272 - X/14
NotesThe hybrid system of your
BMW
High-voltage system
Your BMW is a hybrid vehicle. In addition to the
combustion engine, your vehicle features a
high-voltage system that consists of an elec‐
tric motor and a high-voltage battery among
other things.
Using this Owner's Manual Orientation
The fastest way to find information on a partic‐
ular topic is by using the index.
An initial overview of the vehicle is provided in
the first chapter.
Updates made after the editorial
deadline
Any updates made after the editorial deadline
for the Owner's Manuals are found in the ap‐
pendix of the printed Quick Reference for the
vehicle.
User's manual for Navigation, Entertainment, Communication
The topics of Navigation, Entertainment, Com‐
munication and the short commands of the
voice activation system are described in a sep‐
arate user's manual, which is also included
with the onboard literature.
Symbols
Indicates precautions that must be followed
precisely in order to avoid the possibility of
personal injury and serious damage to the
vehicle.
◄ Marks the end of a specific item of
information.
Refers to measures that can be taken to
help protect the environment.
"..." Identifies display texts in vehicle used to
select individual functions.
›...‹ Verbal instructions to use with the voice
activation system.
››...‹‹ Identifies the answers generated by the
voice activation system.
Symbols on vehicle components
Indicates that you should consult the
relevant section of this Owner's Manual for
information on a particular part or assembly.
Indicates, on certain parts or assemblies, that
incorrect use of high-voltage equipment or of
orange-colored high-voltage components re‐
sults in the risk of life-threatening injury from
electric shock.
Vehicle features and options
This Owner's Manual describes all models and
all standard, country-specific and optional
equipment that is offered in the model series.
Therefore, in this Owner's Manual, we also de‐
scribe and illustrate features that are not avail‐
able in your vehicle, e.g., because of the se‐
lected optional features or the country-specific
version.
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Vehicle identification
number
The vehicle identification number can be found
in the engine compartment.
The vehicle identification number can also be
found behind the windshield.
Reporting safety defects
For US customers The following only applies to vehicles owned
and operated in the US.
If you believe that your vehicle has a defect
which could cause a crash or could cause in‐
jury or death, you should immediately inform
the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis‐
tration NHTSA, in addition to notifying BMW of
North America, LLC, P.O. Box 1227, West‐
wood, New Jersey 07675-1227, Telephone
1-800-831-1117.
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may
open an investigation, and if it finds that a
safety defect exists in a group of vehicles, it
may order a recall and remedy campaign.
However, NHTSA cannot become involved in
individual problems between you, your dealer,
or BMW of North America, LLC.
To contact NHTSA, you may call the Vehicle
Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-888-327-4236
(TTY: 1-800-424-9153); go to http://
www.safercar.gov; or write to: Administrator,
NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washing‐
ton, DC 20590. You can also obtain other in‐
formation about motor vehicle safety from
http://www.safercar.gov.
For Canadian customers
Canadian customers who wish to report a
safety-related defect to Transport Canada, De‐
fect Investigations and Recalls, may call the
toll-free hotline 1-800-333-0510. You can also
obtain other information about motor vehicle
safety from http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety.Seite 10Notes10
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BMW ActiveHybridVehicle features and options
This chapter describes all standard, country-
specific and optional features offered with the
series. It also describes features that are not
necessarily available in your car, e. g., due to
the selected options or country versions. This
also applies to safety-related functions and
systems.
Hybrid systemAt a glance1Combustion engine2Electric motor3Control-system electronics, electric motor4High-voltage cables (orange)5High-voltage battery6Auxiliary battery, combustion engine7Starter battery, combustion engine
The concept The hybrid system makes it possible to opti‐
mize fuel consumption and driving characteris‐
tics.
An electric motor assists the combustion en‐
gine. In certain driving situations, the vehicle
can also be driven using only electric power,
thereby reducing fuel consumption.
In addition to this, the electric motor acts like
an alternator: during braking and coasting, it
converts the vehicle's kinetic energy into elec‐ tricity. The current is stored in the high-voltage
battery and is used to drive the electric motor.
Functions
Electric driving: eDRIVE Under certain conditions, refer to page 74,
the vehicle is powered only by the electric mo‐
tor.
Acceleration boost: ASSIST and
eBOOST
Driving off and accelerating require a lot of en‐
ergy.
To optimize acceleration and to reduce fuel
consumption, the electric motor boosts the
combustion engine. To do this, the electric
motor uses the energy saved in the high-volt‐
age battery.
The ASSIST acceleration boost is automati‐
cally controlled and is not indicated in the in‐
strument cluster.
CoastingThe engine is automatically switched off. This
driving condition is referred to as coasting, re‐
fer to page 74.
Driving with combustion engine:
DRIVE
The combustion engine, refer to page 75,
provides the primary performance to move the
vehicle. If necessary, the high-voltage battery
is charged at the same time.
The hybrid system always starts the combus‐
tion engine automatically.Seite 31BMW ActiveHybridAt a glance31
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Energy recovery: CHARGE
The high-voltage battery of the hybrid system
is charged through energy recovery while driv‐
ing.
The electric motor acts as a generator and
converts the kinetic energy of the vehicle into
electric current.
Charging can take place in various situations:▷When the vehicle is coasting if the acceler‐
ator pedal is not pressed.▷During vehicle braking.
When exerting gentle pressure on the brakes,
the vehicle is only braked by the electric motor.
When the brake pedal is depressed further, the
brake system is activated additionally. This is
why only part of the brake energy is used to
charge the high-voltage battery when exerting
firm pressure on the brake.
Foresighted driving and the early reduction of
speed are important to make full use of the hy‐
brid characteristics of the vehicle.
Auto Start/Stop function The Auto Start/Stop function, refer to
page 73, switches the combustion engine off
when coasting, braking and while the vehicle is
stopped. Convenience functions such as the
automatic climate control are supplied by the
high-voltage battery and can remain switched
on.
Auxiliary functions of the automatic
climate control
The hybrid system makes it possible to oper‐ate the automatic climate control prior to driv‐
ing off and with the combustion engine
switched off.
Using the auxiliary air conditioning and residual
cooling functions, the vehicle interior can be
cooled immediately prior to departure and if
the trip is interrupted.
▷Residual cooling, refer to page 166.▷Auxiliary air conditioning, refer to
page 167
Adapting to the course of the road
When the navigation system destination guid‐
ance is active, the hybrid system uses the ex‐
isting navigation data. Hybrid operation adapts
to the specific route sections. These may be:
▷Steep gradients.▷Arrival in the destination zone.
Pay attention to the notes in Adapting to the
course of the road, refer to page 88.
Display
The displays of the hybrid system, refer to
page 86, provide information about the cur‐
rent state of hybrid operation and show the
system activity in a chart.
Energy-saving driving To save energy while driving, read the follow‐
ing information:
▷Saving fuel, refer to page 188.▷Using the hybrid system efficiently, refer to
page 180▷ECO PRO mode, refer to page 189.▷Adapting to the course of the road, refer to
page 88.
Safety information
Read the information on safe handling of the
hybrid system, refer to page 226.
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After the coasting, the combustion or electric
motor restarts depending on the operating
state.
Driving with combustion
engine: DRIVE
The combustion engine provides the primary
performance to move the vehicle. If necessary,
the high-voltage battery is charged at the
same time.
Automatic start while driving The combustion engine is automatically
started under the following conditions while
driving:▷Transmission position M/S is set.▷The speed for electric driving is exceeded
while accelerating.▷The high-voltage battery has an insuffi‐
cient charge.▷High-voltage battery is completely
charged, e.g., when driving downhill.▷During intense accelerations or on inclines.▷System-related requirement for hybrid
components.▷Adapting to the course of the road when
destination guidance is activated.
Automatic parking while driving
When reducing speed, the combustion engine
is switched off when the conditions for electric
driving, refer to page 74, are met.
Assistance for the
combustion engine
The combustion engine provides the primary
performance to move the vehicle.
The electric motor provides assistance as
needed with additional propulsive power.
ASSIST
During normal vehicle operation, the electric
motor assists the combustion engine, depend‐
ing on the situation.
eBOOST
Accelerating quickly, such as when passing,
requires the maximum available power from
the electric motor. To do this, apply extra force
to the accelerator pedal.
Energy recovery: CHARGEThe hybrid system makes it possible to con‐
vert kinetic energy into electrical power when
braking and coasting. This recovered energy
charges the high-voltage battery. If necessary,
this stored electrical energy is output to the
electric motor.
The following conditions must be met to re‐
cover kinetic energy:▷The vehicle is moving.▷Transmission position D, M/S is set.▷The high-voltage battery is not fully
charged.
Energy recovery displays in the instrument
cluster, refer to page 87.
Parking brake
The concept The parking brake is used to prevent the vehi‐
cle from rolling when it is parked.
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High beams, headlight flasher▷High beams, arrow 1.▷Headlight flasher, arrow 2.
Washer/wiper systemSwitching the wipers on/off and brief
wipe
Hints Do not activate wipers if frozen to wind‐
shield
Do not reel on the wipers if they are frozen to
the windshield; otherwise, the wiper blades
and the wiper motor may be damaged.◀
Do not activate wipers on dry windshield
Do not use the wipers if the windshield is
dry, as this may damage the wiper blades or
cause them to become worn more quickly.◀
Switching on
Push wiper lever up.
The lever automatically returns to its initial po‐
sition when released.▷Normal wiper speed: push up once.
The wipers reel to intermittent operation
when the vehicle is stationary.▷Fast wiper speed: press up twice or press
once beyond the resistance point.
Wipers change to normal speed when ve‐
hicle comes to standstill.
Switch off and brief wipe
Push wiper lever down.
The lever automatically returns to its initial po‐
sition when released.
▷Single wipe: press down once.▷To reel off normal wipe: press down once.▷To reel off fast wipe: press down twice.
Rain sensor
The concept The rain sensor automatically controls the time
between wipes depending on the intensity of the rainfall. The sensor is located on the wind‐
shield, directly behind the interior rearview mir‐
ror.
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▷Miles/trip miles, refer to page 92.▷Messages, e.g. Check Control, refer to
page 88.▷Navigation display, see User's manual for
Navigation, Entertainment and Communi‐
cation.▷Range, refer to page 93.▷Status, Driving Dynamics Control, refer to
page 136.▷Service requirements, refer to page 93.▷Speed limit detection, refer to page 94.▷Time, refer to page 93.
Displays of the hybrid
system
Displays in the instrument cluster
The concept The following functions of the hybrid system
are displayed:
▷High-voltage battery charge indicator, refer
to page 86.▷Electric driving: eDRIVE.▷Acceleration boost: eBOOST.▷Energy recovery: CHARGE.▷Auto Start/Stop function and active drive
readiness: READY.
The display depends on the system's operat‐
ing condition.
Note High voltage
Even if no bars are displayed in the bat‐
tery symbol, the high-voltage system is still under high voltage.◀
High-voltage battery charge indicator
When drive readiness is switched on in COM‐
FORT mode, displays the available charge of
the high-voltage battery with bars in a battery
symbol. If five bars are shown, the high-voltage
battery is fully charged.
During normal vehicle operation, the high-volt‐
age battery is charged up to approx. 80 %.
This ensures optimum energy recovery when
braking or driving downhill.
Electric driving: eDRIVE
When driving in COMFORT or ECO PRO
modes, the power output of the electric motor
is indicated by arrows on the instrument clus‐
ter.
Depending on the position of the accelerator
pedal, up to four arrows are displayed simulta‐
neously. The tachometer pointer stays on 0
rpm.
If all four arrows are already displayed, the
combustion engine is switched on, e.g., during
accelerations or on uphill gradients.
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