steering wheel adjustment BMW 540I SEDAN 2003 Owners Manual

Contents

© 2002 Bayerische Motoren Werke
Aktiengesellschaft
Munich, Germany
Reprinting, including excerpts, only with the
written consent of BMW AG, Munich.
Order No. 01 41 0 156 818
US English IX/2002
Printed in Germany
Printed on environmentally friendly paper
Ð bleached without chlorine, suitable for recycling.
Notes
Overview
Controls and features

About this Owner's Manual8
Symbols used8
The individual vehicle8
Status at time of printing9
For your own safety9
Symbol on vehicle parts10
Service and Warranty10
Reporting safety defects10Cockpit14
Instrument cluster15
Indicator and warning lamps19
Steering wheel with multifunction
buttons22
Warning triangle23
First-aid kit23
Refueling24
Fuel specifications25
Tire inflation pressure26

Locks and security systems:

Keys32
Central locking system32
Opening and closing Ð via the
door lock33
Opening and closing Ð via the
remote control34
Opening and closing Ð from the
inside37
Luggage compartment lid/
Tailgate38
Rear window40
Luggage compartment42
Alarm system42
Electric power windows44
Sliding/tilt sunroof46

Adjustments:

Sitting safely48
Seats48
Manually-adjusted seat49
Electric power seats50
Head restraints52
BMW active seat52
Safety belts53
Seat, mirror and steering wheel
memory54
Seat heating55
Adjusting steering wheel56
Steering wheel heating56
Mirrors57

Contents

48n
For relaxed and fatigue-free driving you
should select a seating position that
reflects your personal requirements.
Correct seating position combines with
safety belts and airbags to enhance
occupant safety in the event of an acci-
dent. To ensure that the vehicle's safety
systems provide you with optimal pro-
tection, we request that you direct your
careful attention to the following sec-
tion.
For additional information on trans-
porting children, refer to page 62.
Sitting safely with airbags
Always maintain an adequate dis-
tance between yourself and the
airbags. Always hold the steering wheel
by the rim to keep any chance of injury
to hands or arms to an absolute min-
imum should the airbag be deployed.
Never allow any objects, individuals or
animals to obstruct the areas between
passengers and airbags.
Never use the front airbag's cover as a
storage tray or support for objects of
any kind. Never allow front passengers
to rest their feet or legs on the airbag
cover.<
For airbag locations and additional
information on airbags refer to page 59.
Sitting safely with safety belt
Never allow more than one person
to wear a single safety belt. Never
allow infants or small children to ride in
a passenger's lap. Avoid twisting the
belt while routing it firmly across the
pelvis and shoulder, wear it as snugly
against your body as possible. Do not
allow the belt to rest against hard or
fragile objects in your pockets. Do not
route the belt across your neck, or run it
across sharp edges. Avoid wearing
bulky clothing and pull on the lap belt
periodically to retention it over your
shoulders. In the event of a frontal
impact, a loose lap belt could slide over
the hips, leading to abdominal injury. In
addition, the safety belt's restraint
effectiveness is reduced if it is worn
loosely. Expectant mothers should
always wear their safety belts, taking
care to position the lap belt against the
lower hips, where it will not exert pres-
sure against the abdominal area.<
For information on using the safety
belts refer to page 53.
When adjusting your seat, always
observe the following precautions
Never try to adjust your seat while
operating the vehicle. The seat
could respond with an unexpected
movement, and the ensuing loss of
vehicle control could lead to an acci-
dent. Never ride with the backrest
reclined to an extreme horizontal angle
(important for front passengers to
remember), otherwise, there is a risk
that you will slide under the safety belt
in an accident, thus negating the pro-
tection the safety belt provides.
Do not move the seats to the rear when
the vehicle is at an extreme angle (on
garage ramps or steep slopes, for
example). If you do so, the automatic
safety belt height adjustment can be
disengaged.<
Seat adjustment>Manually-adjusted seat, refer to
page 49
>Electric power seats, refer to page 50
>Head restraints, refer to page 52
>BMW active seat, refer to page 52
Sitting safely Seats

54n
Seat, mirror and steering wheel memoryYou can store and call up three different
seat, exterior mirror and steering wheel
positions. The illustration shows the
buttons on the driver's door for making
these position adjustments.
The adjustment of the lumbar support is
not stored in the memory.390de032
To store1 Turn the ignition key to position 1 or 2
2 Adjust to the desired positions for the
seat, exterior mirror and steering
wheel
3 Press the
M
EMORY button: the indi-
cator lamp in the button comes on
4 Press memory button 1, 2 or 3, as
desired: the indicator lamp goes out.
To select a stored settingConvenience function:
1 Open the driver's door after
unlocking the vehicle or turn the igni-
tion key to position 1
2 Briefly press memory button 1, 2 or 3,
as desired.
Movement stops immediately when
one of the seat-adjustment or
memory buttons is activated during
the adjustment process.
Safety function:
1 With the driver's door closed and the
ignition key either removed or in posi-
tion 0 or 2
2 Maintain pressure on the desired
memory button (1, 2 or 3) until the
adjustment process is completed.
If you press the
M
EMORY button
accidentally: press the button a second
time; the indicator lamp goes out.
Do not select a new stored
memory setting while the vehicle
is moving. There is a risk of accident
from unexpected movement of the seat
or steering wheel.<

56n
Adjusting steering wheel Steering wheel heating
*
The steering wheel can be moved in
any of four directions. Adjust by moving
the control lever in the desired direc-
tion.
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while the vehicle is moving. There
is a risk of accident from unexpected
movement.<
To store the steering wheel setting,
refer to "Seat, mirror and steering
wheel memory" on page 54.390de711
Automatic steering wheel
adjustmentIn order to make it easier to get into and
out of the vehicle, the steering wheel
automatically moves into the top posi-
tion and returns to the driving (memory)
position.
This automatic feature is controlled by
the position of the ignition key and by
the driver's door.
The steering wheel heating feature is
available for operation when the ignition
key is in position 2.
Press the button to switch on and off.
The lamp within the button lights up
when the steering wheel heating is in
operation.
If you have a multifunction steering
wheel without steering wheel heating,
the button for the recirculated-air mode
is in this location (refer to page 22).
390de708

57n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
MirrorsExterior mirrors1 Mirror switch for 4-way adjustment
2 Left/right selection switchTo adjust manuallyThe mirrors can also be adjusted manu-
ally:
Press the edge of the lens.
To store mirror settings, refer to "Seat,
mirror and steering wheel memory" on
page 54.390us733
Convex mirror
The passenger-side mirror fea-
tures a convex lens. When esti-
mating the distance between yourself
and other traffic, bear in mind that the
objects reflected in the mirror are closer
than they appear.<
Self-defrosting mirrorsBoth mirrors are defrosted automati-
cally when the ignition key is in
position 2.
Interior rearview mirrorTo reduce glare from vehicles behind
you after dark, tilt the mirror by moving
the small lever.390de713

67n
OverviewControlsMaintenanceRepairsDataIndex
Vehicle Memory, Key MemoryHow the system functionsNo doubt you have reflected at one
time or another on how great it would
be if you could permanently configure
your vehicle's various features and
adjustments to mirror your own indi-
vidual preferences. In engineering your
vehicle, BMW has incorporated a
number of options for personal adjust-
ment that can be programmed into your
vehicle at your BMW center.
The available configuration data fall into
two categories, according to whether
their primary orientation is the vehicle
("Vehicle Memory") or the individual
("Key Memory"). Provided that each
person has a separate remote-control
key, you can have your BMW center
enter two personal adjustments for two
different individuals into the system.463de029
The system then relies on a bilateral
data exchange to identify the individual
user and dial in the selected settings
whenever the remote control unit is
used to disengage the door locks.
In order for you to distinguish between
different keys, colored decals are sup-
plied together with the keys.What the system can doYour BMW center can provide you with
details on the capabilities of the Vehicle
Memory and Key Memory systems. A
few examples follow below:
Examples for Vehicle Memory:
>Various signals as acknowledgment
when locking or unlocking your
vehicle
>Activates/deactivates the "Follow me
home" function.Examples for Key Memory:
>Locks the vehicle when you start off
>Automatically adjusts the driverÕs
seat, the exterior mirrors and the
steering wheel position to your per-
sonal programmed settings when you
unlock the vehicle
>The automatic climate control
assumes your preset comfort settings
when you unlock the vehicle.
You will see this symbol through-
out the Owner's Manual. It is to
remind you at appropriate places of the
settings that are available to you.<

Everything from A to ZElectrical malfunction
doors33
fuel filler door24
luggage compartment
lid38
sliding/tilt sunroof47
tailgate39
Elements of operation,
cockpit14
Emergency release of
luggage compartment lid
from luggage
compartment's interior41
Energy control83
Engine compartment
essentials140
Engine coolant84, 144
Engine oil142
consumption142
disposal143t
level20
pressure19
specifications143t
viscosity ratings143
Engine specifications170
Estimated time of arrival95
Exterior mirrors57, 58
F
Failure messages85t
Filling the washer
reservoir141t
First-aid kit23
Fittings, tow-starting and
towing165t
Flashlight118
Flat tire135, 158t
Fog lamps104
bulb replacement155t
Fold rear-seat backrest121
Follow me home lamps103
Front ashtray119
Front fog lamps104
Front seat adjustment48
Fuel25
gauge83
quality25
specifications25
tank capacity175
Fuel consumption88, 95
average88, 95
indicator83
Fuel filler door24
electrical malfunction24
manual release24
Fuses162
G
Gasoline25
gauge83
quality25
Glass moonroof47
Glove compartment118
Grilles109
Gross vehicle weight173 H
Handbrake70
Hands-free system119
Hazard warning triangle23
Head restraints50
Headlamp covers,
care153t
Headlamp flasher78
Headlamp washer
system141
Heated seats55
Heated steering wheel56
Heating and
ventilation106, 109
Heating while stopped113
Heavy cargo128
Height adjustment
seats50
steering wheel56
Height of vehicle171
High beams21, 104
bulb replacement153t High Performance Synthetic
Oils143
High-mount brake lamp157
Holder for canned
beverages119
Hood139
release139t
Horn14
Hydraulic Braking Assistant,
refer to DBC20
Hydroplaning133, 135
I
Ice warning82
Identification, tires137
Ignition lock68
Immobilizer function96
activating code96
deactivating code96
selecting code96
Imprint4
Indicator and warning
lamps19
Inflation pressure26t
monitoring101
Inflation pressure,
tires26, 135
INSPECTION84
Instrument
cluster15, 16, 17