tow BMW 6 SERIES 2008 Owner's Manual

Driving tips
127Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Before driving into a car wash
To prevent the exterior mirrors on this vehicle
from being damaged, always fold them in by
hand before entering an automatic car wash.
General information on the care and mainte-
nance of your BMW is contained in the Caring
for your vehicle brochure.
Sport automatic transmission
Insert the remote control into the ignition lock.
The engine can be switched off with the trans-
mission in neutral. Also refer to page38.
Cargo loading
To avoid loading the tires beyond their
approved carrying capacity, never over-
load the vehicle. Overloading can lead to over-
heating and increases the rate at which damage
develops inside the tires. The ultimate result
can assume the form of a sudden blow-out.<
Make sure that no fluids leak in the cargo
bay; otherwise the vehicle could be dam-
aged.<
Determining loading limit
1.Locate the following statement on your
vehicle's placard
*:
The combined weight of occupants
and cargo should never exceed
XXX lbs. or YYY kg, as otherwise the vehicle
may be damaged and unstable driving con-
ditions 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 lbs. or YYY kg.
4.The resulting figure equals the available
amount of cargo and luggage load capacity.
For example, if the XXX amount equals
800 lbs. and there will be four 150-lb. pas-
sengers in your vehicle, the amount of avail-
able cargo and luggage load capacity is
200 lbs.:
800lbs. minus 600lbs. = 200lbs.
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.
6.If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, part of
the load from your trailer will be transferred
to your vehicle. Consult the manual for
transporting a trailer to determine how this
may reduce the available cargo and luggage
load capacity of your vehicle.
Load
The permissible load is the total of the weight of
occupants and cargo/luggage. The greater the
weight of occupants, the less cargo/luggage
can be transported.

Things to remember when driving
128
Stowing cargo
>Place heavy cargo as far forward and as low
as possible, placing it directly behind the
bulkhead behind the rear seats.
>Cover sharp edges and corners.
Securing cargo
>Use the luggage net* or securing straps to
hold down small and lightweight luggage
and cargo.
>Heavy-duty cargo straps
* for securing
larger and heavier objects are available at
your BMW center. Four lashing eyes
mounted in the luggage compartment are
used to secure these heavy-duty cargo
straps, refer to arrows.
>Please observe the special instructions
supplied with the heavy-duty cargo straps.
Position and secure the cargo as
described above, so that it cannot endan-
ger the vehicle's occupants, for example if sud-
den braking or evasive maneuvers are neces-
sary.
When fastening lashings, use only the lashing
eyes, refer to illustration; otherwise, the lash-
ings could come loose or you could damage the
vehicle.
Never exceed the approved gross vehicle weight or either of the approved axle loads, refer
to page237, as excessive loads can pose a
safety hazard, and may also put you in violation
of freeway safety laws.
You should never transport unsecured heavy or
hard objects in the passenger compartment, as
they could fly around and pose a safety hazard
to the vehicle's occupants during abrupt brak-
ing or evasive maneuvers.<
Pad on base of luggage compartment
You can use the pad as needed, for example to
transport soiled objects. The rubberized side is
washable and has an anti-skid effect.

Destination entry
134
Destination entry
In entering your destination you can select from
among the following options:
>Entering a destination manually, see below
>Entering destination via voice*, refer to
page137
>Selecting destination using information,
refer to page140
>Selecting destination from a list, refer to
Destination list, page141
>Selecting destination from address book,
refer to page142
>Selecting home address, refer to page144
After selecting your destination you can pro-
ceed to start the destination guidance, refer to
page146.
You can also store a navigation destination on
the programmable memory/direct selection
buttons, refer to page21.
Enter data only when the vehicle is sta-
tionary, and always give priority to the
applicable traffic regulations in the event of any
contradiction between traffic and road condi-
tions and the instructions issued by the naviga-
tion system. If you do not observe this precau-
tion, you can endanger the vehicle occupants
and other road users.<
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16.
1.Press the button.
This opens the start menu.
2.Move the controller to the right to call up
"Navigation".
3.Select "Navigation" and press the control-
ler.
The Control Display shows:
>the arrow view or map view during destina-
tion guidance
>the destination list when destination guid-
ance is switched offEntering a destination
manually
The system's word-matching principle makes it
easier for you to enter the names of streets or
towns, refer to page145. This allows you to
enter different spellings and completes your
entry automatically so that stored names can be
called up quickly.
1.Change to upper field if necessary. Turn the
controller until "Navigation" is selected and
press the controller.
"New destination" is selected.
2.Press the controller.
3.Select "Enter address" and press the con-
troller.
The system also supports you with the follow-
ing features:
>If you do not enter a street, the system will
guide you to the downtown area of a town or
city.
>You can skip the entry of country and town/
city if the current entries are being retained
for your new destination.

Navigation
Driving tips
135Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
Selecting country
1.Select "State / Province" or the displayed
country and press the controller.
The list of available countries appears on
the display.
2.Select the country of destination and press
the controller.
In order to be able to start the destination guid-
ance, at least the town/city of the destination or
its zip code must be entered.
Entering destination via town/city
name
1.Select "Town / City" or the displayed town/
city and press the controller.
2.Select the first letter and press the control-
ler.
A list of all towns/cities starting with this let-
ter appears on the Control Display.
3.To delete the letter entered if necessary:
>Delete individual numbers or letters:
Move the controller toward the right to
select and press the controller.
>Delete all digits or letters:
Move the controller toward the right to
select and press the controller
longer.4.Enter additional letters if necessary.
The list gradually grows smaller each time
you enter a new letter.
>Enter a blank space if necessary:
Select the symbol and press the con-
troller.
5.Change to the third field from the top if nec-
essary. Turn the controller until the town/
city name is selected from the list and press
the controller.
Entering town/city of destination via
zip code
1.Select "Town / City" and press the control-
ler.
2.Enter the zip code:
Select the individual digits and press the
controller.

Destination entry
136 >Enter a blank space:
Select the symbol and press the con-
troller.
>Delete individual digits or letters:
Move the controller toward the right to
select and press the controller.
>Delete all digits or letters:
Move the controller toward the right to
select and press the controller
longer.
3.Select the zip code and press the controller.
The corresponding town/city of destination
is displayed.
4.Change into the third field from the top.
Turn the controller until the town/city of
destination is selected and press the con-
troller.
Entering street, house number and
intersection
After the street you can also enter the intersec-
tion or the house number.
Entering street and intersection
1.Select "Street" or the displayed street and
press the controller.
2.Enter the street.
The street is entered in exactly the same
way as the town/city of destination.
The intersection is entered in the same way as
the street.
Entering a street without entering
town/city of destination
You can also enter a street without entering a
destination. In this case all streets of the
entered country are offered for selection. The
related town/city is displayed after the street
name.
If a town/city has already been entered, you can
undo this entry. This may be practical if the
desired street does not exist in the entered
town/city of destination, because, for example,
it belongs to another part of the town/city.
1.Change to upper field.
The arrow is selected.
2.Turn the controller to the right until the
request for the entry of a street in the coun-
try appears and press the controller.
3.Change to the second field from the top and
enter the street.

Navigation
Driving tips
137Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
Entering house number
All house numbers stored for the street on the
navigation DVD can be entered.
1.Select "House number" and press the con-
troller.
2.Enter the house number:
Select the individual digits and press the
controller.
3.Change into the third field from the top.
Turn the controller until the house number
is selected and press the controller.
Starting destination guidance with
manual destination entry
>Select "Start guidance" and press the con-
troller.
Destination guidance starts immediately.
>If destination guidance is not to be started
immediately:
Select "Add to destination list" and press
the controller.
The destination is stored in the destination
list, refer to page141.
Entering destination via
voice*
You can enter a desired destination via the
voice command system. When entering the
destination, it is possible to change between
voice command and iDrive at any time. Reacti-
vate the voice command function for this pur-
pose if necessary.
With {Options} you can have the possible
commands read aloud.<1.Press the button on the steering wheel.
Selecting country
1.Wait for the system to ask for the country of
destination.
Say the name of the country of destination in
the language of the voice command system.
Entering town/city of destination
The town/city of destination can be spelled or
entered as an entire word.
Spelling town/city of destination
To enter the town/city of destination, spell it
using the customary spelling of the country of
destination.
Pronounce the letters smoothly and at normal
volume, avoiding excessive emphasis and
pauses.
The system can suggest up to 20 towns/cit-
ies of destination that match your entries.
Up to 6 entries are displayed at once on the
Control Display.
2.{Enter address}
2.Say the name of the country of destina-
tion.
1.Spell town/city name:
Say at least the first three letters of the
town/city of destination. The more let-
ters you say, the more exactly the sys-
tem recognizes the town/city.

Destination entry
138 The town/city can also be selected from the list
via iDrive:
Turn the controller until the town/city of desti-
nation is selected and press the controller.
Entering the destination as an entire
word*
Towns/cities of destination and streets located
in the region where the language of the voice
command system is spoken can be entered as
an entire word.
Example: to enter a US town/city of destination
as an entire word, the system language must be
English.
Speak smoothly and at normal volume, avoiding
excessive emphasis and pauses.
1.Wait for the system to request the town/city
of destination.
The system can suggest up to 6 towns/cit-
ies of destination that match your entries.The town/city can also be selected from the list
via iDrive:
Turn the controller until the town/city of desti-
nation is selected and press the controller.
Destinations that sound the same which
cannot be differentiated by the system
are summarized in a separate list and shown as
a destination followed by three dots.
Select this entry with {Yes} if necessary. Then
select the desired city/town in this list.<
Entering street and house number
The street is entered in the same way as the
town/city of destination.
To enter the house number:
Up to 4-digit house numbers can be entered.
Say the house number as individual digits.
Starting destination guidance
Destination guidance starts immediately. A destination is suggested by the system.
2.Select a town/city:
>Select highlighted town/city: {Yes}
>Select other town/city: {No}
>Select entry, e.g. {Entry 3}
>Display additional entries of the list:
{Next page}
>To respell the town/city: {Repeat}
2.Say the name of the town/city of desti-
nation.
A destination is suggested by the system.
3.Select a town/city:
>Select highlighted town/city: {Yes}
>Select other town/city: {No}
>Select entry, e.g. {Entry 3}
>Reenter the town/city: {Repeat}
>Enter town/city of destination by
spelling it: {Spell}
1.{House number}
2.Say the house number.
{Start guidance}

Navigation
Driving tips
139Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
Saving destination
The destination is added to the destination list
or can be stored in the address book.
Map-guided destination
selection
If you only know the location of the town/city or
street of the destination, then you can input the
destination by using a map. You can use the
cursor to select the destination on the map and
then adopt it into the destination guidance.
1.Select "Navigation" and press the control-
ler.
"New destination" is selected.
2.Press the controller.
3.Select "Input map" and press the controller.
A section of a map is displayed on the Con-
trol Display:
>During destination guidance, around the
current destination>With the destination guidance deacti-
vated, around the last destination
entered
4.Select a destination with the cursor.
>Changing scale: turn the controller.
>Moving map: move the controller in the
corresponding direction.
The controller can be moved to the left,
right, forward and back.
5.Press the controller to accept or store the
destination in the destination guidance sys-
tem.
The selected town/city of destination and
other menu items are displayed.
6.Select the desired menu item:
>"Start route guidance" starts destination
guidance.
>"Show current position" places the cur-
rent position in the center of the map.
>"Show destination position" places the
current destination in the center of the
map.
>"Return to map" changes back to the
"Input map".
> Exit the menu.
7.Press the controller. {Add to destination list} or
{Add to address book}

Navigation
Driving tips
141Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
Symbols in map view
If, for example, you have selected the category
Hotels, the hotels are shown on the map as
symbols.
To hide the symbols in the map view:
1.Select the symbol and press the controller.
2.Select "Hide map icons" and press the con-
troller.
The symbols are hidden.
To display the symbols:
Select "Show map icons" and press the con-
troller.
To exit from the menu:
Select the arrow and press the controller.
Destination list
The last 20 destinations entered into the desti-
nation list are displayed. You can select these
destinations and adopt them into the destina-
tion guidance system.
For example, in order to plan a longer route, you
can store all of the destinations you wish to visit
in the destination list ahead of time, refer to
Entering a destination manually on page134.
Select "Navigation" and press the controller.The last destination entered is the first item in
the destination list.
This symbol indicates the current destina-
tion during destination guide.
To display other destinations in the destination
list:
Turn the controller.
Adopting the destination into the
destination guidance system
1.Select the desired destination from the des-
tination list and press the controller.
2.Select "Start guidance" and press the con-
troller.
Editing destination list
1.Select the desired destination from the des-
tination list and press the controller.
2.The selected destination can be edited:
>Saving entry:
Select "Add to address book".
>Displaying information on destination:
Select "Information on destination".
>Deleting entry:
Select "Delete entry".
>Deleting all entries:
Select "Delete list". Destination guid-
ance is switched off.
>Changing entry:
Select "Edit". For operation, refer to
Entering destination via town/city name,
page135.
3.Press the controller.

Navigation
Driving tips
145Reference
At a glance
Controls
Communications
Entertainment
Mobility
4.Press the controller.
The route criterion is selected.
5.If necessary, select an additional route cri-
terion and then press the controller:
>"Dynamic route"*
Automatic changing of the route in case
of traffic obstructions. Depending on
road type and the kind and extent of the
traffic obstruction, the route can also be
calculated in a way that passes through
the traffic obstruction.
>"Avoid tollroads"
Tollroads are avoided where possible.
>"Avoid ferries"
Ferries are avoided where possible.
To exit from the menu:
Select the arrow and press the controller.
The route criteria can also be changed in the
arrow or map view:
1.Select the symbol for the route criterion and
press the controller.
2.Select a route criterion and press the con-
troller.
If the route criteria "Avoid highways",
"Avoid tollroads" or "Avoid ferries" are
selected, the calculation time for the route can
increase considerably. The system supports the word matching princi-
ple to make it easier for you to enter the names
of streets or towns/cities. The system runs
ongoing checks, comparing your destination
entries with the data stored on the navigation
DVD as the basis for instant response. The user
benefits include:
>Names of specific towns/cities can also vary
from the official versions, provided that the
spelling of the entry corresponds to a stan-
dard form used in another country.
Example:
Instead of "Munich", you can also enter the
German spelling "München" or the Italian
spelling "Monaco".
>When you are entering the names of towns/
cities and streets, the system will complete
them automatically as soon as enough let-
ters are available to ensure unambiguous
identification.
>The system only accepts name entries
beginning with letters that are stored on the
navigation DVD. The system will not accept
nonexistent names and addresses.