instrument panel BMW 6 SERIES 2008 Owners Manual

Controls
47Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
Adjusting
Sitting safely
The ideal sitting position can make a vital con-
tribution to relaxed, fatigue-free driving. In the
interaction with the safety belts, the head
restraints and the airbags, the seat position
plays an important role in an accident. To
ensure that the safety systems operate with
optimal efficiency, we strongly urge you to fol-
low the instructions contained in the following
section.
For additional information on Transporting chil-
dren safely, refer to page56.
Airbags
Always maintain an adequate distance
between yourself and the airbags. Always
hold the steering wheel by its rim with hands at
the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to mini-
mize the risk of injuries to your hands and arms
in the event of airbag deployment.
No one and nothing is to come between the air-
bags and the seat occupant.
Do not use the cover of the front airbag on the
front passenger side as a storage area. Make
sure that the front passenger is sitting correctly
and does not rest feet or legs on the instrument
panel, otherwise leg injuries can occur if the
knee and front airbags are triggered.
Make sure that occupants do not rest their head
on the side or head airbags; otherwise, injuries
can occur if the airbags are triggered.<
Even if you adhere to all the instructions, inju-
ries resulting from contact with airbags cannot
be fully excluded, depending on the circum-
stances. The ignition and inflation noise may
provoke a mild hearing loss in extremely sensi-
tive individuals. This effect is usually only tem-
porary.
For airbag locations and additional information
on airbags, refer to page94.
Head restraints
A correctly adjusted head restraint reduces the
risk of injury to cervical vertebrae in an accident.
Adjust the head restraint so that its center
is approx. at ear level. Otherwise, there is
increased danger of injury in the event of an
accident.<
Head restraints, refer to page50.
Safety belt
Before every drive, make sure that safety belts
are being worn at all of the occupied seats. Air-
bags complement the safety belt as an addi-
tional safety device, but they do not represent a
substitute.
Your vehicle has four seats that are each
equipped with a 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. Make sure that the belt lies low around the
hips in the lap area and does not press on the
abdomen. The safety belt must not lie across
the neck, rub against sharp edges, be routed
over solid or breakable objects or be pinched.
Wear the safety belt without twisting, snugly
across the lap and shoulders, as close to the
body as possible. Otherwise, the belt can slip
over the hips in the lap area in a frontal impact
and injure the abdomen. Avoid wearing clothing
that prevents the belt from fitting properly and
pull the shoulder belt upward periodically to
readjust the tension across your lap in order to
avoid a reduction in the restraining effect of the
safety belt.<
Safety belts refer to page52.

Technology for comfort, convenience and safety
94
Airbags
The following airbags are located under the
marked covers:
1Front airbags
2Coupe: Head airbags
3Side airbags
4Knee airbag
5Knee airbag
Protective action
To ensure that the safety systems con-
tinue to provide optimized protection,
please follow the adjustment instructions on
page47.<
The front airbags help protect the driver and
front passenger by responding to frontal
impacts in which safety belts alone cannot pro-
vide adequate restraint. When needed, the
head and side airbags help provide protection in
the event of a side impact. The relevant side air-
bag supports the side upper body area. The
head airbag supports the head. The knee airbag
protects the legs from colliding with the cockpit.
The airbags are deliberately not triggered in
every impact situation, e. g. less severe acci-
dents or rear-end collisions.
Do not apply adhesive materials to the
cover panels of the airbags, cover them or
modify them in any other way. Do not attempt to
remove the airbag restraint system from the
vehicle. Do not modify or tamper with either the
wiring or the individual components in the air-
bag system. This category includes the uphol-
stery in the center of the steering wheel, on the
instrument panel, the side trim panels on the
doors and on the Coupe, the roof pillars along with the sides of the headliner. Do not attempt
to remove or dismantle the steering wheel.
Do not touch the individual components
directly after the system has been triggered,
because there is a danger of burns.
In the event of malfunctions, deactivation, or
triggering of the airbag restraint system, have
the testing, repair, removal, and disposal of air-
bag generators carried out only by a BMW cen-
ter or a workshop that works according to BMW
repair procedures with appropriately trained
personnel and has the required explosives
licenses. Otherwise unprofessional attempts to
service the system could lead to failure in an
emergency or undesired airbag triggering,
either of which could result in personal injury.<
Warnings and information on the airbags is also
provided on the sun visors.
Automatic deactivation of front
passenger airbags
The occupation of the seat is detected by eval-
uating the impression on the occupied seat sur-
face of the front passenger seat. The system
correspondingly activates or deactivates the
front, knee and side airbags on the front pas-
senger side.
The current status of the front passenger
airbags, i.e. deactivated or activated, is
indicated by the indicator lamp over the interior
rearview mirror, refer to Operating state of front
passenger airbags below.<
Before transporting a child in the front
passenger seat, read the safety informa-
tion and follow the instructions under Trans-
porting children safely, refer to page56.

Lamps
106 3.Select "Settings" and press the controller.
4.Select "Vehicle / Tires" and press the con-
troller.
5.Change to upper field if necessary. Turn the
controller until "Lighting" is selected and
press the controller.
6.Select "High-beam assistant" and press
the controller.
High-beam assistant is switched off.
The setting is stored for the remote control cur-
rently in use.
Fog lamps
First switch on the parking lamps or the low
beams. The green indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster lights up when the fog lamps are
switched on.
The fog lamps are switched off whenever the
high beams are switched on.
If the automatic headlamp control is acti-
vated, the low beams will come on auto-
matically when you switch on the fog lamps.<
Instrument lighting
You can control the lighting intensity by using
the knurled wheel.
Interior lamps
Control of the interior lamps, footwell lamps,
door entry lighting, courtesy lamps
* and sill
panel lighting
* is automatic.
With the courtesy lamps, LED lights are located
in the door handles to illuminate the exterior
area before the doors.
To protect the battery, all lamps in the
vehicle are switched off approx. 15 min-
utes after radio readiness is switched off, refer
to Start/Stop button on page58.<
Switching interior lamps on and off
manually
Press button 1.
If the interior lamps, footwell lamps, door entry
lighting, courtesy lamps and sill panel lighting
are to remain switched off continually, press the
button for approx. 3 seconds.

Controls
113Reference
At a glance
Driving tips
Communications
Navigation
Entertainment
Mobility
You can set two different times for the system
to start. The parked car ventilation can also be
switched on and off directly. It remains
switched on for 30 minutes.
Since the system uses a substantial amount of
electrical current, you should refrain from acti-
vating it twice in succession without allowing
the battery to be recharged in normal operation
between uses.
The air emerges through the upper body region
vent outlets in the instrument panel. Therefore,
please open the vent outlets.
The parked car ventilation system is operated
via iDrive.
Switching on and off directly
iDrive, for operating principle refer to page16.
1.Open the start menu.
2.Move the controller to the left to open "Cli-
mate".
3.Select "Parked car operation" and press the
controller.
4.Select "Automatic ventilation" and press
the controller.
5.Select "Parked car ventilation" and press
the controller.
The parked car ventilation is switched on.
The symbol on the display of the automatic
climate control flashes.
Preselecting activation times
1.Open the start menu.
2.Move the controller to the left to open "Cli-
mate".
3.Select "Parked car operation" and press the
controller.
4.Select "Activation time" and press the con-
troller.
5.Move the controller to the left or right to
select "Timer 1" or "Timer 2".
6.Select the time and press the controller.
The first time setting is selected.
7.Turn the controller to make the adjustment.
8.Press the controller to apply the setting.
The next adjustment is selected.
9.Make the remaining adjustments. After the
last adjustment, the time is stored.

Maintenance
222
Socket for OBD Onboard
Diagnostics interface
Components which are decisive for the
exhaust-gas composition can be checked via
the OBD socket with a device.
This socket is located under a cover on the left
side of the driver's footwell, directly under the
instrument panel.
Exhaust-gas values
The warning lamp lights up. The
exhaust-gas values are deteriorating.
Have the vehicle checked as soon as
possible.
Display of the previously described
malfunction on Canadian models.
The lamp flashes under certain conditions. This
is a sign of excessive misfiring of the engine. In
this case, you should reduce speed and drive to
the nearest BMW center as soon as possible.
Heavy engine misfiring causes serious damage
to the emission-relevant components, espe-
cially the catalytic converter, within a short time.
If the fuel filler cap is not properly tight-
ened, the OBD system can detect the
escape of fuel vapor. This causes a display to
light up. If the cap is then tightened, the display
should go out within a few days.<
Event data recorders
Your vehicle may be equipped with one or sev-
eral measuring and diagnosis modules, or with a
device for recording or transmitting certain
vehicle data or information. If you have also sub-
scribed to BMW Assist, then certain vehicle
data can be transmitted or recorded to enable
corresponding services.
Care
Important information on care and maintenance
of your BMW is contained in the Caring for your
vehicle brochure.

Everything from A to Z
250
I
IBOC, refer to High Definition
Radio166
Ice, refer to Outside
temperature warning74
ID3-Tag, refer to Information
about track174
Identification mark
– recommended tire
brands215
– run-flat tires214
– tire coding212
iDrive16
– adjusting brightness83
– assistance window20
– changing date and time82
– changing language84
– changing menu page19
– changing settings82
– changing units of measure
and display form84
– controller16
– controls16
– displays, menus17
– operating principle17
– selecting menu item19
– selecting or confirming
entry19
– start menu17
– status information20
– symbols18
Ignition58
– switched off59
– switched on58
Ignition key, refer to Keys/
remote control28
Ignition key position 1, refer to
Radio readiness58
Ignition key position 2, refer to
Ignition on58
Ignition lock58
– starting engine with comfort
access38
i menu17
Imprint2Indicator/warning lamps
– ABS Antilock Brake
System88
– active steering93
– airbags95
– brake system88
– DSC13,87
– DTC13,88
– Flat Tire Monitor90
– fog lamps13,106
– handbrake13,60
– safety belt warning52
– TPM Tire Pressure
Monitor92
Indicator and warning lamps,
overview13
Inflation pressure, refer to Tire
inflation pressure210
Inflation pressure monitoring
– refer to Flat Tire Monitor89
– refer to Tire Pressure
Monitor90
Info menu17
Information
– on another location140
– on current position140
– on town/city of
destination140
"Information" for navigation
system140
Information menu, refer to
imenu17
"Information on
destination"141
"Info sources"77
Initializing
– Flat Tire Monitor89
– radio, refer to Storing
stations164
– refer to Power failure226
– seat, mirror and steering
wheel memory49
– time and date82
"Input map"139
Installation location
– CD changer176
– drive for navigation DVD132Instructions for navigation
system, refer to Voice
instructions149
Instrument cluster12
Instrument illumination, refer
to Instrument lighting106
Instrument lighting106
Instrument panel, refer to
Cockpit10
Instrument panel, refer to
Instrument cluster12
Integrated key28
Integrated universal remote
control115
Interesting destination for
navigation140
"Interim time"82
Interior lamps106
– switching on with remote
control31
Interior motion sensor36
– switching off36
Interior rearview mirror,
automatic dimming
feature54
Intermittent wiper mode64
J
Jacking points225
Joystick, refer to iDrive16
Jump starting228
K
Keyless-Go, refer to Comfort
access36
Keyless opening and closing,
refer to Comfort access36
Key Memory, refer to Personal
Profile29
"Keypad"194
Keys28
– key-related settings, refer to
Personal Profile29
– spare key28
Kick-down, Sport automatic
transmission61