ignition BMW 740I 1998 User Guide

51n
RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Mirrors Seat, mirror and steering wheel memoryLighted vanity mirrorFold down the sun visor and slide the
cover panel to the side as required.
The mirror lamps operate in ignition key
positions 1 and 2.Sun visorsThese can be folded down toward the
windshield or swiveled out against the
side windows.380de670
You 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 posi-
tion adjustments.
The adjustment for the lumbar
support is not in the stored in the
memory.< To store1 Turn the ignition key to position 1 or 2
2 Adjust for the preferred seat, exterior
mirror and steering wheel positions
3 Press the
M
EMORY button: The indi-
cator lamp in the button lights up
4 Press memory button 1, 2 or 3, as de-
sired: The indicator lamp goes out.
380de032
To select a stored settingDriver's door open after unlocking or
ignition key in position 1:
>Briefly press memory button 1, 2 or 3,
as desired.
Movement stops immediately when
one of the seat-adjustment or mem-
ory buttons is activated during the
adjustment process.
With driver's door closed and ignition
key either removed or in position 0 or 2:
>Maintain pressure on desired mem-
ory button 1, 2 or 3 until the adjust-
ment process is completed.
If you press the
M
EMORY button acci-
dentally: Press the button a second
time, the indicator lamp goes out.
Do not call up a position from the
memory while the vehicle is mov-
ing. There is a risk of accident from un-
expected movement of the seat or
steering wheel.<

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RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Airbags1 Front airbags for driver and
front passenger
2 Side impact head protection system
(front and rear
*)
3 Side airbags (front and rear side
*)
Protective effectThe front airbags supplement the three-
point safety belts by helping to provide
additional protection for the front-seat
occupants in the event of a severe fron-
tal collision in which the protection af-
forded by the belts alone may no longer
be sufficient. The head protection and
side airbags help provide protection in
the event of a severe collision from the
side. Each of the side airbags is de-
signed to help support the upper body.380de643
The illustration depicts schematically
the primary directions of vehicle impact
which initiate an airbag deployment.380de674
Indicator lamp
The indicator lamp indicates the
operational readiness of the air-
bag system from ignition key
positions 1 and 2.
System operational:
>The indicator lamp comes on briefly
then goes out.
System malfunction:
>The indicator lamp fails to come on
>The indicator lamp comes on briefly
before going out and then lighting up
again.
A system malfunction could prevent the
system from responding to an impact
occurring within its normal response
range.
Please have your authorized BMW cen-
ter inspect and repair the system as
soon as possible.

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RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Steering/Ignition lock Starting engine0 Steering lock engagedThis is the only position in which the ig-
nition key can be inserted and removed.
An acoustic warning sounds when you
fail to remove the ignition key before
opening the driver's door.
After removing the key, turn the steer-
ing wheel slightly to the left or right until
you hear the lock engage.380de010
Your vehicle is equipped with an inter-
lock. For this reason, the ignition key
cannot be turned to position 0 and re-
moved until the selector lever is in posi-
tion P.
In addition, the selector lever is locked
in position P when the ignition key is in
position 0 or removed from the ignition
switch.
To move the selector lever out of P, the
ignition key must be turned at least to
position 2.1 Steering lock disengagedYou will find that it is often easier to turn
the ignition key from position 0 to posi-
tion 1 when you move the steering
wheel slightly to help disengage the
lock.
Individual electrical equipment and ac-
cessories are available for use.2 Ignition onAll electrical equipment and accesso-
ries are available for use.3 Starting engineBefore starting
>Press the parking brake pedal
>Place the selector lever of the auto-
matic transmission in P or N.
Do not allow the engine to run in
enclosed spaces. The exhaust
gases contain carbon monoxide, an
odorless and colorless, but highly toxic
gas. Breathing the exhaust gases poses
an extreme health risk, and can lead to
unconsciousness and death.
Never leave the car unattended with the
engine running, as such a vehicle repre-
sents a potential safety hazard.< Starting engine>Start the engine. Do not press the ac-
celerator pedal.
Your BMW is equipped with the
convenience starting feature.
Simply turn the key to position 3 (starter)
and then release it immediately.
The starter continues to operate auto-
matically until the engine starts.

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Starting engine Switching off engineIf the battery's voltage is not adequate,
the automatic starting procedure is not
initiated, or it is interrupted. Should this
condition arise, it remains possible to
jump-start the engine (refer to page 17 9).
Do not allow the engine to warm up by
leaving it running while the vehicle re-
mains stationary. Instead, begin driving
immediately at a moderate engine
speed.<
Should the engine fail to start on the
first attempt (if it is very hot or cold, for
instance):
>Press the accelerator pedal halfway
down while engaging the starter.
BMW 740i/L:
Cold starts at extremely low tempera-
tures, from approx. +57 (–156)
and at elevations above 3300 feet
(1000 meters):
>Press the accelerator pedal halfway
down while engaging the starter.Engine idle speed is controlled by the
engine computer system. Increased
speeds at start-up are normal and
should decrease as the engine warms
up. If engine speed does not decrease,
service is required.
To prevent the battery from discharg-
ing, always switch off any electrical de-
vices not in use, as well as the ignition
when the vehicle is not being driven.Turn the ignition key to position 1 or 0.
The vehicle must be stationary
and the selector lever in "Park"
before you can remove the ignition key.
Always remove the ignition key and en-
gage the steering lock before leaving
the vehicle.<

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Indicator/Headlamp flasher Wiper/Washer system/Rain sensor1 High beam (blue indicator)
2 Headlamp flasher (blue indicator)
3 Turn signal (green indicator accom-
panied by a rhythmic clicking sound
from the relay).
If the indicator lamp and the clicking
from the relay are both faster than nor-
mal, one of the turn indicators has
failed.To signal brieflyPress the lever up to but not beyond the
detent. It then returns to the center po-
sition when released.380de629
0 Wipers retracted
1 Intermittent wipe
2 Normal wipe
3 Fast wipe
4 Brief wipe
5 Automatic windshield washer
6 Rotary dial for control of the interval
time or the sensitivity of the rain
sensor380us041
0 Wipers retractedThe wipers are partially hidden behind
the hood. To bring the wipers up into
their vertical position (important when
changing the blades, or folding up
when frost is expected):
With the control lever in position 1,
switch off the ignition when the wipers
are in the parked position.
Fold the wipers down onto the
windshield before you turn the ig-
nition key to position 1 or 2.<
For changing the wiper blades, refer to
page 162.1 Interval time or rain sensor
*
You can set the wipe interval to 4
stages with rotary dial 6.
In addition, the wipe interval automati-
cally adapts to variations in road speed.
Rain sensor:
When the rain sensor is activated, the
windshield wiper is controlled automati-
cally, depending on the degree of wet-
ness of the windshield (in both snow
and rain). You do not have to be con-
cerned with switching the windshield
wiper on or off or adjusting the wipe in-
terval between intermittent and full
wipe. Instead, you can concentrate fully

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RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Wiper/Washer systemon the traffic conditions. This is espe-
cially important under adverse weather
conditions.
To activate the rain sensor:
From ignition key position 1 and up,
move the lever to position 1. The wipers
travel once across the windshield, re-
gardless of the weather.
You can leave the lever permanently in
position 1. It is then only necessary to
activate the rain sensor from ignition
key position 1 and up. To do this
>turn rotary dial 7 briefly or
>use either the automatic windshield
washer 5 or the automatic intensive
washer 6.
To modify the sensitivity of the rain
sensor:
Turn rotary dial 7.
Turn the rain sensor off in auto-
matic car washes.
If you do not, damage may occur if the
wipers switch on unintentionally.<
2 Normal wiper speedWhen the vehicle is stationary, the wip-
ers switch automatically to intermittent
wipe (not on vehicles with rain sensor).3 Fast wiper speedWhen the vehicle is stationary, the wip-
ers operate at normal speed (not on ve-
hicles with rain sensor).5 Automatic windshield washerThe system sprays washer fluid against
the windshield and activates the wipers
for a brief period.
If you only pull the lever briefly, the sys-
tem sprays washer fluid onto the wind-
shield without activating the wipers.Headlamp washers
*
If they are on, the headlamps will also
be cleaned every fifth time you activate
the automatic windshield washer.Do not use the washers if there is
any danger that the fluid will
freeze on the windshield, otherwise vi-
sion could be obscured. For this rea-
son, use an antifreeze agent. Refer to
page 142.
Do not use the washers when the reser-
voir is empty, since this could cause
damage to the washer pump.<
Windshield washer jetsThe windshield washer jets and the
windshield in the wiper sweep area are
defrosted automatically when the igni-
tion key is in position 2.

70n
Rear window defroster Cruise controlTo activatePress the button: The rear window de-
froster continues high-output operation
for as long as the indicator lamp re-
mains on (rapid thaw).
After the indicator lamp goes out, the
defroster continues operating at re-
duced power for a limited period before
deactivating automatically.To deactivateIf the indicator lamp is on, press the
button.380de622
You can store and automatically main-
tain any desired vehicle speed above
approx. 20 mph (30 km/h).To activate the system In ignition key positions 1 and 2:
Press button 4, the indicator lamp in the
instrument cluster comes on. You can
now use the cruise control.To store and maintain speed
or to acceleratePress button 1 briefly:
The system records and maintains the
current vehicle speed. Every time you
tap the button, the speed increases by
0.6 mph (1 km/h).390de058
Press and hold button 1:
The vehicle accelerates without pres-
sure on the accelerator pedal. When
you release the button, the system
records and maintains the current
speed.
If, on a downhill gradient, the en-
gine braking effect is not suffi-
cient, the controlled speed can be ex-
ceeded. Speed may not be maintained
on uphill grades if the engine output is
insufficient.< To deceleratePress button 2 briefly:
When the cruise control is active,
vehicle speed is reduced by approx.
0.6 mph (approx. 1 km/h) every time
you briefly press the button.
Press and hold button 2:
With the cruise control active, the sys-
tem automatically reduces the throttle
opening to slow the vehicle. When you
release the button, the system records
and maintains the current speed.

71n
RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Cruise controlTo cancel the cruise controlWhen the system is activated, press
and hold button 4. The indicator lamp
stays on. You can use the cruise control
again as desired.
In addition, cruise control is canceled
automatically:
>When you apply pressure to the
brake pedal
>If the automatic transmission selector
lever is moved from "D" to "N"
>If you exceed or fall below the pro-
grammed speed for an extended pe-
riod (by depressing the accelerator,
for example).To resume the stored settingPress button 3:
The vehicle accelerates to and main-
tains the last speed stored. When you
turn the ignition key to position 0, the
stored speed is deleted from the sys-
tem's memory and the system is deacti-
vated.
To deactivate the systemWhen the cruise control has been can-
celed, press button 4 again. The indica-
tor lamp goes off and the memorized
speed is canceled.Do not use cruise control on twist-
ing roads, when high traffic den-
sity prevents driving at a constant
speed, when the road surface is slick
(snow, rain, ice), or when the road sur-
face is loose (rocks or gravel, sand).<

72n
Odometer, outside temperature display Tachometer1 OdometerYou can activate the displays shown in
the illustration with the ignition key in
position 0 by pressing the button in the
instrument cluster (arrow).2 Trip odometerTo reset the trip odometer to zero,
press the button (arrow) with the igni-
tion key in position 1 or 2.380us652
3 Outside temperature displayThe outside temperature appears in the
display panel as soon as you turn the
ignition key to position 1.
You can change the units of measure
(6/7) by
1 pressing and holding down the but-
ton (arrow) with the ignition key in po-
sition 1
2 while turning the ignition key to 0.Ice warningIf the outside temperature drops to ap-
prox. +37.57 (+36), a warning signal
sounds and the display flashes briefly.
The warning is repeated whenever the
temperature goes to at least +437
(+66), and then drops to +37.57
(+36) again.
The ice warning does not alter the
fact that surface ice can form at
temperatures above +37.57 (+36), on
bridges or shaded road surfaces, for in-
stance.<
Never allow the engine to operate with
the needle in the red overspeed zone of
the gauge.
To protect the engine, the engine-man-
agement system automatically inter-
rupts the fuel supply in this range; the
resulting effect resembles that associ-
ated with a sudden loss of power.380us004

73n
RepairsIndexOverview Controls Car care Technology Data
Energy control Fuel gaugeIndicates current fuel consumption in
mpg (in liters per 100 km on Canadian
vehicles). This instrument clearly
shows whether your current driving
style is conducive to economy and min-
imum exhaust emissions.
When the vehicle is stationary, the dis-
play goes to "Maximum" (zero on Cana-
dian models).380us005
When you switch on the ignition, the in-
dicator lamp comes on briefly to con-
firm that the system is operational.
If the indicator lamp stays on, there are
approx.
>BMW 740i/L 2.6 gallons (10 liters)
>BMW 750iL 3.2 gallons (12 liters)
remaining in the tank.
Tank capacity: Refer to page 197.
Certain operating conditions (such as
those encountered in mountainous ar-
eas) may cause the needle to fluctuate
slightly.380us006
Please refuel early, since driving
to the last drop of fuel can result in
damage to the engine and/or catalytic
converter.<