battery BMW ACTIVEHYBRID X6 2010 Owners Manual

Driving
12
Driving
BMW ActiveHybrid X6
The concept
Through the interplay of the combustion engine
and electric motors, your BMW ActiveHybrid X6 achieves a particularly efficient fuel consump-
tion and optimizes vehicle performance.
Components of the system
1High-voltage battery
2High-voltage wires: orange
3Two-Mode Active Transmission with 2
integrated electric motors
4Combustion engine
5Control-system electronics
Do not damage orange high-voltage
wires. Otherwise, there is the risk of fatal
injury by electrocution. is stored in the high-voltage battery stored
under the luggage compartment floor in the
luggage compartment.
To produce electrical energy, the two electric
motors in the Two-Mode Active Transmission
function as generators. They are driven by the
combustion engine or by kinetic energy during
braking.
This permits an energy conversion of kinetic
energy into electrical current.

Reference
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Mobility
13
Functions of the hybrid system
The hybrid system of your BMW ActiveHybrid
X6 offers the following functions.
Electric driving: eDRIVE
Under certain conditions, refer to page15, the
vehicle is powered exclusively by its electric
motors.
Driving with combustion engine: DRIVE
The combustion engine supplies the drive out-
put for moving the vehicle. The high-voltage
battery is charged at the same time.
The hybrid system always starts the combus-
tion engine automatically, refer to page16.
Assisted combustion engine: eBOOST
The combustion engine supplies the main drive
output for moving the vehicle.
In this mode, the electric motors assist the
combustion engine with additional power as
needed.
Energy recovery: CHARGE
When reducing vehicle speed, the kinetic
energy can be converted into electrical energy,
refer to page16.
Start/Stop button, ready
modes
The following readiness modes can be
achieved by pressing the Start/Stop button:
>Radio readiness on/off
>Ignition on/off>Drive readiness activate/deactivate
In order to switch on drive readiness
mode, also step on the brake.<
Radio readiness on/off
Some electrical equipment is operational. The
time and outside temperature are displayed in
the instrument panel.
Radio readiness is switched on:
>when the remote control is inserted into the
ignition lock
>with comfort access
*, when the Start/Stop
button is pressed without stepping on the
brake.
Radio readiness is automatically switched off:
>when the remote control is removed from
the ignition lock
>with comfort access
*, by touching the sur-
face above the door lock, refer to BMW X6
Owner's Manual.
Ignition on/off
When the ignition is switched on, all electrical
equipment is operational. The odometer and
trip meter are displayed in the instrument panel.
When the ignition is switched off, all indicator
lamps and warning lamps go out again.
The ignition is automatically switched off:
>when the remote control is removed from
the ignition lock
>with comfort access
*, by touching the sur-
face above the door lock, refer to BMW X6
Owner's Manual.
Pressing the start/stop button again switches
the ignition back on.
For example, the ignition is not switched off in
the following situations:
>the brakes are actuated
>the low beams are switched on
If you do not plan to start driving, switch
off the ignition and unneeded electrical
equipment in order to reduce the drain on the
battery.<

Driving
14
Drive readiness
With drive readiness activated, the vehicle is
ready to drive.
Switching on drive readiness corresponds to
starting the engine in conventional vehicles.
Drive readiness can take the following forms:
>Electric driving
The combustion engine is not switched on.
>Driving with combustion engine
The vehicle is driven by the combustion
engine.
Drive readiness in detail
Never leave the vehicle unattended with
drive readiness activated; such a vehicle
represents a potential safety hazard.<
Activating drive readiness
1.Close the driver's door.
2.Insert the remote control as far as possible
into the ignition lock. With comfort access
*,
place the remote control into the vehicle,
refer to BMW X6 Owner's Manual.
3.Depress brake pedal.
To initialize the brake system, the
brake pedal travel is longer than usual
during activation of drive readiness. After
the brake pedal is released, the pedal travel
returns to normal.<
4.Press the Start/Stop button.5.Drive readiness is active:
>Starting the combustion engine
>or electric drive readiness, silent start:
The tachometer pointer moves into the
READY position.
Electric drive readiness can be acti-
vated within an interval of approx. 2 to
60 seconds after radio readiness is
switched on, provided that the function
conditions for electric driving have been
met, refer to page15.<
Electric drive readiness, silent start
The vehicle is ready to drive without starting the
combustion engine.
Silent start, the noiseless starting of the vehicle,
can be activated within an interval of approx. 2
to 60 seconds after radio readiness is switched
on, under the following conditions:
>driver's door closed
>conditions met to allow electric driving,
refer to page15
During electric driving, please note that
pedestrians and other road users may fail
to notice the vehicle in the usual way due to the
lack of engine noise. For example, proceed with
particular caution when pulling into and out of a
parking space.<
Starting the combustion engine
When drive readiness is switched on under the
following circumstances, the combustion
engine is started:
>drive system not at operating temperature
>high temperature of hybrid system
>insufficient charge state of high-voltage
battery or fully charged high-voltage battery
If a Silent start is not possible:
Avoid frequent starting of the combustion
engine in quick succession or repeated starting
attempts in which the engine does not start.
Otherwise, the fuel is not burned or inade-
quately burned and there is a danger of over-
heating and damaging the catalytic converter.<

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Do not run the combustion engine in
enclosed spaces; otherwise, the inhala-
tion of toxic exhaust gases can cause loss of
consciousness and death. The exhaust gases
contain carbon monoxide, an odorless and col-
orless, but highly toxic gas.
Never leave the vehicle unattended with the
combustion engine running; such a vehicle rep-
resents a potential safety hazard.<
Deactivating drive readiness
When drive readiness is switched off, the
tachometer pointer is in the OFF position.
When leaving the vehicle, always take
along the remote control.
Set the parking brake firmly when parking; oth-
erwise, the vehicle could roll.<
After the vehicle is switched off, audible operat-
ing sounds may issue from the hybrid system,
e.g. the cooling of the high-voltage battery.
Procedure
1.Select transmission position P with the
vehicle stationary.
2.Press the Start/Stop button.
3.Set the parking brake.
4.Remove the remote control from the igni-
tion lock.
Before removing the remote control, first
press it in as far as possible to release the
locking device.
Before driving into a car wash
The vehicle can roll if you proceed according to
the following steps:
1.With comfort access
*: insert the remote
control into the ignition lock.
2.Depress brake pedal.
3.Select transmission position N.
4.Release the parking brake or deactivate
Automatic Hold.
5.Press the Start/Stop button to deactivate
drive readiness.
Transmission position P will be selected:
>automatically after approx. 30 minutes>if you remove the remote control from the
ignition lock
Starting to drive
1.Activate drive readiness.
2.Select transmission position D, M/S, or R.
3.Release the parking brake.
4.Start to drive.
Driving
Electric driving: eDRIVE
Requirements
Electric driving is possible under the following
conditions:
>driving speed:
a maximum of approx. 37 mph/60 km/h
>charge state display of the high-voltage
battery: at least 15%
>transmission in position D or R, refer to
page17
>drive system at operating temperature
>accelerator pedal not pressed down too far
>driver's door closed
Possible driving speed
The possible speed that can be reached in elec-
tric driving depends on the charge state of the
high-voltage battery.
>charge state display 15% to 40%:
maximum driving speed is approx. 25 mph/
40 km/h
>charge state display 40% to 100%:
maximum driving speed is approx. 40 mph/
65 km/h
When accelerating past a speed of 25 mph/
40 km/h, the combustion engine is started
briefly in order to assure smooth acceleration.
Indicators of electric driving in the instrument
panel, refer to page22.

Driving
16
Possible range
The vehicle can travel approx. 1.5 miles/2.5 km
under electric power.
Driving with combustion engine: DRIVE
The combustion engine supplies the drive out-
put for moving the vehicle. The high-voltage
battery is charged at the same time.
Automatic starting while driving
Under the following circumstances, the com-
bustion engine is started automatically while
driving:
>transmission position M/S selected
>driving speed greater than 40 mph/65 km/h
>low charge state or fully charged high-volt-
age battery, e.g. when driving downhill
>to protect the high-voltage system from
overheating, e.g. when driving downhill
>high output request, e.g. by accelerator
pedal position.
Automatic switching off while driving
When decelerating under the conditions for
electric driving, refer to page15, the combus-
tion engine is switched off.
Assisted combustion engine
The combustion engine supplies the main drive
output for moving the vehicle.
The electric motors assist by providing addi-
tional drive output as needed.
eBOOST
When accelerating quickly, e.g. when passing
another vehicle, power from the two electric
motors simultaneously is requested in addition
to that of the combustion engine. To trigger
this, step down hard on the accelerator pedal.
Display in the instrument panel, refer to
page22.
Energy recovery: CHARGE
The hybrid system makes it possible to convert
kinetic energy into electrical current, e.g. during braking. This energy recovery is used to charge
the high-voltage battery. The battery supplies
this stored energy back to the electric motors
as needed.
To recover the braking energy, the following
conditions must be met:
>The vehicle is in motion.
>The selector lever is in the position D, R, or
M/S.
>The high-voltage battery is not completely
charged.
Display of energy recovery in the instrument
panel, refer to page22
Two-Mode Active
Transmission with Steptronic
The Das Two-Mode Active Transmission is an
automatic transmission in which the gears can
be shifted in a fully automatic fashion or can be
shifted manually on demand. The manual shift-
ing is performed using the selector lever or the
shifting paddles of the Steptronic, refer to
page18.
Automatic shifting may be perceptible
when decelerating at a low speed.<
Transmission positions
P R N D M/S + –
Hold the brake pedal down until starting
to drive; otherwise, the vehicle can begin
to roll.<
Displays in instrument panel
P R N D, S1 through S7, M1 through M7

Reference
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21
Everything under control
Charge state display
Shows the available charge on a scale from 0 to
1 when drive readiness is switched on. At the
scale value 1, the high-voltage battery is fully
charged. The five segments divide the scale
into ranges of 20% each.
In normal driving operation, the high-voltage
battery is charged to approx. 80%. This permits
the hybrid system to make optimal use of the
energy recovery when decelerating or driving
downhill.
Even at the scale value 0, the hybrid system is
still under high voltage.
Displaying operating modes
Energy flows
In all operating modes of the vehicle, the energy
flows can be displayed on the Control Display.
This gives you an overview of the functioning of
the hybrid system in different driving condi-
tions.
Accessing the energy flow display
1."Vehicle Info"
2."Hybrid"
3.Energy flows are displayed.
The energy flow display functions according to
the following principle:
>Blue: Electrical energy.
>Red: Energy from the combustion engine.
>Arrow: Direction of the energy flow.
>Segments of the high-voltage battery sym-
bolize the charge state.
>The operating modes are displayed: DRIVE,
eDRIVE, CHARGE, eBOOST
Operating by voice activation*
You can also select the "Hybrid" menu using
voice activation.
{Hybrid}.
The menu is selected.

Everything under control
22
Electric driving: eDRIVE
During electric driving, the power output by the
electric motors is indicated by arrows:
Depending on the position of the accelerator
pedal, up to four arrows light up one after
another.
The tachometer pointer is in the READY posi-
tion.
If all four arrows have already lit up, when addi-
tional drive power is needed, e.g. for accelera-
tion, the combustion engine is switched on.
Assisted combustion engine: eBOOST
At the maximum output from the electric
motors, all four arrows light up simultaneously.
Energy recovery: CHARGE
The energy recovery is indicated in the tachom-
eter as an arrow with the + symbol: The high-
voltage battery is charged.
Fuel gauge
Fuel tank capacity: approx. 22.5 US gal/
85 liters. You will find information on refueling
on page32.
If the tilt of the vehicle varies for a longer period,
when you are driving in mountainous areas, for
example, the indicator may fluctuate slightly.
Reserve
After the reserve quantity has been reached, a
message briefly appears on the Control Display;
the remaining range is shown in the computer.
Below a range of approx. 30 miles/50 km, the
message remains on the Control Display.
Refuel as soon as possible once your
cruising range falls below 30 miles/
50 km, otherwise engine functions are not
ensured and damage can occur.<

Reference
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Mobility
23
Climate
Air-conditioning functions, refer to BMW X6
Owner's Manual.
Special features of the automatic air-
conditioning system
The automatic air-conditioning system of your
BMW with an electric air-conditioning com-
pressor is independent of the combustion
engine.
It is thus pos sible to have a comf orta ble climate
in the vehicle interior even when the combus-
tion engine is switched off.
Automatic air-conditioning system
with drive readiness
The automatic air-conditioning system can be
used as usual whenever drive readiness is
switched on, for example during electric driving.
If there is no longer a sufficient charge in the
high-voltage battery, then the combustion
engine is switched on.
Cooling function while stationary
The cooling function can be acti-
vated while stationary if the ignition
is switched on.
1.Switch on the ignition.
2.Press the button.
The cooling function is switched on.
If there is no longer a sufficient charge in the
high-voltage battery, then the cooling function
is switched off.
More information can be found in the BMW X6
Owner's Manual.
Cooling of the high-voltage system
The automatic air-conditioning system is also
used to cool the high-voltage system.
Therefore the air-conditioning compressor can
automatically switch on, even when the cooling
function of the automatic air-conditioning sys-
tem is switched off.After the vehicle is switched off, audible operat-
ing sounds may issue from the hybrid system,
e.g. the cooling of the high-voltage battery.

Reference
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Controls
Driving tips
Mobility
27
Using energy recovery
Energy recovery is displayed in the instrument
panel.
Coasting mode
In coasting mode, e.g. when rolling toward a
traffic signal, the high-voltage battery is
charged by energy recovery.
Braking
The most efficient energy recovery and charg-
ing of the high-voltage battery are achieved
with moderate braking.
Switching off functions currently not
required
Functions such as air conditioning, seat heat-
ing, or rear window defrosting consume a lot of
energy and require additional fuel. Their influ-
ence is particularly pronounced in city traffic
and stop & go operation. For this reason, it is a
good idea to switch these functions off when
they are not really needed.
Having maintenance carried out
Have the vehicle serviced regularly in order to
achieve the optimum economy and service life
of your vehicle. BMW recommends having the
maintenance performed by a BMW Sports
Activity Vehicle Center. Also pay attention to
the BMW maintenance system, refer to the
BMW X6 Owner's Manual.
General driving notes
Driving through water
Maximum water depth: 17 in/45 cm
Only drive through water up to the above-
mentioned depth at no greater than walk-
ing speed; otherwise, the engine, electrical sys-
tem, and transmission can be damaged.<
Braking safely
Your BMW is equipped with ABS as a standard
feature. In situations that require it, it is best to
brake with full force. Since the vehicle maintains
steering responsiveness, you can still avoid
possible obstacles with a minimum of steering
effort.
Pulsation of the brake pedal, combined with
sounds from the hydraulic circuits, indicate that
ABS is in its active mode.
Hills
To prevent overheating and the resulting
reduced efficiency of the brake system,
drive long or steep downhill gradients in the
gear in which the least braking is required. Even
light but consistent pressure on the brake pedal
can lead to high temperatures, brake wear and
possibly even brake failure.<
With a fully charged high-voltage battery,
the combustion engine is switched on
when driving downhill in order to avoid over-
loading the high-voltage battery.<
The braking effect of the engine can be further
increased by downshifting in the manual mode
of the automatic transmission, if necessary into
first gear, refer to page18. This prevents an
excessive strain on the brakes.
Do not drive in idle or with drive readiness
mode deactivated; otherwise, there is no
braking action from the energy recovery or from
the engine and no power-assistance for braking
and steering.
Never allow floor mats, carpets or any other
objects to protrude into the area of movement
of the pedals and impair their operation.<

Replacing components
36
Replacing components
For more information on replacing parts, please
refer to the BMW X6 Owner's Manual.
Working on the vehicle
Your BMW ActiveHybrid X6 is equipped with a
high-voltage system.
The BMW X6 Owner's Manual only describes
work on the vehicle that will not bring you into
contact with the high-voltage system.
Have more extensive work on your vehicle car-
ried out only by your BMW Sports Activity Vehi-
cle Center or a repair shop that works according
to BMW repair procedures with correspond-
ingly trained personnel.
Have maintenance and repair on the vehi-
cle carried out only by your BMW Sports
Activity Vehicle Center or a repair shop that
works in accordance with BMW guidelines and
uses appropriately trained personnel. Other-
wise, there is the risk of life-threatening injury
by electrocution due to the high voltage of the
hybrid system.<
Never touch the high-voltage compo-
nents of the hybrid system; otherwise,
there is the risk of life-threatening injury by
electrocution due to the high voltage of the
hybrid system.<
Do not remove the cover panel of the
cargo bay floor; otherwise, the high-volt-
age battery could be damaged.<
12 Volt batteries
Battery care
The 12 Volt batteries are maintenance-free, i.e.
the electrolyte will last for the life of the battery
when the vehicle is operated under temperate
climatic conditions. Your BMW Sports Activity
Vehicle Center will be glad to advise in all mat-
ters concerning the battery.
Charging batteries
Only charge the battery in the vehicle via the
terminals in the engine compartment with the
engine switched off. Connections, refer to
Jump starting on page37.
Disposal
Have old batteries disposed of following
replacement at your BMW Sports Activity
Vehicle Center or bring them to a collection
point. Maintain the battery in an upright position
for transport and storage. Always restrain the
battery to prevent it from tipping over during
transport.<
High-voltage battery
Battery care
Your BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Center will
be glad to advise you in all matters concerning
the high-voltage battery
Charging battery
Charging high-voltage battery, refer to Energy
recovery on page16 and Jump starting on
page37.