ECO mode BMW I8 2014 I12 Owner's Manual

A SUSTAINABLE COMBINATION:
INTELLIGENT ENERGY MANAGEMENT
FOR INSPIRING PERFORMANCE AND
OPTIMUM EFFICIENCY.
BMW has been pursuing its EfficientDynamics strategy for more than
a decade. However, no other vehicle combines driving pleasure and
sustainability like the BMW i8. Equipped with innovative BMW eDrive
technology that intelligently combines an internal combustion engine
with an electric drive system, the BMW i8 offers maximum perfor-
mance and sustainable efficiency.

In an urban environment, the BMW i8 offers a range of up to 37 kilo-
meters when traveling on electric power only. For longer distances,
support is provided by the BMW TwinPower Turbo engine – with an
especially intense boost feature in SPORT mode or maximum efficiency
in ECO PRO mode. A predictive power management system developed
specifically for the BMW i8 ensures optimal settings for the two drive
units at all times.

Additionally, every driver can also help to optimize sustainability when
recharging the car: if renewable energy is used to charge the battery,
CO² emissions are reduced even further. Therefore, BMW i recom-
mends green electricity suppliers to make an even greater contributi-
on to environmental protection.
03. UTILIZATION
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Addendum
term “Approved” should be
disregarded and in lieu thereof, the
term “Recommended” should be
read in its place. In addition, the
text of that section should be
disregarded and the following text
should be read in lieu thereof:
The manufacturer of your vehicle
strongly suggests that you use
wheels and tires that have been
recommended by the vehicle
manufacturer for your vehicle type;
otherwise, for example, despite
having the same official size ratings,
variations can lead to body contact
and with it, the risk of severe
accidents.
The manufacturer of your vehicle
does not evaluate non-
recommended wheels and tires to
determine if they are suitable for
use on your vehicle.
15.At page 164, under the heading:
“Snow Chains,” the text should be
disregarded and the following text
should be read in lieu thereof:
Only certain types of fine-link snow
chains have been tested by the
manufacturer of your vehicle and
are determined by the manufacturer
of your vehicle to be road safe and
are recommended by the
manufacturer of your vehicle.
Information about recommended
snow chains is available from a
service center.
16.At page 166, under the heading
“Engine compartment access,” the
sentence beginning, “If you are
unfamiliar” should be disregarded.
17.At page 167, under the heading:
“Approved oil types,” the references
to “Approved” should be read as
“Suitable.” Where it reads: “You
can add oils with the following
specifications,” that text should be
disregarded, and the following text
read in lieu thereof: “Add engine
oils that meet the following oil rating
standards: . . .”
18.At page 168, under the heading:
“Alternative oil types,” the text
preceding the chart should be
disregarded, and in lieu thereof
should be read as follows: “If an
engine oil suitable for continuous
use is not available, up to 1 US
quart/liter of an engine oil with the
following oil rating can be added: . .
.” The reference to “specification”
should be read as “rating.”
19.At page 168, under the heading:
“Engine oil change,” the text should
be disregarded and in lieu thereof
should be read as follows:
BMW recommends that you have
the oil changed at your BMW
dealer’s service center or at another
service center that has trained
personnel that can perform the work
in accordance with BMW
specifications.
20.At page 170 and page 171, under
the heading: “Service and Warranty
Information Booklet for US models
and Warranty and Service Guide
Booklet for Canadian models,” the

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California Proposition 65 Warning
California laws require us to state the following
warning:
Engine exhaust and a wide variety of automo‐
bile components and parts, including compo‐
nents found in the interior furnishings in a vehi‐
cle, contain or emit chemicals known to the
State of California to cause cancer and birth
defects and reproductive harm. In addition,
certain fluids contained in vehicles and certain
products of component wear contain or emit
chemicals known to the State of California to
cause cancer and birth defects or other repro‐
ductive harm. Battery posts, terminals and re‐
lated accessories contain lead and lead com‐
pounds. Wash your hands after handling. Used
engine oil contains chemicals that have caused
cancer in laboratory animals. Always protect
your skin by washing thoroughly with soap and
water.
Service and warranty
We recommend that you read this publication
thoroughly. Your vehicle is covered by the fol‐
lowing warranties:
▷New Vehicle Limited Warranty.▷Rust Perforation Limited Warranty.▷Federal Emissions System Defect War‐
ranty.
▷Federal Emissions Performance Warranty.▷California Emission Control System Lim‐
ited Warranty.
Detailed information about these warranties is
listed in the Service and Warranty Information
Booklet for US models or in the Warranty and
Service Guide Booklet for Canadian models.
Your vehicle has been specifically adapted and
designed to meet the particular operating con‐
ditions and homologation requirements in your
country and continental region in order to de‐
liver the full driving pleasure while the vehicle
is operated under those conditions. If you wish
to operate your vehicle in another country or
region, you may be required to adapt your ve‐
hicle to meet different prevailing operating
conditions and homologation requirements.
You should also be aware of any applicable
warranty limitations or exclusions for such
country or region. In such case, please contact
Customer Relations for further information.
Maintenance
Maintain the vehicle regularly to sustain the
road safety, operational reliability and the New
Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Specifications for required maintenance meas‐
ures:
▷BMW Maintenance system▷Service and Warranty Information Booklet
for US models
Parts and accessories
BMW recommends using parts and accesso‐
ries approved by BMW for this purpose.
Your BMW center is the right contact for genu‐
ine BMW parts and accessories, other prod‐
ucts approved by BMW and related qualified
advice.
BMW has tested these products for safety and
suitability in relation to BMW vehicles.
BMW can assume responsibility for them.
However, we cannot assume any responsibility
whatsoever for parts and accessories that have
not been specifically approved by BMW.
BMW cannot evaluate whether each individual
product from another manufacturer can be
used with BMW vehicles without presenting a
safety hazard. This guarantee is also not appli‐
cable when country-specific government ap‐
proval has been granted. Testing of this kind
may fail to embrace the entire range of poten‐
tial operating conditions to which components
might be exposed on BMW vehicles. Such
products could conceivably fail to comply with
BMW's own stringent quality standards.

▷Warranty and Service Guide Booklet for
Canadian models
If the vehicle is not maintained according to
these specifications, this could result in seri‐
ous damage to the vehicle. Such damage is
not covered by the BMW New Vehicle Limited
Warranty.
Data memory
Many electronic components on your vehicle
are equipped with data memories that tempo‐
rarily or permanently store technical informa‐
tion about the condition of the vehicle, events
and faults. This technical information generally
records the state of a component, a module, a system or the environment:
▷Operating mode of system components, fill
levels for instance.▷Status messages for the vehicle and from
its individual components, e.g., wheel rota‐
tion speed/vehicle speed, deceleration,
transverse acceleration.▷Malfunctions and faults in important sys‐
tem components, e.g., lights and brakes.▷Responses by the vehicle to special situa‐
tions such as airbag deployment or engag‐
ing the stability control system.▷Ambient conditions, such as temperature.
This data is purely technical in nature and is
used to detect and correct faults and to opti‐
mize vehicle functions. Motion profiles over
routes traveled cannot be created from this
data. When service offerings are used, e.g., re‐
pair services, service processes, warranty
claims, quality assurance, this technical infor‐
mation can be read out from the event and
fault memories by the service personnel, in‐
cluding the manufacturer, using special diag‐
nostic tools. You can obtain further information
there if you need it. After an error is corrected,
the information in the fault memory is deleted
or overwritten on a continuous basis.
With the vehicle in use there are situations
where you can associate these technical data
with individuals if combined with other infor‐
mation, e.g., an accident report, damage to the
vehicle, eye witness accounts — possibly with
the assistance of an expert.
Additional functions that are contractually
agreed with the customer - such as vehicle
emergency locating - you can transmit certain
vehicle data from the vehicle.
Event Data Recorder EDR
This vehicle is equipped with an event data re‐
corder EDR. The main purpose of an EDR is to
record, in certain crash or near crash-like situa‐
tions, such as an air bag deployment or hitting
a road obstacle, data that will assist in under‐
standing how a vehicle’s systems performed.
The EDR is designed to record data related to
vehicle dynamics and safety systems for a
short period of time, typically 30 seconds or
less.
The EDR in this vehicle is designed to record
such data as:▷How various systems in your vehicle were
operating.▷Whether or not the driver and passenger
safety belts were fastened.▷How far, if at all, the driver was depressing
the accelerator and/or brake pedal.▷How fast the vehicle was traveling.
These data can help provide a better under‐
standing of the circumstances in which
crashes and injuries occur.
EDR data are recorded by your vehicle only if a
nontrivial crash situation occurs; no data are
recorded by the EDR under normal driving
conditions and no personal data, e.g., name,
gender, age, and crash location, are recorded.
However, other parties, such as law enforce‐
ment, could combine the EDR data with the
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Function is deactivated.
Touchpad Some iDrive functions can be operated using
the touchpad on the controller:
Selecting functions1."Settings"2."Touchpad"3.Select the desired function.▷"Speller": enter letters and numbers.▷"Interactive map": viewing the interac‐
tive map.▷"Browser": enter Internet addresses.▷"Audio feedback": pronounces entered
letters and numbers.
Entering letters and numbers
Entering letters requires some practice at the
beginning. When entering, pay attention to the
following:
▷For the input of upper/lower case letters
and numbers, it may be necessary to reel
via the controller to the corresponding In‐
put mode, refer to page 24, e.g. when the
spelling of upper and lower case letters is
identical.▷Enter characters as they are displayed on
the Control Display.▷Always enter associated characters, such
as accents or periods so that the letter can
be clearly recognized. Possible input de‐
pends on the set language. Where neces‐
sary, enter special characters via the con‐
troller.▷To delete a character, slide to the left on
the touchpad.▷To enter a blank space, slide to the right in
the center of the touchpad.▷To enter a hyphen, slide to the right in the
upper area of the touchpad.▷To enter an underscore, swipe to the right
in the lower area of the touchpad.
Using interactive map and Internet
Via touch-pad move the interactive map in the
navigation system and Internet sites.
FunctionControlsMove interactive map or
Internet sites.Swipe into re‐
spective direc‐
tion.Enlarge/shrink interactive
map or Internet sites.Drag in or out on
the touchpad with
fingers.Display the menu or open
a link in the Internet.Tap once.
Changing settings
You may change control display settings via
touchpad. Swipe left or right accordingly.
Example: setting the clock Setting the clock
On the Control Display:
1. Press button. The main menu is dis‐
played.2.Turn the controller until "Settings" is high‐
lighted, and then press the controller.3.If necessary, move the controller to the left
to display "Time/Date".Seite 21iDriveAt a glance21
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high-voltage battery is charged at the same
time.
The hybrid system always starts the combus‐
tion engine automatically.
Energy recovery: CHARGE The high-voltage battery is charged while driv‐
ing through energy recovery.
The electric motor acts as a generator and
converts the kinetic energy of the vehicle into
electric current.
Charging can take place in various situations
while the vehicle is in motion:▷When the vehicle is rolling if the accelera‐
tor pedal is not pressed.▷During vehicle braking.
When exerting gentle pressure on the brakes,
the vehicle is only braked by the electric motor.
When the brake pedal is depressed further, the
brake system is activated additionally. This is
why only part of the brake energy is used to
charge the high-voltage battery when exerting
firm pressure on the brake.
The mark in the instrument cluster is located
within the CHARGE range.
Sensible driving and early speed reduction are
important to make full use of the energy recov‐
ery feature.
Display The eDRIVE displays, refer to page 72, pro‐
vide information about the current state of the
drive and visualize the system's use in a dia‐
gram.
Energy-saving driving To save energy while driving, read the follow‐
ing information:
Before driving eDRIVE allows using the air conditioner even
before driving off. The stationary climate con‐
trol, refer to page 123, provides more range
than full air conditioning while driving.
Parked car ventilation during the charging
process can provide maximum range when
driving off.
During driving▷General driving tips, refer to page 140, for
increasing the range.▷Use the eDRIVE system efficiently, refer to
page 134, for an optimized driving style.▷ECO PRO mode, refer to page 141, for in‐
creasing the range.▷Display of hybrid system utilization, refer to
page 75▷Hints for saving fuel, refer to page 140, for
reduction of the fuel consumption.
After the trip
▷Charge vehicle, refer to page 146, and
plan next trip.▷Prepare for long downtimes, refer to
page 183.
BMW i Remote app
A special BMW i Remote App allows to control
and display certain vehicle functions using a
smartphone.
Safety information Read the information on safe handling of the
high-voltage system, refer to page 178.
Long-term Follow the instructions for vehicle storage and
for longer idle periods, refer to page 183.
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LockingLocking from the outside
Do not lock the vehicle from the outside
with people inside the car, as the vehicle can‐
not be unlocked from inside without special
knowledge.◀
Press button on the remote control.
All doors and the tailgate are locked.
Anti-theft protection is switched on. It pre‐
vents the doors from being unlocked using the
door openers.
The alarm system, refer to page 45, is armed.
Switching on interior lights Press button on the remote control with
the vehicle locked.
This function is not available, if the interior
lamps were switched off manually.
If the button is pressed again within 10 sec‐
onds after vehicle was locked, the interior mo‐
tion sensor and tilt alarm sensor of the anti-
theft warning system, refer to page 46, are
turned off. After locking, wait 10 seconds be‐
fore pressing the button again.
Unlocking the tailgate Press button on the remote control for
approx. 1 second.
The tailgate opens slightly, regardless of
whether the vehicle was previously locked or
unlocked.
Depending on the features and the country
version, it is also possible to have door un‐ locked. Create the settings, refer to page 44.
If the doors were not unlocked, the tailgate is
locked again as soon as it closes.Do not place the remote control in the
cargo area
Take the remote control with you and do not
leave it in the cargo area; otherwise, the re‐
mote control is locked inside the vehicle when
the tailgate is closed.◀
Provide edge protection
Sharp objects or those with edges can
hit the rear window while driving and damage
the heat conductors of the rear window. Pro‐
vide edge protection.◀
Without alarm system: switching the
headlamp courtesy delay feature on
The headlight courtesy delay feature function
must be set for the remote control button. For
Settings, refer to page 44.
Briefly press the button on the remote
control.
The duration can be set in the Control Display.
With alarm system: panic mode You can trigger the alarm system if you find
yourself in a dangerous situation.
Press button on the remote control for
at least 3 seconds.
To reel off the alarm: press any button.
Malfunction
Remote control detection by the vehicle can
among others be malfunctioning under the fol‐
lowing circumstances:▷Interference of the radio connection from
transmission towers or other equipment
with high transmit power.▷Shielding of the remote control due to
metal objects.▷Interference of the radio connection from
mobile phones or other electronic devices
in direct proximity.Seite 40ControlsOpening and closing40
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After the tailgate is closed, it is locked and
monitored again when the doors are locked.
The hazard warning system flashes once.
Panic mode
You can trigger the alarm system if you find
yourself in a dangerous situation.
Press button on the remote control for
at least 3 seconds.
To reel off the alarm: press any button.
Indicator lamp on the interior rearview
mirror▷The indicator lamp flashes briefly every
2 seconds:
The system is armed.▷The indicator lamp flashes after locking:
The doors, hood or tailgate is not closed
properly, but the rest of the vehicle is se‐
cured.
After 10 seconds, the indicator lamp
flashes continuously. Interior motion sen‐
sor and tilt alarm sensor are not active.
When the still open access is closed, inte‐
rior motion sensor and tilt alarm sensor will
be switched on.▷The indicator lamp goes out after unlock‐
ing:
The vehicle has not been tampered with.▷The indicator lamp flashes after unlocking
until the radio-ready state is switched on,
but no longer than approx. 5 minutes:An alarm has been triggered.
Tilt alarm sensor
The tilt of the vehicle is monitored.
The alarm system responds in situations such
as attempts to steal a wheel.
Interior motion sensor The windows must be closed for the system to
function properly.
Avoiding unintentional alarms
The tilt alarm sensor and interior motion sen‐
sor can be switched off together, such as in
the following situations:
▷In automatic car washes.▷In duplex garages.▷During transport on trains carrying vehi‐
cles, at sea or on a trailer.▷With animals in the vehicle.
Switching off the tilt alarm sensor and
interior motion sensor
Press the remote control button again
within 10 seconds as soon as the vehicle
is locked.
The indicator lamp lights up for approx. 2 sec‐
onds and then continues to flash.
The tilt alarm sensor and interior motion sen‐
sor are turned off, until the vehicle is locked again.
Switching off the alarm
▷Unlock vehicle with the remote control or
establish radio-ready state, if needed
through emergency detection of remote
control, refer to page 37.▷With Comfort Access: If you are carrying
the remote control on your person, touch
the sensor surface, refer to page 43, before
the door opener button.Seite 46ControlsOpening and closing46
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Operating readiness offPress the Start/Stop button again, and do not
press on the brake pedal at the same time.
All indicator lights in the instrument cluster go
out.
To save battery power when the engine is off,
reel off operating readiness and any unneces‐
sary electronic systems/power consumers.
Operating readiness is switched off automati‐
cally in the following situations while the vehi‐
cle is stationary and the engine is off:▷When locking the vehicle, and when the
low beams are activated.▷Shortly before the battery is discharged
completely, so that drive readiness is
maintained. This function is only available
when the low beams are turned off.▷When opening or closing the driver door, if
the driver's safety belt is unbuckled and
the low beams are turned off.▷While the driver's safety belt is unbuckled
with driver's door open and low beams off.
The low beams reel to parking lights after ap‐
prox. 15 minutes of no use.
Selector lever position P is automatically en‐
gaged when operating readiness is switched
off. In order for the vehicle to be able to roll,
e.g. into a car wash, heed the information re‐
garding washing in automatic car washes, refer
to page 180.
Drive readiness
When drive readiness is activated, the vehicle
is operational. Activated drive readiness is the
equivalent of a running engine in conventional
vehicles. Deactivated engine readiness is
equivalent to switching the ignition off.
Selector lever position P is automatically en‐
gaged when drive readiness is switched off. In
order for the vehicle to be able to roll, e.g. into
a car wash, heed the information regarding
washing in automatic car washes, refer to
page 180.
Drive readiness in detail
The concept The following are the different drive readiness
variants:▷Electric drive readiness, Silent Start, refer
to page 60.
The vehicle is powered by the electric mo‐
tor.▷Starting the combustion engine, refer to
page 60.
The vehicle is powered by the combustion
engine.
Hints
Do not leave the vehicle unattended
Do not leave the vehicle unattended with
drive readiness active; otherwise, it may pose a
risk.◀
Awareness of vehicle reduced when
driven in electric mode
When driving in electric mode, note that due to
the lack of engine noise pedestrians and other traffic might pay less attention to the vehicle
due to missing engine noises. Please take spe‐
cial care when parking or leaving a parking
space.◀
Display on the Start/Stop buttonGeneral information Drive readiness is also displayed
through light indicators on the
Start/Stop button.
Lighting pulses orange
▷After unlocking and opening the door.▷After switching off drive readiness.
When the brake pedal is depressed, the light‐
ing becomes more intense.
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▷Drive mode engaged.▷Driver buckled in and doors closed.
Inadvertent operation of the accelerator
pedal
Make sure that the accelerator pedal is not op‐
erated unintentionally; otherwise, the vehicle is
set in motion and there is a risk of an acci‐
dent.◀
Malfunction In the event of a failure or malfunction of the
parking brake, secure the vehicle against roll‐
ing using a wheel chock, e.g., when leaving it.
After a power failure
Putting the parking brake into
operation
1.Switch on the ignition.2. Press the reel while stepping on the
brake pedal or selector lever position P is
set.
It may take several seconds for the brake to be
put into operation. Any sounds associated with
this are normal.
The indicator lamp in the instrument
cluster goes out as soon as the parking
brake is ready for operation.
Turn signal, high beams,
headlight flasher
Turn signal
Hints Do not adjust the exterior mirrors
Do not adjust the exterior mirror while
driving and when blinker/hazards are on, or
else the additional blinker lights in the exterior
mirror are out of position and can't be seen.◀
Using turn signals
Press the lever beyond the resistance point.
To reel off manually, press the lever to the re‐
sistance point.
Unusually rapid flashing of the indicator lamp
indicates that a turn signal bulb has failed.
Triple turn signal activation Press the lever to the resistance point.
The turn signal flashes three times.
The function can be activated or deactivated.
On the Control Display:
1."Settings"2."Lighting"3."Triple turn signal"
Settings are stored for the profile currently in
use.
Signaling briefly
Press the lever to the resistance point and hold
it there for as long as you want the turn signal
to flash.
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