wind BMW I8 2015 I12 Owner's Manual
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THE SUSTAINABLE LIFE CYCLE OF BMW i.
01. DEVELOPMENT
• Lightweight carbon fi ber construction to minimize weight.
• Effi cient drive technology and perfect aerodynamics – resulting in less wind  resistance.
04. RECYCLING
• Re-use of batter y modules, for example as temporar y storage units for solar energy.
• Recycling carbon fi bers by returning them to the production process. 
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THE BMW i8: FORGED BY THE POWER 
OF WIND AND WATER.
Sustainability plays a crucial role for the BMW i8, and the same is true  
for the production process. All of the electricity required for the manu-
facturing process in the BMW i Plant in Leipzig is produced from renewa-
ble sources. BMW has been leading the way in sustainable production 
for a long time now, but BMW i has gone even further and significantly 
improved its facilities. The BMW i plant in Leipzig produces its own re-
newable electricity from wind power – directly on the factory premises 
– and operates on 100 % clean electric power with zero emissions. It 
also features significantly reduced resource consumption.
Similarly, the carbon fiber production facility located in Moses Lake 
(USA) is powered completely by renewable electricity from the large 
number of hydroelectric plants in the area. 
For BMW i sustainable production has not only an environmental  
dimension but a social one as well, creating future-proof job profiles  
and training BMW i’s suppliers to comply with advanced sustain- 
ability standards.
02. PRODUCTION
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FOR THE BMW i8 WE NOT ONLY  
PIONEER NEW MATERIALS, WE ALSO  
TAKE CARE OF THEIR RECYCLING.
Recycling is a given at BMW i. Excess material from carbon fiber pro-
duction, carbon components and body parts, for instance, are valu- 
able materials. That’s why they are either reused as secondary raw  
materials for the in-house BMW i production cycle or recycled for other  
automotive and non-automotive applications. At the start of production 
for a BMW i8, more than 5 % of the carbon fiber required is already 
recycled material. Together with its partners, BMW i is pioneering closed 
loops for up to 100 % of carbon fiber from production residues or end-
of-life vehicles.  
The BMW Group is always looking for innovative solutions, and this is  
also the case when it comes to recycling high-voltage batteries. For 
example, the batteries could serve as temporary storage cells for rene-
wable energy. A particularly effective application is to use the batteries 
to store solar and wind energy so that generated power can be used 
when it is actually needed.
04. RECYCLING
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10 0
%
 
of old batteries can  
be used again as  
temporary storage 
units in solar power 
plants and wind  
farms, for example.
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Addendum
ADDENDUM TO OWNER'S MANUAL
We wanted to provide you with some updates  
and clarifications with respect to the printed 
BMW Owner's Manual. These updates and 
clarifications will supersede the materials con-
tained in that document.  
1. Where the terms “service center,” “the ser- 
vice center,” “your service center,” “service 
specialist,” or “service” are used in the 
Owner's Manual, we wanted to clarify that 
the terms refer to a BMW dealer's service 
center or another service center or repair 
shop that employs trained personnel that 
can perform maintenance and repair work 
on your vehicle in accordance with BMW 
specifications.  
2. Where the text of the Owner's Manual con- 
tains an affirmative instruction to contact a 
“service center” or “your service center,” 
we wanted to clarify that BMW recom-
mends that, if you are faced with one of the 
situations addressed by that text, you con-
tact or seek the assistance of a BMW 
dealer's service center or another service 
center or repair shop that employs trained 
personnel that can perform maintenance 
and repair work on your vehicle in accor-
dance with BMW specifications.  
While BMW of North America LLC, at no  
cost to you, will pay for repairs required by 
the limited warranties provided with respect 
to your vehicle and for maintenance under 
the Maintenance Program during the appli-
cable warranty and maintenance coverage 
periods, you are free to elect, both during 
those periods and thereafter, to have main-
tenance and repair work provided by other 
service centers or repair shops. 
3. Where the Owner's Manual makes refer- 
ence to parts and accessories having been 
approved by BMW, those references are 
intended to reflect that those parts and 
accessories are recommended by BMW of 
North America LLC. You may elect to use 
other parts and accessories, but, if you do,  
we recommend that you make sure that any  
such parts and/or accessories are appropri-
ate for use on your vehicle. 
4. At page 7, under the warranty section's dis- 
cussion of homologation, where it states 
that you “cannot lodge warranty claims for 
your vehicle there,” the text should read 
that you “may not be able to lodge warranty 
claims for your vehicle there.”  
5. At page 7, under the heading “Body work  
and working on the high-voltage system,” 
the text of that section should be disre-
garded and the following text should be 
read in lieu thereof: “BMW recommends to 
have modifications and work on the vehicle 
only be carried out by an authorized BMW i 
service center or one that operates accord-
ing to BMW i specifications with personnel 
trained accordingly. If work is not carried out 
properly, there is the risk of fire and fatal 
injury from electrocution due to the high-
voltage system's high voltage.” 
6. At page 8, under the “Parts and Accesso- 
ries” section, in the sixth sentence, the 
word “cannot” should read “does not.” 
7. At page 53, in the “Check and replace  
safety belts” section, the text beginning, 
“This should only be done by your service 
center …” should be disregarded and the 
following text should be read in lieu thereof: 
“BMW recommends having this work per-
formed by a service center as it is important 
that this safety feature functions properly.” 
8. At page 91, under the heading:  “Special  
windshield,” the paragraph beginning, 
“Therefore, have the special windshield …” 
should be disregarded and the following 
text should be read in lieu thereof:   “BMW  
recommends that you have the special 
windshield replaced by the service center.” 
9. At page 141 under the heading: “Objects  
within the range of movement of the ped-
als” and at page 190 under the heading:  
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Vehicle identification
number
The vehicle identification number can be found
under a cover under the front passenger seat.
The vehicle identification number can also be
found behind the windshield.
Reporting safety defects
For US customers The following only applies to vehicles owned
and operated in the US.
If you believe that your vehicle has a defect
which could cause a crash or could cause in‐
jury or death, you should immediately inform
the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis‐
tration NHTSA, in addition to notifying BMW of
North America, LLC, P.O. Box 1227, West‐
wood, New Jersey 07675-1227, Telephone
1-800-831-1117.
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may
open an investigation, and if it finds that a
safety defect exists in a group of vehicles, it
may order a recall and remedy campaign.
However, NHTSA cannot become involved in
individual problems between you, your dealer,
or BMW of North America, LLC.
To contact NHTSA, you may call the Vehicle
Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-888-327-4236
(TTY: 1-800-424-9153); go to http://
www.safercar.gov; or write to: Administrator,
NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washing‐
ton, DC 20590. You can also obtain other in‐
formation about motor vehicle safety from
http://www.safercar.gov.
For Canadian customers
Canadian customers who wish to report a
safety-related defect to Transport Canada, De‐
fect Investigations and Recalls, may call the
toll-free hotline 1-800-333-0510. You can also
obtain other information about motor vehicle
safety from http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety.Seite 10Notes10
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CockpitVehicle features and options
This chapter describes all standard, country-
specific and optional features offered with the
series. It also describes features that are not
necessarily available in your car, e. g., due tothe selected options or country versions. This
also applies to safety-related functions and
systems. The respectively applicable country
provisions must be observed when using the
respective features and systems.
All around the steering wheel
1Open the tailgate   442Power windows  493Exterior mirror operation   544Open fuel filler flap,
Tank vent   1585Lock, unlock vehicle   446Opening the door  447LightsParking lights  92Low beams  92Automatic headlight con‐
trol   93
Daytime running lights   93
High-beam Assistant   94Instrument lighting  958Left steering column stalkSeite 14At a glanceCockpit14
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Turn signal  67High beams, head‐
light flasher   67High-beam Assistant   94Roadside parking lights   93On-board computer  879Shift paddles  7310Steering wheel buttons, leftStore speed  113Resume speed   114Cruise control on/off, interrupt‐
ing   113Cruise control rocker switch   11411Instrument cluster  7512Steering wheel buttons, rightEntertainment sourceVolumeVoice activation  26TelephoneThumbwheel for selection lists   8613Right steering column stalkWiper  68Rain sensor   69Clean the windshields and head‐
lights   6914Horn, total area15Adjust steering wheel   56Seite 15CockpitAt a glance15
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Executing functions using short
commands
Execute functions on the main menu via short
commands. It almost doesn't matter which
menu item is selected, e.g., ›Vehicle status‹.
Help dialog for the voice activationsystem
Calling up help dialog: ›Help‹
Additional commands for the help dialog:▷›Help with examples‹: announces informa‐
tion about the current operating options
and the most important commands for
them.▷›Help with voice activation‹: information
about the principle of operation for the
voice activation system is announced.
One example: open the tone
settings
Via the main menu The commands of the menu items are spoken
just as they are selected via the controller.
1.Turn on the Entertainment sound output if
needed.2.  Press button on the steering
wheel.3.›Radio‹4.›Tone‹
Via short command
The desired tone settings can also be started
via a short command.
1.Turn on the Entertainment sound output if
needed.2.  Press button on the steering
wheel.3.›Tone‹Setting the voice dialog
Set system to standard dialog or use a short
version.
The short version of the voice dialog plays
back short messages in abbreviated form.1."Settings"2."Language/Units"3."Speech type:"4.Select setting.
Adjusting the volume
Turn the volume button while giving an in‐
struction until the desired volume is set.
▷The volume remains constant even if the
volume of other audio sources is changed.▷The volume is stored for the profile cur‐
rently in use.
Hints on Emergency
Requests
Do not use the voice activation system to ini‐
tiate an Emergency Request. In stressful situa‐
tions, the voice and vocal pitch can change.
This can unnecessarily delay the establish‐
ment of a phone connection.
Instead, use the SOS button, refer to
page  183, close to the interior mirror.
Environmental conditions
▷Say the commands, numbers, and letters
smoothly and with normal volume, empha‐
sis, and speed.▷Always say commands in the language of
the voice activation system.▷Keep the doors and windows closed to
prevent noise interference.Seite 27Voice activation systemAt a glance27
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▷Exterior mirrors folded through convenient
closing are folded open.
You can set how the vehicle is to be unlocked.
For Settings, refer to page  46.
Anti-theft protection is switched off.
The alarm system, refer to page  47, is dis‐
armed.
Convenient opening Press and hold this button on the re‐mote control after unlocking.
The windows are opened, as long as the but‐
ton on the remote control is pressed.
Locking Locking 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.◀
The driver's door must be closed. Press button on the remote control.
All doors and the tailgate are being 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  47, 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  48, 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  46.
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  46.
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.Seite 42ControlsOpening and closing42
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