ESP BMW M3 CONVERTIBLE 2006 E46 User Guide

49
Rear head restraints
The rear head restraints may only
be lowered if there are no passen-
gers in the rear seats. If you do so, you
are in violation of the law. Raise the rear
head restraints before taking on any
passengers in the back.<
To completely lower the rear head
restraints:
1. Press the button and hold it down
2. Push the head restraint down from
above.
Raising the rear head restraintsRaise the head restraints until you hear
them click into place.
Do not remove the rear head
restraints as this would damage
them.<
For further information, please consult
your BMW center.
Do not use the rear head
restraints as storage shelves.
Always keep the travel path for the roll-
over protection system free and clear.
Under no circumstances should you put
any kind of cover such as an antima-
cassar on the head restraints, refer also
to the labeling on the head restraints.<
Entering the rearThe seat-integrated safety belt system
allows for easy access to the rear.
1. Lift lever 1 up and tilt the backrest
forward until it engages
2. Press and hold button 2 in driving
direction until the seat moves to the
desired position
3. After entering the rear, fold back and
lock the backrest
4. Press button 2 opposite the direction
of travel and hold. The seat moves
back into its previous position. If the
button 2 is released beforehand, the
seat stops in the respective position.
Head restraints
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54
Steering wheelTo adjust
Never attempt to adjust the steer-
ing wheel while driving the vehicle
– it could respond with unexpected
movement, posing a potential accident
hazard.<
1. Push the locking lever downward
2. Adjust steering column reach and
height for your selected seating posi-
tion
3. Pull the lever back up.

55 Passenger safety systems
Airbags1Front airbags on the driver and pas-
senger sides
2Side airbags on the driver and pas-
senger sides – front and rear*Protective effectThe front airbags protect the driver and
passenger in the event of a head-on
collision where the protection provided
by the safety belt alone would not be
adequate. The side airbags provide
protection in the event of a collision
from the side. They help support the
respective seat occupant's upper body.
For information on the correct sitting
position, refer to page 46.
The side airbags in the rear pas-
senger area* of your vehicle may
already have been deactivated by a
BMW center. You may have them acti-
vated if you desire to do so. Please
contact your BMW center for additional
information.<
The airbags will not be triggered in
the event of a minor accident, cer-
tain vehicle rollover situations or colli-
sions from the rear.<
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 air-
bag restraint system from the vehicle. In
the event of a malfunction, deactivation
or triggered activation – as a response
to an accident – of the airbag restraint
system, consult your BMW center for
inspection, repair or disassembly. Mod-
ifications may not be made on either
the wiring or the individual components
in the airbag system. These include the
upholstered covers on the steering
wheel, instrument panel, side trim pan-
els of the doors and front roof pillars
and on the sides of the headliner. Do
not attempt to remove or dismantle the
steering wheel. Unprofessional
attempts to service the system could
lead to failure in an emergency or
undesired airbag activation, either of
which could result in personal injury. Do
not touch the individual components
directly after the system has been trig-
gered, as otherwise there is a danger of
burns.<
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57
This is the right way a larger child
should sit wearing the seat belt when
rear side airbags are provided.Indicator lamp
The indicator lamp indicates the
operational status of the airbag
system when the ignition key is
in position 1 or higher.
System operational:
>The indicator lamp comes on briefly
when the ignition key is turned to
position 1 or higher.
System malfunction:
>Indicator lamp does not come on or
>indicator lamp lights up continuously.
If there is a system malfunction,
there is a risk that the airbags will
not be triggered within their normal
response range, even if the level of
impact would normally have triggered
them. Have your BMW center inspect
the airbag system immediately.<
Airbags
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70
Sequential M gearbox with Drivelogic*The conceptThe sequential M gearbox with
Drivelogic is an automated manual
gearbox with which clutching and shift-
ing is assumed by an electro-hydraulic
system.
The SMG Drivelogic is operated via two
shift paddles on the steering wheel and
the selector lever in the center console.
It offers the following functions:
>Sequential and automated shifting
mode
>Ability to choose between different
driving programs – Drivelogic
>Gradient assistance, refer to page 73
>Upshift display and shift lights, refer
to page 74
>RPM matching on downshifts
>Driving dependent functions:
The respective driving situation, e.g.
cornering, mountain driving or brak-
ing, is detected by sensors and taken
into account for shifting, e.g. to
achieve optimum gear selection dur-
ing deceleration and subsequent
acceleration
>Slip recognition at the rear axle for
increasing driving stability, e.g. dur-
ing downshifting on slippery road
surfaces>Operating safety through protection
against misshifting.
Under normal operating conditions, fuel
consumption is lowest when driving in
the first driving program of the auto-
mated shifting mode.
Selector lever positionsR: Reverse position
N: Neutral position
Forward position with one-touch mode:
>S: sequential mode
>D: automated mode
>+: upshifting in sequential mode
>–: downshifting in sequential mode.
The SMG Drivelogic is ready for opera-
tion from ignition key position two or
higher.
For your safety, it is only possible to
engage a driving position with the vehi-
cle stopped approx. two seconds after
engaging position N with the footbrake
depressed – shift-lock function.

72
Shifting gears with shift paddles on
steering wheel:
>To upshift, briefly pull the right pad-
dle +
>To downshift, briefly pull the left pad-
dle –.
Shift paddles with various widths
matched to the shape of your
hand are available from your BMW cen-
ter.<
Shifting gears with selector lever:
>To upshift, pull the selector lever
backward in the + direction
>To downshift, push the selector lever
in the – direction.
No automatic upshifting is carried out in
the sequential mode.
You accelerate from higher gears, e.g.
during passing, by manually downshift-
ing.
In the following situations the
SMG Drivelogic anticipates your
actions in the sequential mode:
>Upshifts and downshifts are only exe-
cuted at appropriate combinations of
engine rpm and vehicle speed. For
instance, downshifts that would
result in excessive engine speed are
not executed
>During a stop the gearbox is auto-
matically downshifted into the first
gear so that, e.g. before a traffic light,
it is only necessary to accelerate to
continue driving
>As speed diminishes, the gearbox
downshifts automatically, without you
taking any action, just before the
vehicle slows to below each gear's
minimum speed.D - Automated modeEach time the engine is started, the
automated mode is activated as soon
as you move the selector lever into the
forward driving position.
In the automated mode all forward
gears are shifted automatically.To switch from sequential to automated
mode: tap the selector lever to the right
toward D. Watch the display in the
instrument cluster, refer to page 71.
For rapid acceleration, e.g. during
passing, depress the accelerator pedal
completely – kickdown. The gearbox
now downshifts depending on the
selected driving program.
Even in the automated mode, you can
help specify the shifting point: if a gear-
dependent minimum speed is
exceeded, you can upshift by slowly
reducing pressure on the accelerator
pedal. In the process, the respective
driving situation is detected by sensors
and taken into account.
Sequential M gearbox with Drivelogic*

73
DrivelogicDrivelogic makes various driving pro-
grams available to you.
Press the Drivelogic repeatedly until the
desired driving program is shown in the
SMG display of the instrument cluster,
refer to page 71.
In the automated mode you can select
from five driving programs ranging from
convenience mode/winter operation to
sporty and highly dynamic.
In the first automated driving program,
starting off takes place in second gear,
which is advisable under winter road
conditions with ice and snow.
In the sequential mode you can choose
from six driving programs ranging from
balanced, dynamic driving – 1 – to
sporty, puristic driving – 6. The sporty,
puristic driving program can only be
activated when Dynamic Stability Con-
trol DSC is switched off, refer to
page 86.
To maintain vehicle stability,
always drive with the DSC acti-
vated on whenever possible.<
Following each change between the
sequential and the automated mode,
the last driving program selected in the
respective mode is active. Exception: if
program 6 had been the last selected
sequential driving program, program 5
is activated instead.
Your vehicle is set so that when
the engine is started, the last
selected driving program saved in your
key is activated for each shifting
mode.<
Gradient assistanceThe gradient assistance enables start-
ing off on grades with virtually no roll-
back. It can be activated in the sequen-
tial and automated mode with the vehi-
cle stopped and can be used for both
forward and reverse driving.
The vehicle may roll slightly before
it is held by the gradient assis-
tance after releasing the footbrake.
Two seconds after the footbrake is
released, the vehicle begins to roll, as it
is no longer held with the gradient
assistance.<
1. Depress footbrake with vehicle
stopped
2. Activate the gradient assistance by
pulling the left paddle for at least
0.5 seconds. An increase in the
engine speed indicates that the gra-
dient assistance is activated
Briefly pulling the left paddle again
deactivates the gradient assis-
tance again.<
3. Release the footbrake and start off
within two seconds.
The gradient assistance must be reacti-
vated before each use.
Sequential M gearbox with Drivelogic*
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85 Technology for safety and driving convenience
Park Distance Control (PDC)*The conceptPDC assists you when you back into a
parking space. Acoustic signals alert
you to the momentary distance to an
object behind your vehicle. To do this,
four ultrasonic sensors in the rear
bumper measure the distance to the
nearest object. The range for the sen-
sors located at both rear corners ends
approx. 2 ft/60 cm behind the bumpers.
The range for the two middle sensors is
slightly less than 5 ft/1.50 m.
PDC is a parking aid that can
identify objects if they are
approached slowly, as is generally the
case when parking. Avoid driving
towards objects rapidly; due to underly-
ing physical principles, the system may
otherwise alert you too late for you to
take evasive steps.<
The system starts to operate automati-
cally approx. one second after you shift
into Reverse or move the selector lever
into the R position with the ignition key
in position 2.
Let this short period elapse before
driving backwards.<
PDC is deactivated when you shift back
out of Reverse.
You can have a signal set to con-
firm that the PDC has been acti-
vated. The signal then sounds when
you shift into Reverse or move the
selector lever into the R position. indicated by a tone sounding at various
intervals. As the distance between vehi-
cle and object decreases, the intervals
between the tones become shorter. A
continuous tone indicates the pres-
ence of an object less than 1 ft/30 cm
away.
The warning signal is canceled after
approx. three seconds if the distance to
the object remains constant during this
time – if you are moving parallel to
a wall, for instance.
System malfunctions will be indicated
by a continuous high-pitched tone
when the system is activated the first
time. Please have your BMW center
resolve the problem.
PDC does not remove the driver's
personal responsibility for evaluat-
ing the distance between the vehicle
and any objects. Even when sensors
are involved, there is a blind spot in
which objects cannot be detected. This
applies especially in those cases where
the system approaches the physical
limits of ultrasonic measurement, as
occurs with tow bars and trailer cou-
plings, and in the vicinity of thin or
wedge-shaped objects. Moreover, low
objects that have already been
detected – such as a curb edge – can
disappear out of the detection range of
the sensors before a continuous tone
sounds.
Loud sources of sound from outside or
inside the vehicle could drown out the
PDC signal tone.<
Keep the sensors clean and free
of ice or snow in order to ensure
that they will continue to operate effec-
tively.
Do not apply high pressure spray to the
sensors for a prolonged period of time.
Always maintain a distance of more
than 4 in/10 cm.<
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86
Dynamic Stability Control DSCThe conceptDSC supports vehicle stability, even in
critical driving situations.
DSC optimizes driving stability and
traction during acceleration and when
you are starting from a standstill. In
addition, it also recognizes unstable
vehicle conditions, such as understeer-
ing and oversteering. By reducing
engine power and applying brakes at
the wheels, DSC helps to keep the
vehicle on a steady course within phys-
ically feasible limits.
The system starts up automatically
each time you start the engine.
The laws of physics cannot be
repealed, even with DSC. The
driver remains responsible for the con-
sequences of any inadequate driving
style. Therefore, do not take any risks
because of the additional safety pro-
vided. Do not make any modifications
to the DSC system. Allow only autho-
rized technicians to perform service
procedures on the DSC.<
Indicator lamp for DSC
The indicator lamp in the instru-
ment cluster will go out shortly
after the ignition has been
switched on, refer to page 20.
>The indicator lamp flashes: DSC is
active and is controlling the drive
torque based on driving conditions
>The indicator lamp does not go out
after the engine is started or lights up
continuously while you are driving:
DSC has been deactivated via the
button or is defective.
Please consult your BMW center for
repairs.
You can continue to drive the vehicle
normally without DSC. In the event of a
malfunction, contact a BMW center or a
workshop that works according to
BMW requirements with appropriately
trained personnel.
To deactivate DSCPress the DSC button; the DSC indica-
tor lamp lights up continuously. DSC is
switched off.
When better traction is required, it is
beneficial to deactivate the system in
the following situations:
>When rocking the vehicle or starting
off in deep snow or on loose surfaces
>When driving with snow chains.
To maintain vehicle stability,
always drive with the system
switched on whenever possible. tor lamp goes out.

89
M Engine dynamics controlThe system – Sport mode – will cause
the engine to respond more spontane-
ously to any motion of the accelerator
pedal.Activating/deactivating Sport
modeActivating: with the ignition key in posi-
tion 2, press the SPORT button. The
indicator lamp will come on.
When the system is activated, the
vehicle may gain speed without
any additional pressure on the acceler-
ator pedal.<
Deactivating: press the SPORT button
again; the indicator lamp will go out.
The Sport mode is deactivated every
time the engine is started.
Brake force displayBrake force display indicates to the
road users behind you how hard you
are braking.
>Normal braking: the brake lamps
among the rear lamps and the center
brake lamp light up
>Hard braking or braking with ABS: in
addition, the illuminated rear lamp
surface is extended, refer to the pic-
ture.
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