BMW M3 COUPE 2003 E46 Workshop Manual

51
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. Adjusting steering column reach and
rake for your selected seating posi-
tion
3. Pull the lever back up.
MirrorsTo adjust exterior mirrors1Switch for 4-way adjustment
2Selection switch for changing
between mirrorsTo adjust manuallyThe mirrors can also be adjusted manu-
ally:
Press the edges of the lens.
To store the mirror settings, refer to
Seat and mirror memory on page 49.
The mirror on the passenger's
side is convex. When estimating
the distance between yourself and
other traffic, bear in mind that the
objects reflected in the mirror are closer
than they appear. This means that esti-
mations of the distance to following
traffic should not be regarded as pre-
cise. ignition key position 2.
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52
Interior rearview mirror with
automatic dimming featureThis mirror automatically dims through
an infinitely variable range and switches
automatically to its clear, undimmed
mode whenever you engage reverse
gear.
There are two photocells for automatic
dimming. One photocell – see arrow – is
positioned in the mirror's frame, while
the other is slightly offset on the oppo-
site side of the mirror.
For the mirror to function perfectly,
keep the photocells clean and the area
between the inside rearview mirror and
the windshield free of any obstruction
like stickers, etc.Mirrors
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53 Passenger safety systems
Airbags1Front airbags on the driver and pas-
senger sides
2Head airbags on the driver and pas-
senger sides in the front
3Side 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 head and side airbags
help provide protection in the event of a
collision from the side. Each of the side
airbags is designed to help support the
seat occupant's upper body.
For information on the correct sitting
position, refer to page 43.
The side airbags in the rear pas-
senger area* of your vehicle may
already have been deactivated either at
the time of manufacture or by a BMW
center. You may have them activated if
you desire to do so. Please contact
your BMW center for additional infor-
mation.<
The airbags do not deploy in
response to minor collisions, rear
impacts and certain kinds of vehicle
rollover.<
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.<
At all times, occupants should sit
upright and be properly restrained
– infants and small children in appropri-
ate child-restraint systems; larger chil-
dren and adults using the safety belts.
Never let an occupant's head rest near
or on a side airbag because the inflating
airbag could cause a serious or fatal
injury. Please note that the word Airbag
imprinted on the door trim panel indi-
cates the airbag's location.
Accident research shows that the saf-
est place for children in an automobile
is in the rear seat. However, a child sit-
ting in the rear seat and not properly
restrained may place his or her head on
or near the side airbag, if so equipped.
For example, a child – even though
belted in – may fall asleep with his or
her head against the side airbag. It may
be difficult for a driver to ensure that
children in the rear seat will remain
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54
properly positioned at all times and not
place their heads on or near the side
airbag. Therefore, we recommend that
the rear seat side airbags, if provided,
be deactivated if you plan to transport
children in the rear seat.
The rear seat side airbags may already
have been deactivated, either at the
time of manufacture or by a BMW cen-
ter. Labels in the door opening should
indicate the status of your rear-seat
side airbags. If you are uncertain of
their status, or wish to have the airbags
activated or deactivated, please con-
tact your BMW center.<
Even when all these guidelines are
observed, there is still a small residual
risk of injuries to the face, hands and
arms occurring from airbag deployment
in isolated instances.
The ignition and inflation noise may
provoke a mild temporary hearing loss
in extremely sensitive individuals.
Airbag warning information is also pro-
vided on the sun visors.This is the right way a child should sit in
a child restraint when rear side airbags,
see arrow, are provided.
This is the right way a larger child
should sit wearing the safety belt when
rear side airbags, see arrow, are pro-
vided.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.
Airbags
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55
If there is a system malfunction, there is
a risk that the airbags will not be trig-
gered within their normal response
range, even if the level of impact would
normally have triggered them.
Have your BMW center inspect the sys-
tem immediately.
Transporting children safelyCommercially available child-restraint
systems are designed to be secured
with a lap belt or with the lap belt por-
tion of a combination lap/shoulder belt.
Improperly or inadequately installed
restraint systems can increase the risk
of injury to children. Always read and
follow the instructions that come with
the system.
Child-restraint system with tether
strapIf you use a child-restraint system with
a tether strap, three additional tether
anchorage points have been provided –
refer to the arrows in the illustration.
Airbags
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56
Depending on the location selected for
seating in the rear passenger area,
attach the tether strap to the corre-
sponding anchorage point to secure the
child-restraint system, as shown in the
illustration.
If the respective seating position is fit-
ted with a headrest lift the headrest and
pass the tether strap between the
headrest and the seat back.
It is recommended to readjust the head
restraint in the lowest possible position.
Adjust the tether strap according to the
child-restraint manufacturer's instruc-
tions.
Before installing any child-
restraint device or child seat,
please read the following:
Never install a rearward-facing child-
restraint system in the front passenger
seat of this vehicle.
Your vehicle is equipped with an airbag
supplemental restraint system for the
front passenger. Because the backrest
on any rear-facing child-restraint sys-
tem – of the kind designed for infants
under 1 year and 20 lbs/9 kg – would be
within the airbag's deployment range,
you should never mount such a device
in the front passenger seat, since the
impact of the airbag against the child
restraint's backrest could lead to seri-
ous or fatal injuries.
If it is necessary for a child – not an
infant – to ride in the front seat, certain
precautions should be taken. First,
move the passenger seat as far away
from the instrument panel as possible.
This important precaution is intended to
maximize the distance between the air-
bag and the child. Older children
should be tightly secured with the
safety belt after they have outgrown a
booster seat that is appropriate for their
age, height, and weight.
Younger children should be secured in
an appropriate forward-facing child-
restraint system that has first been
properly secured with a safety belt.
Never install a rearward-facing child-
restraint system in the front passenger
seat.
We strongly urge you to carefully read
and comply with the instructions for
installation and use provided by the
child-restraint's manufacturer whenever
you use such a device.
Do not attempt to modify child-restraint
systems. If you do this, the protection
provided by these systems could be
impaired.
Be sure that all occupants – of all ages –
remain properly and securely restrained
at all times.<
All rear seating positions in your vehicle
meet the recommendations of
SAE J1819, an industry recommended
practice for securing child-restraint sys-
tems in motor vehicles.
Transporting children safely
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57
Child seat securityAll of the rear belt retractors and the
front passenger's safety belt can be
locked for mounting and securing child-
restraint systems.
A label with the appropriate instructions
for this is located in the immediate
vicinity of the buckle latch of each
safety belt.To lock the safety beltExtract the entire length of the belt from
the inertia reel mechanism. Allow the
reel to retract the belt somewhat and
engage the buckle, then tighten the belt
against the child-restraint system. The
retraction mechanism is now locked.
The belt cannot be extracted further.
Always observe the installation instruc-
tions provided by the manufacturer of
the child-restraint system.To unlock the safety belt Release the safety belt, remove the
child seat and retract the safety belt to
its end position on the belt retractor.
LATCH child-restraint mounting
systemLATCH: Lower Anchors and Tether for
CHildren
Canadian models only:
The LATCH anchorage points are iden-
tified by buttons.
Transporting children safely
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58
The left and right rear seats are both
equipped with a LATCH child-restraint
mounting system.
Remove the cover from the outside
anchorage by pulling forward. When
reinstalling ensure that the recess is on
the top.
With through-loading system: tilt the
backrest halfway forward to make the
cover easier to remove, refer to
page 100.
The illustration is an example showing
the anchorages for a LATCH child-
restraint mounting system at the right
rear seat.
Always follow all manufacturer's
instructions and observe all safety
precautions when installing the LATCH
child-restraint system. Leave the rear
safety belts in the holders, if they are
not needed, to avoid unwanted move-
ment from the safety belts at high
speeds.<
Transporting children safely
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59
Vehicle Memory, Key MemoryHow the system functionsYou have probably frequently wished
that you could configure individual
functions of your vehicles to reflect your
own personal requirements. In engi-
neering your vehicle, BMW has pro-
vided for a number of options for per-
sonal adjustment that can be
programmed into your vehicle at your
BMW center.
The available configuration data fall into
two categories, according to whether
their primary orientation is the vehicle –
Vehicle Memory – or the individual –
Key Memory. You can have up to four
different basic settings adjusted for four
different persons. The only require-
ment is that each person uses his or her
own remote control key.
When your vehicle is unlocked with the
remote control, the vehicle recognizes
the individual user by means of a data
exchange with the key, and makes
adjustments accordingly.
In order for you to distinguish between
different keys, colored decals are sup-
plied together with the keys.What the system can doYour BMW center can provide you with
details on the possibilities that the Vehi-
cle and Key Memory systems offer:
Examples for Vehicle Memory:
>Various signals that can serve as
acknowledgment for locking and
unlocking the vehicle, refer to
page 31
>Activates/deactivates the Follow me
home lamps function, refer to
page 86
>Activates/deactivates daytime driv-
ing lamps, refer to page 86
>Sets the units of measure for display-
ing time, outside temperature, dis-
tance traveled and fuel consumption
in the instrument cluster
>Indicates via an acoustic tone that
PDC has been activated, refer to
page 80>Switches on rear window defroster
automatically, refer to page 93
>After giving an ice warning, the dis-
play returns to the previous setting,
refer to page 78.
Examples for Key Memory:
>Locks the vehicle automatically after
you start off, refer to page 34
>Automatically moves the seat and
outside mirror into position for the
programmed driver when unlocking
the vehicle, refer to page 49
>Automatic tilting of the passenger-
side mirror, refer to page 50
>After the engine is started, calls up
the last selected driving program for
each shifting mode, refer to page 68.
You will see this symbol through-
out the Owner's Manual. It is to
remind you at appropriate places of the
settings that are available to you.<
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60Driving
Ignition lockIgnition key positions0Steering locked
1Steering unlocked
2Ignition switched on
3Starting engineSteering lockedThe key can be inserted or removed in
this position only.
After removing the key, turn the steer-
ing wheel slightly to the left or right until
the lock engages.
If the key is not removed, an acoustic
signal is sounded after the driver's door
has been opened.
Once the ignition has been switched
off, ignition key in position 0 or key
removed, the radio functions are still
available for approx. 20 minutes. Turn
the radio back on to use it.Steering unlockedYou 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 accessories are
ready for operation.
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