tow BMW X5 4.4I 2006 E53 Owner's Manual

ContentsOperation, maintenance
Owner service procedures
Special operating instructions:
Breaking-in136
General driving notes137
Driving your X5138
Safe braking140
Wheels and tires:
Tire inflation pressure141
Tire identification marks145
Wheel/tire condition146
Replacing wheels/tires148
Snow chains149
Under the hood:
Hood150
Engine compartment
essentials151
Washer fluid152
Engine oil152
Coolant154
Brake fluid155Care and maintenance:
The BMW Maintenance
System156
OBD interface socket157Replacement procedures:
Onboard tool kit160
Windshield wiper blades160
Lamps and bulbs161
Changing a wheel165
Vehicle battery171
Fuses172
Assistance, giving and
receiving:
Receiving assistance173
Jump starting174
Tow-starting and towing175

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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 injury or death, you should
immediately inform the National High-
way Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA in addition to notifying BMW of
North America, LLC, P.O. Box 1227,
Westwood, New Jersey 07675-1227,
Telephone 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 indi-
vidual problems between you, your
dealer, or BMW of North America, LLC.
To contact NHTSA, you may call the
Vehicle Safety Hotline toll-free at
1-800-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-
9153); go to http://www.safercar.gov;
or write to: Administrator, NHTSA, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC
20590. You can also obtain other infor-
mation about motor vehicle safety from
http://www.safercar.govFor Canadian customers:
Canadian customers who wish to report
a safety-related defect to Transport
Canada, Defect Investigations and
Recalls, may telephone the toll-free
hotline 1-800-333-0510, or contact
Transport Canada by mail at: Trans-
port Canada, ASFAD, Place de Ville
Tower C, 330 Sparks Street, Ottawa
ON K1A 0N5.Notes

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LiftgateOpening from outside Press the button, refer to arrow:
The liftgate opens slightly.
The cargo area is illuminated whenever
the liftgate is opened, refer also to
page103.
With the liftgate open, the dis-
tance from the ground to the
upper edge is more than 6.6 ft/2 m.
Please remember this, e.g. when open-
ing the liftgate in a garage.<530de245
Opening from inside Press this button to open the liftgate
when the vehicle is stationary.
If pointed or sharp-edged objects
could strike the rear window while
driving, be sure to provide protection
around all edges. Failure to do so could
result in damage to the heating conduc-
tors of the rear window.<
For information on the cargo area cover
and on other details in the cargo area,
refer to Cargo area, beginning on
page124.530de415
Manual release In the event of an electrical malfunction,
you can release the liftgate manually:
1. Remove the plastic plug from inside
the cargo area and pull toward the
interior, refer to arrow. The liftgate
will be released
2. Reinstall the plug. 530de316

36n
Liftgate TailgateClosing You can pull the liftgate down by plac-
ing both hands in the handle recesses,
refer to arrows.Automatic Soft Close function To close the liftgate, merely press it
down gently. The closing process will
then be carried out automatically.
To avoid injuries, be sure that the
travel path of the liftgate is clear
when it is closed, as with all closing
procedures.< 530us017
Opening Press the button:
You can fold the tailgate down.
When opened, the tailgate can
accept loads of up to 440 lbs./
200 kg. When the vehicle is stationary
you may, for example, utilize the tail-
gate as a seat or as a loading platform
for luggage or recreation gear.< 530de246
Manual release In the event of an electrical malfunction,
you can release the tailgate manually:
1. Unfasten the trim panel clip with the
vehicle key or with a screwdriver,
refer to arrow 1, and remove it
toward the top, refer to arrow 2530de317

38n
Alarm system The concept The vehicle alarm system responds:
>When a door, the hood or the liftgate
is opened
>To movement in the vehicle interior:
interior protection, refer to Tilt alarm
sensor and Interior motion sensor
>To variations in the vehicle tilt angle
such as occur during attempts to
steal the wheels or tow the vehicle
>To interruption of battery voltage.
The system responds to unauthorized
vehicle entry and attempted theft by
simultaneously activating the following:
>An acoustical alarm, which sounds
for 30 seconds
>The hazard warning flashers, which
flash for approx. five minutes
>The high beams, which flash on and
off in the same rhythm as the hazard
warning flashers.
Arming and disarming alarm
system When you lock or unlock the vehicle,
either with the remote control or at the
door lock, the alarm system is armed or
disarmed at the same time.
You can have different acknowl-
edgment signals set to confirm
arming and disarming.<
The liftgate can also be opened with the
system armed using the button on the
remote control, refer to page31. The
liftgate is locked again when closed.
Pressing the button longer triggers the
alarm: panic mode, refer to page32.
Indicator lamp displays >The indicator lamp below the interior
rearview mirror flashes continuously:
the system is armed.
>The indicator lamp flashes when the
vehicle is locked: the doors or liftgate
are not properly closed. Even if you
do not close the alerted area, the sys-
tem begins to monitor the remaining
areas, and the indicator lamp flashes
continuously after 10 seconds. How-
ever, the interior motion sensor is not
activated.
>The indicator lamp goes out when the
vehicle is unlocked: no manipulation
or attempted intrusions have been
detected in the period since the sys-
tem was armed.530us241

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Alarm system Windows>The indicator lamp flashes for 10 sec-
onds after the vehicle is unlocked: an
attempted entry has been detected in
the period since the system was
armed.
Following triggering of an alarm, the
indicator lamp will flash continuously.Tilt alarm sensorThe tilt of the vehicle is monitored. The
alarm system reacts, for example, if
someone attempts to steal the wheels
or tow the vehicle.Interior motion sensorIn order for the interior motion sensor to
function properly, the windows and
panorama glass roof must be com-
pletely closed.
Avoiding unintentional alarms The tilt alarm sensor and interior motion
s en sor m ay be swi tch e d off a t t h e sam e
time. This prevents unintentional
alarms, e.g. in the following situations:
>In duplex garages
>When transporting on car-carrying
trains
>If animals are to remain in the vehicle.
To switch off the tilt alarm sensor and
interior motion sensor:
Press the button on the remote control
twice consecutively.
The indicator lamp lights up briefly and
then flashes continuously. The tilt alarm
sensor and the interior motion sensor
are switched off until the next unlocking
and locking actions are executed.
To prevent injuries, exercise care
when closing the windows and
keep them in your field of vision until
they are shut.
Always take along the ignition key when
you leave the vehicle, as otherwise chil-
dren could, for example, operate the
windows and injure themselves.<
Opening and closing windows As of ignition key position 1:
>Press the switch up to the resistance
point:
The window continues to move
downward as long as you continue to
hold the switch
>Briefly press the switch beyond the
resistance point:
The window moves downward auto-530us020

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Sitting safely Seatsfrontal impact and injure the abdomen.
Avoid wearing clothing that prevents
the belt from fitting properly and pull
the belt in the upper body area periodi-
cally to readjust the tension in order to
avoid a reduction in the restraint of the
safety belt.<
If the middle safety belt in the rear is
used, the wider seatback must be
locked, refer to page124, otherwise the
safety belt has no restraining action.
Fasten safety belt, refer to page49.
Note before adjusting
Never try to adjust your seat while
operating the vehicle. The seat
could respond with unexpected move-
ment and the ensuing loss of vehicle
control could lead to an accident. On
the front passenger side as well, do not
tilt the backrest too far toward the rear
while driving. Failure to observe this
precaution can prevent the belt from
providing effective protection against
injury, as the passenger could slide
under the belt in an accident.<
Also observe the information on the
safety belts on page49 and on the
head restraints on page47.
Seat adjustment>Mechanical seat adjustment, refer to
following columns
>Power seat adjustment, refer to
page46
>Head restraints, refer to page47
>Power rear-seat backrest adjustment,
refer to page48

60n
Transporting children safelyRemove cover panels by pulling them
toward the front.
To remount, simply slide into place.On trips
If the rear is equipped with side
airbags, make sure that children
do not lean out of the child's seat
towards the door panels. Otherwise
severe injuries can be caused if the side
airbags are triggered.<
Child-safety locks of rear doors:
Slide down the safety lever on the rear
doors:
The door can now be opened from the
outside only.
Safety switch for power windows:
Always press the safety switch for the
power windows, refer to page40, when
children are riding in the rear of the
vehicle.530de226

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Handbrake Manual transmissionThe handbrake is primarily intended to
prevent the vehicle from rolling while
parked; it brakes the rear wheels.EngagingThe lever engages automatically when
you pull it up and the indicator lamp
comes on in the instrument cluster in
ignition key position 2, refer to
pages 19, 21.Releasing Pull up slightly on the lever, press the
button and lower the lever. 530de262
If exceptional circumstances
should make it necessary to
engage the handbrake while the vehicle
is in motion, do not pull it too strongly.
In doing so, continuously press the but-
ton of the handbrake lever. Otherwise
strong application of the handbrake can
lead to overbraking of the rear axle and
associated 'fishtailing' of the vehicle
rear end.
Manual transmission:
Always engage the handbrake when
parking on slopes and inclined sur-
faces. Even placing the gearshift lever
in 1st gear or reverse may not provide
adequate resistance to rolling.
Automatic transmission:
Place the selector lever in Park.<
To prevent corrosion and one-
sided braking action, occasionally
apply the handbrake lightly when the
vehicle is slowly coming to a stop if the
traffic conditions are suitable.
The brake lamps do not light up when
the handbrake is applied.
Press the clutch all the way down each
time you shift, pressing the gearshift
lever into its proper end position.
Depress the clutch when starting the
vehicle, too. If the clutch is not
depressed, the interlock will prevent the
engine from starting.
While shifting in the 5th/6th gear
slot, press the gearshift lever
toward the right, otherwise, accidental
shifting into the 3rd or 4th gear could
result in engine damage.< 380de044

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67n
Automatic transmission with Steptronic
*
Sport Program and manual
operation M/S Shift selector lever from position D
toward the left into the shifting slot M/S:
the Sport Program is activated and D S
appears in the instrument cluster. This
position is recommended for a perfor-
mance-oriented driving style.
Briefly pressing the selector lever
toward the front or rear activates man-
ual operation and Steptronic changes
gears. The following display appears in
the instrument cluster, depending on
the model:
>1 to 5 or 1 to 6
>M1 to M5 or M1 to M6. 530de264
Upshifts and downshifts are executed
only when they will result in a plausible
combination of engine and vehicle
speed; thus, for example, a downshift
that would cause the engine to overrev
will not be executed by the system. The
gear selected will appear briefly in the
instrument cluster and then the current
gear will reappear.
To return to automatic mode, move the
selector lever toward the right into posi-
tion D.
Malfunction
The warning lamp lights up or
the message TRANS.FAILSAFE
PROG appears in the Check
Control. A malfunction has occurred in
the transmission system. Avoid heavy
loads.
Bring the vehicle to a stop. Move the
transmission selector lever to P. Set the
parking brake and switch the engine off
by turning the ignition key to position 0.
Wait a few seconds, then start the
engine.
If the indicator lamp goes out after a
few seconds, normal transmission per-
formance has been restored. You may
continue to drive as usual. If the indica-
tor lamp does not go out, you can place
the selector lever in all positions, but
the vehicle will now only drive forward
with limited gear selection.
Have the system checked as soon as
possible.
Information on jump starting, tow-
starting and towing begins on
page174.