BMW 550i xDrive Gran Turismo 2010 - Manual (Page 148)

You can increase the engine's braking effect by
shifting down in the manual mode of the
auto‐
matic transmission, refer to page 72 .
Avoid load on the brakes
Avoid placing excessive load on the brake
system. Light but consistent brake pressure can
lead to high temperatures, brake wear and pos‐
sibly even brake failure.◀
Do not drive in neutral
Do not drive in neutral or with the engine
stopped, as doing so disables engine braking. In
addition, steering and brake assist is unavailable
with the engine stopped.◀
No objects in the area around the pedals
Never allow floor mats, carpets or any
other objects to protrude into the area of pedal
movement and impair pedal operation.◀
Brake disc corrosion
Corrosion on the brake discs and contamination
on the brake pads are furthered by:
▷ Low mileage.
▷ Extended periods when the vehicle is not
used at all.
▷ Infrequent use of the brakes.
Corrosion occurs when the minimum pressure
that must be exerted by the pads during brake
applications to clean the discs is not reached.
Should corrosion form on the brake discs, the
brakes will tend to respond with a pulsating ef‐
fect that generally cannot be corrected.
Condensation under the parked vehicle
When using the automatic climate control, con‐
densation water develops that exits underneath
the vehicle.
Therefore, traces of condensed water under the
vehicle are normal.
Loading
Overloading the vehicle
To avoid exceeding the approved carrying ca‐
pacity of the tires, never overload the vehicle.
Overloading can lead to overheating and in‐
creases the rate at which damage develops in‐
side the tires. This could result in a sudden loss
of tire inflation pressure.◀
No fluids in the trunk
Make sure that fluids do not leak into the
trunk; otherwise, the vehicle may be dam‐
aged.◀
Determining the load limit
1. Locate the following statement on your ve‐
hicle’s placard*:
▷ The combined weight of occupants and
cargo should never exceed XXX kg or
YYY lbs. Otherwise, damage to the ve‐
hicle and unstable driving situations may
result.
2. Determine the combined weight of the
driver and passengers that will be riding in
your vehicle.
3. Subtract the combined weight of the driver
and passengers from XXX kilograms or YYY
pounds.
4. The resulting figure equals the available
amount of cargo and luggage load capacity.
For example, if the YYY amount equals
1,400 lbs and there will be five 150 lbs pas‐
sengers in your vehicle, the amount of avail‐
able cargo and luggage load capacity is
650 lbs: 1,400 lbs minus 750 lbs = 650 lbs.
5. Determine the combined weight of luggage
and cargo being loaded on the vehicle. That
weight may not safely exceed the available
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Online Edition for Part no. 01 41 2 604 413 - 03 10 500
Things to remember when driving