BMW M5 Sedan 2009 - Manual (Page 120)

Things to remember when driving
118
vehicle. Traces of condensed water under the
vehicle are therefore normal.
Before driving into a car wash
Fold in the exterior mirrors, refer to page 50 ,
otherwise they could be damaged due to the
width of the vehicle.
You can find valuable information on this topic
under Care, starting on page
218 .
Ground clearance
Make sure that sufficient ground clear-
ance is available. To drive down curbs,
select the "Sport" program of the EDC Elec-
tronic Damping Control, refer to page
83 , to
keep the ground clearance as uniform as possi-
ble. Otherwise the vehicle may be damaged.
<
Cargo loading
To avoid loading the tires beyond their
approved carrying capacity, never over-
load the vehicle. Overloading can lead to over-
heating and increases the rate at which damage
develops inside the tires. The ultimate result
can assume the form of a sudden blow-out.
<
Make sure that no fluids leak in the cargo
bay; otherwise the vehicle could be dam-
aged. <
Determining loading limit
1. Locate the following statement on your
vehicle's placard
* :
The combined weight of occupants
and cargo should never exceed
XXX lbs. or YYY kg, as otherwise the vehicle
may be damaged and unstable driving con-
ditions 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 lbs. or YYY kg.
4. The resulting figure equals the available
amount of cargo and luggage load capacity.
For example, if the XXX amount equals
1,400 lbs. and there will be five 150-lb. 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
cargo and luggage load capacity calculated
in step 4.
6. If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, part of
the load from your trailer will be transferred
to your vehicle. Consult the manual for
transporting a trailer to determine how this
may reduce the available cargo and luggage
load capacity of your vehicle.
Load
The permissible load is the total of the weight of
occupants and cargo/luggage. The greater the
weight of occupants, the less cargo/luggage
can be transported.
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