Manual Transmission - BMW M3 CONVERTIBLE 2004 Owner's Manual

Parking brake
If exceptional circumstances
make it necessary to engage the
parking brake while the vehicle is in
motion, do not pull it with excessive
pressure. Keep your thumb pressed
against the release button while care-
fully pulling the lever up.
Excessive pressure can lead to over-
braking and loss of traction – fishtailing
– at the rear axle.
The brake lamps do not come on when
the parking brake is engaged.
Always engage the parking brake when
parking on slopes and inclined sur-
faces. Engaging a gear may not provide
adequate resistance to rolling, not even
in first or reverse gear.<
To avoid corrosion and one-sided
braking, apply the parking brake
lightly from time to time when coasting
to a standstill – at a traffic light, for
example – provided that it is safe to do
so.<

Manual transmission

When shifting gears in the
fifth/sixth gear plane, be sure to
press the gearshift lever to the right in
order to prevent inadvertent selection
of a gear in the third/fourth gear plane.
Do not hold the vehicle in place on
slopes by slipping or 'riding' the clutch.
Use the parking brake instead. Riding
the clutch leads to severe and prema-
ture clutch wear.<
Reverse
Select only when the vehicle is station-
ary. Press the gearshift lever to the left
to overcome the slight resistance.
When you select reverse the backup
lamps will light up automatically when
the ignition key is in position 2.
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