Things To Remember When Driving - BMW SERIE 7 2004 Owner's Manual

Things to remember when driving

Break-in procedures
To ensure that your vehicle continues to
furnish optimized economy of operation
throughout an extended service life, we
request that you devote careful attention
to the following section.
Engine and differential
Up to 1,200 miles/2,000 km:
During this initial period you should attempt
to avoid constant, steady-state operation
and vary both vehicle and engine speeds
as often as possible. Until the break-in
period has been completed you should
also refrain from exceeding the following:
4,500 rpm or 105 mph/170 km/h.
>
Always obey all official speed limits.
Avoid full-throttle operation and use of the
transmission's kickdown mode during
these initial miles.
Once you have driven 1,200 miles/
2,000 km, the engine or vehicle speeds
can be gradually increased.
You should also comply with these break-in
procedures should the engine or differen-
tial need to be replaced at a later point.
Tires
Due to technical factors associated with
their manufacture, tires do not achieve their
full traction potential until after an initial
break-in period.Therefore, drive reservedly
during the first 200 miles/300 km.
Brake system
Brakes require an initial break-in period of
approx. 300 miles/500 km to achieve opti-
mized contact and wear patterns between
brake pads and rotors.
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General driving notes
High temperatures
Extreme temperatures occur at the
catalytic converter on this and every
catalyst-equipped vehicle. Do not remove
the heat shields installed adjacent to vari-
ous sections of the exhaust system, and
never apply undercoating to them.
When driving, standing at idle and while
parking take care to avoid possible contact
between the hot exhaust system and any
highly flammable materials such as hay,
leaves, grass, etc. Such contact could lead
to a fire, accompanied by the risk of serious
property damage as well as personal
injury.<
Parking the vehicle
Condensation forms in the air conditioner
system during operation, and then exits
under the vehicle. Traces of condensed
water under the vehicle are thus normal.
Before driving into the car wash
1. Fold in the exterior mirrors, refer to
page 51, as otherwise they could be
damaged due to the width of the vehicle
2. Leave the remote control in the ignition
lock, as otherwise the position P of the
automatic transmission will automati-
cally be selected when the remote con-
trol is removed, refer to pages
and 67.
With Comfort Access, be sure to
observe the instructions on page
3. Release the parking brake, especially
when you have activated Automatic
Hold, refer to pages
Hydroplaning
When driving on wet or slushy roads,
reduce road speed. If you do not, a
wedge of water can form between tires and
road surface. This phenomenon is referred
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62 and 63.