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Resource - BMW secret moves

237K views 282 replies 113 participants last post by  Eedy 
#1 ·
there are still some things i find out about my 7 that i didnt know it could do. im pretty new to the late model BMWs i used to have an e30 and it was like any other car but these new breed of cars just keep amazing me with what they can do. so i ask you bimmer know it alls, what secret moves do the 7 do that most people dont know about?...

-ive read that when youre about to turn off the 7 and hold down the start/stop button it puts on the parking brake and puts the car in park and ejects the key automatically....

any other cool things this car does...... :roundel:
 
#199 ·
My secret move is you cant ghost ride your wipe, it throws the car in park from drive after 4 feet of me being outside it.
I tried it 3 times tonight lol, warranty will save the tranny dont worry.
 
#203 ·
After reading about the "reset for transmission" I finally decided to try it. Cranked my car and held the gas pedal down for 25 seconds. After about 17 seconds blueish white smoke started coming from the tailpipe and then after 23 seconds every light on the dash came on (that was pretty neat - you should try it) and then at 25 seconds I heard a loud bang and a rod came through my hood. That sucked. Went back and read the post and saw that I wasn't actually supposed to crank it first. LOL
 
#209 ·
gas gauge

Silly, but if you are filling the gas tank, and are in the car with the accessory power on, you can hit the button on the turn signal stalk and the gas gauge will be activated. You can watch the tank fill, and I noticed when it read full, that the tank still took at least five more litres of fuel.
 
#216 ·
I have 2003 745i, I like to replace the headlight covers because they are all pitted and fadeing. It looks like the head light lens cover is attached to the head light assembly by some clips.
I do not like to buy anything from the BMW dealer ( too expensive). Anyone knows of a different source for either the whole headlight assembly or the face cover only?
 
#219 ·
Hey I just found out today that there's some sort of flashlight in the glove compartment. I dont know, but u can switch the light on and off, but I cant take it out. I tried to pull but it wouldn't come out, I didn't wanna pull harder because I didn't want to break it. Anyone have a clue how to get this flashlight thing out?
 
#224 · (Edited)
shifting with steptronic

Alright..In the manual this said it comes with only Canadian models (2002-2005 i think)..but i dont know, maybe some of you guys have this too. it's called shifting with steptronic, which lets you shift manually, kind of like stick-shifting, but with buttons! if there is a S>M>D button on ur steering wheel, then you can do this. S is sport mode, for performance-based driving. D is the normal Drive mode if you want to go back to it. M is manual driving, which I am talking about. there are 2 silver buttons on the top of the steering wheel, which let you shift up or down. Now, i only read this once..so i might be wrong about this whole thing, but, the right one is to shift up, while the left one is to shift down. i never tried this yet, but it looks fun, and let's you take a break from the boring automatic transmission driving. i also put a pic:
 

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#231 ·
Alright..In the manual this said it comes with only Canadian models (2002-2005 i think)..but i dont know, maybe some of you guys have this too. it's called shifting with steptronic, which lets you shift manually, kind of like stick-shifting, but with buttons! if there is a S>M>D button on ur steering wheel, then you can do this. S is sport mode, for performance-based driving. D is the normal Drive mode if you want to go back to it. M is manual driving, which I am talking about. there are 2 silver buttons on the top of the steering wheel, which let you shift up or down. Now, i only read this once..so i might be wrong about this whole thing, but, the right one is to shift up, while the left one is to shift down. i never tried this yet, but it looks fun, and let's you take a break from the boring automatic transmission driving. i also put a pic:
I think this comes with all cars, I believe that the steptronic if handled correctly can bring out the faster acceleration in this car, meaning it's faster than just putting it in Automatic and pushing the gas pedal all the way, if you change via the steptronic at the right RPMs it will go faster than the automatic mode..

The two front buttons on the steering wheel are for downshifting, while the two buttons on the back of the steering wheel are for upshifting.

I don't know why they did it this way, it would be much better if the right front one was for upshifting and the left front one for downshifting. I figure they wanted to make it possible for the driver to shift gears while having one hand only on the steering wheel.
 
#226 ·
yeaaa i read that somewhere online, but not in the manual. I never found 2 silver buttons on the back of my wheel, i actually have a steering wheel cover on so i never went into it, but does this really mean NO american models have steptronic shifting?
 
#230 ·
It works

I tried it today, and O' What a difference, the tranny shifts smooth. The only problem i have now is the front headlights have a little orange bulb in them and they get hot and when they do the tend to burn the plastic, the dealership has replaced the whole light set once. does any one know if you can put a lower watt bulb in the light its very small but powerfull. 05 747,

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE GREAT TIP, even the dealership was aughed.
 
#233 ·
i have an 03 and it was right side downshift, left upshift. then all of the sudden (dont use it all that often) probably after a visit to the dealer and getting my "complimentary" reprogram, now both fronts downshift and rear upshift. how did i find out you say? racing a porshe and kept kicking it down...argghhhhhh.
these reprograms can be a mess. car going to sleep and not waking up was one that they never could fix.
 
#234 ·
I just found this out tonight! Sorry if it's been posted before...

If you have the convenience package, when you press in the door handle to lock the car, keep holding it in.... the windows will close and the mirrors fold in!
 
#238 ·
there is a hidden change compartment in the front of the center console wall...

below this change hiddent thing is a roller type switch....what does it do ????
it allows A/C to come through the little holes and cool the center compartment.
 
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