Security systems (BMW 5 Series E39)

Seat belts

You must fasten your seat belts before every trip.



Fastening: When fastening, the belt buckle should lock with an audible click.

Releasing: Press the red button to release the buckle from the lock and hold the belt webbing, guiding it into the retractor.

Adjustment of the upper belt attachment point to the height of the occupant occurs automatically during the longitudinal adjustment of the seat.

The seat belt locks when:

• pulling the tape with a jerk
• sudden braking or acceleration
• cornering - strong car crown

Belt tensioner

The belt tensioner ensures a much better fit of the belt to the person's body during a collision and allows him to be securely held in the seat. In a fraction of a second, the belt buckle will move back under the pressure of the gas, simultaneously tightening the diagonal and lap belts. This ensures reliable protection against a person slipping under the lap belt.



For your safety, please follow the instructions below for using the seat belt, otherwise it will not be able to fully perform its protective function. Please inform all your companions about the need to comply with the rules for using seat belts.

Only one person should wear a seat belt at a time. Infants and small children should not be held on the laps of adult passengers while the vehicle is moving.

The belt tape must be tight and fit snugly against the chest and waist without twisting, and there should be no hard or brittle objects under it or in the pockets of clothing. The belt should not encircle the neck. It must not be pinched or rubbed against sharp edges.

The belt should fit as tightly as possible to the body, so clothing should not be too tight. Tighten the belt more often in the shoulder area. Otherwise, in a frontal collision, a loosely fitting lap belt can slide up the hips and injure the lower abdomen. Due to the increased gap between the belt and the body, the restraining effect of the belt is realized with a delay.

Pregnant women should always wear seat belts, making sure in particular that the lap belt covers the hips from below and does not press on the abdomen.

Do not modify the seat belt system.

Safe transportation of children

For children under 12 years of age and less than 150 cm tall, special approved systems must be used for safe transportation.

Infants up to 9 months can be transported in carrycots installed on the rear seat facing away from the direction of travel and secured with standard seat belts.



For each age group, BMW service stations offer appropriate child safety systems. Child safety systems must not be installed in the front passenger seat, otherwise injuries may occur when the airbag is deployed.

It is unacceptable to make changes to the design of child transport systems, otherwise they will not be able to fully perform their protective function.

Built-in child seats

These two child seats, integrated into the rear seat and complying with the legal requirements based on EU Directive R-44, are intended for children aged 3 to 12 years (from 15 to 38 kg).

For children from 9 months to 3.5 years (from 9 to 18 kg) these seats should be used in combination with a special backrest and trauma protection table, which can be purchased at BMW service stations.

Extending the seat

Grasp the front of the rear seat and pull it up and slightly back as shown by the arrow.

Lowering the seat

Grasp the loop and pull forward and down as shown by the arrow.



Please follow the instructions for using seat belts as given above, otherwise they will not be able to perform their protective function.

Inflatable airbags (Airbags)

Protective action

Front airbags protect the driver and front passenger in a frontal collision when the protective effect of seat belts alone is insufficient. Side airbags provide protection in side impacts.

In the event of an accident, only the airbag located on the side that is hit is activated.



The illustration shows the impact directions to which the airbags react. Side protection is provided only if the vehicle is equipped with side airbags.

Inertial sensors continuously monitor the acceleration forces acting on the vehicle. If, as a result of a collision, the driver and passenger are subjected to such an acceleration force that the seat belts alone can no longer provide sufficient protection, the gas generators of the driver and front passenger airbags are triggered in parallel with each other. However, the front passenger airbag is only activated if the sensor installed in the seat detects that someone is actually sitting on it.





In the event of a side collision, the side airbag on the side that was hit is activated if necessary.

The airbags, which are located under the trauma-safe linings of the steering wheel, the front panel and under the side/front door linings, deploy in a few milliseconds, filling with gas. At the same time, they rupture the trauma-safe lining in predetermined places.

The rapid deployment, which is necessary for the normal functioning of the NBC, is accompanied by a priming pop and noise from inflation, which, however, are simply not perceived against the background of an accident. The gas required for inflating the NBC does not pose any danger and after some time evaporates along with the resulting smoke.

The entire process takes place within one twentieth of a second.

Airbag warning light

The light on the instrument panel signals that the system is ready for operation after turning the ignition key to position 1.



The system is ready for operation: The control lamp lights up for a while and then goes out.

System is faulty:

• The control lamp does not light
• The control lamp lights up briefly, goes out and lights up again

If the system malfunctions, there is a risk that it will not operate when the vehicle collides with an obstacle, even if the accident is severe enough.

Please contact your BMW service station immediately to have the system checked.

The airbag warning light also comes on when the seat belt tensioner is triggered.

For your safety, please follow the instructions below regarding airbags, otherwise they will not be able to fully perform their protective function. Please inform all your companions of the need to follow the instructions regarding airbags.

The presence of airbags does not relieve you from the need to fasten your seat belt, since airbags are only one of the means of ensuring safety. In minor accidents, rollovers and impacts to the rear, and if the car is not equipped with side airbags, then only the seat belt protects you in impacts to the sides.

Sit on the seat as you feel most comfortable, but as far away from the steering wheel, dashboard or door as possible.

Always hold the steering wheel by the rim. Failure to do so may result in injury to the hands or forearms. There should be no foreign objects between the airbag and the person it protects. The front passenger airbag trim should not be used as a shelf for small items.

The safety trim of the steering wheel, dashboard and side door trim must not be covered, covered or modified in any way.

It is not permissible to reinforce child safety systems in the front passenger seat. Children under 12 years of age should only be transported in the rear seat.

Even if all instructions are followed, under certain circumstances, facial injuries caused by airbag deployment may occur. In sensitive passengers, the ignition pop and noise of the airbag inflation process may cause short-term hearing loss.

Locking Children in a Car

Insert the key into the slot in the rear door and turn it outward.

Now it will be impossible to open the door from the passenger compartment.

The text is based on materials from the website «bmwman.ru»