BMW 316I, Owner'S Handbook Manual

Page: 78 / 177

76
Technical features for journey comfort and safety
Park Distance Control PDC*
The principle
PDC assists you when reversing the car
into a parking space. An audible warn-
ing signal tells you how far you are from
obstructions behind the car. To do this,
four ultrasonic sensors in the back
bumper measure the distance to the
nearest object. The range of the sen-
sors at the two rear corners ends
approx. 60 cm (approx. 2 ft) behind the
bumper. The two centre sensors have a
range of approx. 1.50 m (approx. 5 ft).
In ignition key position 2, the system is
activated automatically after approx.
1 second when reverse gear is selected
or the automatic transmission selector
lever moved to R. It is switched off
when the lever is moved out of reverse
gear or away from position R. If you are
towing a trailer, of course, the system
cannot make the appropriate measure-
ments and therefore deactivates itself
as soon as the towbar is fitted into the
towing hitch.
Audible warning signals
The distance from an obstruction is
indicated by an intermittent audible sig-
nal. The closer the car approaches the
obstruction, the more rapid the
sequence of signals. When the distance
is less than 30 cm (approx. 12 in), the
signal becomes continuous.
The signal is interrupted after approx.
3 seconds if the distance from the
obstacle remains constant during this
time, for instance when reversing paral-
lel to a wall.
If a continuous signal at a pitch higher
than usual is heard when the system is
first activated, it is malfunctioning. Have
the cause traced and rectified by BMW
Service.
The PDC cannot act as a substi-
tute for your personal assessment
of obstructions. The sensors have cer-
tain dead areas in which objects cannot
always be detected. In addition, the
detection of obstacles can reach the
physical limits of ultrasonic measure-
ment, e.g. trailer towbars and couplings
or thin and tapering objects.
Note that loud sources of noise, for
instance if the volume of the radio is too
high, could prevent you from hearing
the PDC signal.
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Keep the sensors clean and free
from ice, so that they always oper-
ate reliably.
Do not spray the sensors for any length
of time with a high-pressure cleaning
jet. Keep such jets at least 10 cm
(approx. 4 in) away from the sensors.
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