Re: ...Don't call me suipd! :-) (archive)

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: : All right, I realize that by posting this I may be opening myself up to a great deal of harassment...but I figure one can never learn if one does not ask.

: : I just received my 850 ('94 CSi w/27K miles) today (after WEEKS and WEEKS and WEEKS of waiting), but it did not come with an owners manual (which the dealership is ordering for me, but who knows how long it will be before it gets here). There are two things I can't figure out (so far):

: : 1. On the front bumper (with the lights down) there are two sets of clear white lights. The outer lights (the rather dim ones) turn on with the head lights. However, I can't seem to find the blasted switch for the inner ones. They don't seem to be tied to the high beams either. What am I missing here (or is something broke)?

: : 2. The drivers seat is supposed to be 12 way with a power headrest. Where are the bloody buttons for the bloody headrest (do you sense a little frustration here :-) )?

: : I am expecting some answer to come back saying it's been right in front of my face all along, but anybody who knows me knows full well that that is the BEST place to hide something.

: Other tid-bit that you will find helpful in figuring out all the do-dads on the car:

: The trunk handle in underneath the rear lip area and not visible. (Around the lic. plate area)

: The gas flap locks when the car is locked and can be opened by pressing on the oposite side of the flap. (I bought my car and went to get gas... and looked for 10 minutes for the gas flap release because I could not figure out how to open the damn thing. All this while people came over and check out my new car... I was trying to act sooooo cool!! I had to call the previous owner on my cell phone with a 911 page, but I figured it out on my own.. now THAT was stupid!)

: The fog lights are built into the flip up headlights. So if you just want to have the front runnning lights on and not have the headlights pop up when it's early AM or PM, then you must have the foglight switch on the right OFF and the light switch on the left set to half-way up.

: When you make interior temp adjustments, if you set the drivers side to full heat or full air (you will hear a click in the extreme directions) then it will override the passenger's settings to the driver's settings, resulting in one pissed off wife or girlfriend!

: Let us know if you habe any more questions. Make sure you register you 850CSi with Steve C. and join Paul Michael Brown's E31 email list.

Thanks!! I had the same problem with the gas tank when I purchased my first BMW (back in '92 a used '87 318i which I sold within 6 months); nice to know I was not alone...I felt SOOO stupid.

Is there a way to raise the headlights without activating any of them (for servicing). My RX-7 had this feature implemented as a switch in the dash, but I don't see anything like that in my car. One other thing around the climate control (My wife�s car is a 98 328i convertible with a different looking system), when I select "Auto" on the drivers side controls & set the controls to something relatively cold, will the AC compressor come on? I haven't activated the "Snow Flake" button, but sometimes it sounds like the AC compressor is running & the air is colder (colder than the outside air) than I thought it should be.

As for the trunk, the guys at the BMW dealership pointed it out to me (which is a good thing because I would have gone nuts looking for the bloody thing!!)

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