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      11-21-2019, 10:26 AM   #1
en1gma
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Changing Speed units from MPH to KPH

Hi, trying to find how to change speedo units from MPH to KPH as I will be going to France from the UK around the Christmas period...

Previously had cars with analogue dials and so had both units visible. I have looked at the manual but can't find anything... (probably looking too hard!)

Or does the car do it itself based on GPS???

For reference, I haven't re-coded the car since the recent service when the dealer updated the I-step/SW, so it is "stock" and without the Alpina display I had before.
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      11-21-2019, 10:59 AM   #2
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Often wondered myself and I've not found Nythin in the manual and no obvious option in idrive that I could see assumed it was based upon gps location.

Couldn't see anything under units not in lights for that matter to state you are driving on the other side of the road
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      11-21-2019, 12:10 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AP View Post
Often wondered myself and I've not found Nythin in the manual and no obvious option in idrive that I could see assumed it was based upon gps location.

Couldn't see anything under units not in lights for that matter to state you are driving on the other side of the road
Regarding the headlights: I was told that the Xenon lights I had previously on a f10 did not need changing when going to drive on the other side of the road as their distribution pattern did not affect oncoming drivers(!); hence no switch to flick them over like my e39 had...

I'll try a BMW genius tomorrow (the service advisor at the dealer I rang didn't have a clue... ) and see what they come back with.
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      11-21-2019, 01:21 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AP View Post
Often wondered myself and I've not found Nythin in the manual and no obvious option in idrive that I could see assumed it was based upon gps location.

Couldn't see anything under units not in lights for that matter to state you are driving on the other side of the road
My Drivers Guide says (I have found it’s not always correct !!! And I think it is only referring to adaptive ) :-

Left-hand/right-hand traffic General
When driving in countries where vehicles drive on the opposite side of the road to your vehicle's country of registration, you will need to prevent your headlights from dazzling oncoming vehicles.
LED headlights, Adaptive Headlights
General

Light distribution of the headlights prevents the dipped-beam headlights from dazzling other road users even when driving in a country where vehicles drive on the other side of the road to your vehicle's country of registration.
Adaptive Headlights
When driving in countries which drive on the other side of the road to your vehicle's country of registration, do not drive with the switch in position . Otherwise, the variable light distribution may result in a blinding effect.
Adaptive LED headlights
Converting the headlights
Via iDrive:
1. "My Vehicle"
2. "Vehicle settings"
3. "Lights"
4. "Exterior lighting"
5. "Right-hand/left-hand traffic"
6. Select the desired setting.
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      11-21-2019, 02:03 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by en1gma View Post
Hi, trying to find how to change speedo units from MPH to KPH as I will be going to France from the UK around the Christmas period....
In the older iDrive systems...I think you can change from miles to kilometers (or vice versa) in iDrive. Probably can be found under SETTINGS >> LANGUAGE/UNITS or something similar...but I'd have to actually see the iDrive screen to guess where UNITS might be found.

I'm not sure if this will change the speedometer (but being digital it may)...but it will probably change the OBC and other features that display measures of distance and speed.
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Last edited by Qsilver7; 11-21-2019 at 02:34 PM..
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      11-22-2019, 05:44 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Qsilver7 View Post
In the older iDrive systems...I think you can change from miles to kilometers (or vice versa) in iDrive. Probably can be found under SETTINGS >> LANGUAGE/UNITS or something similar...but I'd have to actually see the iDrive screen to guess where UNITS might be found.

I'm not sure if this will change the speedometer (but being digital it may)...but it will probably change the OBC and other features that display measures of distance and speed.
Changing distance from miles to kilometers will also change the dials to kmh in instrument cluster and vice versa. I've done this multiple times while going abroad from UK to Europe
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      11-22-2019, 10:45 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Justao View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Qsilver7 View Post
In the older iDrive systems...I think you can change from miles to kilometers (or vice versa) in iDrive. Probably can be found under SETTINGS >> LANGUAGE/UNITS or something similar...but I'd have to actually see the iDrive screen to guess where UNITS might be found.

I'm not sure if this will change the speedometer (but being digital it may)...but it will probably change the OBC and other features that display measures of distance and speed.
Changing distance from miles to kilometers will also change the dials to kmh in instrument cluster and vice versa. I've done this multiple times while going abroad from UK to Europe
Who would have thought it was so simple?...

Tested and works a treat - Thank you!

For some reason, the 'appreciate' button is not enabled on your posts for me (via iPhone app), but kudos to Justao and Qsilver7.
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      11-22-2019, 10:53 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wivenhoe View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by AP View Post
Often wondered myself and I've not found Nythin in the manual and no obvious option in idrive that I could see assumed it was based upon gps location.

Couldn't see anything under units not in lights for that matter to state you are driving on the other side of the road
My Drivers Guide says (I have found it’s not always correct !!! And I think it is only referring to adaptive ) :-

Left-hand/right-hand traffic General
When driving in countries where vehicles drive on the opposite side of the road to your vehicle's country of registration, you will need to prevent your headlights from dazzling oncoming vehicles.
LED headlights, Adaptive Headlights
General

Light distribution of the headlights prevents the dipped-beam headlights from dazzling other road users even when driving in a country where vehicles drive on the other side of the road to your vehicle's country of registration.
Adaptive Headlights
When driving in countries which drive on the other side of the road to your vehicle's country of registration, do not drive with the switch in position . Otherwise, the variable light distribution may result in a blinding effect.
Adaptive LED headlights
Converting the headlights
Via iDrive:
1. "My Vehicle"
2. "Vehicle settings"
3. "Lights"
4. "Exterior lighting"
5. "Right-hand/left-hand traffic"
6. Select the desired setting.
All I see under then Exterior Lights option is for the number of flashes for the turn signals and the duration of the follow home function... don't see the rest.

I have the simpler adaptive lights (turn with wheel, etc) and not the full icon set - the menu you mention is not in my iDrive, maybe because i have the lower spec?
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      11-22-2019, 11:11 AM   #9
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Garage List
I remember seeing it once (since I changed my temperature from F to C), can't remember where now though...
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      11-22-2019, 11:18 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by en1gma View Post
All I see under then Exterior Lights option is for the number of flashes for the turn signals and the duration of the follow home function... don't see the rest.

I have the simpler adaptive lights (turn with wheel, etc) and not the full icon set - the menu you mention is not in my iDrive, maybe because i have the lower spec?
It may not be available without adaptive lights or it could only be available in iDrive 7 - one of the few functions the G30 has in iDrive 7 !
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      11-23-2019, 11:54 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by en1gma View Post
Who would have thought it was so simple?...

Tested and works a treat - Thank you!

For some reason, the 'appreciate' button is not enabled on your posts for me (via iPhone app), but kudos to Justao and Qsilver7.
...thanks for posting back you found how to do it in iDrive...that's appreciation enough for me.
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      11-26-2019, 10:26 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by en1gma View Post
Regarding the headlights: I was told that the Xenon lights I had previously on a f10 did not need changing when going to drive on the other side of the road as their distribution pattern did not affect oncoming drivers(!); hence no switch to flick them over like my e39 had...

I'll try a BMW genius tomorrow (the service advisor at the dealer I rang didn't have a clue... ) and see what they come back with.
My manual says that "the light distribution prevents dazzling etc when in a country where they drive on the other side of the road" and there wasn't anything in settings to tell it you were driving on the other side of the road. However, when I took it to France you could see the light beam shining into oncoming cars and I was flashed many times by oncoming vehicles. Thankfully only had to drive in the dark once for a few hours.
Would be nice to know how to adjust them for the next time!
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      11-26-2019, 04:35 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StuW530e View Post
...Would be nice to know how to adjust them for the next time!
In markets like the UK...at some point the ability to change the (I believe LED) headlight adaptation from RHD to LHD (etc) was built into iDrive. You can see it in the screen below which is probably iDrive 5 or 6:

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      11-29-2019, 10:11 AM   #14
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Don't know how helpful this is, but I found this in my 2019 540 owner's manual:

Setting the units of
measurement
Depending on the country version, you can set
the units of measurement for some values, for instance
fuel consumption, distances, and temperature.
Via iDrive:
1. "My Vehicle"
2. "iDrive settings"
3. "Units"
4. Select the desired menu item.
5. Select the desired setting.
The setting is stored for the driver profile currently
used.

Also Bimmercode can change some things:

Display options instrument cluster
Additional digital speed in speedometer
Enable/disabled the additional digital speed display in speedometer.

Values:

km/h
mph
Not active
For this option the following control unit has to be available in the car: “Instrument Cluster” DKOMBI2

--Bob
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      11-30-2019, 03:56 AM   #15
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For travelling in France with a car without ICON headlights, don't use the "Auto" position on the rotary switch so any adaptive functions are switched off. The beam is flat so there is nothing else you need to do. For ICON lights you'll have the RHD/LHD toggle in the iDrive. I have ICONs so toggle the iDrive and change to KM from Miles for the instrument cluster which is so much better than my old F11 where the cruise control and limit fucntion remained in Miles even after toggling the 2.
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      12-01-2019, 06:49 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mrashton View Post
For travelling in France with a car without ICON headlights, don't use the "Auto" position on the rotary switch so any adaptive functions are switched off. The beam is flat so there is nothing else you need to do. For ICON lights you'll have the RHD/LHD toggle in the iDrive. I have ICONs so toggle the iDrive and change to KM from Miles for the instrument cluster which is so much better than my old F11 where the cruise control and limit fucntion remained in Miles even after toggling the 2.
Thank you!

As I don't have the ICON lights, that confirms why I wasn't seeing the option.

Also, I noticed when I changed the units to kph, that a digital readout still in mph also appeared- I'll look at coding that in BimmerCode when I do that again.
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      01-04-2022, 10:45 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by en1gma View Post
Who would have thought it was so simple?...

Tested and works a treat - Thank you!

For some reason, the 'appreciate' button is not enabled on your posts for me (via iPhone app), but kudos to Justao and Qsilver7.
When you changed the units, did the entire gauge (including the digital and the analog ones) change to kilometers per hour?
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      01-06-2022, 01:43 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by engineer2020 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by en1gma View Post
Who would have thought it was so simple?...

Tested and works a treat - Thank you!

For some reason, the 'appreciate' button is not enabled on your posts for me (via iPhone app), but kudos to Justao and Qsilver7.
When you changed the units, did the entire gauge (including the digital and the analog ones) change to kilometers per hour?
Yes, the entire analogue dial changed to KPH and a small digital box appeared which showed the MPH…

I've just checked again just now and it did the same but:

Note I have coded the Alpina dials - which always has a digital speed reading between the analogue speedo and rev counter - and both the dial and the digital speed changed to KPH (so no extra digital speed display box within the analogue speedo).
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      04-16-2022, 06:39 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wivenhoe View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by en1gma View Post
All I see under then Exterior Lights option is for the number of flashes for the turn signals and the duration of the follow home function... don't see the rest.

I have the simpler adaptive lights (turn with wheel, etc) and not the full icon set - the menu you mention is not in my iDrive, maybe because i have the lower spec?
It may not be available without adaptive lights or it could only be available in iDrive 7 - one of the few functions the G30 has in iDrive 7 !
I now have an X3 with iDrive 7, and that has the option for adjusting headlights for driving on different sides of the road.
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