Anyway to get the time to automatically display in the dash area where the info is?

When i first got the car, i remember it automatically being displayed there. Now its blank, and i have to click on the left handle to make it appear each time.

Drive more often? :) If you restart before the car has "gone to sleep"... and you don't have any Priority 1 or 2 warnings...then what ever you had displayed there, will return (I think). But if the car goes to sleep (the orange light next to the P goes out)...you will have to suffer with the unbearable burden of pressing the turn indicator. ;)

That display's primary function is the display for the Check Control System. The fact that you can use it to display the time or any of the OBC features is a plus (or secondary benefit).

The Check Control Display (CCD) is cleared, after the car has gone to sleep, because upon restart...it must perform its primary function...alert the driver of any malfunctions in the Check Control System. All of the CCD criteria is given in your owners manual...look for the Check Control Priority 1 and Priority 2 warnings. Your car checks all of those systems at start up and if there are any malfunctions...will illuminate them in the display. If there are multiple warnings, you will see arrows on each side of the display. To pull those up, just press the CCD button (on the right side of the instrument cluster).

So, though you may see it as inconvenient...you must press thru the agony, and muster up the energy to move your finger over the turn indicator and press it inward. :(

I stole this info from the X5World site, it may work for our e38s....


"You can also individually select the items that appear as you scroll through on the OBC display under the speedometer. Use the left hand stalk (indicator) side button..keep it pressed and

your NAV display or OBDC switches to the remote control check boxes.

What you can also do is when you push the stalk to program the OBC, you
can first select "Delete all Settings", and after everything has
blanked out, you can choose the order of the settings to show up on the
display by selecting the settings in order that you prefer them to show
up.

For example, if you want the display to show the Time first, followed
by Date, followed by Range, then after you have cleared all settings,
select Time, then select Date, then select Range and then select Save.

- MiCkEy and IFlyX5"

Don't forget to select Save when you're done. Let us know if this works for you. :redspot :redspot

Oh my...that sound like info that would be in the Nav owners manual...are you suggesting to read thru it! :lol :eyecrazy :lol

Hehe, not everyone has an owner's manual ya know :) Of course, they can always go to BMW and register for owner's circle and download one. Don't think the nav manual is on there though -shrug-.

Oh my...that sound like info that would be in the Nav owners manual...are you suggesting to read thru it! :lol :eyecrazy :lol

Nope! Not me!! I would NEVER suggest anything like that to you!! Of all people - you??? Naw....... :devillook :lol :eek: ;)

...they can always go to BMW and register for owner's circle and download one. Don't think the nav manual is on there though -shrug-.
actually...anyone without a manual...can go to e38.org ...there you can find the manuals (including the Nav manual) in PDF format. Don't have to register or anything...just click the link and download it to your desktop. ;)

That way, anytime you're at your computer you can easily reference the owners manual...your CPU can search for topics quicker than you can thumbing thru it manually. :D

The owners manuals are at the bottom of the left column at www.e38.org