How to Disable Driver Assistance Features in the BMW i5

Modern car safety is responsible for saving a huge number of human lives and thankfully cars get safer and safer every year. Cars not only protect the passengers better in the event of a crash, but also sense and prevent accidents on their own. However, some of these features tend to have a more negative than a positive application and therefore many owners want to know how and if they can be turned off.

We already did an article explaining why these features exist and are mandatory in the EU, but we will now focus on how to most effectively turn them off. Each manufacturer has their own take on how to integrate the technology, so in this series we will focus on learning how to turn off distractive features on the BMW i5 and other modern BMW models.

Turning off speed warning in the BMW i5

It is now mandatory for speed assist to interfere with driving by an audible sound if the speed limit is exceeded. It must be noted that we do not condone driving above the speed limit, but to underline the fact that the system itself is not advanced enough and often misreads signs, leading to annoyance while driving! Therefore, many people prefer to drive without relying on it. BMW has actually given its customers two ways of doing so, the easiest being a button on the steering wheel. It has to be noted that the procedure must be repeated each time the vehicle is started, but is easy and effective.

You just press the “SET” button on the left of the steering wheel for 2-3 seconds and the speed warning system is disabled. This method works for both the new and old model steering wheels, as long as the vehicle is produced in or after 2023.

Turning off lane assist in the BMW i5

Lane assist gets no shortcut for quick turnoff, but the procedure is not difficult at all. Lane assist is one of the most hated modern safety systems as it often can lead to an accident, instead of preventing it. Before, this assistant could be activated only when the driver needed it and be permanently off the rest of the time. Now, it resets every time the vehicle is shut off.

There is a button in the center console, to the left of “My modes” that pulls up a menu with all the driving settings and aids of the vehicle. Once that is pressed, you tap on the left-hand side that says “Driver assistance” and then decide which assistants you want on or off. This is also the official way of turning off the speed warning assist if you didn’t know about the shortcut.

First you press a button on the center console, then the center screen controls.

If you want to learn more about the BMW i5 check out our reviews of the sedan and Touring models!

We will turn this segment into a series, where we tell you how to easily and successfully turn on or off the assistant features of modern vehicles, which is a method that becomes increasingly complicated due to modern regulations!