Long press on DSC button - what happens?

[mwbbmw]

My 3 series does much the same as the 1 series (or so it sounds) and I have had the same "problem" as you have with the X - though I've never been able to not get it to turn back on/off. I've got a question in to my SA and we'll see what answer I get.

[davipt]

Originally Posted by mwbbmw

(...)I've never been able to not get it to turn back on/off.(...)

Never? The test drive car reseted itself overnight (we were playing with it at night, and then on the morning the light was already working), and with our car we played in the morning, when we got the car, and at the end of the day it was working again (~6-7 hours).

[JCL]

I am working from memory here, but I think this is it:

On our 325xi, DSC is normally on. Push the button once, DSC is off, and traction control remains on. That is the equivalent of the 4x4 light, but I think it is a different symbol on the E46. No dynamic stability control in play now, but it still has traction control (braking one wheel at a time). Then hold the DSC button in, and the big warning light comes on. Now you don't have any traction control, and you can play in parking lots to your heart's content, slip-sliding away. It is only useful for starting out in snow/ice/sand where you want to spin the wheels to get moving. As soon as one is moving, turn the DSC back on. I have played with all three modes on snowy roads, to understand the behaviour of the car at the limits.

None of the above works on the X5, it has two modes not three. Suspct the X3 is exactly the same as the X5.