[msej449]

If you're likely to be driving in snow, and as importantly, back onto tarmac then it's worth reading the part of your manual that deals with DSC and TRACTION and how to engage/disengage it for snow, chains and gravel. It's also relevant in the summer if you're likely to be driving on sand.

First time I hit snow in my 3 Series my wife was busy reading the manual to see what I should press and when to reset as we got back onto tarmac. And I tell my kids to plan ahead ......

My understanding is that when you move onto snow, gravel or sand, or have just fitted chains, you press the car-with-wriggly-lines-OFF button for a few seconds until TRACTION appears on the console. You shouldn't press it for longer than a few seconds. The car will then try and stop the drive wheels from spinning, but this is at the cost of degrading the usual tarmac-based oversteer compensation. You want this operational all the time you're on the snow, not just for the initial moving-off.

Once you're back on tarmac, you press again and TRACTION disappears and you're back to the 'normal' nannies.