i think the gear w/the ! is the transmission symbol, you have an automatic transmission? and the thing with the rough idle when its cold, is that when there is cold weather or when the car is cold, very rarely my car does that some times, and i know the MAF would throw a check engine light so i figure thats not it, but i notice it only does that when my lights are on, and the heater is on and sometimes the cd-player, so i assume it has something to do with the alternator putting stress on the engine. i then realized that i do not have a BMW battery(some generic kind i dont remember) and i know its much harder to charge a battery when it is cold outside, and i just have a hunch that the battery is the problem, but since it rarely ever does it i dont want to spend 100+ on a new battery if i dont have to, let us know what happens