Very low M.P.G.

dekbhoy

Guys whats you average mpg ,im driving a 00 520i and only getting around 15 miles to the gallon . does this seems very low. Admittedly 99% of driving is in the city centre, but surely i would expect to get more miles than that.I put 40 euro of petrol in last week and reset the odometer but the fuel light is on with only 80 miles on the clock.


thanks guys and would an oil change affect mpg

Henry Ford III

A good service might help. 15mpg is very low.

Gumbo

city driving causes havoc with normal MPG figures.
it throws them out of the water imo.

i commute from Finglas to Dublin City Centre Mon-Fri and with the following cars i averaged :

2005 BMW 320d remapped - 37mpg
2001 Audi S3 remapped - 20.9mpg
BMW X5 4.4 V8 - 16.9mpg

my dads 2009 520d does 99.99% city driving and he averages mid to high 20's, very very low for such a car.
, while my current E46 320d Auto does 39mpg.

dekbhoy

Henry Ford III wrote: »

A good service might help. 15mpg is very low.

sorry henry meant to say , oil and filters have been changed recently, 0w30 was used in service and was wondering could oil viscosity affect mpg

thewintermute

My Tuppence...Have heard of coil problems with those motors, not sure about that particular model, but that would definitely hit your MPG pretty hard.I think I would cry if I was getting that kind of mileage.

biko

Even in city you should get low 20s.

Decrease weight by removing every single thing not needed, swap spare wheel for a can of tyre goo, things like that.
Decrease crap in engine by using additives to clean it and clean what you can inside the engine - TB, MAF etc.

dekbhoy

thewintermute wrote: »

My Tuppence...Have heard of coil problems with those motors, not sure about that particular model, but that would definitely hit your MPG pretty hard.I think I would cry if I was getting that kind of mileage.

yes but i take it the cars driving performance would make it obvious if it was a coil problem

Fingers Mcginty

I'm driving a '99 520i and getting 34mpg that's mostly non urban

Leonard Hofstadter

You need to do the brim it up, drive a decent distance, then brim it again to get an accurate reading on the mpg of the car.

Do that and report back to us with the findings! Chances are it's not quite as bad as 15 mpg, that's V8 territory!

SpannerMonkey

dekbhoy wrote: »

sorry henry meant to say , oil and filters have been changed recently, 0w30 was used in service and was wondering could oil viscosity affect mpg

0w30 is one of the best oil grades for fuel economy but your car should be useing 5w40 the 0w30 wont offer the same protection but should offer slightly better economy , has your mpg dropped recently?? that does seem very low my old E39 523 averaged 32 mpg and my current 6 series with a 4.4 V8 petrol averages 24 -25mpg but again thats not in the city

mickdw

I dont think there is anything at all wrong with the OPs car. If he is driving in heavy traffic, you cannot get any kind of decent mileage from your petrol, you would be better measure it in hours/gallon than miles.
I did the 1 hour morning and evening drive in dublin for a few years sitting in traffic for a part of that. I used to get 16 mpg for a 2.0 alfa which would then do 30 mpg in normal driving.

SpannerMonkey

i agree but still i bought my car from a guy that did nearly all city driving and it was showing 16 mpg average when i got it and its an automatic V8 petrol i cant believe a 520i could be as bad ten again if its a high mileage car maybe

Leonard Hofstadter

The OP hasn't done a brim to brim test, that is the only way to accurately measure fuel consumption.

Most fuel gauges are not linear - when the gauge displays that the tank is half full it is often a bit less than that.

This is why many fuel gauges still indicate that the tank is still 100% full even after driving over 80 miles and tend to go to empty fairly quickly after the guage says the tank is 1/4 full.

dekbhoy

How do I do a brim test

bladespin

Check one of the brakes isn't binding.

*Brim test, fill it right up, drive around for a few miles (the more the better) then refill, compare the distance driven to litres of fuel to refill, that's your real fuel economy.

mickdw

Fill it to the neck. Drive any number of miles - the more the better, record mileage driven and then refill to the top again recording the number of litres or gallons used.

E39MSport

my E31 will do 9 in town but this question has been answered by many boardsies a few months ago.

dekbhoy

are you suggesting that if a question was asked previously it should never be asked again........ mods will be busy deleting threads:mad:

E39MSport

Read into what you will.

What I intimate is that a lot of people have already gone to the trouble of publsihing their mileage stats (for all of their vehicles, present and past in some cases) and are unlikely to do so again at this time especially if the OP (you) has been informed of same. Just trying to help man.

Eph1958

Hi, a big culprit to poor mpg (l/100km even) is driving style. Gentle accelleration, low revs, gentle braking, in other words totally boring and safe driving helps a lot. Stop-start city driving, low gears, cold engine with choke on is just throwing money away.