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      07-13-2010, 09:52 AM   #1
BMWfan69
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Why am I only getting 11 to 12MPG in my 128i?

BMW claims the the 128i coupe should get 18mpg city. I am by no means driving in the city. In my suburban area I do stop and start a bit on the way to work in my 2011 128i coupe with 6MT. However, in my opinion not enough to justify 11 to 12mpg. What is going on!?! That is horrible! Is the MPG computer messed up? I would think I would even get slightly better gas mileage with the 6MT. Since I am still in the break in period, I have yet to even rev it above 4K.

In my 528xi with the same friggen engine, I get 22mpg driving the same roads and distances, and that's with an automatic and AWD. I also noticed that i get 450+ miles between fill ups in the 528xi verses less than 200 in the 128i. Could partly be the tank size, but I doubt the tank is half the size, and it costs me about the same to fill up at the pump in the 128i. Anyone else experience this abismal gas mileage in the 1 series?

Hosestly, I didn't buy the car for it gas mileage, but this is really surprising.
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      07-13-2010, 10:03 AM   #2
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Thats some bad gas mileage... must be something wrong or you are driving it at 6000 rpms ALL THE TIME.

I drive mine fast and regularly take it to 6000 rpms and I manage 25 mpg. I usually keep my cruising rpms to 2000...

There should be an average mpg that you can reset and there should be another mpg option that gives you a constant read out of your current mpgs... trying reseting the average mpg or switching to the current mpg read out and see what it says.
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      07-13-2010, 10:09 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jb2178 View Post
Thats some bad gas mileage... must be something wrong or you are driving it at 6000 rpms ALL THE TIME.

I drive mine fast and regularly take it to 6000 rpms and I manage 25 mpg. I usually keep my cruising rpms to 2000...

There should be an average mpg that you can reset and there should be another mpg option that gives you a constant read out of your current mpgs... trying reseting the average mpg or switching to the current mpg read out and see what it says.
Okay thanks. That's what I thought. I'll mess with the computer and see if I can change the read out. I was indeed basing this on the average MPG readout. Only other thing I can think of is that it is set to Kilometers, but I haven't had time to check that yet.
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      07-13-2010, 01:51 PM   #4
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While the later model BMW computers are pretty accurate, you need to calculate your true mileage and average it over several tanks.

Every time you fill up, note the miles travelled and reset your trip odometer. Note the gallons used. Divide the miles by gallons to get mpg.

Also, reset the BC MPG readout at the same time and compare that reading to your calculation - this will give you the percentage of OBC error.

Having said all that, break-in mileage is not representative of what the car will achieve later on. I get about 18~19 in city traffic, around 22 in suburban traffic and 28~32 on the highway - about 10% less when using air conditioning. Also, running 87 octane rather than 91 or 93 is likely to hurt your mileage by 5~10%.

If your true, calculated mileage is still at 11~12 after break-in, you may wish to discuss it with your dealer.

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      07-14-2010, 09:58 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWfan69 View Post
Only other thing I can think of is that it is set to Kilometers, but I haven't had time to check that yet.
Alright I admit it. I'm a noob! The guage was set to kilometers! I guess you have to set this guage independantly of the other language and measurement settings. It is now reading 18.9 on average, which is much more reasonable.
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      07-14-2010, 01:31 PM   #6
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I thought my 135i is bad at ~16MPG, so something may not be right. Calculate your own MPG as suggested above and compare with the computer readout before taking it to the dealer.

EDIT: I see you discovered the problem! It makes better sense now...
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      07-14-2010, 02:52 PM   #7
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still 11 litres per 100 kilometers is pretty bad. I do some spirited driving in mine and the worst I have even seen is 10 litres per 100 averaged out. My average is usually 9 litres/100km combined city and highway.
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      07-14-2010, 05:53 PM   #8
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I have to say that's very surprisingly low! I've got a 2010 135i MT and my overall average with only about 4k miles on the clock is 23.5 mpg. Driving around town is pretty low, but on the highway even at 3K rpm, I've averaged 25-26 mpg.

FWIW, I've checked every fill-up separately with an iPhone app called Road Trip and the overall average is spot-on with the OBC's average mpg. I was surprised it was that accurate.

Regretfully, I'd suggest taking it into a BMW dealer.

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      07-16-2010, 02:04 PM   #9
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Since the OP is getting 20~21 mpg in stop and go suburban driving while still doing break-in, I don't see any problem.

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      07-16-2010, 02:15 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom K. View Post
Since the OP is getting 20~21 mpg in stop and go suburban driving while still doing break-in, I don't see any problem.

Tom
I think you misread I am the OP. I am getting 22 in my 5 series. It's the lower MPG I am getting in my 1 series that was the concern. However, I figured out that my measurement setting was set to Kilometers not miles. It's still not as good as my 5, but I am getting 18 to 19MPG now.
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      07-16-2010, 04:59 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWfan69 View Post
I think you misread I am the OP. I am getting 22 in my 5 series. It's the lower MPG I am getting in my 1 series that was the concern. However, I figured out that my measurement setting was set to Kilometers not miles. It's still not as good as my 5, but I am getting 18 to 19MPG now.
I read that your original post said 11 to 12. If that was litres per 100 km, then it converts to 20~21 mpg.

Now if it is kilometers per gallon, then that would equal about 3 miles per gallon and you'd have a real problem - but I never heard of fuel consumption quoted this way.

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      07-17-2010, 08:53 AM   #12
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Not to be rude, really - but you ought to do an actual test of miles traveled versus fuel used before believing any electronic device. I drive very aggressively, 70% non-highway and get 19 mpg overall. On trips, high 20's.
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      07-20-2010, 08:30 AM   #13
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i'm getting like 18-19 mpg w/ the ac always on auto lol
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      07-20-2010, 10:05 AM   #14
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i wouldn't waste a trip to the dealer. The car is still new, and based on your driving, that is reasonable.
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      07-20-2010, 10:21 AM   #15
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I noticed that this car took about 25,000 miles to fully break in. I was averaging about 18-19 mpg in the beginning. Now I drive the car much more enthusiastically and I average about 23-24. When I try I can get about 35 mpg highway with the top down. And if I really really work at I can push that number up to about 40
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      07-20-2010, 10:28 AM   #16
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Here's a link to a thread I made after a long road trip with mixed driving (highway and fun mountain back road)

I got about 33 mpg on that trip and it's not uncommon

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325253
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      07-20-2010, 02:12 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BrokenVert View Post
I noticed that this car took about 25,000 miles to fully break in. I was averaging about 18-19 mpg in the beginning. Now I drive the car much more enthusiastically and I average about 23-24. When I try I can get about 35 mpg highway with the top down. And if I really really work at I can push that number up to about 40
That's really good news. Mine usually averages somewhere between 16-18, and has never even flirted anywhere near 20. And my driving style is conservative compared to other 1addicts I know.
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      07-20-2010, 05:20 PM   #18
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This has not been reset for almost 4 tanks...totally normal...
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      07-21-2010, 03:39 AM   #19
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^But I know you drive like you stole it and burn rubber at every stop light so that MPG actually isn't too bad.
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      07-22-2010, 07:59 AM   #20
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I kept a notebook for every fill-up for the first year. Now I'm using Fuelly.

It is possible to get great mileage in the 128i: http://www.fuelly.com/driver/ribimmer/128i
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      07-22-2010, 05:04 PM   #21
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I thought I was the only one getting poor gas mileage. Honestly, with the new tougher rating system the EPA has, I find BMW numbers lofty. I'm about 22-23 when I take it easy.

But then I checked the epa website. Nope Normal:

http://www.fueleconomy.org/FEG/noframes/25836.shtml

Fuel Type Premium
MPG (city) 18
MPG (highway) 28
MPG (combined) 21
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      07-22-2010, 05:11 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RIbimmer View Post
I kept a notebook for every fill-up for the first year. Now I'm using Fuelly.

It is possible to get great mileage in the 128i: http://www.fuelly.com/driver/ribimmer/128i

Average 29 MPG??!?

What are you doing to achieve that, dare I ask?
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