New 330 getting 11-16 mpg

pattitlv · Jul 4, 2006

Advice wanted/needed.

Have purchased beautiful, brand new 330 ci --owned for two and a half weeks.

Mostly freeway driving, a little in-town stuff. Have been getting average 15 mpg on highway, tho this number is actually dropping! It drops to about 11 or 12 mpg sometimes.

Took it to a dealer -- who says -- right on paper --- "15 mpg" is normal. They say they checked emissions, computer, etc. and there is nothing they can do, it's in perfect condition.

I do not live in especially hilly, cold or hot area so have no reason to suspect unusual circumstances. Mostly flat where I drive and avg. termperature is mild 60's and '70's. And I drive conservatively, (especially during the break in.)

I am concerned about the following: In addiion to much higher fuel costs and inconvenience in having to fuel up, lower performance from car, and something wrong with engine, leading to shorter life.

Of course I am concerned, since others seem to be getting much better mileage --- and also this challenges my sense of fairness. I would also like to know if I am alone in this issue?

I would love suggestions/creative ideas as to how to proceed? Any ideas welcomed and appreciated from the BMW community.

The broker (who was great in all other ways before this) now says, "Well, it's a high performance car". So, he wasn't very sympathetic. He said, go to the dealer. I am at a little loss here for what next, but I suspect something is truly amiss in this whole situation. (And yes I even did a VIN check!)

Thanks in advance for any help,
Patti
[:I]

epj3 · Jul 4, 2006

Are you using premium (91+ octane) gas? If not it will underperform by quite a bit. You should be getting at least an average of 20-22 mpg combined - I beat on my M3 all the time (3.2 liter, single vanos, etc. A bunch of reasons why your car should be MORE efficient) and I get about 20 - 22 mpg! Making up for the additional weight of your car should make it about the same when combined with the newer more efficient motor.

A "high performance car" now-a-days means it runs as efficiently as possible, not big displacement fit as much fuel/air in as possible high performance, like in the 60's.

Another question - You say a NEW BMW 330ci? The CI is a coupe IIRC, and the e90 coupe isn't out yet....so your car is actually an e46, not an e90.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/18352.shtml That information is correct for your car, too. You should get around those numbers.

pattitlv · Jul 4, 2006

Oh yes, definitely using the Chevron 91 premium.

As for the e90.... well... I really am a newbie, aren't I? so... I own an e46? Thanks!

And, yes, it's the coupe.

The broker works for a company that deals with lots of BMWs each month. I mean lots! They do lots of leases. So he should know what a high performance car means.

deutsch100 · Jul 4, 2006

Both my 2004 (E46) 330cics got an avg of about 20 mpg, and this is in Los Angeles/Hollywood with lots of traffic, and the A/C almost always on!

The 2006 330i's (E90) mileage is pathetic. It is about 12-15 mpg with conservative driving. My 2005 M3 got better mileage than the 2006 330i.

epj3 · Jul 4, 2006

deutsch100 said:

This makes NO SENSE. BMW's website says 20/30 mpg city/highway for the e90 330i (with the 255 hp engine) in manual, and 21/29 mpg for the automatic.

deutsch100 · Jul 5, 2006

epj3 said:

Yeah, I know Eric. There have been lots of reports that mileage postings are greatly inflated. If you ever visit E90 fanatics, you will see dozens of postings about how poor the mileage is on the new E90. I personally know 2 people with new 2006 330is (1 auto, 1 manual)...and they are lucky to get 12-15mpg in the city with very gentle driving. Very, very disappointed with E90 mpg!!

bmw046series · Jul 5, 2006

I haven't had a problem with mine? I think you guys are just crazy! Freeway I get 29-32 MPG, 21-25 city.

Those milegae ratings don't mean anything anyways, hell look at the Priasissy.

pattitlv · Jul 5, 2006

I am confused. I thought I owned an E46?

Also if there are a lot of people getting low mileage on these cars *as a class* ... I think they/we should speak up becuase that is not what is advertised and that would be misrepresentative.

However, I have yet to see a posting besided Miami Civic's. So I am curious to see what other owners of the 2006 330ci are experiencing?

So far, every post I've read experiences mileage claims in the range of low 20's and even better, and customer satisfaction.

My mileage is actaully dropping... ok I've had the car 2.5 weeks. But it used to get 14-city, 16.5 miles on the freeway when it arrived (and I was dissappointed), and now it's down to 10.5 - 14. (I got 13.4 coming off the freeway just last night.)

They call this *normal*?

Thanks, Patti

Miami's Civic · Jul 5, 2006

Oh man I am in the same Boat! if you read a post below! I wrote about my E90 getting 16.5 mpg. I have tried many time to change my driving style and nothing the best I get 17.
the truth is I would have thought twice if I new this before! I bought it because it's a sporty car, and I want to drive it like one, not baby the car because it is a gas hog!!! BMW brags about it's new engine with new lightets 6Cyl engine in the market but to get all 255 ponies you have to drive hard, I mean 6000rpm which means 12mpg or less!
I was looking at a new Audi S4 but decided not because it had a V8 but I dont think the 330 E90 is any better on gas!

I love My E90 but in 2006 a new car, with all new technology this is BS.

epj3 · Jul 5, 2006

Yea that makes no sense, personally I would get rid of the car. A 3 liter I6 that is THAT inefficient is probably a piece of crap. Hell, I know people with SUPERCHARGED S52's (the engine in my M3) making 350 hp to the wheels, and they get better gas mileage than that!!!

Kirby · Jul 5, 2006

Mileage that low just is not right. Are you getting the mileage from the computer? If so, maybe it is an instrumentation error. Have you checked it the "old fashion" way - fill up, record the mileage, and fill up again, and do the math? I would do this as a sanity check, if you have not done so.

Neil Westfall · Jul 5, 2006

I have seen this behavior in several of my vehicles over the years, in particular the cars that were more performance oriented. After my first service with BMW's, Audi's, Volvo's and after my third service with my Honda's I would see much higher MPG's almost immediately. I think all of these engines are pretty tight from the get go so give it some time.

330i and like it · Jul 5, 2006

I would go back to the dealer and make them fix that, you are getting about the same MPG as a Hummer. The sticker says 25-30 (I am guessing) then make the dealer get that, if not it is false advertising!

Abdoman · Jul 5, 2006

It really does depend on what kind of city driving - if you are stuck in huge traffic just idling along most the way, you will not get good gas mileage.

Miami's Civic · Jul 5, 2006

I mostly drive in the city, I cant say it's all heavy trafic, most of the stop and go is because of trafic lights. All this still combines some highway. Even when I see a red light ahead I put the car into neutral and coast to a stop! I do that because i know the automatic downshifts douring braking, wasting more gas. I heard others complain at the dealer I am hoping that the more E90 330i are on the road, more people complain making BMW take action. I guess i will wait until I service ther car to see if there any diference.
thanks

Bmw 325i 7803 · Jul 5, 2006

Ok Heres what the problem most likely is...

Both Mr. Miami and Ms(Mrs.) San Francisco live in major cities.
I Mr. New York City am in the "same boat" as well. But lets not worry, I'm actually not here to complain. Gas mileage depends on many factors including, trip time, traffic volume, number of red lights, and even YES even IDLE time with the A/C on to keep the waiting driver comfortable.

If you drive in STOP and GO traffic in a city which is 0-35/40mph on the gas and then 35-0mph on the brakes every set number of blocks to wait at a 1 minute redlight, only to repeat the above till you reach your destination, with maybe a few minutes on the freeway or highway or interstate or whatever you call it, of course YOU'RE NOT going to get the 19mpg city rating. That rating is really for small cities where you accelerate to 50mph and then come across a stop light every so often like in those spacey suburbs. The EPA should rename the "city" rating to "mild-urban settings") to be more accurate, maybe even a disclaimer for NYC, Miami, L.A., Phoenix, Chicago, San Francisco, etc to point out that these are atypical cities.

Now with the city rating explained,the 27mpg rating on the highway with the E46 is actually dead on. If you reset the indicator by pressing the BC button when you have the MPG screen up, you'll see. That very same highway rating is actually for going 65-70mph without feather-footing on acceleration, even with some tolls along the way.

Please stop complaining about poor gas mileage unless you compulsively reset the gas mileage indicator with the BC button and even record your mileage with paper and pen to match with the amount of gallons burned.

Now heres what the 330ci E46 which is the same weight and engine as my car a 330i E46 should get city and highway. I'll give you three categories: NEW, Expected/Actual, and Broken in or Old whatsoever you prefer. ( as my car is a 2004).

NEW: When an engine is new it always gets slightly lower gas mileage than expected I'd say if you were operating in normal settings expect 16-17mpg city and 24-25 highway.

ACTUAL: The sticker on the 3.0 engine claims with Auto transmission mpg figures of 19 and 27, you can expect 8-10mpg in major cities and 22-25 on the highways of these areas. Note: This is NOT an average of city/highway Please reset the indicator before going on the highway, if you average it you're probably going to get around 15-16mpg which in your case seems dead on.

OLD: When your car gets 10-20k miles on it you can then expect to get 12-14mpg in the city where it takes 30 minutes to travel 4 miles since they're so many red lights to accelerate to and stop at. Look at your average speed and the time it takes you to get to your destination. I'm willing to say that 11-16mpg in the city is good for a 3400lb car, especially when a 5400lb SUV gets around 3-6mpg in these unique city driving conditions. As for heavy traffic, I wont even bother figuring that in, since we all know that wastes as much gas or more than just idling.

On the highways you can expect to get anywhere from 27-35mpg depending on how you drive it. I can get 27mpg doing 75-80mph regardless of elevation changes and tolls driving on the Interstate or NJ Turnpike. I can get 30mpg doing 70-75 driving rather gently, and 32-33mpg driving 65 and gently, and hear this, a whopping 35mpg feather footing doing 55-60mph on straight roads.

I hope the above post helped everyone out and please dont compare your car to the Hummer or any other large SUV's rating as I can guarantee you they're in that "same boat" as you. If their sticker says 10 or 12mpg city I bet you they're getting 3-4mpg in the city or maybe even less. If you're comparing actual mileage from your car with the EPA mileage figures of SUVs then thats no longer a fair comparison. Lastly, the EPA is ammending its MPG figures, but like anything the government does it takes substantial time to be implemented. I'd expect a 10-15 city range for the 3.0 engine and a 20-25 highway rating, just like I'd expect a 3-5 city range for a V8 SUV and a 10-15 highway rating.

pattitlv · Jul 5, 2006

Okay... a few points. I live outside SF... right off a freeway exit. These numbers represent pretty much 80-90% freeway driving pure and simple. I did reset the gauge. And it did fluctuate from 11 to 17.

You make some good points. I am doing a real mileage test right now.

Break in or not... I am not even in the bottom of the range, and this is totally unacceptable to me.

Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions... miuch appreciated. I see that city driving does take a real toll no matter what!

And

Bmw 325i 7803 · Jul 5, 2006

pattitlv said:

What is your average speed? If the highway driving is slow or stop and go, the above will happen. If you're doing 50 and getting 11-17mpg I'd tell that dealer to buy their car back, the 330ci might be a performance car, but it's no M6...

Kirby · Jul 6, 2006

A goofy gas saving tip, but it works, especially in stop and go traffic:

Pretend that there is an EGG between your foot and the accelerator, if you press too hard it will break.

pattitlv · Jul 6, 2006

Will have to try the egg trick... in my new car.... my next new car, that is... one where I can tell the difference!

Right now, I am going on avg. about 45-65 mph on the freeway. I am a housewife, so I fortunately get to time my excursions to the middle of the day to avoid traffic. Well, I am a writer too, but I don't have to drive very far to get to my office!

Yes, when I pull off the freeway, to vist friends, run errands, hike, shop, etc., I slow down. (Marin county is located all along a freeway).

I know it's a short sample of almost three weeks now, but I agree, something is really off, here.

I should be getting much better than this. Just wanted to check some other minds on the subject.

Thanks. everyone! If I have any other questions, or if anyone else comes up with any thoughts, let's keep the thread open.

In the meantime, I will look into taking the next steps to doing what I need to do.

Best, and thanks,
Patti

New 330 getting 11-16 mpg

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