F31 330d xdrive economy - not great
Discussion
smashy said:
Just arrived in poole dorset from west london s drive 330d 54.7mpg....
Not familiar with The South 
what mix of roads did you use ? If there was motorway/dual carriageway mileage, do you cruise control and what speed would you normally cruise at on such roads ?A mate has an F20 120D auto which he gets pretty close to BMW's claimed economy figures from, but he frequently drives on the motorway at 60-65 mph to gain those figures.
Hello slippy after 10 minutes of stop start traffic im on m4 m25 m3 m27 then a road....all in comfort apart from ecopro for 20 miles at 50 on m3 roadworks.....not driving mad id say 65 70mph with about 10 miles at 85 ...if id done that journey driving to the max re traffic and conditions it would be around 48 I reckon it wasnt one of my fastest trips
Another day and another improvement, although I discovered Eco pro mode. I really like the coast function, using the brakes much less too. 43mpg today, worse on way to work due to heavy traffic but think a combination of weather, tyre pressure and Eco pro / anticipation has got it from high 30s to early 40s. If I can get to a long term 40 I will be happy
335d said:
gizlaroc said:
That sounds right to me.
Fionas 20d xDrive X3 used to get approx.
50mph for 55mpg
60mph for 47mpg
70mph for 42mpg
80mph for 38mpg
90mph for 34mpg
That is a 2.0 litre diesel.
I just don't see how a 3 litre heavy car with AWD can be expected to get better than that?
The X3 has the aerodynamics (and looks!) of a garden shed, which is why the economy falls away so sharply at higher speeds. I get a great deal better economy than that from my 335d, and there are very large numbers of 335d owners on the Bimmerpost forum who report similar figures. Fionas 20d xDrive X3 used to get approx.
50mph for 55mpg
60mph for 47mpg
70mph for 42mpg
80mph for 38mpg
90mph for 34mpg
That is a 2.0 litre diesel.
I just don't see how a 3 litre heavy car with AWD can be expected to get better than that?
There have been occasional people reporting poor figures from the 330d xDrive over the years, but not enough to establish a clear picture.
But thanks for the insult.
To be fair, moving over to a diesel I deserved the insult.
Don't worry, it didn't last long before I got back in a car with a proper engine.
Seriously though, fuelly says...
Fuelly said:
Based on data from 11 vehicles, 247 fuel-ups and 94,573 miles of driving, the 2015 BMW 335d xdrive gets a combined Avg UK MPG of 37.01 with a 0.81 UK MPG margin of error.
Fuelly said:
Based on data from 1 vehicles, 23 fuel-ups and 7,750 miles of driving, the 2015 BMW 330d xdrive gets a combined Avg UK MPG of 35.82 with a 0.81 UK MPG margin of error.
On a long trip if there is no traffic and favourable weather (This happens more than you'd think) and I stick the cruise at exactly 70mph, my 530d will usually average pretty much exactly 50mpg.
On a more normal Motorway drive it's usually at about 44-46.
Around town from cold in traffic and it's mid 20's at best.
On a more normal Motorway drive it's usually at about 44-46.
Around town from cold in traffic and it's mid 20's at best.
Just done return trip Poole to west london no outside lane stuff overall for both journeys 54.7.......all im conveying is if you do lots of long journeys want a powerful car and concerned about fuel this 330d s drive is well worth a look its better than my 120d ED I had ,crazy.Maybe the fact that at 2000 RPM the 3ltr is at 90 and the 2ltr at 70 mph has something to do with it
Edited by smashy on Tuesday 31st January 18:46
smashy said:
Hello slippy after 10 minutes of stop start traffic im on m4 m25 m3 m27 then a road....all in comfort apart from ecopro for 20 miles at 50 on m3 roadworks.....not driving mad id say 65 70mph with about 10 miles at 85 ...if id done that journey driving to the max re traffic and conditions it would be around 48 I reckon it wasnt one of my fastest trips
I think I got that sort of figure with the first tank of fuel I put in the old girl ....
I've not seen it since, have done 9k miles since last Sept, many of the journeys are a 50 mile round trip. The first five miles taken gently whilst the car starts to warm up, then 8 miles spent driving through M/way roadworks at 50mph 
. By the time that's out of the way, I'm raring to go, so the next 7 miles are covered at 90 Leptons Short section of dual carriageway, then typical urban driving to destination. Showing an overall average for the last 9k miles of 39.9 today.However ..... I took the car to a different BMW stealer today to see if they concurred with my view that the car has issues, they road-tested it (with me passengering) and immediately heard the noise I've complained about 3 times to the other BMW stealer (who's Master Technician said it was a"characteristic"
and "they all do that" , Car now booked in for the 23rd of Feb with a loan car for 3 days minimum. The technician who carried out the roadtest said it'll go one of two ways : Something simple like an injector, or an engine out with major surgery required ....Slippydiff said:
I think I got that sort of figure with the first tank of fuel I put in the old girl .... I've not seen it since, have done 9k miles since last Sept, many of the journeys are a 50 mile round trip. The first five miles taken gently whilst the car starts to warm up, then 8 miles spent driving through M/way roadworks at 50mph . By the time that's out of the way, I'm raring to go, so the next 7 miles are covered at 90 Leptons Short section of dual carriageway, then typical urban driving to destination. Showing an overall average for the last 9k miles of 39.9 today.
However ..... I took the car to a different BMW stealer today to see if they concurred with my view that the car has issues, they road-tested it (with me passengering) and immediately heard the noise I've complained about 3 times to the other BMW stealer (who's Master Technician said it was a"characteristic" and "they all do that" , Car now booked in for the 23rd of Feb with a loan car for 3 days minimum. The technician who carried out the roadtest said it'll go one of two ways : Something simple like an injector, or an engine out with major surgery required ....
What's the issue? I've not seen it since, have done 9k miles since last Sept, many of the journeys are a 50 mile round trip. The first five miles taken gently whilst the car starts to warm up, then 8 miles spent driving through M/way roadworks at 50mph . By the time that's out of the way, I'm raring to go, so the next 7 miles are covered at 90 Leptons Short section of dual carriageway, then typical urban driving to destination. Showing an overall average for the last 9k miles of 39.9 today.However ..... I took the car to a different BMW stealer today to see if they concurred with my view that the car has issues, they road-tested it (with me passengering) and immediately heard the noise I've complained about 3 times to the other BMW stealer (who's Master Technician said it was a"characteristic"
and "they all do that" , Car now booked in for the 23rd of Feb with a loan car for 3 days minimum. The technician who carried out the roadtest said it'll go one of two ways : Something simple like an injector, or an engine out with major surgery required ....Slippy hi I just went over the thread to check and your cars engine is mine. Mine 64 plate se but that rubbish suspension gone replaced by AC Schnitzer Springs and Shocks. I know its difficult to say with certain but that last journey you spoke about I am sure that would see me in high 40s. The other saturday I did west london to gloucestor no traffic 110 miles in 100 minutes yep really shifting mpg was 43.6. coming back took 120 minutes overall figure for both 48mpg. So that return must have been around 52/53 mpg
On A tangent did 7 mile journey round N Circular rd of West /NW London 30 minutes later returned all in 14 miles taking 70 minutes on the road that showed 31mpg on a reset OBC at beginning in my 120d that was allways around 26
Maybe I have a Friday ( or Monday what was it? ) car? Hope your diagnostics go well Slippy
On A tangent did 7 mile journey round N Circular rd of West /NW London 30 minutes later returned all in 14 miles taking 70 minutes on the road that showed 31mpg on a reset OBC at beginning in my 120d that was allways around 26
Maybe I have a Friday ( or Monday what was it?
) car? Hope your diagnostics go well Slippymatt21 said:
Tyres were 33 front 36 rear, so added about 4 PSI all round and will see how tomorrow goes. Last tank actual MPG was 38.7mpg but that included the steady motorway run.
That's the issue there WAY too low I normally do 40/42 PSI and get great tyre wear and mpg 45k a set of tyres.
smashy said:
Welshbeef said:
That's the issue there WAY too low
I normally do 40/42 PSI and get great tyre wear and mpg 45k a set of tyres.
That is a great shout,good spot.So low im surprised the Tyre pressure monitors havent kick inI normally do 40/42 PSI and get great tyre wear and mpg 45k a set of tyres.
Just as a data point, I recently swapped my 2013 330d Touring xDrive and after 3 years averaged 45.7 MPG on very mixed driving in the U.K. and France. Motorway speed average usually around 75mph. The replacement M235i is doing around 29 MPG.
The standard tests give accurate relative results (bar software cheating) but I never expect to get close to the figures these tests produce. They're not realistic of anyone's real world drives but surely no one expects them to be? What they are are a consistent set of conditions that give you a number you can use to make comparisons with. Not use to budget for your actual consumption. What they predicted for my swap to the M235i was pretty close i.e. that I would be using about 1/3rd more fuel.
The standard tests give accurate relative results (bar software cheating) but I never expect to get close to the figures these tests produce. They're not realistic of anyone's real world drives but surely no one expects them to be? What they are are a consistent set of conditions that give you a number you can use to make comparisons with. Not use to budget for your actual consumption. What they predicted for my swap to the M235i was pretty close i.e. that I would be using about 1/3rd more fuel.
msej449 said:
What they are are a consistent set of conditions that give you a number you can use to make comparisons with.
They don't even do that though do they? Well not unless you drive everywhere at 39mph. Example, our Toyota Aygo would do 73mpg at 39mph which is what the test said, however, at 80mph it would only do 31mpg.
Our 320d would do 52mpg at 80mph.
All the test tells you is what the car gets on the test, not even useful as a comparison these days as most cars are geared towards the test speeds.
The old tests that showed 30mph mpg, 56mph mpg and 75mpg mpg were actually far more useful than the modern test imho. They should have to add that too imho.
44mpg on the nose this morning for 18 mile mixed road commute (no motorways) in 335d touring. Things to note.
Outside indicated temp was 10 degrees, the car has 3k on the clock and I was in comfort mode except for a few sections where I used eco pro to coast to a stop. I'm not too displeased with that.
I checked the TPM at the end of the route and it said 39F/44R on the 19 inch Msport+ wheels.
Outside indicated temp was 10 degrees, the car has 3k on the clock and I was in comfort mode except for a few sections where I used eco pro to coast to a stop. I'm not too displeased with that.
I checked the TPM at the end of the route and it said 39F/44R on the 19 inch Msport+ wheels.
matt21 said:
What's the issue?
1. A horrible resonance from under the bonnet at tickover. I traced it to the trunking between the air filter housing and the front panel (it's got a concertina section to allow movement). Ramming it it into the airbox silenced it until it warmed up and went back to its original position. It made a horrendous din when cold. I'm guessing it's been recorded on PUMA, as there was an upgrade kit with additional foam to silence the part. It improved things, but there's still a hum/buzz at tickover. The technician who tested the car yesterday said they could/would raise the tickover by 100-200rpm and it would sort it 2. A really nasty diesel knock/mechanical rattle under light (ish) load between 1500rpm and 2200 rpm in low gears (ie every time you pull away from junctions/traffic lights)
I notified BMW two weeks prior to the manufacturers warranty expiring. The dealership sent me out with a technician who said he couldn't hear it It sounds like a heavy diesel knock, piston slap or a tired timing chain flapping around. Using premium Shell or BP fuel makes not one jot of difference over Shell/BP "normal" diesel.
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=...
I was given 4 can (dles)
of BMW additive to put in the tank, two in the first tank, one in the two subsequent tanks. I wasn't best pleased as it sounded like a fob off, and I didn't really see why I should mince about pouring stuff into the tank myself. Sure enough when I came to put the two cans into the first tank, the ring pulls didn't work. The first one hurt my finger 
So I tried another, that broke.... and the third one pulled the complete plastic section out of the top of the can, and deposited it's contents all over my trousers and jacket 
Suffice to say I lobbed it in the forecourt bin, paid for the fuel and drove home in a huff 
When I got home I opened two cans with the aid of a pair of pliers and a screwdriver, and poured them into an emergency 2 gallon diesel can. The following day I nipped to the petrol station and filled the can up with diesel and tried to get the spout of the can into the filler neck, Only then did I realise the neck is fitted with an anti siphon device ...
On the Monday morning I returned to the dealership and asked to speak to the service manager. He duly appeared, and I politely told him I wasn't impressed with the service I'd received. I gave him the final can of additive to open and asked him to open, he too pulled the top plastic section off the can clean off before the pull ring section "gave" ....
I then went on to say that despite my best efforts, I couldn't get the emergency can's nozzle in to the car's filler neck, at which point he told me they have a special tool to do just that....
By now somewhat irritated I asked why they hadn't rung me up when they knew the additive was required, told me the car was low on fuel, requested they be allowed to fill it up with fuel, add the diesel additive and bill me for the fuel ?
"Well we should have done really" was his answer.
Suffice to say they had the car in there and then, washed and vacced it and put the additive in, and said they'd do the same for the other two cans when they needed adding to the freshly filled tanks of fuel.
4 cans of additive and 1500 miles later the car was markedly quicker. I returned it to the dealership. "Has it improved things ?" the service advisor asked.
"Oh yes, it's noticeably quicker now"
"And what about the rattle/diesel knock, has that improved ?"
"Oh yes" I said "It's far noisier (it was) now, so I guarantee you're technicians will be able to hear the problem now !!!)
I went out with their master technician who got the noise immediately we accelerated away from the dealership.
"That noise" he questioned.
"Yes" I said.
"That's standard, they all do it. I can take you out in any 330D, X5 3.0D or 530D and it'll make the same noise" Which seemed strange, as a friend recently bought a 12 plate F30 330D M Sport auto Touring, and it doesn't do it .... On the other hand, I have a mate who's just bought a dealer demo 16 plate 330D M Sport auto Touring with less than 3k miles on it, and that does do it ....
They had the car for 3 days, checked for fault codes, injection strategy etc. No fault found (It's a "characteristic" apparently)
I was so pi**ed off I went to Stratstones to buy a used M235i off them, but their part ex bid had me A. Laughing and B. Ready to knock the business manager's teeth out Still, after yesterday's more hopeful (and helpful) experience, we'll see that transpires on the 23rd Feb.
Got this on the return leg of my usual commute today :
Driven on cruise along the M/way at 75mph, then through the roadworks at 55mph
47.2mpg on exactly the same route, same conditions and driven in the same manner as yesterday but 3mpg better today.
I can't explain the uplift, but for a big heavy car with 4 wheel drive, good performance when you want it and on a non-motorway commuter route I don't think I can continue to be disappointed. I'll have to find something else to grumble about - squishy springs or RFTs are top of the list...!
I can't explain the uplift, but for a big heavy car with 4 wheel drive, good performance when you want it and on a non-motorway commuter route I don't think I can continue to be disappointed. I'll have to find something else to grumble about - squishy springs or RFTs are top of the list...!
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