So I posted a thread a few weeks ago about my 325ci only getting about 13 mpg average in the city. A new Air mass sensor was installed a few days ago but the mileage is still the same. I'm wondering now if this kind of mileage is normal for the hilly city. If anyone has an e46 and drives in san francisco I would greatly appreciate it if they could mention what type of mileage they are getting in the city.

Much appreciated.

(Oh, also there are no fault codes including the O2 sensors)


P.S. I posted this in the e46 forum but was told I would have better luck getting answers here.

I just live outside of SF and my area is quite hilly as well. You shouldn't be getting 13mpg. I assumed you reset you computer? The worse I get is about 22mpg. Even with your auto, you should be no lower than 18-20?

Thanks for the reply. 13 mpg is what I'm getting after I calculate manually after fill up although the trip computer is telling me roughly the same.

i live in daly city and sometimes i go an entire tank with only 5-10 miles on the freeway in my e36 and i only get about 16 mpg.

i know i should be getting around 20 but because of all the hills in dc, ssf, and san bruno i guess not?

I get about 18-20 if I keep it all downtown/hills in my E36, 20-23 if its a mix

If most of your driving involves going up and down California and Powell and those other "vertical" lol streets, then 13mpg is probably about right. But if you're doing a mix of those and the flatter neighborhoods like around the Embarcadaro, the Sunset, the Richmond etc, then you ought to be doing a little better than that - closer to high teens I'd think. If you can, take a trip down 280 to San Jose and back up or something similar that involves a longish stretch of smooth freeway driving. If your mileage improves for that trip, then you know it's the SF driving; if not, something's up with your car.

If most of your driving involves going up and down California and Powell and those other "vertical" lol streets, then 13mpg is probably about right. But if you're doing a mix of those and the flatter neighborhoods like around the Embarcadaro, the Sunset, the Richmond etc, then you ought to be doing a little better than that - closer to high teens I'd think. If you can, take a trip down 280 to San Jose and back up or something similar that involves a longish stretch of smooth freeway driving. If your mileage improves for that trip, then you know it's the SF driving; if not, something's up with your car.

I agree 13 sounds a little low, but i dont know about 20 either. I usually drive "the flatter neighborhoods" and get 17-18 in both my M3 and 2.8 A4.