What is your average MPG in your 540i? Please include your percentage of city/hwy driving and what transmission you have. Add your driving style if you wish. Thanks.

I have a 6 speed and usually get 16 mpg in the city and 18 on the highway but with my car at 85k i'm sure the o2 sensors are due for replacement which should hopefully improve the mpg a bit

Average mixed driving:

16 Gal Fill up.
Range - 320-350 miles.

MPG = 20-21.8

All highway would be close to 28-29.

Wolfen, Im assuming you have a 6 speed.

I have a 540i automatic, which has a mixed bag of driving, probably 75% freeway and I have never got less than 20 mpg. It has been as high as 23. Yes I wring every pony out of it on a daily basis.

lately I've been able to get 23mpg (calculated w/o the always off OBC) round with an OBC average speed of 22.7mph.

All highway I'm still at 28-29mpg

how the hell do you guys get such good fuel efficiency!?!

I've got a '03 540iA and my computer is reading 13 now. Its 75% city, but still...

The OBC on my 540A reads 22.6 and has done for some time. Mostly city but I do some motorway stuff too. I drive as fast as I can traffic allowing. Rarely take it above 120 but it sees 100 quite a lot. Running high octane petrol by the way. Sometimes I just stick cruise on and do a steady 80, I think that offsets the traffic light/roundabout full throttle to 100 mph+ times.

My 540 6 pulls in 18-26 MPG, 50 % higway 50 % city

I usually get around 20.5 to 21 in mixed driving. (35 or so mph ave.) on my 6 speed. If it is all highway, I can get 28 to 29. I am an easy driver most of the time because I drive so much, I simply want the car to last. Not that I am a weenie all the time as I do see triple digits weekly. If my car was an occasional driver, I would not care.

my average (97 540i/6) is 22.6-23mpg which is 85% city driving. When I do 50%/50% its up in the 25 range.

all highway (aka a trip) would be 27-28

ArmySweitzer-

Is your car DesertSand?

I've been getting ~16.8mpg
I drive 3 city blocks to work and a little under 150mi/week

Comparing mileage figures for a 540i/6-speed is like comparing the 1/4 acceleration on a Toyota Prius. If that's your concern, you bought the wrong car.

I disagree with you cheif.

I don't know that anyone was saying mpg was a main or even major concern. I read this thread and posted my figures out of curiosity as I'm sure many others did.

Now what is the 1/4 acceleration time for the Prius? ;)

98 540/6 90/10 highway/city, I average at least 26.5 and when it is cooler out 27.5 to 28 calculated. I have found my OCB to be very accurate over a tank of gas, usually it is under the calculated value by .2-.4 MPG. I drive about 80 miles a day, average speed on the road around 60-65, 40-45 in town. I finally found a station that sells 91 oct gas, I had been running 93 since I found that I average about 2 MPG better than when I'm using 89 oct.

The last couple of tanks I've gotten 26mpg with my 6 speed. 50/50 driving. Maybe more like 60/40 city/highway now. I can easily get over 30 if it was all highway.

No one acknowledge it before, but seriously... how the hell am I getting ~13

Fuel economy wasn't why I chose this vehicle, but some of you guys are friggin' doubling what I get?

I drive fast/am very impatient, but even when I'm being good I never have gotten over 16mpgs on a tank in the city. WTF am I missing?

since Ive owned my 540iA (3 months) it has averaged 18.9 mpg. it normally gets 17.5 with 70% city and 30% highway. on completely hwy trips it gets about 23 mpg. right after I got it I cleaned the MAF, replaced o2 sensors, replaced the air filter, and replaced the fuel filter so I think thats about as good as it will get for me.

No one acknowledge it before, but seriously... how the hell am I getting ~13

Fuel economy wasn't why I chose this vehicle, but some of you guys are friggin' doubling what I get?

I drive fast/am very impatient, but even when I'm being good I never have gotten over 16mpgs on a tank in the city. WTF am I missing?

i don't know, have you kept up with maintanence? Fuel economy wasn't why I chose the vehicle as well, but it was a welcome suprise on my 3hr drive home from the dealer netted me 29mpg :D I thought I'd get 23-24mpg at best on the highway according to EPA.

Well, I've never gotten as little as 13 mpg, but with nearly all city driving, I average around 16 mpg. I would be stunned to ever see 29 mpg, that would be fuel efficiency nirvana. And I definately don't drive like a grandmother, but I wouldn't say I'm out of control.

No one acknowledge it before, but seriously... how the hell am I getting ~13

Fuel economy wasn't why I chose this vehicle, but some of you guys are friggin' doubling what I get?

I drive fast/am very impatient, but even when I'm being good I never have gotten over 16mpgs on a tank in the city. WTF am I missing?


Well I shift at 2-2.5K between gears and always drive in the highest gear possible. In town I'm usually in 5-6th gear by 40. The car has enough torque to easily pull itself from 1500 rpm. Of course it doesn't take much WOT or 5K shifts to blow your mileage, and staying in a lower gear winding it up and cruising at 3K in traffic will eat it up too. My $.02...

how the hell do you guys get such good fuel efficiency!?!

I've got a '03 540iA and my computer is reading 13 now. Its 75% city, but still...

No one acknowledge it before, but seriously... how the hell am I getting ~13

Fuel economy wasn't why I chose this vehicle, but some of you guys are friggin' doubling what I get?

I drive fast/am very impatient, but even when I'm being good I never have gotten over 16mpgs on a tank in the city. WTF am I missing?

How often do you get out of Hauppauge NY? You have to seriously consider the ambiguity of a thread like this...do you really think that you can compare your "city" mileage to some of these other posts without considering WHAT "city" driving is actually like for them compared to where you live.

The USA is a vast territory with different topograpy, eleveation, city layout, population density, etc...without taking all of that into consideration and comparing what your city driving is like in New York...versus someone else that lives in Texas, or Washington State, or Denver CO, etc...you will be totally frustrated. You are comparing apples to oranges in many of these scenarios.

For some folks, their city driving could mean long boulevards with timed lights where they are averaging 40 MPH. (has anyone considered giving the AVG MPH as well as their AVG MPG to get a better comparison?) For others, city driving could mean short blocks of stop lights or stop signs with an AVG MPH of 20 mphs on average or less. Some may live in the mountains or plateaus of the west at higher elevations or live in the hilly terrain of the easter Appalachians...versus those that may live in the plains west of the Mississippi or flat lands of the Dakotas or the Gulf coast.

Just because we may spout off our city gas mileage... without considering the variables that come with such an ambiguous statement...you can obviously see how different "city" gas mileage can be.

Just a thought.

FWIW I have an '03 540iA w/ 66K

BMW Loe,

I've done nothing in maintenance to be honest. I just bought the car a couple months ago with a pretty good service record and was completely consumed with studying for the Bar exam... The radiator was changed by the dealer a week before I bought it, I also had them change air filters and had my own mechanic check it out.

I'm planning on changing oil/spark plugs/o2 sensors/tranny fluid in the next month though...

Lance,

Thanks for the insight. I drive an auto rather than a manual, but it is something to think about when I drive around in sport mode accelerating hard.

Qsilver7,

Yes, I get out of Hauppauge frequently and understand that not all city driving is the same. But if you look at the locations where most of the people who responded are from, they appear to be real cities that likely share similar traffic characteristics...

I'm not griping that someone gets 2mpgs more then me... I'm baffled by the majority of people getting 10+, nearly doubling my fuel economy.

Normal driving for me is about 70% city. Doing that gets me 18-19 mpg. If I'm all city, 16-17 mpg is closer, and on roadtrips I get about 24-25 mpg. I get a very slight increase (1-2 mpg) when it's not so damn hot and sticky outside. My car stays tuned up like it was one of my guitars. :buttrockDriving style? I follow Eddie Haskell's rule of the road... "No cop, no stop!" Unfortunately, we gots lotsa cops up in herrrr.

I've had my 540i/6 for a year and my average is 23.8 for all tanks of gas. I normally only run 93 when I auto-x, so that is mostly on 87.

My tank to tank depends heavily on city or highway. Pure highway I normally get 27 or so, city is 17 or so.

87 :eyecrazy

Wolfen, Im assuming you have a 6 speed.

Sorry for the late reply. I have the Auto. I did get a 5-10% increase in MPG after servicing the tranny with a fully synthetic ATF fluid. The increase in efficiency and loss in parasitic losses was immediate.

i get about 19-20 mpg with a 50/50 mix of city and highway on
my '03 540iA.

you 6-speeders far better highway mpg than I do! on a
recent leg from San Diego to San Jose, I averaged 22mpg.
but then again, my average speed was 85mph with a few sprints
to triple digit speeds. gotta love the I-5!

My 2.5 month average (time I've owned the car) is 17 mpg. I do 70% city and only use 93. I'd love to get 20+ mpg, but dont see that happening when as long as I can take 2nd gear to 50mph and 4th to 100+:evil2

I get at least 350 miles from a tank, which ends up being at least 21-22 mpg mixed driving. On highway trips, I am getting around 24-24.5 mpg, except the last few weeks it's been down 1 mpg or so because it has been 100 degrees plus here (St.Louis) and the AC is on full blast all the time.

I do not baby the throttle.

You guys getting 10 mpg less than my old auto should think about some basic maintenance.

87 :eyecrazy

No pinging or knock. Hell, last trip I got 463 miles on a tank of 87 (Nashville to Detroit).

Car runs just great on 87. In fact, the manual even says that BMW recommends 91, but the car runs fine on 87 or higher and isn't a violation of warranty.

Lets face it, a 540i likely has a conservative tune on it with enough retard at high RPMs to not detonate under lower octane situations. It is a daily driver car with a daily driver tune.

2003 540iA...In the city/burbs I get around 16-18 mpg. On the highway, 22-25 mpg is normal. I'd say 60% of my driving is in the city/burbs.

I just verified my numbers above last night (using the OBC which has proven fairly accurate every time I checked it)


Trip home (38 miles of 50/50 mix): 18.5 mpg
Highway Trip (45 mile one way @75 mph cruise): 24.3 mpg

>>

No pinging or knock. Hell, last trip I got 463 miles on a tank of 87 (Nashville to Detroit).

Car runs just great on 87. In fact, the manual even says that BMW recommends 91, but the car runs fine on 87 or higher and isn't a violation of warranty.

Lets face it, a 540i likely has a conservative tune on it with enough retard at high RPMs to not detonate under lower octane situations. It is a daily driver car with a daily driver tune.

Because you have NO model year designation anywhere in your sig or car info...it's not determinable as to which BMW fuel recommedation applies to your situation (non-VANOS recommendation is 89 AKI and VANOS is 91 AKI).

Granted..you are absolutely correct that you are not harming your car by using 87 AKI fuel. :)

BUT...there is a reason you're not getting any pinging...and that is because of the knock sensors which ARE retarding engine timing to compensate for the lower octane fuel you're using. And because of this...you're not getting the best performance or gas mileage that your car was designed to get. Please understand, this is not an attack on your choice of fuel...I do understand that if it works for you...then by all means, continue to do what you're doing. :)

But back to the discussion....your gas tank holds approx 20 gallons of gas...and for 10 or 20 cents more per gallon...using either 89 AKI or 91 AKI would equal out to approx $2 - $4 more per tank at each fill-up. With the small difference in price per fill-up...your car is going to give you better performance and better gas mileage (perhaps negating the savings per gallon by giving you more miles per fill-up...ie. "tank miles").

As the info in your owners manual insinuates... "using a lower octane fuel will lower performance and gas mileage...using a higher octane fuel will increase performance & gas mileage".

From the owners manual...note the text undelined in blue & green: :D

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/Fuel%20Specification.jpg

The OBC is the most accurate thing in calculating the REAL or NET mileage. BUT, unlike what one might think, it does NOT give you the "INSTANTANEOUS" MPG. So you cannot look at it on the highway and say it is your highway mileage. Same for the city. Simply beause, it reports the total miles done in the total fuel spent UPTO that instance - the real deal.

To find out your car's HIGHWAY-ONLY MPG, do this:

When you are cruising at 60 to 70mph on the highway reset the MPG by pressing the knob in. You will see it jump up to numbers like 99, 55, 44 etc. After a minute, it will stabilize to a number between 22 and 30. You will notice that if you dont brake and cruise at same speed, this number wont change. This is your highway mileage - THE MPG that it does when it runs ONLY on the highway. This mileage IS COMPARABLE with other cars, because all of us will be able to meet this common condition.

To find out your car's CITY-ONLY MPG, do this:

When you are back into the city , reset the mileage again. The number you see most often after resetting it after driving it for about half an hour, that is the city mileage your car does in your living area. This mileage NOT COMPARABLE with other cars, because each one of us is living in different city traffic conditions. A more accurate comparison would be to drive another BMW in your area, and compare its mileage with your car.

With these methids, my 03 330i reports:

HIGHWAY:25 - I dont know how people get 30mpg. As I mentioned I cacluate it under strict highway conditions, and still its never more than 25.

CITY (where I live and drive): 10 to 16, mostly 12. This is stop and go every minute.

By the time the tank is empty, OBC reports: 15

2003 - 540i/6 82k 93 octane - usually either Shell, Hess

23 mpg sustained 40/60 city/highway + frequent close to WOT playing wherever I find some pleasant roads. Pretty close between computer and my own calc. ~360 miles on ~16 gallons

I did just recently move to a more urban area, I burned almost 1/4 a tank on just city, stop and go, rarely over 20 mph for a whlie on a bad rainy day and was down to about 18 mpg for the computer calculated average on that stretch.

I can sustain 25 on highway only. ( all hilly curvy highways here in north jersey )

Believe it or not, I've found that I get comparable mileage with 87 v. 91/93 and the brand of the gas is just as important the octane rating. Shell always provides me with a longer tank.

am i the only one thats maxes out 4th on a weekly bases? if you have what speed do you hit?

When I'm going that fast I don't really pay attention to the cluster, but I'm willing to bet I was in the 120-130 range at the top of 4. 3rd tops around 90, I know that for sure.

I have a 98 540i/6. I am by no means an agressive driver and I have consistantly averaged 21.7 miles to the gallon for over a year now. I live in a small town in WNC and to say that is city driving is such an understatement. LOL But that does include 10 miles of highway with approx. 7 red lights.

I have never used anything but the highest octane. I was under the impression my car would lay down in the road and cry if I didn't give it the best............am I wrong? ;)

you u are not wrong, pamper your car and it will pamper you

I have an automatic 540 and my avarage according to the OBC is

12.2 liters per 100 kilometer

1 kilometer = 0.62 miles

That means I do 62 miles with 12.2 liters.

1 liter = 0.26 US gallons

That means I do 3,2 gallons in 62 miles

62 devided with 3,2 equals: 19.3

So I do 19.3 mpg :D I do about 50/50 highway and town driving (we only have one city in my country and i don't live in it hehe).

When I took a 3 day road trip around my country I had 8.5 L/km wich is 28mpg. It's always cold and wet here so the car has no heat problems... at the highest points it even underheats :eek:

I'm doing 15.8mpg

and I am sideways all the time

I'm averaging 10.5 to 12.3 97% city driving
sucks to be me I suppose..

my friends and i have done a extensive test on octane between 87 and 91(live in cali).

my car a 2000 540i/6, my friend has a 2006 tacoma v6, and other friend has a 2003 v8 silverado.

we all did 10 tanks with 87 and 10 tanks of 91, and just drove as normal as we could.
we came up with that we basically got the same amount of MPGs i got an average of 18.6 on 87octane and 18.5 on 91, and as for performance we were all within .1 to 60, so performance was basically the same.

till prices come down more, i will not bother with 91 since my car runs just fine on 87.