[adam1]

Hi I've now owned the car for 13 days and have covered around 200-300 miles.
The ODC has always reported 16/17 mpg and the highest its been is 19mpg city driving. Today i did motorway driving and got 22mpg.

I did as instructed by dealer filled up to top and drove X miles then refilled. The car had used 11.6L over 51 miles. Half of these were motorway miles.

So bascially I'm quite confident there is a fault since filling up 3-4 times i have done minimal miles and have to refill/top up.

The problem i have is the warranty. The dealer put a non-BMW warranty..ie dealership warranty for 3 mths which only covers up to 1500 quid.
I spoke to warranty chaps and they say that due to existing fault when i bought they will not cover car.


How can i get dealer to put car right as i think they sold it with the fault. ( (The reason being my first visit to petrol station straight after purchase provided a low mpg..i was a bit concerned . But not knowing what mpg a 525d gives in real life or how the ODC works meant i did mention anything till now.

How would you approach dealer...I will ring them in the am.

Adam

 

[DSK]

Typical warranty's and dealers.........

I would actually try trading standards and see what they say. Usually if you have made contact with the likes of trading standards and you have a valid case, they'll help you solve it.

If you approach the dealer, regardless of what approach you use, they'll deny knowing anything about the fault and they will say that they could not have possibly known anything about it or have it tested/checked on their part. They will also push you back to the warranty people, knwong very well the warranties are useless.

 

[DSK]

I forgot to mention, excessive fuel consumption can usually be caused by a number of things on older cars.

- get a diagnostic scan carried out and see if any relevant error codes point to a specific problem thats contributing to the poor consumption.
- injectors will no doubt be clogged with perished seals
- worn engine management sensors
- you may have a minor vaccum leak

 

[stolfordtone]

Hi there,
Under the Sale of Goods Act, it is the dealer's responsibility to rectify any faults that were present at the time of sale. If they will not do this within a reasonable time, they have to refund you in full.
Send them a letter, explaining the fault, and tell them that you intend to reject the car if they do not fix it.

Check out your rights here:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/faq.htm?id=43

This should explain everything you need to know.

Cheers:thumbsup

 

[adam1]

Hi Guys,

Just been to dealer today and had car tested . Its the same dealer that sold me car so wasn't really expecting miracle cure. It 's a well known BMW dealer.

Did test 5 mile run, country roads at 50-60mph and 30-40 mph and the trip pc indicated an ave of 30mpg.

The car then went in for testing...report not shown but will post on....
They say its passed and there is nothing wrong with car.

They advise that filling tank up then use up and refill to top and note miles and not to rely on ODC. So I guess if was getting 25mpg the worst poss for 525d ie city driving.. then i should get ave of 350 miles per tank(60L).

It cost me £60 to fill tank....would you say that i should get around 325-350 miles if the driving for mainly traffic/stop start.

THE ODC is unreliable as has to reset when stopped i'm told. so why have ODC if its unreliable.

My ODC which i reset on the way back stated 29-30mpg ave speed 40mph....mostly driving at 60mph.

So i'm waiting on refilling tank and should get at least 350 miles if thats possible for 525d.auto. Anyone with 525d auto who gets diff mpg?

 

[gstweedie]

Mileage from 525d

I have just bought my car which is 525d 55 plate and topped it up and there was 538 miles on the clock for the tank

 

[dave_s13]

It's OBC, not ODC. Sorry for being pedantic.

On your 5 mile run I would expect you to get more than the indicated 30mpg you did. In fact I would expect my 540 to get near 30mpg on a steady 5 mile run at those speeds.

You really need to do a manual calc as instructed. You might find the OBC is under reading by a significant amount and the car is fine.

I would expect between 400-500 miles on a full tank of derv in one of those.

 

[mike lolley]

i have 525d e 60.reset my fuel computer and drove 60 mile round trip,mainly on motorway at 70 mph,hit a bit of traffic and was driving carefully,returned 32mpg,normally i drive round town all day and get 21mpg!!!!!! hope this is of use to you!!!

 

[adam1]

Mike i think you've hit the nail on the head. Thats exactly what my car reads.
Round town around 20mpg but on long drive without stopping its better in 30s now.
it seems the OBC increases as you keep driving but reduces slowly as u stop.

I don't think there is a problem since my tank is half full now and I'm got 200 miles on clock.

I'm still going to do manual count of mpg using refuel and miles covered.

So getting 20mpg on OBC is normal for town driving i guess. BMW quote 27mpg city driving, combined 36mpg and motorway mid 40s.

Relieved really...for that info from MIke...

Adam

 

[dave_s13]

It's bizzare that the OBC can be that far out though. According to that you're effectively getting less MPG than my 540 touring, given derv is more expensive. And you don't get a V8!

 

[adam1]

Thats the question I'm asking Dave since mine is a 525d 2004 and considering yours a 540 i should get more than yours.
But either there are not many 525d drivers here or we are all getting the same 20mpg city and ave 30 mpg combined and 40 motorway.

So unless someone speaks up we will never know.

adam

 

[powerman1]

this is from the BMW web site for the latest 525d(2993cc)
Fuel consumption (Imperial) Fuel consumption (Metric)
Urban (mpg) 34.4 (33.2)
Extra-urban (mpg) 56.5 (53.3)
Combined (mpg) 45.6 (43.5)
I hope these figures are more accurate because i collect mine this weekend

 

[Deano16v]

thats shocking economy!! i'm getting double that from an old 530d!!

interestingly enough the bloke i bought it off replaced it with a 2004 530d auto and was onlyt averaging 19 in that compaired to 39 in the old one, albeit that was a manual.

 

[adam1]

The pre-facelift version or 2004 model 525d auto is
city 26.9
combined 36
motorway 45

Mine is averaging 30 combined. but mostly around 20-25 short trips, and i don't drive much on motorway so its always going to be 20-30mpg.
I'd be shocked if an older version 530d auto was getting more i than 2004 525d auto.


If 525d auto owners out there are getting 20mpg-25 city low 30s combined and low 40s motorway then thats quite normal for this model as u never going to get official levels mpg.

Since mine is city driving i would av low 20s which is OK according to data.

The newer 525d is 3l and more economical than 2.5l.

 

[harrylall]

Hi Guys

I have a 2003 525D an e39 and I have to agree that there is not a chance you'll get anything near the Manufacture claims. I am getting mid 20s and that seems to be the general jist of what the others are saying. Don't get me wrong the 525d is a very good car and regardless of the mileage you'll be getting similar MPG figures.:jaw-dropping

 

[ose1665]

I get 41MPG average out of my e39 525d but I don't do town driving much and don't encounter much traffic on A roads either.
I get 620 ish on a full tank and my OBC will record 650 sometimes.
I know mine is an older version but I never reset the average mileage bit, as it will dive up and down in its readings wildly when you don't have sufficient distance data.
If you want to see how your doing use the fuel mileage remaining feature and add this to the trip miles which you zero on filling up.:thumbsup

TBH driving style is all when it comes to diesel MPG. Anticipation and avoiding braking are key issues, obviously having a light right boot, using the uphills and downhills to your advantage and keeping off the arse of the guy in front will increase your MPG loads.:thumbsup
Spirited 'Joy' :lol will burn fuel like it's going out of fashion.:jaw-dropping
Town driving is never going to save the planet either...:jaw-dropping

 

[Lloydo]

posted on this about 8 mths ago when i bought my 55 plate E60 525d M sport auto touring

most of my trips are short, urban hilly journeys and my OBC showed about 20mpg but on calculating from the amount of fuel used the real figure is 25-26 ish ie the OBC is inaccurate
around town I therefore get about 400miles on a tank

on a motorway run driving at 80-85 I can get 600-650 on a tank ie 40+mpg

By the way, I love the car but find the engine a bit noisy/clattery at low speeds (this is my first diesel), being a V6 BMW I'd expected it to sound a bit smoother - my mates 3.0l saab diesel sounds a lot smoother

am thinking of a re map - might improve mpg and may make engine smoother, anyone any thoughts on this or had a 525d remapped?

 

[[email protected]]

most of my trips are short, urban hilly journeys and my OBC showed about 20mpg but on calculating from the amount of fuel used the real figure is 25-26 ish ie the OBC is inaccurate
around town I therefore get about 400miles on a tank

on a motorway run driving at 80-85 I can get 600-650 on a tank ie 40+mpg

By the way, I love the car but find the engine a bit noisy/clattery at low speeds (this is my first diesel), being a V6 BMW I'd expected it to sound a bit smoother - my mates 3.0l saab diesel sounds a lot smoother

am thinking of a re map - might improve mpg and may make engine smoother, anyone any thoughts on this or had a 525d remapped?

The engine is a straight 6, not a V6

I think the OBC can be recalibrated IIRC

 

[nottsman]

My e60 56-plate 525D averages around 30-32 mpg combined for my daily 45 mile roundtrip from Nottingham to Derby.

It does get around 40+ mpg for motorway cruising at 70-80 mph.

I would be astounded if anyone gets near the manufacturers stated mpg.

 

[Matty525D]

I've got an E39 525d auto touring and my average reading is 30.7mpg.

About 70% of my driving is motorway and dual carriage way at 6am though driving to work so that will help keep my figure above the 20's. If I drive it round town for a few days when I'm off work it tends to dip into the 28's/29's??

Hope this helps.

Matty