[dbs600]

Originally Posted by dbs600

Disappointed, upset, confused and sad.

All eight injectors and plugs were replaced, but there's now some type of roughness / un-smoothness!?

Happened once when idling and felt at times after keeping on the gas, but letting up a little after gear change.

Haven't noticed a difference in mpg's either, but today wasn't a good indication for same due to the snow.

Also no 'boost' in power / acceleration from what others have reported with new injectors and plugs.

Getting to be pretty ridiculous! The latest:

[dbs600]

Originally Posted by dbs600

Getting to be pretty ridiculous!

Don’t know what to say!

Brought my car back to my dealer a week ago and today they called to state they opened a PUMA case and that I’ll be out of my car for at least another two weeks, as they need to replace timing chains for both cylinder banks, as well as my engine's head gaskets!

Anyone have any idea what’s going on here? :|

[ezmaass]

dbs - not to sound negative, but it doesn't look or sound good. I'd be pushing BMW NA at this point to buy the car back. This is pretty insane. Just my opinion. Another guy on here had his entire engine rebuilt after that same drive train warning... recent thread, I'm sure you can find it. Seems like something is really off and has been leading up to this for some time. Two more weeks without the car? I'd be calling BMW and asking them to make good on this for you.

Nal13 recently had his car bought back for repeated injector issues... may be worth looking at the process he followed.

[dbs600]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

dbs - not to sound negative, but it doesn't look or sound good. I'd be pushing BMW NA at this point to buy the car back. This is pretty insane. Just my opinion. Another guy on here had his entire engine rebuilt after that same drive train warning... recent thread, I'm sure you can find it. Seems like something is really off and has been leading up to this for some time. Two more weeks without the car? I'd be calling BMW and asking them to make good on this for you.

Nal13 recently had his car bought back for repeated injector issues... may be worth looking at the process he followed.

Thanks for the info and support; I'll search for the other threads stated.

[Joey2303]

I have had my 14 528xi for few months now and it has 1500 miles and I'm getting like 13-14 mpg. My wife mostly drives it around town not much highway and she drives slow . We stay out of sport mode and mostly comfort . Is there something wrong because I would of got a 550 or a m5 if I wanted mpg like this.

[pillpusher84]

Wow ... I feel bad for you guys getting such shitty gas mileage ... but I guess I would need to understand your types of driving to understand why it's so poor.

I have a 550 w/ the N63Tu ... I drive in MOSTLY sport mode, Auto Stop/Start permanently coded off, and I drive hard ... my MPG is 14 ... 70% highway / 30% city driving on 93 Octane Top Tier Gasoline.

Are you guys using inferior fuel? Driving more in the city / stop & go?

[aclockwrk]

That's so weird, I have a 2012 550i manual and i get on average 21mpg with 70% highway and 30% city with some blasts into triple digits. I'm not constantly on it but I don't put put around either. If I'm on it more it's still around 18.5mpg. Something is definitely wrong seeing those low MPGs.
Obviously this isn't an apples to apples comparison but it still seems way off.

[dbs600]

Originally Posted by pillpusher84

Are you guys using inferior fuel? Driving more in the city / stop & go?

Sunoco Ultra 93 mostly with 50-50 City to Highway driving...

[raleedy]

You all would have a better chance of understanding your mpg experience if you would also track average speed.

[pillpusher84]

Originally Posted by raleedy

You all would have a better chance of understanding your mpg experience if you would also track average speed.

I can not post anything like that ... that would put me in jail

[dbs600]

Service manager states its increasingly common to see stretched timing chains on the V8's, which leads to improper timing, which leads to poor fuel economy. Very disturbing to see my engine apart with only 30k miles.

Walked by four other cars (one 7, two X5's and one X6) that supposedly have the same problem and are in line ahead of my car waiting for repairs; there were another 2 'blown' engines on the ground in another area; so many engines out!?

Didn't get a straight answer why my injectors and plugs were replaced two weeks ago if this is the true culprit... :|

[3rd party]

Originally Posted by dbs600

Service manager states its increasingly common to see stretched timing chains on the V8's, which leads to improper timing, |

While that is probably true one would have to think there are a lot more v8 bmw's around than in the past making any one defect more common to see.

I hope you get fixed up soon.

[ezmaass]

Not sure why BMW service departments have such a hard time saying, "I don't know." There are so many excuses where most intelligent people (many BMW owners!) would be happier to hear a truthful statement that comes with some uncertainty versus a confident statement that's knowingly false.

Yes, if timing chains were the issue here, you'd be hard pressed to explain why 8 injectors needed to be replaced.

[raleedy]

Originally Posted by pillpusher84

I can not post anything like that ... that would put me in jail

Then you would have no reason to puzzle over high fuel consumption. Either very high speeds or very slow ones (such as in heavy traffic) are associated with low mpg.

[pillpusher84]

Originally Posted by raleedy

Then you would have no reason to puzzle over high fuel consumption. Either very high speeds or very slow ones (such as in heavy traffic) are associated with low mpg.

I'm not puzzled over my fuel economy .... not concerned in the least bit ... very puzzled as to why 2 individuals driving similar city/highway splits, and driving more conservatively than I are achieving a lower MPG ... when my MPG should clearly be lower.

[raleedy]

Originally Posted by pillpusher84

I'm not puzzled over my fuel economy .... not concerned in the least bit ... very puzzled as to why 2 individuals driving similar city/highway splits, and driving more conservatively than I are achieving a lower MPG ... when my MPG should clearly be lower.

You just don't have enough information to make a comparison. Did I say you were puzzled about your mileage?

[Grover432]

Originally Posted by Joey2303

I have had my 14 528xi for few months now and it has 1500 miles and I'm getting like 13-14 mpg. My wife mostly drives it around town not much highway and she drives slow . We stay out of sport mode and mostly comfort . Is there something wrong because I would of got a 550 or a m5 if I wanted mpg like this.

My 535 was doing 14.7 mpg during the cold weather but has improved to 16.5 mpg as temps are now hovering around 35F. I think you car should do better but I believe cold weather really affects the mileage of these cars. By the way if you don't like the mileage of your 528, I can't imagine you'd be happy with a 550's mileage.

[Joey2303]

Originally Posted by Grover432

My 535 was doing 14.7 mpg during the cold weather but has improved to 16.5 mpg as temps are now hovering around 35F. I think you car should do better but I believe cold weather really affects the mileage of these cars. By the way if you don't like the mileage of your 528, I can't imagine you'd be happy with a 550's mileage.

The problem is that I'm not even getting close to what they advertise and I they talked me into a 528 . If I would of known it was this bad I would of been happier having a quicker vehicle because then I wouldn't feel bad about the gas

[Grover432]

My 535 x drive is rated at 11.8 L/100 KMs in the city so it isn't hitting its rating by returning 14.6. I expect you have the same complaint with your 528 and my point was if you think the 550 is hitting its rating, you'd likely be disappointed there too.

My colleague just turned in a 2010 335 X Drive which was averaging 15.7 L/100 km. if my heavier 535 can get that mileage, even though it us higher than (L/100 km) it's rating, it is still pretty good.

[HighlandPete]

When I read these threads I do wonder how we conclude what is the definition of city driving. How can anyone compare when it is clearly so varied?

We use an "urban" rating over here in the UK and it is so vague, compared to reality. It is often way off, simply as we really need something like "light urban" and an additional "heavy urban" rating to show the range of urban driving.

What is very important is average speed in city driving as already mentioned in other posts. Would be better if users could specify something like "14mpg @ 13mph" or "18mpg @ 20mph" for city driving. That could well show up why some are getting better consumption in apparently similar conditions.

HighlandPete

[Grover432]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

When I read these threads I do wonder how we conclude what is the definition of city driving. How can anyone compare when it is clearly so varied?

We use an "urban" rating over here in the UK and it is so vague, compared to reality. It is often way off, simply as we really need something like "light urban" and an additional "heavy urban" rating to show the range of urban driving.

What is very important is average speed in city driving as already mentioned in other posts. Would be better if users could specify something like "14mpg @ 13mph" or "18mpg @ 20mph" for city driving. That could well show up why some are getting better consumption in apparently similar conditions.

HighlandPete

I agree. My urban route involves 13 KMs (about 8 miles) and involves speeds of 60 - 80 km/h (35 - 50 mph) with very little stop and go traffic and about 6 stop lights, most of which are synchronized so you aren't racing from red light to red light.

That is quite different than my wife's commute into the downtown which involves a similar distance and more stop and go traffic, idling and red lights. I drove her 2011 Odyssey for a while on my commute and in the winter consumed 13.5 L/100 km. I notice on her commute the mileage is more like 16 L/100 km.

The bottom line is few cars will hit their EPA rating although many more do, since the testing system was changed a few years ago. In Canada, we hold onto the old system which is off by at least 3 L/100 KM, obviously because the auto manufacturer lobby has been successful in convincing the government agency responsible that all is well (even though the US has changed its testing method to yield more real world like results).

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Grover432

The bottom line is few cars will hit their EPA rating although many more do, since the testing system was changed a few years ago. In Canada, we hold onto the old system which is off by at least 3 L/100 KM, obviously because the auto manufacturer lobby has been successful in convincing the government agency responsible that all is well (even though the US has changed its testing method to yield more real world like results).

The European (NEDC test) system is due an overhaul, it's a hot potato as it is related to emission targets and will mean a revaluation on all government and car manufacturers targets, as much as revised fuel consumptions. Reading an article on the subject just yesterday and it appears the current proposals will still be a compromise, as reality seems a step too far for most bodies involved to stomach.

We are now seeing above a 15% average mpg shortfall for the UK, many cars over 20%.

HighlandPete