I have a 2009 128i 6-speed. It’s the base model with no options (not even electric seats!) because I really wanted to have the lightest, most manual car available.
Despite having no extra weight, and despite the fact that my girlfriend is the primary driver of this car (with a very moderate driving style), we’re only getting 16mpg!
Granted, all of our driving is stop-and-go in downtown San Francisco, but has anyone else experience such horrible gas mileage?
Our prior car was an E36 (1996 328i 5-speed), and under the same driving conditions, it got at least 20+mpg. I thought for sure that the 128i would get the same or better mileage. Even my E34 (1995 540i 6-speed), which has a thirsty V-8, gets 16 mpg!
What gives? Any advice?
Well you just said it. Stop and go in hilly SF, I think 16mpg is expected. Take it out on the 101 and see it climb to 28-32 mpg. I have a 323 with a smaller engine (2.5L) and moderate stop and go, just a couple of hills and I only get 21 mpg. In city stop and go traffic it goes down to 18/19 mpg.
yeah, thats reasonable for your location, going up the hills gets like 6 mpg on the current mpg info window. get out of the city and you will see better
Thanks, guys…I think my real question is why the 128i should get such bad mileage compared to my old E36 328i (with roughly the same curb weight, roughly the same displacement engines, and with the same driver in the same conditions)? I thought "efficient dynamics" would allow the 128i engine to be at least as efficient as the old 328i engine!
how many miles do you have on the car?
when i first got my car i got 100 miles out of the tank, but the more and more miles i put the better economy i get
There isn’t much efficient dynamics elements that would help in stop and go traffic as of yet. While idling, your sophisticated car probably gets as efficiency as a model T, it just consumes the same amount of gas but produce no movement.
BMW plans on introducing some new techs soon though that would help in stop and go, such as hybrid engines, heat regeneration, and "Auto Start/Stop" which shuts off the engine when you are stopped at a lights or in traffic for a certain amount of time.
The variation in mpg can be due to many factors, different driving habits, different gear ratios, wider tires, very hard to tell unless you drive them side by side in identical situations. As I said, take it on the highway and then see how it compares to the 328.
okay–thanks for all the input!
The same thing happens to my 740iL. I get about 12-18 city and 29 hwy. A lot of energy is wasted in your brakes on those hills.
My e46 has the shut off timer, I will be driving it and it just shuts off! I always thought there was a problem now I know, It is MPG technology.
But seriously, my e38 gets about 16 mpg (combined NYC/Highway)
I also have a 2009 128i and have been getting pretty poor mileage (14 MPG city driving) and I also live in SF (but I live in **** and almost never drive in the hilly parts of SF). I was told by the dealer that the mileage would improve as the engine ‘breaks-in’ but so far I haven’t seen any changes. I’ve had the car for just about a month and I’m on my 4th tank of gas, but the mileage hasn’t improved much. Even on a longer trip (drove out to Napa on the weekend when there was very little traffic so it was mostly flat hwy driving) I got just about 18 mpg for the trip. If my mileage doesn’t improve after I hit the 1,500 mile mark, I may take back to the dealer to ask them to have a look. BTW, which dealer did you get your car from?
Have a 09 135 Vert, average 19 city, 27 Highway….lowest we have ever got was 17 when I was thomping it quite a bit. Chicago area, plenty of traffic. All cars are different. Try a different brand of gas, and make sure your tires are up to spec on pressure.
I have a 2010 128i and I’m getting about spec gas mileage – maybe a little better actually. combined mileage is somewhere in the 24 mpg range. City seems to be 19 – 20 mpg average and highway is anywhere from 27-31 depending who i’m passing and how fast i’m going. I found that the faster i go on the highway, the better gas mileage i get. hahaha. word. Oh wait, i’m also about 300 miles away from the suggested break in 1200 if that is needed info.
Same as my ’09.
i average 24mpg in my area. i get about 19mpg in SF. on highways i can easily average 35mpg.
My wife has been piling on the miles on our new 2009 128i…The car has about 5600 miles on it and it is time for me do do an oil change…Not going with the BMW recommended 15K intervals btwn changes.
I had the car this week and drove it @600 miles….On the interstate and back roads was surprised with the mileage…The mpg has improved since the engine has been broken in…
Averaged 29.4 mpg driving between 70-80 mph cruising at @ 2400 rpms with a few in between spirited driving spurts. I am more than pleased that the mpg has improved…Just wish it had a bigger gas tank…Looks like it will get @ 370-400 miles per tank before I start looking for gas stations.
I get ~16/17mpg going to work every day (max speed is 40mph with a few traffic lights). I get ~29mpg on the highway.
A brand new engine should be getting worse mileage than a broken in engine. This discussion reminds me of a thread on a Volvo forum I’m on. You would be surprised how much the mpg can vary in the same model of car. Gas quality can also affect the mileage. For now though, try to break in the engine and see if your mpg go up.
my brother got a 2009 128i and was getting the same mpg as my e46 m3…
this mileage is pathetic btw, i don’t care who you are.
my 98 740iL with 126000 miles gets about 19-20 mpgs around town (stop and go traffic in Maryland).
In SF it will probably get half of that.