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Bad Fuel Economy - 2013 328i

16K views 47 replies 25 participants last post by  f30jojo 
#1 ·
I just leased a 2013 328i in Los Angeles, CA.
I drive a mix of highway and city.
I'm on my second full tank of gas and i'm only getting 19 mpg.
The EPA estimated mpg on the car is 23 city and 33 highway, for a combined 26mpg.

Anybody have any ideas on why i'm getting such poor fuel efficiency?
I drive in comfort mode and have pretty typical driving habits.

Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
-Andy
 
#2 ·
These posts come up a lot. Before freaking out, take your car out onto the high way. Turn on the cruise control and set it to 65mph. Reset the trip computer and drive about 50 miles. See what your results are.

If they are still terrible, then there is a chance it is the car, but 99.99% of the time, it is how you drive and were you drive. Short 10 minute trips are terrible for mileage. We had someone a month ago complaining and swearing his car was broken because he was getting 16 mpg on this new 328i. Turns out he drove 5 miles to work and sits in traffic for 30 minutes on the way :)
 
#15 ·
These posts come up a lot. Before freaking out, take your car out onto the high way. Turn on the cruise control and set it to 65mph. Reset the trip computer and drive about 50 miles. See what your results are.
:)
Bad advise. Don't use " cruise control " while your car is in the break in period,under 1200 miles.:thumbdwn:Good luck
cheers
vern
 
#3 ·
Probably LA traffic. When I had my e90 328i, my mileage was 17mpg consistently. Sometimes 16 if I was in extra traffic that tank. City driving kills it. Even though that was mostly city, when I mixed with a bunch of highway I'd be lucky to bring it up to 18-19.

Like the previous poster said best to check highway mileage using his method to be sure. I still hit 30 on the highway sometimes even though city was 17 most of the time. so I didn't think it was the car.

What part of LA? Here on the westside it's hard not to get crap fuel economy.
 
#5 ·
If your in metro LA, that's going to happen. Take it easy on accelerating and coast as much as possible... My theory is the less you brake, the more gas you save. In South Bay suburbs I average 21-22 mpg so 19 in Metro LA traffic is not unreasonable. If I go through a tank of 50% highway (80 mph) I will get about 25 mpg.
 
#6 ·
Yeah, what everyone else said. It totally depends on how you drive and what kind of traffic you're in. Short trips, particularly in the winter months, will kill your fuel efficiency, as will stop and go traffic. Excessive speeds will prevent you from breaking the mid-30's but it should still allow you to attain 30.

As others have said, try setting cruise control strictly to 65 or 70 and driving for 30 miles and see what fuel economy you get.

As far as real world driving tips, try using Eco Pro mode and abiding by the moderate acceleration tips you're given. You're probably going to die a little on the inside when merging into the highway :)

I had the same problem with my A4 2.0T which was one of the things that pushed me towards the ActiveHybrid 3. I spend most of my miles stuck in commute traffic and the hybrid really helps match or exceed EPA fuel economy in those cases (depending on how much willpower I have against mashing the pedal)
 
#7 ·
Your mpg will improve the more miles you put on the car.

At 9k miles, I am averaging 26 mpg in about a 50/50 mix, city/highway.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the quick responses.
I do have a lot of 10 minute quick trips around Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.
But i also have a 10 mile commute from Beverly Hills to Downtown LA where i take the 10 freeway, usually with light traffic.

I hope i can improve upon the 19mpg im getting now :)

For those that have the latest 3 series with the auto-stop/engine shut down feature, do you think that helps or hurts the fuel efficiency?

Thanks!
 
#11 ·
For me (in LA), I've had ASS kick in immediately after cold starting it (200 yards to my stop sign), I don't think it gets cold enough here for ASS to be disabled due to ambient temperature and I don't think it cares about engine temp too much.

It seems to take 10-15 minutes to get the oil temp up to normal. If all you are going is 10 mile trips, you car is never getting fully warm and stabilized.

Take your car out on the open road and let it breath properly as suggested and see what it will do MPG wise.
 
#14 ·
to the OP, I do feel your pain though. I came from an E93 335, and it only got 18 or 19 mph, mostly suburban driving. Dropping to the 328, AND using EcoPro, I'm still getting less than 20 mph. It sux, its gutless, and makes me re-think my purchase almost daily. If I mash the 4banger a bit, its still relatively fun, but not like the 6 cyl., and when I drive like that, I average about 10 mpg. I think I already regret the downgrade to the 328, especially if the 335 really does get the same mpg. But, I do concur with what people say, on the freeway with cruise control, I consistently get over 30 mpg, but I don't drive the freeway on a regular basis. [shrug]
 
#19 ·
Seems pretty crappy if the actual real world use of the car is 8-10 mpg below what the "EPA Estimate" is...
One of the main selling points of the new 2013 328i was its improved "best in class" fuel economy.

It sounds like people are mixed on how their own 328i's are doing with fuel economy.
But I can't imagine that our driving styles are THAT different.
 
#22 ·
My average commute to work is 28mpg or so, but one day I decided to challenge myself to see how efficiently I could drive it, and I made it there at 36mpg. The way you drive has a lot to do with the ful economy one gets.

It is indeed sad that EPA numbers don't always line up with what actual drivers see. It makes purchasing a car a lot more difficult too if fuel economy is a selling point (whether it be for financial or just philosophical reasons)...
 
#20 ·
Sadly, there's a huge difference in mpg when driving for fun vs. driving for economy. I agree with others that its a bit ironic to buy a $50k+ car and worry about a few extra mpg's, but I did factor mpg into my overall car choice, and gave a lot of weight to the 328's proclaimed fuel economy. If you drive like a frightened grandmother downhill on the freeway, yeah, you'll get good gas mileage; if you drive like an enthusiast, it apparently doesn't matter if you're driving the 328 or a Corvette or a Porsche 911 (my other cars that got similar mileage as the 328, but were more fun to drive "aggressively)
 
#35 ·
No I am a very careful driver. I drive in comfort mode. I watch the eco gage under the speedometer all the time and try to ease on the gas so it doesn't drop below 10mpg for very long. I have not tried the actual eco mode yet. I do have the engine start/stop on and it does turn the engine off at lights. I was so looking forward to getting better mpg then I had before.
 
#36 ·
Yeah, that can be frustrating, though 12 is hard to picture unless you're just in a constant state of stop'n'go.

My advice: Put away your MPG trackers and just drive your car however you want. The MPG tracker for me was like a leaderboard - I needed to beat my last high score. Once I let that go, my fun factor immediately improved.
 
#38 ·
City commutes can be tough on a car. 12 mpg is conceivable if you are just idling and going nowhere or accelerating from light to light.

Have you gotten the car out on the highway on a longer trip with a mix of driving? If its not over 20+ on the highway, there is a problem.
 
#40 ·
City commutes can be tough on a car. 12 mpg is conceivable if you are just idling and going nowhere or accelerating from light to light.

Have you gotten the car out on the highway on a longer trip with a mix of driving? If its not over 20+ on the highway, there is a problem.
Thank you for the reply. Yes your description of my commute is very accurate. I have done a small amount of highway driving and the mpg is much better. Unfortunately I live in a very urban area and hardly ever get on the highway. I'm just now glad to know that 12 mpg is not a defect.
 
#39 ·
Traffic jams and short cycles are a mpg killer, obviously. The consumption can be worse by 20-25% in my own experience and it just falls out of EPA range. After 7000miles, the engines on our Honda loosened a bit and fuel economy improved significantly. It takes time.
 
#44 · (Edited)
About 1200 miles or so on my 328xi thrasher - I am impressed....I have been averaging 25 - 28 mpg on my 25 mile commute to DC and this weekend I did a quick 200 mile sprint up 95 and averaged 40 mpg when cruising between 65 - 70 mph and dropped to 38 mpg at higher left lane speeds. Just incredible to see miles-to-empty increase the further I go..... this is a very different experience than my M3.
 
#46 ·
HAHA yes in my M3 it will say 50 miles to go and then 3 miles later say 38 miles to go. :mad:

but honestly I never leave the dash showing on that - I always have it set on the oil guage. More important and I get around 180miles per tank. Sounds about right.
 
#47 ·
I'm getting about 18.5-19.0 mpg's on my 2007 328i. It has about 51K miles.

I live in the South Bay area and have a lot of frequent stops.

I guess there are certain things we can do to get the most mileage.

1)make sure car is tuned up, oil change, etc.
2)proper tire pressure
3)proper wheel alignment.
 
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