E70 'problems'

[petert]

Had the car since February. It's a 35d Xdrive. First problem was afetr about 6000km when the diesel exhauset fluid was reported as low by the on board check system. Dealer topped it up - no charge.

Second one today - engine management system warning light is on (amber). Spoke to dealer - advises it's ok to drive until they can look at it Monday next week (would have been different if the light turns red (as per manual) I'll report back what they find.

Peter T

[petert]

Car went in today (though ironically after 6 days the engine management system amber warning light had gone out). Dealer says it needed the DDE reprogramming and a new air mass sensor - apparently part of a recall - said I hadn't been told yet becaus they need to go through the gvernment to get the addresses - privacy laws - blah blah. Seemed a funny excuse to me but hey ho.

Will see what this does to economy - on board computer was saying 25.2mpg (US gallons) which is just over 30mpg imperial, though my experience is that these computers are optimistic by 5% or so.

Peter T

[petert]

Had a new charge air temperature sensor fitted (apparently a recall issue I hadn't yet been told about). Some reprogramming done affecting the DDE (Diesel drive electronics?).
Car certainly drives smoother now - like when it was new. Too soon to say if economy any better but I don't think so. I have noticed a change in the cruise control behaviour in that the indicator in the speedo no longer returns to zero if I press the brake or move the cruise control stalk up or down. Cruise control does disengage but the indicator stays at the set speed. This is actually quite handy because it means you can see where the car will return to when cruise is re-engaged. If you move the stalk up or down a second time the indicator does then return to zero.

It's a bit like the E53 in that the first time you press the cruise control button on the steering whell (from the cruise operating condition) the cruise disengages but the light stays on in the dash, but press the button a second time and the system goes off completely and the dash light goes off.

Peter T

[paul300073]

Hi Petert, I am new to this forum i also have a 35x drive just over 18 mths old i am also having problems with the fuel economy Bms figures say that i should be getting around town 27 and average of 34ish but i am no where near did a trip two weeks ago and only got 27mpg @75mph one way and 31 on way back? last week only got 20(mixed driving) dealer says there is nothing wrong with it ,does this dde/ air mass sensor affect fuel figures?? i have never heard of this before! i no that if i can't sort out the mpg then it will have to go as i can't afford the fuel tanker i would need to drag around. Paul300073. p.s. i am in the uk

[flyfs6]

Paul - being honest I think there is nothing wrong with it economy wise because they would be very difficult to achieve unless you were eco driving and mostly on the motorways.

From experience under normal driving conditions achieving claimed economy figures is difficult and the figures sound about right for your car.

[X5Sport]

I think we all know the UK 'Official' figures are completely unrepresentative of the real world. The last time the Dept for Transport were challenged to make them more realistic I think they just said that the figures were simply to allow owners to make a comparative choice between vehicles - complete joke and no bl@@dy help at all.

[petert]

My economy is getting worse, but that may be down to the winter diesel now in use. At the moment I'm more concerned with the way the car drives. When I first got it it would usually shift up at just below 2000 revs (normal throttle) now it's well over 2000 and when cold almost 3000. It really drinks fuel when cold and the gear shifts are not as smooth. It's also significantly noisier than it used to be - maybe the engine loosening up - I'd be interested in others' experiences. Overall now, following the recall for the DDE/air mass sensor work and despite my initial thoughts, the car is not as smooth a drive as when new - it only has 13500 km on the clock. Gut feel is that it's like the small turbo isn't spooling up or the engine mapping is wrong, though of course that's pretty hard to justify objectively.

I'm definitely going to take it into the dealer in the next week or so.

Peter T

[Bungie]

Hmmm, Have you compared fuel mileage from regular diesel which is now 5% Bio mix (nasty stuff) from any station to the Bp ultimate, Shell V Power diesel, Total excellium etc etc.
I for one will not use a particular brand of diesel since bio was introduced as i clean our machinery and the gunge i get out of the fuel filters is unreal.

[shab]

Hi Peter,

I have had the exact same problem with my e70 3.0d. For the last few months it would occasionally hold the first gear for a long time, sometimes almost hitting 3000 revs before changing up.

I had the car remapped 6 months back by Jason, so was going to see if he could help. In the meantime I had an oil service done at the main dealers ( 2 weeks ago) and the problem seems to have gone, done 600 miles since then.

I do think that an oil service should be done regularly on these vehicles...mine had almost gone two years before needing one..according to the onboard computer. I would never leave it that long on my astra van (every 6 months)!!

[ChewingBacca]

My E53 diesel is consuming more fuel in the recent cold weather, from 28 mpg to 23/24 mpg (as displayed).

I blame this partly on the Webasto kicking in on every drive, and the short distances involved.

My journey to work is only six miles. During the very cold mornings the Webasto was still burning when I arrived.

[petert]

On the fuel front I'd need to do more research - I'm in Canada so the fuel mix/additives may be different - the retailers certainly are! Car is not remapped - it's on a lease so I'm reluctant to do anything that could come back to me later. My oil service is still 5000km away but I'll see what the dealer says when I take it in and describe the symptoms to them. I don't have the auxiliary heating function (ironic as Canada is so cold in winter) so I don't think that is contributing. My drive to work is about 25 km and about half that is on motorway when I do about 100kmph, so it's not like all my journeys are so short that the car doesn't get up to temperature.

Peter T

[petert]

Booked into the dealer next Monday so we'll see how that goes. Funnily enough I got a call from the dealer this evening who said the car had 'contacted' them needing a service. I'd checked today and there is 4400km left until the iDrive says the oil change is needed. IIRC on my previous BMWs with iDrive the oil service indicator didn't turn amber until less than around 1000m left (I'd be interested in someone confirming that).

Peter T

[shab]

Confirmed. My E70 had the oil warning light come on and started to count down from a 1000 miles. 4400km does seem very unusual...unless it is indicative of some fault relating to the slow gear changes and high revs, you mentioned earlier?

[Jalf]

I know mine isn't an E70 but a 71 but its just the same and so far I've only had a few "engine malfunction, reduced power" warnings up, I'm pretty sure I know what caused them though BM found nothing wrong when they had a look and nothing since then, not wanting to curse my luck or anything though

[petert]

Took it in to the stealer today and left them with a side of notes on the symptoms. Service will be done Monday so I await the result with interest.

Jalf - feeling a bit thick this evening - can't read between the lines on what caused your 'engine malfunction, reduced power' warnings... I haven't had any warnings though the EMS amber light was on a few months ago before I had the recall work done on the DDE and air mass sensor.

Peter T