How To Check Engine Hours on a BMW

[cooolone2]

Wow... There so much Dunning Kruger here it's amazing! Simply amazing...

Still amusement to read, thanks for the belly laughs!

[chris3g]

operating hours data is available in ISTA

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by chris3g

operating hours data is available in ISTA

Thank you. Unfortunately, I don't think most dealers will disclose this and most private sellers won't have access to ista. But it's good to know. Appreciate it

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by SnowCover

I would be equally alarmed if the car really had mostly highway miles. For example, my friend drives her M2 at 90mph on her commute whenever possible. She revs that engine like it's a French horn and brakes like she's trying to create a dust storm(brake dust, that is). Wear and tear at 90mph can't be better than someone who drives it gently at 70mph.

Teeny, tiny concern not truly worth worrying about. Exceedingly few people who have highway miles drive the way you describe your friend’s driving.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by thebmw

Many car manufacturers have this data. Virtually all the domestics, including GM, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford and all of their pickup trucks and fleet vehicles have this data available in the dashboard. Many Japanese manufacturers including Hyundai and some European including Volvo also have this data available. Other manufacturers have this data available via OBD2 port. Corvettes have this data, Vipers have this data, and some supercars have this data as well.

Along with engine hour information, idling information is also very useful. 1 hour idling is between 30 to 40 miles of engine wear, according to Ford and Chrysler. It would be great if we had a total engine revolution data, but I've never seen that anywhere.

Well, I must admit I’ve only been driving BMWs since computer information started being displayed on dashboards and “iDrive” type screens, so I’m not familiar with what other manufacturers provide. I do find it quite surprising this information would be readily available, since only about 0.0000012% of owners would care in the least. I’m not saying it’s not important, just that only a minuscule percentage of car owners care or even have a clue why they should care.

[Jolbex]

Really dont know how one could rely on working hours. During the week i drive 9km to and 9km from my home to office at average speed 20kmh. During weekends i make some 200km pushing it beyond 220kmh constantly. So what can you make out of my working hrs?

[David70]

I normally buy used & while I think this information could be useful, its a really small part of the population that would care & it's not like the potential used buyer has a long line of similar cars sitting next to each other to pick the low hour car over the other one.

Many considerations - year, mileage, exterior color, interior color, other options, condition, maintenance records, Carfax/other potential damage inspection, distance from you & if one car has 50k miles with "X" amount of engine hours and another has 65k miles & "X" amount of engine hours it's pretty far down on the list of priorities for most.

As with the OP, my guess is buyers that do a lot of hwy miles want this information to prove their case a lot more than potential buyers care.

As every car does some percentage of hwy/city miles, if a seller told me his car had 1000 hours on it (or whatever) & said it was really low for the mileage I wouldn't know if he was correct since I can't compare it to other cars or put a value on it, I don't know what I would do with the info.

[meccha]

If I am told a high mileage car is mostly highway miles, I would look at the mpg since factory figure. If it’s higher than average it would ease my mind. Otherwise highway miles at 90 mph wouldn’t make much sense anyway.

[Hit_Apex]

So, ISTA is the only way? No secret BC menus? What about a full-featured OBDII reader?

[c1pher]

I have only seen engine hours or revolutions on my former Corvette. What cars show engine hours other than boats? Maybe this info is in a PIWIS or BimmerCode area. I have no idea.

[IanH]

Transit vans, and I assume sprinter vans as well show engine hours becuase they often idle for long period of time so you need to know for service interval adjustments.

[Belair62]

My 2011 Tahoe shows hours. Must have been a GM thing.

[NYG]

Engine hours are meaningless on gasoline powered turbo charged i6s bro.

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by thebmw

With some other manufacturers, engine hours are displayed right in the dashboard computer. But on BMWs, they are not. Does anyone know how to find out the engine hours on a BMW? Does Bimmerlink have this feature? If so, I can't seem to find it.

I'm not at my M2 to check but you might be able to see engine run time via the from factory fuel consumption display.

OBD2 PID (parameter ID) 0x7F is engine run time (in seconds I think).

I'd be surprised if Bimmerlink can't query for this parameter assuming of course the engine controller supports it.

But I'd be surprised if the engine controller doesn't support it.

[RockCrusher]

Yes, engine run time is available via the since factory fuel consumption screen.

[DrVenture]

I don't see total time running in my Car>trip>factory values. (2022 G30 M550)

Mine has been on the road 2 years 10 months.
Miles 37,600
Average MPH 35.2
Average MPG 22 (N63 TU3)

I suspect a lot of HWY miles based on these numbers from the previous owner. I've only added about 1000 miles since I bought it in early July. About 14,640 annually prior to my purchase.

Let's see what others have.

[mjr24]

Originally Posted by thebmw

I am thinking of selling one of my cars. The actual engine hours are relatively low, but miles are higher because it is a highway car. So judging the car based on miles is really not representative. The wear on the engine is minimal, coupled with my obsessive maintenance and careful driving style. I am trying to find a way to prove that the engine has seen low hours so prospective buyers are interested.

I would also like to know engine hours for my future purchases.

Uh, that’s the point of saying it has highway miles when you place your ad.

[couchflyer]

Ha Ha, true.

Originally Posted by cooolone2

Wow... There so much Dunning Kruger here it's amazing! Simply amazing...

Still amusement to read, thanks for the belly laughs!

[dscabra]

This whole thread reminds me of the old ... "The car only has 500 miles on it". The problem was they were put on 1/4 mile at a time.

Hours are typically shown on diesel vehicles - no particular reason why it makes any difference for a privately owned and driven vehicle. I just sold a tractor, which had no odometer, and hours are the measure of use that makes sense.

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by DrVenture

I don't see total time running in my Car>trip>factory values. (2022 G30 M550)

Mine has been on the road 2 years 10 months.
Miles 37,600
Average MPH 35.2
Average MPG 22 (N63 TU3)

I suspect a lot of HWY miles based on these numbers from the previous owner. I've only added about 1000 miles since I bought it in early July. About 14,640 annually prior to my purchase.

Let's see what others have.

That the average MPH is provided and is 35.2mpg strongly suggests the car was more a highway car than a short trip car. My info is the average MPH for a private passenger car is 30mph.

A higher average speed number suggests a car driven at higher speed and this arises from considerable highway usage.

A lower average speed number suggests a car driven mostly in town.

A car that sees mostly highway miles is often preferred as highway miles are "easier" on the car/engine.

(As an aside with my cars as was/is my habit I change the oil every 5K miles. Often before setting out on a long (~5K miles) road trip the oil was due to be changed and I'd change it. After returning home and as soon as the car had covered 5K miles since its previous oil change I'd change the oil. I noticed the oil draining from the engine still had a bit of amber color to it and the oil stream was translucent. Usually the oil was pitch black and opaque as all get out. The condition of the oil strongly suggested to me the engine had a relative easy time on the highway.)

However, I notice with my M2 (and with other cars I've owned over the last 5 to 6 years) the engine warms up pretty quick and so too does the oil and the oil temperature runs in the 212F range. (With some cars: My Hellcat and 2 Scat Packs; the oil temperature from driving in town would climb to in some cases 240F.) (But once on the highway the oil temperature would drop to around 212F.) The oil at this higher temperature sheds any water and this reduces any tendency to create sludge or acids.

So this elevated engine and engine oil operating temperature tends to mitigate to some extent city usage.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by thebmw

With some other manufacturers, engine hours are displayed right in the dashboard computer. But on BMWs, they are not. Does anyone know how to find out the engine hours on a BMW? Does Bimmerlink have this feature? If so, I can't seem to find it.

Even if you could come up with the figure how useful would that information be to a potential buyer?

Answer: Not very.

[pz619]

I get the logic, but I'm not sure it means much to the next buyer outside of anecdotes of it being well maintained. Honestly, if someone told me the motor was only running for 850 hours, I'm not sure what I would do with that. I just don't think it's a commonly used metric to gauge motor health.

But hey, more info the better. Maybe it resonates with the next person. Either way, good luck with sale.