[Danderlion]

I recently got a F31 2.0 diesel and it runs great but the fuel needle and "till empty tank" is acting a bit odd so I would like to see liters in tank if possible. I remember my old saab could see this info.

When I say odd I mean I fill it up. Needle shows full, "till empty tank" shows 1300ish km. All good. I drive about 200km and the needle doesn't move and the "till empty tank" shows about 950km. All good so far, but once I hit around 3-350km driven the needle starts moving almost visibly fast till 3/4 tank and the "till empty tank" drops to 600km or so. Then it doesn't move for another 1-300 km and then falls like a rock to half tank etc etc. It seems I reliably get 1100km on a full tank. I just want a bit more info as I feel the needle and "till empty tank" are unreliable.


I drive almost exclusively in eco pro as I'm mostly doing longer A to B driving.

Dealer looked at it and said "normal for bmw" so seeing liters in tank would give me a better estimate of what's going on.

[ooshnoo]

nope

[cjn]

Originally Posted by Danderlion

I recently got a F31 2.0 diesel and it runs great but the fuel needle and "till empty tank" is acting a bit odd so I would like to see liters in tank if possible. I remember my old saab could see this info.

When I say odd I mean I fill it up. Needle shows full, "till empty tank" shows 1300ish km. All good. I drive about 200km and the needle doesn't move and the "till empty tank" shows about 950km. All good so far, but once I hit around 3-350km driven the needle starts moving almost visibly fast till 3/4 tank and the "till empty tank" drops to 600km or so. Then it doesn't move for another 1-300 km and then falls like a rock to half tank etc etc. It seems I reliably get 1100km on a full tank. I just want a bit more info as I feel the needle and "till empty tank" are unreliable.


I drive almost exclusively in eco pro as I'm mostly doing longer A to B driving.

Dealer looked at it and said "normal for bmw" so seeing liters in tank would give me a better estimate of what's going on.

This won't give you a real time display but I'm pretty sure that you can get the current level via the hidden menu. There are various values displayed but I can't remember if fuel is there. Worth a try anyway.

Computer Hidden Menu
(using Trip Reset button)
- Ignition ON
- Press & hold for 10-12 s
- Ignore Oil Reset, keep pressed until menu appears
- Press to navigate
- Press & hold to enter and exit menus

While in the menu, if you want to adjust the MPG reading to correspond to reality (assuming you have worked that out)
- Unlock option, code = sum of last 5 digits of VIN
- MPG correction = Actual / Displayed x 1000
Increase this value to lower the MPG reading (= raise the Litres/100 Km reading)
For example, on my car, changing the calibration value from 1000 to 1022 has reduced the displayed MPG by 2.5%.

[Danderlion]

Originally Posted by cjn

This won't give you a real time display but I'm pretty sure that you can get the current level via the hidden menu. There are various values displayed but I can't remember if fuel is there. Worth a try anyway.

Computer Hidden Menu
(using Trip Reset button)
- Ignition ON
- Press & hold for 10-12 s
- Ignore Oil Reset, keep pressed until menu appears
- Press to navigate
- Press & hold to enter and exit menus

While in the menu, if you want to adjust the MPG reading to correspond to reality (assuming you have worked that out)
- Unlock option, code = sum of last 5 digits of VIN
- MPG correction = Actual / Displayed x 1000
Increase this value to lower the MPG reading (= raise the Litres/100 Km reading)
For example, on my car, changing the calibration value from 1000 to 1022 has reduced the displayed MPG by 2.5%.

Thanks, I will give it a look after work today.

[Skyhigh]

The behaviour you describe is definitely not normal. The fuel level gauge should behave exactly like on any other car. It does in my case. There are no sudden drops.
The only thing which is normal is that it stays at max for a number of KMs. Once it starts moving, it is a gradual thing based on consumption. No steps.

[cjn]

Originally Posted by Danderlion

Thanks, I will give it a look after work today.

I just did some checking on my car, in the hidden menu.

Item #13 - Tank
has left and right entries, firstly ohms values, which I guess indicate the fuel level measuring devices, then litres, for which mine shows
left 29.7, right 10.1, total 39.9, display value 40.1 litres.
This may be the total current fuel; my tank capacity is 57 litres and (see below) I've used 20.2 litres.
Not at all sure how to interpret this, but the ohms values might be significant if there's a mechanical fault. Sorry, I didn't note my readings but I can check again if you want to know.

Item #15 - BC-0
has a menu item Litre Counter = 20.2 litres
Since I last filled up (to the top) and reset the MPG in the computer the car indicates 170 miles @ 38.2 MPG. This equates to 20.2 litres consumed.

Make of all that what you will!

[ooshnoo]

Just remembered that the Connected Drive app on your phone can show you range and remaining fuel.

Depending on your car, you may need to plug the phone into the car and start the app in order to see it

[Michael340i]

If your fuel gauge is unreliable, then it seems likely that any estimate of litres left in the tank will be unreliable, it will work out the volume using the same sensors that inform the fuel gauge.

The 'range' figure will keep going up and down as you drive, the car will keep recalculating based on the type of driving you've just done, I often fill the tank, then drive 100 miles and find that the range is more than it was when I stopped for fuel. This is normal and correct, if I've driven across town on a cold engine to the filling station, then I probably averaged 18mpg to get there, and a tankful at 18mpg will give me x miles range. If I then get on the motorway and do a steady 75mph it will average around 36 mpg, so my range is double what it was when I refilled.

The range calc is useful because when it says you have 30 miles left, you know you're pretty close to the bottom of the tank.

[Danderlion]

Originally Posted by ooshnoo

Just remembered that the Connected Drive app on your phone can show you range and remaining fuel.

Depending on your car, you may need to plug the phone into the car and start the app in order to see it

Yeah I been fighting with the connecteddrive and the phone app. I got an android phone and it seems it doesn't want to connect properly for any reason. It just tells me to install the app on the phone even though I got the app installed and I can do all the remote functions from the app but not see the range and fuel.

[Mikesmith2939]

Originally Posted by Danderlion

Yeah I been fighting with the connecteddrive and the phone app. I got an android phone and it seems it doesn't want to connect properly for any reason. It just tells me to install the app on the phone even though I got the app installed and I can do all the remote functions from the app but not see the range and fuel.

Connected drive apps only work on iPhone.