Is this possible?

[GPGrobler]

The econometer on my E46 320i says the car used 19.6L/100km, is this possible? I will check again, because I only have the car for a week and it had a severe misfire due to condensation in the spark plug/coil chambers.

Also if something like this happens, can it throw the reading out completely/confuse the computer?

 

[Kyle]

auto or manual? what was the distance of the trip?

 

[GPGrobler]

It is a manual, about 45 Km's

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I see your ex car was a 320i E46, what was the problem with the car?

 

[Kyle]

I changed the fuel filter and the consumption was dropped marginally.

Check camshaft and o2 sensors :thumbs:

 

[GPGrobler]

Thanks :ty: Is that the camshaft sensors, or the camshaft itself? The engine is quiet, a worn camshaft or lifters are noisy, or do these engines hide the problem?

 

[Kyle]

Camshaft sensors

 

[GPGrobler]

Thanks, now just to locate them, will it be a problem of one or two being disconnected or blown?

 

[Kyle]

The best thing is to run diagnostics on the car first, so you have a good idea what needs to be replaced.

 

[Philip Foglar]

Well, 45 km is short distance depending on what sort of driving the car has seen. If you have driven 45 km on the open road, then that is crazy heavy fuel consumption!! But if the car has been driven for short trips in traffic during the course of the week, then although still quite high, it is possible. These things are not the most economical in slow traffic conditions and if the car spends more time idling than actually moving.

I would take the car for a proper drive on the open road to see what it does, and pay attention to the econometer (not the average consumption value) - it should be easy to keep the needle below 10 l/100 km when maintaining speeds.

 

[GPGrobler]

Also, what you are saying, if it goes to 20 all the time I have a serious problem?

Vacuum leaks?

 

[Philip Foglar]

Also, what you are saying, if it goes to 20 all the time I have a serious problem?

Vacuum leaks?

With the engine at operating temperature: If you pull off the econometer will most likely climb all the way to 20 and stay as high or maybe slightly less (depending on your right foot) until you reduce throttle to maintain a speed. So let's say you have pulled off from a robot and have settled to a cruising speed of 80 km/h - the needle should be somewhere around 5 on a level road. Going up a hill it may climb to as high as 20 if you are maintaining the speed, but the moment you accelerate or the hill becomes very steep, it will go hard over to 20. Of course, when you go over the hill and are off throttle you regain the economy when the needle is able to sit on 0 for a while.

But, it sounds like you have a fuel metering (air/fuel) problem at the very least, and the only real way is to see what codes come up in terms of any faulty sensors, then the other thing to check is, as you mentioned, any vacuum leaks.

 

[GPGrobler]

My guess is the MAF is dirty, I've had the car for only a week, so I was unable to do some DIY up to now.

 

[Philip Foglar]

My guess is the MAF is dirty, I've had the car for only a week, so I was unable to do some DIY up to now.

MAF is definitely something that you could clean, just make sure you use a good quality MAF cleaner and allow to dry etc. :thumbs:

 

[bmwforlife]

Speaking from a mechanically retarded point of view it's possible that the issue is with the sensor my E46 M3 regularly tells me it's -37c outside .

 

[GPGrobler]

Mine say minus 40, which sensor are we talking about?

 

[GPGrobler]

Hi Guys,

The car is "dead" I thought that 125kw sixer would at least translate in slightly better performance than the 85kw four pot of my E30 318i, not so the car performs worse, it has no gradient ability, I have to change into third to go up a 45 degree incline. I am really disappointed with the car at the moment.

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Does anyone or most here still have the standard exhaust with the CAT on their 320i E46, how does your car perform?

 

[madness_inc]

Hi Guys,

The car is "dead" I thought that 125kw sixer would at least translate in slightly better performance than the 85kw four pot of my E30 318i, not so the car performs worse, it has no gradient ability, I have to change into third to go up a 45 degree incline. I am really disappointed with the car at the moment.

---

Does anyone or most here still have the standard exhaust with the CAT on their 320i E46, how does your car perform?

---

You have a serious problem then. get it to a competent mechanic and get it diagnosed ASAP.

 

[RAArmstrong]

Agreed. Something is wrong

 

[ChrisBrand]

Dont want to sound insensitive but it doesnt help complaining and you havent taken the car to have the codes read. Obviously there is a problem with the car. If you were in CPT I would gladly read the codes for you and help you with a fix. It sounds like some of your sensors went. These could be camshaft sensor, crank sensor, maf sensor, DISA valve, throttle flap and outside temp sensor. But if you dont have the codes read you are going to have to buy every sensor till the problem disappears. Costly and time wasting. Up to you

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

[moranor@axis]

TBH... you cant expect the car to have good performance and consumption if it is not firing on all Cyl...

clean Maf and check the whole intake system for vacuum leaks letting in unmetered air... be sure to take the cover of the manifold and check the CCV also there are some small pipes there that crack with age

once you have done this then look at more expensive items like sensors