A 4.6, a trailer, a bad fuel gauge reading...

[JMDXX5]

...and somewhere on I-95 in Georgia. Pull up a seat,...get a cup of 'joe' and relax.

As some may know, I recently installed an OEM tow hitch. Though the instructions are definitely meant for BMW techs, I was able to manage the install without major drama. Now that the 4.6 was ready to snatch a trailer in tow, I planned my trip southward to South Beach Miami for Memorial Day fun. My gear is packed, bike is secured in the trailer and the fuel tank is topped off. I leave Northern VA much,...much later than had planned,...18:00'ish instead of the planned 12:00 window. No problem, I'm never in a hurry these days when traveling. I figure I'll get there when I get there.

I drive to the VA - NC border and take my standard 20-minute break. Upon readying to procede to points south, I glance at the fuel gauge and see that "reserve" fuel light is on. I think back and recall that the gauge had registered between 1/2 and 3/4 tank when I stopped. Hmmm, what the heck is going on, I think? I head out and take the next exit to get gas,...the 4.6 takes in 17 gallons, which clearly indicates that I had at least 7 gallons in the tank. Hmmm, I'm thinking something is up with the fuel gauge. After pumping in 17-gallons, the gauge only registers 1/2 tank exactly. WTH! So, I perform a little immediate action,...tap on the instrument pod, lightly smack the dash area with the palm of my hand,...do the old key-on-key-off maneuver, but to no avail, the gauge still reads 1/2 full. I then recall the number of miles driven - abt 160, and decide to drive by miles driven and refuel accordingly.

I'm headed southward again, me, an X, a lot of expensive camera gear (Nikon D70, D2X, some 2.8 glass, etc), and a trlr with a '01 ZX12 strapped down. I drive trusting miles traveled vs info provided by the OBC and fuel gauge. I decide to gas up again in the wee hours of the morning. This time the X accepts 19 gallons, the gauge still read 1/2 full, it also reads 1/2 full after I refueled. I'm someone in SC - home of the X5. With a full tank of gas-o-line, I decde to get some sleep at a rest stop. Before sun rise, I set out again on Thursday morning. I analyze my fuel,...recall the miles driven, etc. The OBC shows a range of 120 miles, the gauge shows 1/2 tank. Oh, I forgot to mention that it finally got over the 1/2 full syndrome and begin to show some since of normal operation. Well! I decide to get gas at Exit 2 in GA,...near the FL - GA border,..the last gas Exit before the price of gas in FL streches your imagination and your wallet. There I was between Exit 2 and mile marker 3. I'm coming up on a small, but long uphill climb towards a bridge and the X begins to caugh,...and caugh, then hack, and sputter, then spat,...then dies. What the heck, I mentally proclaim. I quickly recall the OBC showing 120 miles to empty and the fuel gauge showing 1/2 tank. I look at the miles traveled and realyzed that I had forgotten to stay within the 220 mile fuel stop range Ihad mentally set. I was actually around 250+. Not good, as I had given out of gas,...with Exit 2 just over a freakin bridge.

No problem, I'll just walk to the exit, get gas and come back. Well, let me be the first to say that objects ahead APPEAR closer than they really are. LOL~ It certainly would have taken some 30 minutes 1-way to hike the distance. I think, why not flag someone down. Being abt 50-yards down range of the 4.6, I look to oncoming Southbound traffic,...and quickly recongize that an X5 coming. I wave my arms like a stranded seagull, but they just blast by me. I turn in disgust and throw both arms up, thinking why didn't they stop. Meantime, the passenger (who I later become to know as Michele) has turned looked back. They decide to STOP! Thank God, I sighed. Another car stops to, a man and lady from Jerrsey, but I decline their offer. Hey! If you're out of gas along the roadside in an X5, wouldn't rather an X5 driver lend a helping hand. :-)

I then give a short explanation of my problem,...they encourage me to hop in (..didn't take much encouraging). We set off to the exit and begin some great BMW conversating. Ya see, this was no regular X5 owner, this here guy worked at the X5 Birthplace in SC. We continued to trade BMW war stories,...one after another. In fact, both seem to be well versed BMW-philes. Dennis, the driver, father was a former WWII veteran,...also a Marine if my memory of our convo serves me right. From talking with him, I gathered quickly that he cherished the memories of his father and was very supportive of military men and women currently serving in the Armed Services. I had previously showed my military ID to give them comfort that I was no mass murderer, etc. I tell ya, if I thought I'd run into folks like Dennis and Michele everyday, running out of gas wouldn't be so bad. Folks might just get to know each other,...a little better. We sure did.

Lastly, as I know this has been terribly long,..thanks for hangin in there. Danny tells me that the BMW factory has the best plan one can ever dream of for employees. Hopefully, I repeat it correctly. Lets see, they get to drive any car the desire (not like they have much to choose form,...a Z4 or an X5,...LOL) and only have to pay for insurance. BMW leases to employees for freakin free. I nearly hand wrote a resume' on the spot. This came up after I noticed the options in their 3.0,...get this,..Pano-roof, sweet leather trim combo, xenons, and oh yeah, 'dem COMFORT SEATS to die for. What a freakin deal. Sorry, they can't get Nav as an option on BMW's dime. Hmmm,...you can get $40+K worht of vehicle to use at our expense,...but not a $2K Navi cookie. Oh, well~

We get back to my X,...drop in 2 gallons,...the first gallon cost me freakin $8.48 per gallon. The cost of a gas container and the 1st gallon of gas. Ouch~, but try push a X5 w/ a trlr up an incline. TeeHee~ I dump the gas into the 4.6. Then they take a gander inside the X,..asked abt the engine and I tell 'em it's the 4.6-I-S,...2 sets of eyes get wider now. Danny responds with a, "I bet that baby will giddy-up and go". I say, yup, she sure will.

Before we parted, I gave 'em this site to check for my post on our encounter, as I had told them that I'm a regular here at RF.Com and would write abt our time spent roadside. I also pointed them to xoutpost.com,...as I had told them that I had gotten better instructions for installing the X5 OEM hitch from there. We then shook hands, wished each other safe travels,...I offered compensation for their trouble,...of which they declined and we all pointed the nose of our X5s southward. Man! What a way to cross the border into Florida,...feelin plain old good about life.

Danny and Michele, may your days be filled with sunshine and harmony...and always an X5 in your path.

JMDXX5 (JMD Double X5)

[Chris F.]

Awwww man! Sorry to hear about all your troubles. However, the story was an excellent one to start the day to!

[JMDXX5]

The trlr weigh was around 2.3k on the return trip and some 1700 going down. We added a second bike (ZX12) to the trlr. I can't say that the fuel gauge returned to normal after un-hitching,...however I did have Passport BMW check it out. They found faults stored,....voltage serge, etc. But nothing else. I'm going to carry that 2-gallon gas container around,...run it 'til it starts to sputter and gas up, etc. Note, if you'r towing, the fuel consumption rate is faster than one can gulp a slurpee, so you best be planning to gas up around the 1/4 tank park.

Get this, I borrowed a friend's older model '92 Suburdan and got a solid 15mpg from Northern VA to Parris Island SC. I loaded 4000-lbs (certified weight) in it and on a trailer and it yielded a solida 14 mpg. Teh analysis revealed that there's not much of a penalty for towing with a Suburdan, but it's not ideal for a daily driver. Yet, and X5,...though it may be good for a daily driver, compared to a Suburban, it's not an ideal vehicle for towing. I say this because, my 4.6 fuel mileage was severed in half. It only got a whopping 10.2 mpg towing about 1700-lbs going and 9.4 miles towing about 2300-lbs (we strapped in another ZX12 inside the trailer and a passenger's weight.

I'm hoping that poor fuel mileage is due to some aero-dynamic drag from the trailer. Because, though it was V-shaped up front, the height of the trailer was some 18-20 inches above the X5's roof line.

JMD

[rocketir]

Originally Posted by JMDXX5

The trlr weigh was around 2.3k on the return trip and some 1700 going down. We added a second bike (ZX12) to the trlr. JMD

FYI...Your overloading your X. Be careful. If you have an accident and the insurance determines that you are over the limit they may not like that.
Jes

[UCrewX5]

Originally Posted by rocketir

FYI...Your overloading your X. Be careful. If you have an accident and the insurance determines that you are over the limit they may not like that.
Jes

He's well under the 6000 lb rated towing capacity.

[JCL]

Yup, 6000 lbs, as long as there were brakes on the trailer....

If not, 1600 lbs max IIRC.

[LeMansX5]

BMW does have good plans for employees. I have heard that the employees working at VPC also have similar plans.

[UCrewX5]

Great read, JMD.

One follow-up question. When you removed the trailer did the gas guage go back to normal, or is it still actiing flakey?

Jeff

[JMDXX5]

Jeff, see my post below.....also, what's this "time out" between posts? LOL

JMD

[UCrewX5]

Originally Posted by JMDXX5

Jeff, see my post below.....also, what's this "time out" between posts? LOL

JMD

Thanks JMD. The "time out" is to prevent someone from flooding the board with posts via some sort of mechanized bot program. It's a standard setting with the VBulletin application we are running.