It's the distance you can travel on the gas in the tank. Check your manual.

Fuel range on my diesel won't read more than 999km even though it will actually go 1100km if stretched. For the first 100km or so it keeps reading 999km...

After a fill, I see it in the 430-460 "Range", and I also never notice it above
that number...it's just a computer guesstimate. As a repost, the pic below is
my personal "best" on a tank: ~570 miles!
And no, I did not add acetone, jerk chicken seasoning, high octane aviation
gas, Marvel Mystery Oil, or other elixirs, nor did I use K&N filters, or do a 3,000
mile oil change...:rofl:

Just cheapazz 89 octane gas from a no name brand gas station, along the
road. ;)
GL,mD

i'm dying with laughter... lol

The one interesting thing I will say about the range calculation is that the computer is pretty smart, almost 'adaptive' in a way. If I drive around town on a tank of gas and then go to fill up, the range will be in the 300's. However, go for an extended drive on the highway where you are cruising at 60 mph or so and then go to fill up and the range has now been calculated for a much higher mpg factor yielding 400+ miles on the display. I don't know how much sampling the computer does; it's not looking at your last 5 miles that's for sure (in other words, drive on a tank of gas around town and then 5 miles on the highway with good fuel economy won't give you the 400+ value). It would be interesting to know.

:iagree:


I think it does the recalculations on rolling basis so it's constantly monitoring what's going on and bringing in new information but only disregarding the old info once it's been in the system for a while.

I seem to think it's keeping a running log of all the data since last reset. As more data comes in, the less the fluctuation so it seems to be stagnant after a while when you look at consumption. Just yesterday I filled up 23.156 gallons and got 419 miles out of it. Fuel consumption on the OBC says 18.0MPG. It's been reset for about 2 months now. The calculation comes to 18.09 MPG. Not too shabby. Range displayed 484!

you guys get very good gas mileage... i only can get 450-500 KM's per tank... you guys are getting well over 600KM's, is there anything to do with O2 censors and stuff? i just bought this 2000 4.4i X5, 3 weeks ago.... need to boost up gas mileage here...

If your SES light isn't on, then chances are your O2 sensors are within normal operating range.

Other than O2 sensors, other factors that can degrade gas mileage are:

1. Dirty MAF sensor
2. Dirty air filter [but has to be filthy for the most part]
3. Grade of gas you use [Octane rating]
4. Cleanliness of your top end, valves, etc.
5. Health of the Motronic system
6. Cleanliness of your injectors/fuel system
7. Cleanliness of your drivetrain fluids specifically the differentials. Transmission and transfer case don't play a large part but do contribute.
8. Tire wear and tire pressure including wheel alignment and tire balance.

And probably the MOST important factor in fuel mileage is unequivocally and without a doubt the biggest factor: DRIVING STYLE.

The best way to get the best gas mileage is not necessarily with cruise control. Although the concept is similar. Instead of maintaining the same speed, maintain the same throttle position/input, regardless of if your speed goes up or down. For example, you'd maintain a speed of 55 MPH on a flat surface but should you encouter a hill, keep your foot steady and don't worry about the decrease in speed, unless it becomes unsafe to the traffic around you. But you can easily get away with -10 MPH. If you're going up a hill, you'll be coming down it so your speed will naturally increase in a short time.

Depending on where you live, (flat, mountainous, etc), you can easily do this if you really wanted to. When cruising on the highway at 55 or 65 or even 75, keep you foot steady [called IronFoot technique in the hypermiler crowd]. Don't bother with whether your speed drops if you're going up a small hill. The amount of fuel it would take you to speed up versus the amount of time you'd save by maintaining your speed is not worth it. You'd save milliseconds. And chances are, you're not climbing Pikes Peak. When your speed starts to increase as you come down the other side of the hill, take your foot off the gas and let it coast, in drive. Return your foot to the appropriate position. When getting off an exit, put it in neutral way before to estimate a safe speed your car will decelerate to take the turn. Try not to accelerate then brake hard - this wastes gas big time! With those tips - anyone can easily soar their gas mileage.

I once got a loaner from the BMW dealer which was a Chrysler PT Cruiser. What a horrific piece of engineering. They did however manage to put an MPG gauge on it. When I picked it up, it said 14.3. When I returned it after a week, it said 22.1 and I never reset it as it didn't have that option. All on regular 87 octane gas and it was a V6. That's a 54% increase in gas mileage over what the knucklehead before me was doing.

yup, drive 55mph (90kms). the difference is huge.

from Wiki:All cars demonstrated decreasing fuel economy beyond 65 mph (105 km/h), with wind resistance the dominant factor, and may save up to 25% by slowing from 70 mph (110 km/h) to 55 mph (89 km/h).