topping off the tank
 

I didn't pay attention to this during my 4K trip with the 08 4.8 sports, but I kept wondering why the total miles for the tank did not register higher than what I expected.

Yesterday I filled up at home. This time I wasn't distracted by how much ethanol and how fast I could get down the road. So once the pump shut off automatically, I turned it back on since gas here is 70 cents less than what I paid 3 weeks ago in NC.

What surprised me is that I was able to put in one gallon or more of gas than where the pump started. I was confused because with my 04 4.4 sport, I could usually add maybe 20 cents more and the tank was completely full.

Was this anamoly or have others already noticed this?

BTW, I can't find the thread about the 2 second rule in terms of turning the iDrive knob to get back to previous screen but that saved me time during the last part of the trip. Thanks for the tip.

Not sure if I undertand the question correctly.

But if I did, I think it has nothing to do with the X5 but rather with the types of pumps at different gas stations. Some pumps tend to stop when there's still a gallon left and some pumps stop when it's completely full.

It has not mattered lately since the pumps here in L.A automatically stops at $100.00 and you have to re-swipe your credit card if you want to continue filling up.

Thanks. What distracted me was that this seemed to be a pattern during the trip (i.e. the tank was not really topped off), but I didn't watch this closely enough to say it was always this way with all the pumps I used driving 4K miles.

$100. Ouch! The worst I paid on the trip was $90 (completely empty in NC)and now I am back to $3.62 at Sams in OKC.

The last time i was out to fill gas it took 21 gallons to fill my X5 3.0 but this time i could fill in 22.5 gallons. I had driven the same number of miles each time and the range as indicated in the bc was same (30 miles left). I did not quite understand this.... I thought may be the time of the day had something to do with this or may be the gas station....

I did not top off the tank both times.

$3.62? Damn. I was paying $4.95 over a week ago. We're now down to $4.60.

just a small tip and concern. The BMW tech at the dealership said not to overfill the tank. When the pumps turns off don't keep filling to try to get the max. There have been several incidents where the fuel overflows into the overflow filter or something to that effect and will flood the engine on start-up.