e Gremlins? and mpg on the 35d
 

Last week I got out of the car with the headlamps still on and the X5 running. One of my fog lights was on. Only the passenger side. When I turned on the fog lamps they both lit up. When I turned off the headlamps, and fogs with the switches, both fogs went out.

Seems that when the headlights were in the Auto setting (and the fogs turned off) the right fog lamp turned on too. In the manual mode, or parking lamps only, the fogs worked OK....Anyone else had this?

(Also, seems the car allows the fogs with the parking lights only. All our other cars turn off the fogs with the head lamps off or high beams on.)

Checked again last night and everything is working as it should.

Other than that, and a slight high pitch rattle in the dash, my car is great! On the hiway, even on the steepest grades, it does not down shift. Just cranks away at 2,000 RPM. Crazy!

Getting better than 26 mpg now on the hiway. Yesterday the computer (surprisingly accurate so far) indicated 27.6 mpg. The car seems to get better mpg at around 72 mph than 65 mph. I never have seen this before.
Need a couple more trips to confirm if this is the case.

Left/right fog light will turn on when corresponding turn signal is activatated or steering wheel turns beyond a given threshold. It's supposed to give you added visibility when making a turn. (not sure if the headlights have to be in AUTO for this to work) Could this be the cause of what you're describing? Try moving the steering wheel when checking the fogs next time.

And I have MPG envy!

The X5 uses the fog lamp also as a "turning lamp," to light-up the corner while turning. I suspect you are are simply seeing a side effect of this.

Driving Direction Condition Side with Activated Turn-Off Light:

Forward
•Speed below 40 km/h
•Direction indicator activated
Same side as activated direction indicator

Forward
•Speed below 40 km/h
•Direction indicator activated
On side in direction of steering lock

Reverse
•Speed below 40 km/h
•Reverse gear activated
•Direction indicator activated
Same side as activated direction indicator

Reverse
•Speed below 40 km/h
•Reverse gear activated
•Steering lock
Opposite side in direction of steering lock

Reverse
•Vehicle speed below 65 km/h
•Reverse gear activated
Both Sides

This has been true since the earliest X5s. I really like this feature. When we return home at night, I switch off the head lights at the gate and continue with just the parking and fogs on. This provides plenty of light for the trip down our long driveway while minimizing the disturbance to the wildlife (wild turkey, foxes, deer, etc.). It also reduces the reflected glare when entering the garage (AKA construction tent) :)

Funf Dreisig

We regularly get 26-27 mpg on the 40+ mile run into the nearest large city :) But we only get 25ish on the way back home!

Sure is could be the cases of beer in the back, but I'm thinking there could be more to it than that :)

It turns out that the run into town is characterized with many asymmetrical hills. Going in, the hills are steep going up and gentle coming down. This is where the 35d shines. Lots of low end torque for the up slope and shutting of the fuel on the down slope. But it seems the 35d is very sensitive to slopes when in cruise control. IOW it really gets great mpg on gentle down hill sections but wastes some energy braking on steeper slopes. Of course, this is just a theory. It may take lots more beer runs to prove it one way or another. But I'll do it in the name of science :)

Funf Dreisig

Is your home at a higher altitude than the beer shop? Or, perhaps you just drive faster on the way home in anticipation of drinking the beer just purchased.

As it happens the "beer shop" is 200ft lower than the "beer consumption abode". So that may be a factor. However I drive both directions using cruise control set to the legal speed limit despite the anticipation factor on the return trip ;)

For the serious nerds in the audience here is a graph of the elevations along the 30 mi. 26mpg route to the 'beer shop' (AKA Costco). The mileage increases to 27 mpg when we continue another 10 mi to the BMW dealer on pretty flat 65mph freeway. One other difference is that on the way home there are 3 full stops (for left turns).

Funf Dreisig

I have a similar situation here. Beer shop is 30 miles away and at a 650 feet lower elevation. Driving to the beer shop I get 29 mpg (US) and on the return I get 26 mpg (from my '05 3.0d). No cruise control however as the road twists and turns too much.

Try opening and closing glove box if you hear the squeaking noise. That usually does the trick for me.

Thanks! I'll give it a try. It sounds like it is coming from the air vent on the
right side of the steering wheel.