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      08-18-2012, 10:11 AM   #1
rmeir
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big mileage users

Hi it seems that most of the people on the forum [2nd gen x3 users] have recently gotten the car and havent had a lot of miles on it yet. I am wondering if there are any heavy users on the site, maybe the proverbial traveling salesman type, that have really driven the car, and what feedback do they have, reliability, performance mileage blah blaah.
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      08-18-2012, 12:22 PM   #2
dencobmw
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I got my 2013 X3 28i on May 10th and I have about 5500 miles on it so far. I commute 3 days a week.

So far the car has been great. The only minor issue has been an uneven feeling acceleration with "spirited" driving. I had the dealer look at it and he advised me not to buy my gas at the grocery store since there can be really high ethanol content. Since then I've been using Shell V-Power and everything has been flawless.

I absolutely love the car. My all-time MPGs since I drove it off the lot are at 24. It's not unusual to get 29 MPG on my morning commute.
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      08-18-2012, 02:46 PM   #3
denrusso
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What octane are you using? Also, what is suggested by BMW?


Thanks,
dr
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      08-18-2012, 09:06 PM   #4
Radioactive
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I'm guessing that I'm one of top mileage people on the board. Over 22K miles and I don't even work! The X3 is running great. The only complaint was the lag issue, but that has been improved with the service bulletin software update. Only issue I'm now facing now is the possible rattle in the passenger window. Mixed gas mileage was ~24mpg, but after the software update there has been a drop to ~23mpg. I have done over 30mpg on the highway. The Bridgestone RFT tires are wearing well and I guess that I'll be in the 30K range before replacing. Brakes are due in ~3.2K miles. Now I have to find some "wood" to knock on.
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      08-19-2012, 10:54 AM   #5
dencobmw
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I've always used 91 octane which is the highest I can get in Colorado. I believe BMW recommends 91 or greater and endorses BP brand. There are very few BP stations here so the service manager told me to get Conoco or Shell.
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      08-19-2012, 04:47 PM   #6
02420X3
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I have 18K on my '11 X3. It's only been to the dealer for an oil change. When my next oil change comes up I'm going to ask for the software update.

When doing mixed city/highway driving I average 24-25 mpg. When doing all highway driving, below 65MPH, I've gotten as high as 29 mpg. Above 70-75MPH the mileage falls back down around 25 mpg. Driving in Sport Mode hurts mileage, and using Cruise Control helps mileage.

In the US I use 93 octane Shell or Exxon. In Canada I use 91 octane Shell or Esso when I can find it, 91 octane Petro Canada or Irving when I can't. BMW recommends 89 or 91 octane fuel. BMW also recommends the use of BP fuel.
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      08-19-2012, 08:51 PM   #7
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I have 18700 miles on mine. I use 89 and 93 octane. I like to mix the two and use all brands. I have gotten 25 to 31 miles to the gallon. I like it very well. I do have the acceleration lag. I complain to the BMW dealer about it and they said it will adapt to the type of driving we do. I also have a popping noise when I hit a pot whole are backing out of my drive way when I turn to the right. It is the left from wheel area. I have seen on this forum that it may be the steering rack. Other than that we love it.
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      08-20-2012, 04:48 AM   #8
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I have just under 27k miles and love the car. I use 93 octane, almost always Shell. I've used the Techron concentrate four times now. I get about 22 mpg over an hour commute that ranges from freeway at normal speed, to surging freeway (20-65 jumps), to stop and go, to stoplights and stop an go on surface streets. I get better mileage in the surging sections in Sport mode. Had a bit of trouble with something that seemed like an alignment issue, though it went away with my last switch from Winter tires/wheels back to the Summers. Switched to Pirelli PZeros during that change and have found they perform better and are much more comfortable. I did have bubbling on the dash pad, but they replaced that and it's been great since. Rear bake pads were replaced before 15k. Next service is due in 2k miles. Front end suspension noise is loud when hitting something sharp like a pothole. Having trouble with the wiper blades. They skip leaving large partially wiped areas (vice the streaks I've encountered more often in the past). They replaced them last time and it's now much worse. RainX/no RainX makes no difference as far as the skipped spots.
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      08-20-2012, 05:52 AM   #9
cheesebag
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10000 Miles since end of December... no problems to report yet and I try to use BP Ultimate Diesel whenever I can.
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      08-20-2012, 07:11 AM   #10
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'11 X3 35i, 23k miles on it since May 2011. It has ran like a top. Had 3 oil changes (1 by dealer, 2 by myself). 93 Octane only from various discount gas retailers. Never had a single warning light or alarm go off yet. Very solid vehicle, would recommend to anyone. Just did a ~420 mile road trip this weekend with the car stuffed full of gear. AVG 25.5 MPG and that is with big stretches of 80 mph driving. Only other dealer interaction was to apply the software fix for throttle lag as well as a TSB pertaining to the passenger side wind noise, dealer installed weather stripping and/or new gaskets and it became much more quiet.

We like this vehicle so much that we'll probably be picking up a new BMW in the near future. On the fence between a X5 diesel, 550i or maybe a new 3 series if they decide to release a 335i wagon here in the states.
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      09-10-2012, 03:13 AM   #11
Ural
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51,700 km = ~32,000 miles since August 15,2011 . Drove it like I stole it whole time except first 2k km break in period, I occasionally have to take dirt roads and mildly off the road as well. So far no CEL , no hardware issues, really solid car in general .

It has some rattles inside the cabin, not so important, and also some clunks like from the steering or brake pads etc. that seem like many others have too, but again no major issues for me .
My only complaint is the wind/traffic noise I have. Still cannot accept the fact that a car with such an engineering level produces wind noise starting at 50 mph. Other than that in all aspects a very good car indeed.
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      09-10-2012, 06:22 AM   #12
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x3 35i 60'000 km since July '11. No worries since the 1st day, except all the small stones on the highway that are projected by other cars on mine. They could clean the highway
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      09-10-2012, 02:46 PM   #13
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My bought a X3 28i in the first week we drove a 2,600 mile trip. Here are some comments: No problems at all, the sport seats are very comfortable for the 20 hour drive each way, and average mileage since the beginning is 26.5 mpg but I suggest people read about gasoline at www.toptiergas.com

But my wife is still not used to driving an automatic - our other cars have always been manuals, and neither of us have gotten used to the odd gear shift and missing clutch. And although the engine has peak torque in a wide rpm range, the 8-speed transmission likes to shift around alot - with a 6 speed manual we generally know exactly what gear is best at all times. Yes, I know the automatic can be manually shifted, but 8 speeds?

Also the Idrive is mostly difficult to use - we also have a 2010 Audi A4 with MMI/Nav and that's just as difficult. The voice commands are frustrating and only a few of them work. If we both have the key fobs with us, the system usually gets confused about who is driving and which seat setting to use - but we think we've got it by me staying back and letting her get close and open the door first. Yes, I know it's possible to set the profile on the Idrive, but that's a huge chore to figure out.

We've also noticed the Idrive usually forgets many settings, even when there's no multiple key fob confusion. For example, sometimes we get the top view and back view cameras, sometimes just top, sometimes just back, maybe guide lines - but it's turned into a running joke and it provides my wife with some initial humor of the day when backing out of the garage. I don't understand how after 10+ years of Idrive this is the current state. Plus the written manual (which got opened many time during the 40 hours) is also confusing and has lots of incorrect information - for example the manual says to say "Dial" then "name" to make a bluetooth call from contacts, but the correct command is "Phonebook" - this took us through 50 miles of Ohio to empirically figure out.

Another thing we did was immediately put clear 3m protection film on the headlight lenses - I've seen older X3s where the lenses were totally clouded up.
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