Thinking ahead when driving
Having maintenance carried out
Avoid unnecessary acceleration and braking.
To do so, maintain the appropriate distance
from the vehicle in front of you. An anticipatory
and smooth driving style reduces fuel con-
sumption.
Have the vehicle serviced regularly in order to
achieve the optimum economy and service life
of your vehicle. BMW recommends having the
maintenance performed by a BMW center. Also
please pay attention to the BMW maintenance
system, refer to page 237.
Avoiding high engine speeds
Use 1st gear only for starting off. Accelerate
rapidly in 2nd gear and above. Avoid high
engine speeds in doing so and shift into the
next gear early.
General driving notes
Closing luggage compartment lid/
tailgate
When you have reached the desired speed,
shift into the highest possible gear and drive
with the lowest possible engine speed while
maintaining a constant a vehicle speed.
Operate the vehicle only when the lug-
gage compartment lid/tailgate is com-
pletely closed. Otherwise, exhaust fumes could
enter the interior of the vehicle.<
In general: driving at a low engine speed
If it is absolutely necessary to drive with the lug-
gage compartment lid open:
reduces fuel consumption and minimizes wear.
Taking advantage of coasting
1.
Close all windows and the glass sunroof or
panorama glass sunroof.
When approaching a red light, let off the gas
and allow the vehicle to coast to a stop in the
highest possible gear.
2.
Increase the air volume of the automatic cli-
mate control to a high level, refer to
page 115.
On steep roadways, let off the gas and allow the
vehicle to roll in the appropriate gear.
Hot exhaust system
The flow of fuel is interrupted when coasting.
As in all vehicles, extremely high temper-
atures are generated on the exhaust sys-
Switching off the engine during longer
stops
tem. Do not remove the heat shields installed
adjacent to it, and never apply undercoating to
them. When driving, standing at idle and while
parking take care to avoid possible contact
between the hot exhaust system and any highly
flammable materials such as hay, leaves, grass,
etc. Such contact could lead to a fire, and with it
the risk of serious property damage as well as
personal injury. Do not touch hot exhaust tail
pipes. Otherwise there is a risk of burns.<
Switch off the engine at longer stops such as
traffic signals, railroad crossings, or in traffic
jams. Even having the engine switched off for
approx. 4 seconds results in fuel savings.
Switching off functions currently not
required
Functions such as air conditioning, seat heat-
ing, or rear window defrosting consume a lot of
energy and require additional fuel. Their influ-
ence is particularly pronounced in city traffic
and stop & go operation. For this reason, it is a
good idea to switch these functions off when
they are not really needed.
Hydroplaning
When driving on wet or slushy roads,
reduce road speed. If you do not, a wedge
of water can form between tires and road sur-
face. This phenomenon is referred to as hydro-
planing, and is characterized by a partial or
complete loss of contact between the tires and
135
Online Edition for Part no. 01 41 2 600 310 - © 02/08 BMW AG
| Categories | BMW 5-Series Manuals, BMW Manuals |
|---|---|
| Tags | BMW 525i, BMW 525xi, BMW 530i, BMW 530xi, BMW 550i, BMW E61 |
| Model Year | 2008 |
| Download File |
|
| Document File Type | |
| Copyright | Attribution Non-commercial |
(0 votes, average: 0 out of 5)