no engine/water temp guages
12-19-2008, 09:17 PM
#31
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Having been a Porsche owner since the first Reagan administration, the lack of gauges in the 550i was not a big deal to me. I thought it odd that BMW would provide you with a mpg gauge, and no oil pressure/temp/coolant/voltage, though. I would buy the argument that the car will shut itself down it if senses a problem, but it would be nice to know before hand.
12-20-2008, 05:44 AM
#32
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Originally Posted by Dr Dave' post='741169' date='Dec 9 2008, 07:49 AM
just another thought for those who say our current warning message is enough...........
the paramiters must be set high on our cars or it would throw up an "overheating" light/message every so often, so this leads me to think that it must be set at the max almost..ie: when its "definatly" overheating...and then its too late if your on the motorway doing 100 (70 your honour
) and would result in stopping on the hard shoulder waiting for recovery.
my "guage" would allow me to "limp" to a service area, because of the amount of warning it gives (or in some cases speed up, as more air flow can cool engines down up to a point, i could also put heaters on to channel hot water flow away from the engine)
fortunatly diesel engines dont seem to suffer overheating problems due to there cool running engines and fuel.
the paramiters must be set high on our cars or it would throw up an "overheating" light/message every so often, so this leads me to think that it must be set at the max almost..ie: when its "definatly" overheating...and then its too late if your on the motorway doing 100 (70 your honour
) and would result in stopping on the hard shoulder waiting for recovery.my "guage" would allow me to "limp" to a service area, because of the amount of warning it gives (or in some cases speed up, as more air flow can cool engines down up to a point, i could also put heaters on to channel hot water flow away from the engine)
fortunatly diesel engines dont seem to suffer overheating problems due to there cool running engines and fuel.
I'm not sure you guys realize how fast this all happens. I had a thermostat stick closed on an old car of mine. The temp gauge told me it was overheating, but it really happens in a flash. I only had seconds before there was steam visible. I think there's a prevailing assumption that engines overheat slowly without coolant. This isn't the case. A gauge won't buy you much time at all (provided you even see it before the steam) - which was the point of my post (#3).
For just a low coolant situation, again - I have had cars throw that alarm and the temp gauge didn't budge, so I think it's safe to say that this kind of notice is sufficient for a low coolant situation (the scenario that might cause a gradual overheat).
12-20-2008, 07:47 AM
#33
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I have rented Pontiacs and Buicks which had water temperature, transmission fluid temperature, individual tire pressure, battery voltage information, etc. in the computer display. I would like to see BMW include this type of information in the Car Data section of the Idrive.
12-20-2008, 08:03 AM
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Considering how much I use the temperature gauge in my current car then I am perfectly okay with BMW leaving it out. I don't do that kind of sporty driving that it would ever move from the normal temperature so it is useless even in my current car and it would be totally useless in the new BMW. And there doesn't seem to be that kind of faults so much (no faults during 3 years requiring temperature information).
In my opinion (when using E60 just as an executive car and not a sports car), totally useless information and I don't need that. Just raise an alarm light if I have to stop and call BMW. But I admit that if I would be driving a sports car then it might be a different situation.
In my opinion (when using E60 just as an executive car and not a sports car), totally useless information and I don't need that. Just raise an alarm light if I have to stop and call BMW. But I admit that if I would be driving a sports car then it might be a different situation.
12-20-2008, 08:22 AM
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Originally Posted by UUronL' post='749369' date='Dec 20 2008, 04:44 PM
I'm not sure you guys realize how fast this all happens. I had a thermostat stick closed on an old car of mine. The temp gauge told me it was overheating, but it really happens in a flash. I only had seconds before there was steam visible.
But I guess the trend is now going towards "I want to know" instead of "my car knows".
The cars are so complex today so most of us don't understand them, but some still try to...
01-16-2009, 04:25 AM
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It was 13 F today and it sure would of been nice if my BMW had a temp gauge.
My e61 is 2008 as far as I know it does not give me any indication of engine temp, other than overheating?
My e61 is 2008 as far as I know it does not give me any indication of engine temp, other than overheating?
10-04-2010, 11:18 PM
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This is not only useful to prevent overheating. Actually the meter should tell you the oil/engine temperature to let you know that the engine is too cold (especially on a diesel)! The standard small temperature gauge on the right displays the coolant temperature, if I'm not mistaken. I find this to be a very useless information, since the oil is being warmed at least 3 times slower due to its thickness. An alert of engine overheating still pops up anyway in case it does. Bur who cares about coolant temperature? Isn't oil temperature more important?
If you have a diesel car, you know it's painful to push high revs in first 10 minutes. I've got a petrol model now but still don't want to over-rev if the engine has not reached an optimal temperature yet. So I just guess.
If you have a diesel car, you know it's painful to push high revs in first 10 minutes. I've got a petrol model now but still don't want to over-rev if the engine has not reached an optimal temperature yet. So I just guess.
10-05-2010, 05:09 AM
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This is not only useful to prevent overheating. Actually the meter should tell you the oil/engine temperature to let you know that the engine is too cold (especially on a diesel)! The standard small temperature gauge on the right displays the coolant temperature, if I'm not mistaken. I find this to be a very useless information, since the oil is being warmed at least 3 times slower due to its thickness. An alert of engine overheating still pops up anyway in case it does. Bur who cares about coolant temperature? Isn't oil temperature more important?
If you have a diesel car, you know it's painful to push high revs in first 10 minutes. I've got a petrol model now but still don't want to over-rev if the engine has not reached an optimal temperature yet. So I just guess.
If you have a diesel car, you know it's painful to push high revs in first 10 minutes. I've got a petrol model now but still don't want to over-rev if the engine has not reached an optimal temperature yet. So I just guess.
It may sound silly, but lack of an oil temp gauge in my E60 is one of the smaller reasons I'm now considering selling my 545i and go back to the 964 Porsche (air/oil cooled).
10-21-2010, 02:24 PM
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I was at the dealer today and looked into the window of a new 5-series. Guess what I spotted. Oil temp gauge on the right side of the instrument cluster 
10-21-2010, 03:33 PM
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80% of drivers would probably never know their car was overheating if there was a temp gauge in the car that told them so. it's usually smoke or obvious audible/physical warnings that do the trick, so it doesn't seem weird to me that bmw left them off.
also, i'd say 95% of drivers have no idea what oil temperature is even supposed to represent or its significance, so again it seems obvious they wouldn't put this standard on cars.
also, i'd say 95% of drivers have no idea what oil temperature is even supposed to represent or its significance, so again it seems obvious they wouldn't put this standard on cars.
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