Are you aware that BMW speedometers are not accurate?

Question

Hi. I heard from a variety of BMW fans and experts that BMW makes the worst speedometers possible. I find that to be true with my bmw also. For example, whenever, It shows 80mph, i don't feel like going 80, because, well, I see many semi trucks going even faster than me. It feels more like 70 mph. My uncle, who is a truck driver drove my BMW and he even told me that the speedometer isn't accurate. Now, many people said that BMW just can't build good speedometers, they are not good at that. Accoriding to a website BMW allows their vehicles with a speedometer margin of error of 5-7% plus 3 mph out of the factory. If you do the math, while the speedometer tells you you're traveling at 80 mph, you're actually going about 71-73 mph. And that is Acceptable by BMW. Its strange, cause even a Dodge Neon has way more accurate speedometers. I'm gonna test mine on the freeway with a stopwatch and watching those mile markers.

Answer 1

Here's the real answer why it is like that....

When you use your on board computer and reset the average speed while using cruise control it will say you are going faster on the guage than the computer says. The car knows EXACTLY how fast it is going... where is what people do not consider... in Germany where BMW is made, the fines for having an inaccurate speedometer that needs to be recalibrated (a simple way to get out of a speeding ticket in the US), comes with a higher fine than a speeding ticket. If you get a ticket for 80 in Germany and your speedometer said 75, your equipment is faulty. BMW purposly sets the speedometer to say you are going faster than you really are so that if you get a speeding ticket, it most certainly won't because of the speedometer saying you are going slower.

The speedometer is EXACTLY accurate and does EXACTLY what BMW intended it to do.

TA-DA! Learn something new everyday.

Answer 2

Bmw Speedometer

Answer 3

what year is the BMW and is it a US version. Its not just BMW but all speedometers read 8-10% high to help curb speeding on american roads. The Us Government convinced car makers to do that back in the late 70's. Thats why you will not see a cop giving you a second look when your doing 60+( when you look at your speedo) in a 55. As a second benifit the warranty expires 10% sooner. This has been a issue for many years. In NY you can take your car to a inspection station with a DYNO to check the accuracy of your speedo. You can also ask a cop to check your speedo. They can usually have you drive by at say 50 and clock you with their radar. That is if your really that concerned. If you know the gear ratio of your drive gear and the tire size there is a formula for figuring out from the engine rpm also. General rule of thumb is if your car has over drive 2000 rpm is about 60. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Are you aware that BMW speedometers are not accurate?
Hi. I heard from a variety of BMW fans and experts that BMW makes the worst speedometers possible. I find that to be true with my bmw also. For example, whenever, It shows 80mph, i don't feel like going 80, because, well, I see many semi trucks going even faster than me. It feels more like 70...

Answer 5

I am not sure if Iagree with you. My last 2 cars have been BMW's. The highway exit where I live is at mile marker 100... when I travel in the state, it is a hobby of mine to estimate what time I am going to be home based on my speed and number of miles.... I am usually very accurate. If the speedometer was off by 5-7%, I would expect the ETA's that I calculate to not be as accurate as they are.
Hope this helps.

Answer 6

The speeometer issue can be corrected simply by changing the size of the tires. if you find your speedometer is not correct you can have it recalibrated. look at the size of tires that are on it now and go a size larger the next time you get tires. this should bring the Speedometer in to calibration. BTW most newer speedometers are incorrect. the wheel sensors jsut don't do as good of a job as the classic cable.

Answer 7

I prefer the New Revised Standard Version. More about that at the end. The people who say that the KJV is the closest translation to the original are just wrong, and there are objective reasons for this. First of all, the KJV was published in 1611, since then we have more transcripts to work from, including the dead sea scrolls which help scholars do a better jobs of resolving the minor differences in the text. Secondly, we know ancient languages much better than the scholars of 1611 did. Remember that Hebrew was a dead language that was revived in the 20th century. The scholars in 1611 didn't know Akkadian, an early Semitic language that pre-dates Hebrew. As a result, modern scholars can do a much better job of translating the Old Testament than the scholars of 1611 could. I have a years worth of graduate level biblical Hebrew and some studies in Greek as well, so I know what I am talking about here. The KJV is a good translation, but it is not, as many argue, the best translation. In Divinity School, the translation we used the most often was the New Revised Standard version. It does a great job of pointing out all of the translation issues and discrepancies in the text. And one more point for the folks who talk about the changes that have been made to the text, are you aware that the great Isaiah scroll found with the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 50's is an almost word for word copy of the book of Isaiah we use today. In today's world, reading the KJV makes it sound as if we should refer to God only with pronouns such as "thee" and "thou" and not "you" and "your's" But the original Greek and Hebrew pronouns are the same pronouns you would use to refer to anyone else. If we translate them into modern English, it should simply be "you" and not "thou." You may prefer the latter, but it is not more correct. Another important difference is that both Biblical Greek and Hebrew use the masculine plural to refer to groups of mixed genders. So, for example, when the angels say "peace on earth good will to men," what they meant was "peace on earth good will to people." Isn't it more important to get the meaning correct than it is to get the word for word translation correct? I think it is. Anyone who has studied biblical Hebrew knows there is no "literal translation." The Hebrew language is simply not that precise. For instance, in Hebrew you would say "King Saul ate lunch with David" and "King Saul ate David for lunch" exactly the same way. There is no difference. We have to go as far at the first clause in Genesis before we find a significant translation program. The King James translates the Hebrew phrase "bresheet bara elohim" as "In the beginning God", the problem is that the "the" is not there. If it were, breshit should read as brasheet" but it doesn't. It appears that the introductory clause is actually in a possessive relationship with the verb "bara" (to create), so it should read something like, In creation's beginning, God created the heaven's and the earth." That's as close as we can get in English, but notice we had to use create twice even though it is not there. There is another example in Ruth. The text is full of examples like this, and there are entire passages that are simply our best guess as to the translations. Many modern translations such as the NIV and NRSV acknowledge these problems and offer the reader alternate translations. With all of this said, I prefer the TNIV and NRSV, because I believe they translate the original gender neutral nature of masculine plural nouns better. The NRSV also provides excellent translation notes. I am a Baptist, but not Southern Baptist.

Answer 8

if you are looking to test the accuracy of your speedometer, just get a friend to drive ahead of you at the posted speed and you follow. if your speedometer is under, you will fall behind.or if it is over then you will pass your friend

Answer 9

They can, but choose not to. Conservative readings limit lawsuits. There are ways to make them accurate though, find a good BMW group & ask there.

Answer 10

don't test it like that, that's a pain in the azz. just have someone in a decent car drive in front of you or behind you and call him and ask him how fast he's going.