BMW of Chattanooga
6806 E. Brainerd Road Chattanooga, TN 37421Contact Us: 800-738-6409
Service Specials
BMW Synthetic Oil Change Special
$89.95*
Synthetic Lube, Oil & Filter Change
Factory trained technicians using factory parts. Includes 7 quarts of full synthetic oil. Complimentary car wash with oil change.
Four Wheel Alignment Special
$139.95*
Prolong the life of your tires by protecting them from uneven and unnecessary wear.
Four wheel alignment Includes: Inspect suspension, steering components and tires for wear and damage; check and correct all adjustable angles as required.
USE CODE: AL4139
BMW Brake System Flush
$129*
Maintain the safety and superior breaking power of your BMW with our Brake System Flush. BMW recommends that this service be performed every two years. USE CODE: BFS
Fuel Induction and Injection Service
$179.95*
Air intake systems are very sensitive to deposits that build up on throttle bodies and internal passages.Fuel induction services will remove the build up, ensuring your BMW functions with optimum fuel economy, power, and cleaner emissions.
*Plus tax, shop supplies. Valid only at BMW of Chattanooga. Coupon not valid with any other offer. Must present coupon at time of write-up. Limit one coupon per person. All prices exclude government fees and taxes. USE CODE: FIS3
A Note from our BMW Shop Foreman:
My idea about this column is to discuss some of the more common problems we see in the shop. Some problems can be avoided. Gas has been a hot topic of debate lately. Does my car need premium or can I get away with using one of the lower grades? Name brand vs. none name brand. There are literally hundreds of articles debating the merits of premium vs. regular gas and many of them say that with the modern engine control systems your car will run fine on the lower grade. Other articles that discuss the "designer" fuels say that they are a waste of money. Keep in mind that these articles refer to the entire whole of automobiles on the road today. BMW's aren't like all cars. To keep the image of the "Ultimate Driving Machine" only the higher performance engines and highly packaged cars are imported to the US. You can get an entire different engine package in Europe like six cylinder non turbo diesel 7 series. Over here we get the bigger better faster packages and that is to support the image that BMW has built over the years. With those higher output engines comes a recommendation to use 91 octane. The engines were designed with those operating parameters in mind and it is HIGHLY recommended that 91 octane is used. Can we make you use it? No. Will the car run differently on anything lower than 91 octane? Yes. Mileage and performance will suffer some by using lower octane fuels. Been there done that. I had a '07 Z4 3.0si and experimented with lower octane fuels to satisfy my own curiosity. It ran OK for a while before it developed a really annoying miss and SES light on at WOT. Fuel mileage was not too bad. Around 27mpg average (I drive a lot of hwy). I checked the codes and found misfires across all 6 cylinders. Switched fuel to 91, cleared the codes and fuel mileage went up, got more power and the annoying miss was gone. Whoohoo.
Gasoline manufacturers are also different. The website www.toptiergas.com has a list of gas retailers who use very good detergents additives. These additives help insure against deposits building up on the valves. This is very crucial especially on the engines with valvetronic. The valves on those engines only open up to .8 mm at idle. Any buildup on the valves can make many engines run rough at idle due to disrupted airflow into the cylinder and the ensuing bad burn. Personally I have seen amazing results from a good fuel injector flush. Using top tier fuels can help alleviate carbon buildup. Chevron is my personal weapon of choice.
Ethanol. Need I say more? BMW allows up to 10%. Anything above that and there is engine damage they won't pay for. The engine can't be expected to operate correctly on fuel that is way outside of normal mixture. In the shop I've seen almost 20% in some cases. This can make an engine do all kinds of stuff from fail safe mode to barely running. If you live near a station that doesn't have ethanol and it is a top tier fuel then try to use it as much as possible, otherwise try to limit the choices to top tier. Even though the stations might be independently owned the gasoline manufacturer still has a standard to uphold.
Any suggestions/ideas/subjects you would like to read more about feel free to e-mail me at Everett.collins@bmwofchattanooga.com and I will be more than happy to answer them as best as possible.
Thanks,
Shop Foreman Everett Collins