Hey guys,
Alright - I own 3 maxima, a '00, an '02, and a '98. It seems as if outta all three of my cars the '98 has the worse gas mileage. I've been using this car for the past few months, and just recently my commute has gotten a bit longer. I travel roughly 100-110 miles a day. Last week I had filled up my tank with the needle just below the quarter mark. I had driven a total of 290 miels on that tank and filled up for approx. ~15 gal. The mpg came out to be some number like 20.134. For a car w/ only 53k miles and a '98 thats pretty bad! I can't thikn of anythign wrong w/ the car...oil changes done every 3k miles religiously, new tires, seafoamed everk 3-4k, techron fuel injector cleaner used.......no CEL......

SOmeobody pls. help me out..

Thanks in advance....

 

I know you said the CEL is not lit, but check for codes anyway. The knock sensor will not set the code, but can have a very significant impact on fuel economy.

Have regular maintenance items like filters, been done on the car? You are nearing 60k, perhaps a fresh set of NGK plugs (platinum or copper) might help boost fuel economy also.

 

May be time for a full tune up?
I recently changed my spark plugs and gained at least 25 miles per tank or more, only costed $12 for NGK coppers. I left the useless Bosh 4 Platinum for 60, 000 miles and were totally destroyed. I won't use them in any of my cars anymore.

 

You'd be surprised the difference a new set of plugs can do. I saw wonders when I changed them out.

 

Hey guys,
Thanks for the quick responses - about 7k miles ago, I had a friend/mechanic check out my spark plugs, and I was told that they were still in pretty good condition...my fuel filter is pretty new, so I dont' think thats it either. I actually had gone in for a tune up but i was told everything that needed to be changed was still in decent shape so there was no need at that time (a few months back). A relative of mine has a '99 max, and his commute is just 20 more miles than mine, but somehow he gets about 450-500 miels per tank. Now, I know the '98 and '99 is pretty much identicle, but why am i only getting ~290-330 per tank w/ about quarter left?? to top that off, outta the 120 mile commute, only 25 is city! for people familiar with the nj turnpike, i travel from exit 9 to 15w and then travel a bit further in the exit....

Thanks again guys...

 

ive never had better than 22-23 mpg/350miles to the tank. I fully tuned up my car about 11k miles ago(change fuel filter again soon), I always drive hard so that could be it right there. ive had the EVAP code for a while now, if that was sucking 1-2 mpg then that would only add what 16 to 32 miles? are you stock? I'm thinking that it has alot to do with how you drive as in going to redline and hitting it hard off the line, beating the car when its not warm. , ive just put the stock intake back in and ill see what it does. Nothing in life is same from car to car so i guess you have to just pick the right car...

 

Well first, I get very close to 400 miles from full tank to when the gas light is on. I drive about 25 miles each way (50 total) on Palisades Parkway everyday and I fill up once a week with super.

When I first purchased the car back in February, I was doing about 300+ miles a tank, but than again, I was driving little more locally. After couple months of tune ups and upgrades with synthetic/intake/pipes/exhausts and whatnot, my mileage got whole lot better. I don't know too much about the mechanics of a car so I don't even know if that all mattered to gas mileage but yea... Even if your not into "hooking up cars", maybe you should look into it.

P.S. This $4 a gallon crap is a killer ey? I heard it's going to be 5 bucks very very soon...

 

You never said whether or not you checked for the knock sensor code...

 

Thats a bunch of bull...gas on the market (wholesale) today (friday) went down below $2 a gallon when yesterday it was $2.12...thats cheaper than it was before Katrina...lets see what happens to the gas prices once its gets cold

-matt

 

At this point, I have not been able to check for the knock sensor code. I dotn' believe I drive the car too hard, I usually go approx~80 mph, hitting 90 a few times, the rpms are at about 2.5-3 (I drive an auto).....

 

KS can go when they go, speed or rpms doesnt kill it faster.

 

Where can I purchase the NGK copper plugs? Autozone only carries platinum.

 

Strauss

-matt

 

Strauss? do they have a website?