Okay, so I went out to Skyline Drive yesterday, and on the way back to D.C. did a little test. I filled up down somewhere on Rt. 29, set the cruise at 60 and sat back. There was a little stop and go around Gainesville, but I was very slow in accelerating and never got above 3000 rpm. Got onto I-66 and set it at 60 and sat back. When I ran into some traffic on the beltway, I ducked off and filled up. My odometer said 74.2 miles. My trip computer said I averaged over 55mph and got 37mpg. So I'm thinking, following my experience, that should correspond to about 32-33mpg. So how much gas did it take? 2.7 gallons - 27.5mpg. I'm guessing that the best I was doing on this trip was maybe 29mpg. And Nissan says that they got 35mpg out of this car for the EPA tests?

Before you go saying that I don't know how to do this test, that the pumps cut off at different places in the tank, I know that's possible, even though I topped it off both times. And my test wasn't a long enough distance to take that variable out of play. But it's just one more piece of evidence that my car does not get the mileage that Nissan says it should.

 

EPA estmates are 20/28 M and 19/26 A aren't they? Where did you get 35?


ARFF

 

The less fuel you measure, the higher the error rate at the pump would be. The pump variations would be much less percentage-wise if you filled 18-20 vs. 2-3 gallons. Sorry but your "evidence" needs improvement. As far as the statement you made about 35mpg, you are not duplicating the EPA highway tests, they run the car at an average speed of 48mph with a top speed of 60mph. I bet if you go cruising in top gear at 50mph you'll get over 30mpg, but who wants to do that in a Maxima? Enjoy the ride!

 

I reset my trip on a level highway with the cruise set at 80 in 6th. The trip MPG stayed right at 28.0 to 28.1 on the computer. I have not figured it actually because I really don't care. It is what it is. If I cared I would have bought a Prius or Insight.

 

Your calculations are just as correct as relying on the trip computer. Btw, Nissan doesn't advertise EPA estimates on the Maxima to be any higher than 28mpg AFAIK.

I, for one, have managed 520 miles to a tank. All highway, average speeds of 65-70 with occassional bursts to 80-90. Calculations were done via traditional means over a 5800 mile travel.

 

EPA estmates are 20/28 M and 19/26 A aren't they? Where did you get 35?

Actually, they're 20/26 auto (I think) and 21/28 manual. But, these numbers are only a percentage of what was achieved during testing, per EPA guidelines I've quoted here . To get the EPA estimate of 21/28, the tested car has to get about 23.3/35.9.

Sorry but your "evidence" needs improvement. As far as the statement you made about 35mpg, you are not duplicating the EPA highway tests, they run the car at an average speed of 48mph with a top speed of 60mph. I bet if you go cruising in top gear at 50mph you'll get over 30mpg, but who wants to do that in a Maxima?

Perhaps it's not enough to satisfy you, but it is evidence (why the parentheses? Don't believe me?). And as for your criticism, didn't I say as much in my post? As for cruising at 50, I would expect cruising at 60, 1900rpm on the tach, to be able to give me over 30mpg as well. Frankly, I'm not sure that the car would be able to maintain 50 in 6th gear on flat pavement, much less on any upslope whatsoever.

Oh, and who wants to do that in a Maxima? Certainly not me. But I would like to get everything from the car that it is advertised to be, and that includes 21mg city, 28mpg highway. And my experience shows this to be basically impossible.

And just as a point of fact, the odds are about 9:1 that Nissan provided the estimate information to the EPA, which did not retest it.

It is what it is. If I cared I would have bought a Prius or Insight.

What if you were getting 15mpg? How about 10mpg? Would you care then? Why? Perhaps for the same reasons that I'm concerned because my car isn't performing as advertised.

Your calculations are just as correct as relying on the trip computer.

Ummm, well, no. The computer is well established to be wrong. This last (short) test of mine was right in line with my experience with the car.

I, for one, have managed 520 miles to a tank. All highway, average speeds of 65-70 with occassional bursts to 80-90. Calculations were done via traditional means over a 5800 mile travel.

And I would love to know why our mileage is so different. You have an automatic (right?) and you get better mileage than my manual.

And by the way, what calculations did you have to do? Don't you just look at your odometer to tell you how far you went on a tank?

 

I wouldn't know why mine is so different, i remember a mileage thread a while back where people were getting 550-600 miles to a tank. By that standard mine is actually pretty weak. Though still remarkeable for an auto 2k2.

Fuel useage was based on how much gas i put from the last fill-up while distance was averaged between what the Odometer says, GPS recording and Mapquest's estimates.

 

Wow 550-600 miles. Hell in my parents 2K2 auto we don't even hit 400 usually with highway driving. Granted my dad does about 80 MPH (even though I think he has slowed down to 70 after the speeding ticket he's gotten), but the 2K2 doesn't get anywhere near the mileage like the '95 does.

I think the 2K2 has done 450 miles and that's once in a blue moon.

 

You're right, they're 20/26 auto. Hell, I'm lucky to get 350 mi per tank the way (city) I drive. I don't think you'll often see the maximum estimated amount...only under specific conditions, and that ain't often. I don't think it's a case of mis-advertisement either IMO.


ARFF

 

Here is a very good article related to your questions.

 

You've posted a couple of these threads and I noticed there are a few things that are incorrect with your arguments.

First, your use of the word "most" as in "most of us are reporting poor mileage" is incorrect. I never said I got bad mileage... I actually get pretty good mileage when I want to.

So, either there is something wrong with your car or your test. I'm going to vote there's something wrong with your test. You say you filled up and put in 2.7 gallons. You are assuming both pumps are operating the exact same (1st error) and that they both detect and stop filling at the same place in your tank (2nd error). You say you put in 2.7 gallons... how do you know it wasn't 2.5? If the second pump is calibrated to stop at a different place... now you're getting 29.7 mpg.

Short story... next time run your tank dry and put in exactly 1 gallon and see how far you can go, but even that's not as good as keeping a log for a few dozen tanks and averaging mileage over two or three hundred gallons.

 

my gas mileage sux. I just filled up and i got 12.3MPG. Granted ALL my driving is local, but 12 MPG? this sucks!!

 

When I decided that I was going to buy a Maxima, I can assure you that I could care less about the fuel economy. I get about 24 MPG on average. If fuel economy was a major concern, I would have gotten 4 cyl POS.

 

i disagree. i have read about DOZENS of people reporting bad mileage out of their 2k2s, myself included. ive been trying to shift at no more than 2500 RPMs as of late and my mileage is still somewhat on the bad side. usually about 18 or 19 MPG.

kronman, im not sure if you've realized that the computer in your car is not accurate when it tells your MPG. if your car is telling you that you are getting 24 mpg you are actually only getting about 20-20.5 mpg which still isnt too bad. just letting you know in case you havent noticed it yet.

 

uuum. i have a 2k and only average around 22-24 mpg. regardless of traffic

but from previous threads on this same issue, it's apparent that there's little consistency between cars as to mileage. the conclusion i think was that there's too many factors: proper break in, oil useage and history, tranny type, tranny condition, testing methods... ad nauseum. so what anyone else is getting is by no measure what you can expect.

but i agree that you should do averages over several full tanks and also consider the season. didn't someone post that winter mixture's have some anti-freeze agents in certain regions that hurts performance and mileage???

there's a lot more to it than 2.7 gallons will tell you.

 

I wish I was getting 20mpg. I'm only get 17mpg at best. Its all city driving but I was getting the same during the summer with A/C on. If I go to the dealer, can they do something about that? It's an '03 auto w/ 3650 miles.

 

"dozens"... How many 2k2s are there on this board?

Let's examine the "factors":

Options? Not a factor in mpg.

Driving conditions? Maybe people in chicago are driving into a constant headwind but everywhere else, is this really a factor? I doubt it.

Vehicle conditions? All of these cars are basically new, so this really isn't a factor.

DRIVING HABITS? BINGO!

The main difference is the driver. I did a little experiment ... no high revving AT ALL. No going above 3k rpm EVER. I easily got over 400 miles on one tank (forget the exact details; they're in here somewhere). On the next tank I did approximately 10 or 12 hard launches and drove normally the rest of the time. I didn't reach 350 miles on that tank.

Moral? A hard launch burns "about 10 miles" worth of gas...whatever that means (ps, I also think this is related to the dash compu mpg being off but that's another story). I have a hard time believing I'm getting 26mpg/400 miles on a tank when driving normally but some people who claim to be driving the same way I do are getting 12/16/20mpg... there can't be that much difference in "options, driving conditions, and vehicle's conditions" but there certainly can be a huge difference in "driving habits."

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=109954

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=166273

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=138050

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=133203

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=124933

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=116183

do you want any more references?

 

Hey, I'm in that one!!!


But I'm not sure what you're trying to show... I only bothered clicking the first three links and most of the people in those threads talk about getting 17 mpg because they "drive it like they stole it."

Mash the gas pedal 2 or 3 times and you're going to calculate crappy mileage. Accelerate calmly, shift at 2.5 or 3k, and keep it at 2k when you drive and you, too, can get 450 miles per tank (like most of the people in the first link). The my pic above is normal driving/commuting to work. When I go to my parents (285 miles one way) I get better mileage.

Most of the poor mileage stuff in the first link is explained in their own posts... "drive it like you stole it"... "but i do "kick her" every now and then"... "128 around Boston where I do most of my commuting is a lot of stop and go"... "and I admit that I drive it hard"... "I'm usually between 66% and 100% on the pedal while accelarating" ...

do you want any more references?

 

I don't go by what the computer is telling me. I mostly drive the car on the highway about 450-500 miles a week. The computer is telling me anywhere from 25.7 to 26.1 MPG which I know there is no way that is happening. I would have to be driving like a granny for that to happen. I should have probably said is that 24 MPH was the best I have ever gotten on a tank of gas and not the average. I filled up this morning and it took 15.068 gal and I had driven 321.2 miles since the last time I filled up. That comes out to 21.3167 MPG on that last tank of gas.

 

i was just showing you that there are in fact handfuls of people getting poor gas mileage. i didnt go through and check the quotes you gave me. ill take your word for it. im sure some people do drive like that. but many people, myself included, have been experiencing poor gas mileage even with light acceleration. i have made it a habbit to shift under 3k RPMs at all times (usually around 2500) and i am still getting poor mileage. right now my computer says i am getting 23.4 MPG. we all know the computer is very generous when stating MPG. usually about 3.5-4 MPG too generous. so it looks like in reality im getting about 20 MPG on this tank. that actually isnt so bad but you should know that i drove 130 miles back to school on this tank at a constant 75 MPH @ 2300 RPMs. something doesnt seem right to me.

i didnt mean for this to turn into an arguement. but ive always tried to get the most mileage out of my car but nothing seems to work.

 

I'm not saying I get great mileage (typically 17-21 mpg, occasionally 23 or so, my best was 28, worst was 14 when I went lapping the track) since it's cold here and I do a LOT of short drives and little highway driving, but there still are tons of variables. I'm getting slightly better mileage on my Max than I did w/my 91 Camry V6 (that was EPA rated at 18/24 vs. my 2K2 Max's 20/26).

Did you use the cruise control for your highway driving? Does your mileage improve if you drive slower (yeah yeah, I know) on the highway? Since you're in Virginia, it's pretty cold there too (high of 42 tomorrow and low of 29), and gas mileage apparently will always be worse in winter due to gas burning less efficiently at cold temps. Also, in some areas, they use oxygenated gas which cuts gas mileage another 2-3%.

I bet when summer rolls around, all of us will be seeing slightly better mileage.

Here are some informative links:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml
http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Arch...1/June/07.html
http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Arch.../March/01.html
http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/fuel...a/oxygen.shtml
http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/fuel...a/reform.shtml

 

just took a around trip atlanta and back -- shifting at 2200/2500 rpm cruising at 2200(65/68) high of 32.6 low of 28 mpg depending on turain,

 

Was that from the trip computer or from your actual calculations of miles travelled / gallons used? As it's been stated many times here, the trip computer is usually 2-4 mpg too high.

 

the best milage i ever got was 23 mpg.most of my miles are highway but i have a lead foot!

 

this was dividing gal by miles traveled on every tankful. my trip computer is constantly off by 6/7 gals.