Redline

After finally getting around to reading the long technical explanation on Edmund's regarding the 2k 5 speed fuel cut problem, I was wondering if this is finally the explanation for the poor gas mileage my 2k gets.

I've had my 2k for a year now. I have posted here that my 2k gets much worse mileage than my modded 4th gen did -- that has been confirmed by other 4th turned 5th gen owners. My 5th gen has no engine mods and my driving style/commute has not changed.

My 2k does demonstrate the fuel cut, but I have altered my driving style in traffic to keep the car from bucking unexpectedly. The guy on Edmund's said that one of the side effects of what was the explanation for the fuel cut was a large increase in fuel consumption. His explanation seemed to make sense, though I really don't know enough to critique it.

This makes me wonder if there is finally an explanation for all of the people who, like me, have much worse gas mileage in their 2k's.

An additional comment to this -- for those who live in CA and have to get their cars through SMOG. I first tried to bring my 2k to someone other than the dealer to get smogged. Part of the test is to hold the cars RPM's between 2500 and 2800 (or something close to that, I can't remember exactly) for 30 seconds. It turns out that it's not possible to modulate the RPM's there because of the fuel cut -- you either overshoot and when you come back down, it drops to idle. This is consistent with the explantion from Edmund's. The technician tried for 20 minutes and finally gave up and told me he couldn't do it. I brought it to a local Nissan dealer and they were able to smog the car -- I asked how they were able to hold the RPM's and the service tech (who was unaware of the problem) told me it was no problem. I wonder what their secret is?

TimW

iTrader: (6)

all new V6 cars get ~15mpg for the first 10-15 mins. You can pick up the Consumer reports on V6 sedans put out a few months ago to see a rating. the A6 is like 13mpg.

I get about 250 a tank (to the light). And I drive about 5 mins to work every day. However, as soon as you reach operating temp (not what the gauge reads), it does increase. If you take a long trip, it will increase dramatically. I see over 26mpg at 80mph for long trips.

My car has been on diag twice and I saved my gas receipts for 4 months. And the dealer was no help/no answers for 15 mpg. I only read later about the emissions thing and how rich cars run for the first few minutes.

it certainly would have affected my choice alittle, its not very efficient. Also, note that Nissan moved back the mpg rating of the 2001 one to 20mpg instead of 21.

y2kse

iTrader: (1)

Their secret, Redline, is that they didn't tell you their secret. Who knows how they managed to smog your car? As long as you've got the certificate, no problem, right?

The fuel-cut issue is more pronounced in Maximas with manual transmissions. But it exists in Maximas with A/T's as well. I should know. My wife has a 2K Maxima GXE with an A/T and she has the fuel-cut problem. With her car, however, the rpms drop from about 2800 to 1500 and then hold steady. With my 2K Maxima SE 5-speed, the rpms drop from 2800 to idle with a bump at 1500. I also experience the rising rpms between shifts as discussed in the technical article you referred to.

By the way, I spoke the the author of that article. Based on my conversation, I'm convinced he's done his homework.

mhgsx

>I brought it to a local Nissan dealer and they were able to smog the car -- I asked how they were able to hold the RPM's and the service tech (who was unaware of the problem) told me it was no problem

That's because they use their Consult diagnostic machine. They just tell the engine to operate at whatever rpm they want it to.