Hey all.

I have a 2001 Maxima GLE. It was a salvage title, got a great deal... love the car... except the mileage. Using the trip odometer and the reading off the gas pumps when I fill up I average about 23mpg on the highway and like barely 13 in the city. Anyone have advice? Is there some part that could be bad? I have a performance air filter but thats the only engine mod. What kind of mileage should I expect from this car?
-the nose

 

Definitely more than what you are getting... it might be running rich, or you might be using pos gas like 89 octane..

 

i fill up with the best california has to offer, 91 when im here, and 92 in washington state when im there. I seriously dont drive the car super hard and the highway mileage indicates a problem. I am open to any suggestions. When you say running rich, what do you do about it?

 

with fuel injected cars as we drive it is controlled by the ECU/OBD II. You might have a bad O2 sensor some place i would have it checked out. the only reason i say o2 is because i had one go bad on a buick le saber and it caused it to run super rich. it smelled like raw fuell in the car if you punched it and it always seemed a little choked up. so like i said have it looked at

 

i threw an o2 sensor a while ago and had it replaced. is it possible they did the wrong one? how long would it take for this to remanifest itself and throw the light on the dash? how many o2 sensors are there to replace?

 

If there was something wrong with the O2 sensor wouldn't the SES light come on?

FYI, my SE get's about 23 mpg and that's mainly driving in light to moderate traffic.

 

youd think so. like i said, they replaced one for me already. looked like a big peice of modular plastic on each end of a sheathed wire in the middle. Im at a loss to explain this so im wondering if you guys have any suggestions.

thanks

 

Check your tire pressure and make sure they are properely inflamed.
Check if you need a wheel alighment.
Buy some fuel injector cleaner and see if that improves your mpg.
If your city driving is a lot of stop and go traffic then dont expect more then 16-19mpg.

 

tires are properly inflated. alignment is fine, ive gone through all this. i just had a 60k mile tuneup with fluids, etc. its a small town, some stop and go. how can we account for the terrible highway mileage?

 

Well let me tell you something.....Cars vary quite a bit in this area. We have an 04 Honda Oddy. I get 11 mpg in that bastarrd. I have had it in several times...Nothing is found. Honda America says it is with in spec.

My Altima averages 23 in the city and i get 30 on the highway.

The majority of Oddy owners are doing far better than I....But there are a few in my ballpark.

I am not saying that there is not something wrong with your car..It would be worth it to have it checked out. But you don't always get the answers you hope to

 

but seriously... 13mpg? thats kinda insane, no?

 

i averaged 16 total mpg both city and highway and mostly highway, it kinda sucks but sometimes i averaeg 21-23mpg

 

yeah that's bad. Could be a combination of poor quality gas, high accessory usage, etc. But 13 is low. real low. I get 23 all day, beating on it all the way. the lowest i got ever was 21.4, and that was an evening of drags, and several 140+ jaunts, so i'm baffled. I would start with the ecu. MAF, O2s, MAP, i would get a scanner, or use of one and run a systems monitor. perhaps you have a bad maf. you may want to visit the dealer for some suggestions.

 

Since you have a salvage titled car it's hard to say what your problem could be. If the ECU was not reprogrammed after they replaced your O2 sensor, it could be part of the reason for your MPG readings. Your 2K1 should have 4 O2 sensors.
http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/tsb/NTB02-051a.pdf

 

yeah there definitely must be something wrong, because i average 29 between city and highway, but about 23 in city and 33 highway. you may want to look into buying some fuel injector cleaner and see if that helps any...and just keep up on your tire pressure and air filter.

 

Well I did Seafoam in my car... and now I'm getting about 24 mpg first tank after SeaFoam, but today someone toll my MPG eventually will go up...........

 

"waaaaoooooh!" I get about the same gas milage 23 ish on freeway and pretty close to 19 in town. I need to replace my Air Filter im thinking that might make a differance.

 

I assume by those numbers you are going by the readings on the trip computer. It's not accurate...

 

NO WAY 13 mpg/23mpg is correct. I have a 5th gen 2003 and I get around 20 in the city and 25 on the freeway.

13mpg, haha ... you sure you didn't buy a Ford/Pontiac?

 

I average 19 to 20. I jump for joy if I get 21. But I have extra weight such as rims and speakers

 

alright. ill try some fuel injector cleaner and report back with the results. thanks for all the help dudes. im new to maximas and will hopefully be a regular voice here once i get my head on straight with my new maxima. im driving it a few hundred miles in the next couple weeks (seattle to SF) and will be keeping a close eye on the mileage.

 

There is a thread on "SEAFOAM" here on the org. I was skeptical but I tried it and, after the treatment I averaged 31-32 mpg doing 70-80 mph on a 300 mile mini-roadtrip and am averaging 22-24 mpg in the city. No exageration. Of course my TECHNOSQUARE ecu reprogram and cai and etc., etc. may also contribute to the better mileage. Try the SEAFOAM.

 

The 5th gen maxima has a big problem with city driving.
I think this problem is for the Cali spec as the other maximas are better balanced.
Im getting around same MPG 12-14 in city. Avg 13.

All these replies are BS since no one really lives in a packed city.
Try driving in Manhattan and see the gas mileage.

I changed all 4 O2 Sensors, changed coils and plugs.
Used seafoam, injector cleaners, installed an intake. Did everything.

And getting crazy MPG is also BS. Nissan spec MPG testing when they sell you a car are from statistics of grandma driving style results. Doing 70-80 mph is avg 3000 rpm in 4th gear!

 

Heck, I average about 19 mpg all the time. I have a mixed commute with some city and some highway driving, and regardless, I still get about the same. It's been like this ever since I got it new last year. I would say best mpg I've ever gotten was maybe 23 mpg, and that would have to been during the break-in period. I don't think I'm an extremely fast, or hard driver on it, but I'm no grandma either. I can't drive like a grandma in this car; it's just too hard. I never expected stellar mpg when I got the car, but I was kinda shocked after I started getting some miles on it and was noticing how my mileage was on the low side though, but I've kinda gotten over it...gotta pay the piper I guess....Piper gets expensive though when you pay $2.20 a gal for 93 octane and get 300 miles and under per tank.

Ahh well.

 

I'm getting 24/25 in mixed driving and I've gotten as high as 33.5 during pure highway driving. (gotta love the 6 speed)

 

Good one Gene. In NYC our milage is horrific. Try getting stuck on the FDR for about 3 hours and see how "great" your milage will be. When we say we get bad city milage we mean "real city" milage.

 

so i got the seafoam and am crossing my fingers. should i look for differences in this tank (its full) or in the next tank? also, at jiffy lube (any opionions of them?) they told me i needed to get a fluid change in my radiator. thing is is just had a 30k service which includes those fluids not 5k ago. I think i should get a hydrometer testing of the fluid done. any insights?

 

That is not real city.....That is "Big City"

 

A) You can do the SEAFOAM then top off your tank and drive it for a couple of hundred miles and then top it off and figure your mileage (distance drived divided by gallons used equals mpg) or just use the onboard mileage indicator, if you've got one.

B) Use the Jiffy Lubes of the world for what they are there for: your convenience and cost effectiveness. They are good for deals on oil & filter changes (how can you do it at home as quick, clean and cheap?) etc., but their true reason is to upsell you to more profitable (for them) endeavors.

C) Common sense tells me that if you just got finished with a 30K service that you do not need a "fluid change" in the radiator. Absolutely check your coolant (and any other fluid) before doing any costly "changes or flushes'" and check with a couple of places before you commit to anything with anybody. This way, you'll learn more about the workings of the your car and how your driving affects the various components and maintenance issues.

 

I am wondering if the cars with the lowest gas mileage were bought used.

Sirnose: I also think that your problem may lie in the car that was salvaged, and incorrectly put back together. Does your car pull to the side a lot when you're driving? How long has the current set of tires been on the car? You may want to check for irregular tire wear. Most used cars are sold with a new set of tires which makes it hard to see any problems...
Gennady: duh, you are driving a car with a 3.0L big engine. The more you stay idle the worse gas mileage you get. Maximas don't have a gas mileage problem per se, you can't expect much better from a V6. If you want to live in a big city then buy a Civic. You guys go on carpoint.com and check out Maxima's competitors. Even some 4 bangers deliver like only a few more MPG.

 

i used to averaged 26-29 total mpg highway and mostly highway, i dont have a city figure. However it seemed to lose a little power several weeks ago ( as reported by the wife dyno-and we were getting 21 mpg) and sure enough the the lights came on yesterday- the TCS, SLip and SES light. I went to auto zone and they hadt he code P1320. I am in touch with contacts obtained thru this site to get new coils. Hopefully we will regain power and gas mailage. Hope this helps

 

my dad was wary of the car. he is a nut, owns benzes, volvos, is quite knowledgeable. we took the max to a dealership, an alignment specialist and somebody to check the frame. the engine was not damaged in the totaling event (the accident) but the frame was welded back together. All the people we asked said there is no good reason NOT to buy this car. It runs perfectly, the interior is flawless its just this mileage question that bugs me. Like I said, alignment couldnt be better, frame is perfect and the engine couldnt be better according to my dads mechanic friends who are paid professionals and did hours of workup on this car to make sure it was a good buy.

 

see, I am sure you trust those mechanics and you got a great price on a nice car, but the difference in your gas mileage should not be that much off from similar cars. I would have listened to your dad, because no matter how good the welds look, no bodyshop can restore the car to the exact condition it was prior to accident. Your car may serve you for some long time, but your frame could be off by a hundredths of an inch and that could cause many problems down the road: excessive tire wear, suspension wear, poor gas mileage, engine load. If you are positive that your tires are properly inflated, no engine issues, the tires freely rotate (calipers not frozen), good quality premium gas, driving on hwy in high gear, and you still are getting under 20MPG on the hwy then GET RID of your Maxima ASAP.

 

i never said i got under 20 on the highway. i get about 13 in the city and 23 on the highway. thanks for the information though. i will consider what you have said.