when I first bought the car I would get 27-28 MPG religiously even when I drove it fairly hard. This was at 60,422 miles

I'm now getting 22 all the time. I travel 10 miles to work each day on a back road doing 35 mph and I get 22 mpg.. sounds awful to me.. but then again, I've got a heavy foot when not on these roads. I'm now at 85,000 miles. I checked my air filter first of all and it's clean. The car is stock. I'm getting upset about the crappy mileage, but I like the car way too much to consider a change

 

This is my situation exactly. 10 miles from work, back roads, 02 6 speed, 85k, 22 mpg. It's normal.

 

True enough. I find that if i feather the gas a little instead of using cruise with the A/C off, I can usually cut 100-200rpms off while maintaining 75-78mph. I'd say that's worth almost +2mpg over the course of a full tank of fuel on a roadtrip. Every time I drive down through Ohio thanks to the relatively flat I-75 (from Toledo to dayton) and lower speed limits, is where I seem to benefit the most.

 

FYI,

AC only affects AFR @ idle. So, long road trips w/ AC on, it (AC) shouldn't affect mileage as per everyone's belief.

 

Let me add my own observations.... 2003 Maxima SE.

When i drive the car ... mixed (50/50) city/highway...i've tried really hard not to push the car too much.... but i cannot do better than 20 or 21MPG at best. I've never been under 19MPG but i have also reached 25MPG only once and it was 90% highway driving with less than 80mph. I do NOT care what the computer says....as i check my mileage at the pump and i know that my calculations are accurate.

I almost thought that my car has some sort of a problem and that's why i get only 20MPG mixed. I was worried.
I gave the car to my wife for a week. She did almost 70% city driving....she drove it like a "normal" person i guess....but at the end, at the pump, she got 22.6MPG !!! We tried that again...with the same amount of city driving and she got 22MPG+ again.
She gave me the car back....i tried to be "gentle"....and guess what...i got 20MPG again.
Conclusion = car runs fine, driver needs to change driving habits.

Btw....same thing happened when i drove her Acura TSX. She usually gets 25MPG+ mixed....i got 22MPG.

 

Try not to floor it when the light turns green- keep consistent pressure on the gas. Use premium gas. Don't speed up/use gas when a light is red up ahead. If you anticipate the light up ahead will turn green, slow down and don't race to a stop. By the time you get to the intersection the light will be green and you won't stop at all, using the most gas of all starting from a dead stop. Keep tires properly inflated.
It's the little things like this that may be getting you the poor fuel economy.

 

Same here...

 

The auto revs significantly lower in top gear than the manual. It's that damn torque converter that screws things up.

 

Try any of that in Chicagoland

 

'03 4AT w/lots of miles.
23-24mpg City
26-27mpg Mix
28-31mpg Hwy

These are the averages I get in the summer, winter is 2-3mpg lower overall.
All numbers are calculated the real way. I could care less what the trip computer says.

I admit I drive with a light foot and probably don't "enjoy" my car as much as some of you, but I definitely enjoy the benefits of driving easy at the gas pump. I love the power this car has, but most of the time I only use it to pass people and the occational drive-it-like-you-stole-it run.