Hello all,

I have a 04 SL with 4K mileage. I am getting 17K city, and 21K highway. I have 18" wheels and have put in 91 octane. I also have replaced the oil with Amsoil synthetic. I just seem to get the advertised rate. Also, I don't race around too much. I would expect about 20MPG city and may 25 or so Highway. I'm in California.

Just want to now what others are getting with the same model.

Thanks

 

I have 04 SE with 22mpg around town average 25mph. I'm very happy with that. But once I got 28 mpg for driving about 60mph for about 2 hours heading down to Atlantic City, NJ. I wanted to see how much MPG I would get if I stay at 55-60 mph.

 

thats the same mpg i get although i get around 22-23 on highway, but i don't drive what my parents call "normal" and i dont race that much either.

 

On my 5 speed '04 Maxima SL:

Around 18 in city traffic.
Around 20 for mixed local non-freeway driving.
Around 24 for highway (non-freeway) driving.
Around 26 on busy (but moving) freeways.
Around 27 on freeways in hilly terrain.
Around 28 on lightly travelled mostly level freeways.

The only things I do to help MPG are avoiding jackrabbit starts (at least most of the time), and taking my foot off the gas if I think I will have to stop fairly soon; I let the car drift down to a stop, braking only as I near the stop point.

I am very pleased that my '04 gets almost exactly the same MPG as my '00 SE, even though it is a heavier, roomier car with 43 more HP.

 

Getting better mileage can be achived by:

1. Using premium fuel. 91 Octane or more.

2. Getting into 5th or 6th as soon as possible/practical. Your goal is to keep the engine under 2000RPM as much as possible.

3. Proper tire inflation. Check weekly, or whenever you fill up with gas. Keep a tire pressure guage in the car.

4. You need a clean air filter. If yours is 8 months old or more take the time to check it. Replace as necessary.

5. Use cruise control as much as possible to maintain a steady crusing speed. You can assist the cruise control a bit if you see a big hill coming up. Just boost your speed a bit a the bottom so the automatic tranny doesn't have to drop down a gear to climb it.

6. Avoid jackrabit starts. Gently accelerate to your desired speed. Keeping in mind tip #2.

7. Avoid stopping unnecessarily. If a light goes red, cruise up to it in neutral. Try to time it so you are still rolling towards it as it turns green. Thus avoiding accelerating the vehicle back up to speed from a complete stop.

Sometimes avoiding a stop means laying on the gas a bit to make it through an intersection if you know the light is going to turn red. Using a bit more gas now, saves you idling at the red light for a couple minutes. Keep an eye on the pedestrian crossing sign. Once the red signal starts flashing the light has "gone stale" and you only have maybe 5 seconds to get to the intersection and clear it.

Using some of these tips will improve your mileage.

CM.

 

I get a combined 24 MPG, 75% highway driving, 90% of the time with the A/C on and enjoy a good downshift or quick start every now and then...

 

Last weekend I got up to 30.3 driving 65 for about an hour with only a few stops at red lights (back roads with no other cars.)

On average around town is about 19. Highway is at about 24. I enjoy a fun drive so this is with quick starts off the red light and quick accerlerations on the highway.

I've got the stillen intake, so that may help out a bit.

 

An intake in my last car gave me a +1MPG benefit. I would expect similar results with the Maxima.

 

I've got 29.5-30 mpg going ~85 for over 200 miles on I-5 between Sacramento and LA. That is with the car loaded with luggage and two other passengers. I get ~24 around town. This is on 92 and I don't drive "nice," often.

 

Playadave, I see you're in Culver City. Traffic in socal kills gas mileage. I'm in Downtown LA, and sometimes with heavy traffic I only get 14mpg. Normally I get around the same as everyone else. I rarely drive as what's deemed "normal".

 

With heavy traffic I will get as low as 12... But that is nearly parkinglot across 5 lanes. Normal traffic I get around 21.9MPG and if I am driving outside of rush hour I get 25, 26 easily.

I keep my tires at around 38PSI and am a Heavy foot... every highway on ramp I am at 80 long before I get to the highway (unless there is someone in front of me). I am always the first one off the line at a stop light/sign. So I don't drive MPG friendly.

 

Most of these tips are very good.

I would revise # 2 to read "keep the engine running at or near 2,000 RPM." On that basis, I would expect the best highway mileage would be when cruising between 55 and 60 mph (which is too slow for me when you can go 75 legally).

I completely disagree with # 1. Quoting from the Owners Manual (page 9-4 last paragraph): "However, now and then you may notice light spark knock for a short time while accelerating or driving up hills. This is not a cause for concern, because you get the greatest fuel benefit {read fuel economy} when there is light spark knock for a short time under heavy engine load."

This is Nissan's way of saying that you'll get your best mileage when the gasoline's octane is "marginal." If I were at the track I'd burn premium for top proformance. Otherwise, I'd burn regular -- which I do all the time.

I live at 7,200 feet elevation and do most of my around-town driving at 6,000 feet elevation. I have consistently burned 85 octane regular in my Max (after the dealer's first full tank was gone). (Check out the manual at the start of page 9-4 for burning 85 octane "at elevation.") When I drive to lower elevations where the regular grade is 87 octane, I use that. I have over 18,000 miles on the car. When I hear a light spark knock driving up hill to my house, I down-shift. I've found that if I keep the RPMs above 2K while driving up hill, I don't get this knocking. Try regular (unless racing),your wallet will thank you.

I also recommend using a bottle of fuel injector cleaner (like Chevron Techron) every 5K to 7.5 K miles. This substantially reduces engine deposits which help promote engine knock. Most oil companies no longer put enough of this addative in their gasolines (particularly regular grade). It is still cheaper to buy this extra addative than to pay 20 cents per gallon more for premium.

Now for my recent mileage experinece, which I find depends on a number of factors (head or tail wind being the most important on the highway):

Avg Speed _____Mileage __________Type Driving
20 to 23 mph ___21.5 to 22.8 mpg __Around Town
68 to 74 mph ___24.7 to 26.5 mpg __I-80 in IA & Neb (head wind on 24.7)
65 to 66 mph ___26.7 to 27.9 mpg __I-76 & back roads in CO

My best single mileage reading in this car (6-speed) was driving a mixture of CO back roads and east on I-76 & I-80 where I averaged 67 mph and got 30.9 mpg. I think there was a tail wind for at least a part of that trip.

 

On my 04SL 4-speed, I got 19.6 mixed city/hwy with 91 octane when I had about 4800 on it. Checked it recently with 5600 miles, got 21.2. I think as our cars get more fully broken in, mileage will continue to improve. I don't think anything is wrong with either of our cars. I asked my mechanic if the air-fuel mixture could be incorrect, and he said that there would be warning lights going off like crazy if that were the case. You might want to use non-synthetic oil for several thousand more miles to facilitate the breaking in process.

 

Dave,
You need to check out this thread:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=227996

It is at the Fluids and Lubs section of this site, where the expert there says:

"Past analyses have tended to trend higher in overall wear and silicon in VQ engines that switched to synthetics early (less than 10k). The recommendations in here are the result of what happens in the real world, rather than how things "feel" or seem."

He is saying (and I agree) that you should not switch to Synthetic Motor Oil until you have at least 10,000 miles and the engine is completely broken in.

 

I will be one of many that disagree with you. Supposing that you drive 15000mi/year and get only 22MPG (just below my work commute milage, far below the rest of my milage) you pay 136.36 extra per year (or 15000 miles). So the cost is negligable. I have the maintenance manual and on page GI-5 it has the following precaution:

 

Well, is anyone surprised that Nissan is not consistent with its recommended gasoline requirements? Most of these maintenance manual statements are not consistent with the fuel recommendations in the owner’s manual (quoted below). Also, why have this sentence: "However, for maximum vehicle performance, the use of unleaded premium gasoline is recommended." if premium must be used except in emergencies? But if 87-octane regular is acceptable, then this sentence makes sense, and is something I agree with.

At the top of page 9-3, the owner’s manual has this to say about gasoline {with my comments in these brackets}:

"FUEL RECOMMENDATION
Use unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of at least 87 AKI number {this is the octane that is mandated to be posted on the pump}. For improved performance {racing, etc} Nissan recommends the use of unleaded premium gasoline with an octane rating of at least 91 AKI number."

Then at the top of page 9-4, the owner’s manual makes the following comment:

"Octane rating tips
In most parts of North America, you should use unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of at least 87 AKI number. However" {and here it goes into the exceptions for high altitude driving at over 4,000 feet elevation using 85 AKI octane number.}

I have consistently followed these recommendations for over 18,000 miles and my Max runs well. If I ever decide to race her, I will switch to premium gasoline. Until that time, I will continue to save over $136 per year by burning regular. I have better uses for the money than buying octane my car does not need.

 

I average 22 mpg. I get 30mpg on Highway only and around 19 city. (Calculated last fill up came to 20 mpg with almost all city-- 300 miles from 15 gallons over 2 weeks avg. 30mph.) Going near 60 mph gets 31 and 80 mph gets 29. Using 93 oct.

 

I was getting around 18-20mpg in city. new car 1 month old 2004 max, love the tq and power so ive been mashing the pedal here and there. but ive added the BERK intake with midpipe and noticed on a full tank from 320miles till empty to 380miles till empty. im not sure what thats all about, but im at 3/4 of a tank with 93octane and ive got 140 miles. i think im doin good this time,

QUESTION FOR ALL MAX 6TH GEN OWNERS. i ran the car down all the way to E and miles left till empty said *** Meaning im about to start pushing the car soon if i dont go get gas, YET...... i pull up to the pump and see my self pumping (squeezing) only 16 gallons. where the hell is my 20 gallon tank? how many more miles could i get out of this thing before it shuts off. light comes on at 30-35 more miles remaining on the tank does this mean theres 4-5extra gallons left to drive on?

help me out here

thanks

 

we have a 4 gallon reserve hidden from our gas guage and DTE info. other threads on this, i guess at about 20mpg we have at least 80 miles left on E.

 

I'm getting about 25 on 80% highway driving with my SE Auto using premium (91 I believe).

I got spoiled by my 4Runner. Sticker said 16-19. I saw 17-22.

I figured the same would be true with the max. Wrong

 

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Edify11 I moved to the Valley, Van Nuys so no more in CC. Oh Well. What color is your car so I look for you once in a while. Mine is Silver.

 

Playadave, my Maxima is black. I used to live in the Valley. Northridge and Granada Hills to be exact. Is the Valley heat getting to you yet? I miss living in the valley. Much better driving conditions than LA.

 

I'm driving an '04 SE with 16,800miles. I've been getting 25.5 MPG for the last several thousand miles driving between 75 and 90 on the NJ Turnpike & I-287(well, more like 10-20 mph on I-287 in the mornings)....95 miles each way.

 

'04 SE, 17,500 miles. Been getting over 22mpg consistently in mixed everyday driving (some freeway, mostly surface streets) and on the highway I average 28.5 to 29.

With respect to the driving tips, my wife says I'm not normal. I believe we have the responsibility to get up to the speed limit (or slightly above ) as quickly as possible after a stoplight or freeway entrance. It makes me crazy when people ahead of me take 2 blocks to finally get up to the speed limit ... then we all get caught at the next light (of course ... grrrr).

I keep my tires at 30psi cold. I use cruise control like a fanatic - as soon as I get up to my chosen speed, I stab the cruise button, regardless whether I'm on a neighborhood street or a freeway. I probably engage the cruise 50 times a day.

My wife gets about 16-17 in mixed driving in her 3.6l, 255hp CTS, and wonders how the hell I get so much better mileage with a similar-sized car and engine.

Mike

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

I've run MobilONE on my '95 T100 for last 8 years(started using it after breakin oil period). One thing not mentioned about synths is that your seals will go faster than normal (with conventional oil). The Synthetic will do its job keeping everything clean and lubed, but the seal material will fail sooner than engineered for traditional oil and its "clogging" ability. I had oil leaks on my 5ZVE (3.4Ltr) and the mechanic found several seals were cracked. The synthetic does TOO good a job. One the plus side, at 169K miles, removing the heads to do valve seal work, the cylinder walls look new (its true; there are still hone marks!). Synth will run longer and cooler. And ever notice after every oil change, your mpg will go up?

Oh, about those mpg tips:
- burn recommended Octane by manufacturer. 93 or 94 can make car go faster, but it will not result in better mileage. I actually found Texaco 87 gives me more mpg than any other brand/octane. (Mobil/Exxon gave me worse mpg).
-going to 5th/6th all the time (assume manual trans) can actually be worse on mileage. If you are on a highway and cruising, its correct to keep it in low rpm (A/C will still up it a bit). But for city traffic, short highway, etc, finding the sweet spot of the RPM band can actually be efficient. You use more fuel accellerating hard in 5th in low RPMs.
-lastly, keeping your car exterior clean and waxed will result in less drag coefficient. I know, sounds ****, but after every thorough waxing, I found my Toyota got better mileage.
(Fuel injector cleaners recommended by OEM will result in better mileage too, and after 60K miles, sparkplugs, wire and coils could use replacement and you'll notice improvement).

 

since syns do "too good of a job" would it be recommended to run a blend instead?

keeping your car clean to reduce drag... that's true... but i have to wonder how much drag you can possibly get from a dirty car.

 

[QUOTE=maximage]

Oh, about those mpg tips:
- burn recommended Octane by manufacturer. 93 or 94 can make car go faster, but it will not result in better mileage. I actually found Texaco 87 gives me more mpg than any other brand/octane.

I started with premium exclusively, then switched to 87 octane to see possible effects on mpg. Conclusion: around 22.3 mpg on the regular, and slightly higher than the 21 on 91 octane. I agree that premium did not increase my mileage, and in fact, it may have slightly decreased it.

 

[QUOTE=lobewiper]22.5 city mpg
31.2 highway mpg
100% syn oil
fuel additives 60 boost
555 avg miles per tank of gas
thanks paul

 

From new I have been running 87 octane for 3000 miles and average MPG was always in the 20.5 to 21.5 range. I switched to 93 super a tank and one half ago, and my MPG seems to have dropped to about 17 -18 MPG under exactly the same driving conditions. What is going on?

 

Your car is obviously trying to tell you something...

 

just took a 1,100 miles round trip to Toronto/Markham/Woodbine/Scarborough area.

92 octane -- Highway 32.4 mpg / City 25.7 mpg