Anyone else getting extremely poor mileage? Local dealer is worthless at fixing problem. The guage will show 3/4 of tank after just 40 miles, which surely is untrue on a 20 gallon tank. Sending unit has been replaced, b/c they thought it was the guage and not the actual mileage. Last two tanks I manually calculated to be 17.7 and 14.75 mpg each. Even worse, half of my driving is with car on cruise on the Interstate. Dealer just tells me to drive it for another 2000 miles and log my mileage. Any suggestions?

 

I'm getting the suggested 400+ mileage per tank taking into consideration the 5 gallon reserve, and even with gas prices sky high I can't help but tear up the pavement in my Max. Nothing but optimum gas mileage in mine, I use premium Chevron w/ Techron, don't know if it helps mileage or does nothing at all.

 

My suggestion:

RESET your "FUEL ECON" button when you jump on the highway. As soon as you engage the cruise control, depress the "FUEL ECON" button for @ least 2 seconds until you see your gas mileage meter reset (indicated w/ a {*} in the info display). After cruising for a few miles or so, depress your "FUEL ECON" again and you should be smiling from ear to ear. Let us know your results... AGAIN, you should not follow these instructions until you're on the highway!

 

So after driving on an entire tank of gas when it comes time to fill up you have 400+ miles logged? Is that mostly highway driving, city driving or a mixture of both?

 

My personal experience....after getting over 3000 miles on the car, the milage picked up alot. Now a bit over 4000 miles on it, get over 23 mpg on the Highway and 19.5 city, stop and go. Was getting 15.5 before city and 20 highway. I now consider my engine broken in. And I drive it normal, not too hard, but just enough to have fun. After 4k.....you should see a difference. Reset the meter and check out the stats. Take it on the highway and reset the stats. Actually for a big car, for the size it is, is about average, not a fuel sipper, but does OK for its nitch in the market. I was bummed at first by the low gas miles, but after the engine broke in.......no problems here, I switch between 93 and 89 octane. The base for some reason stopped selling Premium, so as it is cheaper to fill up on the military base, use 89 for now until they have the 93 back. Just my experience and I know how you feel....it will get better....trust me.

 

i use 89 and get about 380 miles out of a tank of gas. thats with a mixture of both highway and city driving. i have a little over 1700 miles on my car. it says i average 20.5 mpg. i also never drive my car all the way down to the light coming on either, i tend to fill it up at 1/4 tank left.

 

my refill light usually turns on when i hit the 320+mile mark..i figure thats somewhat normal seeing as thats without using the reserves which is like 3-4 gallons...when i hit the gas station at this time it takes 16-17 gallons to fill up so i figure 20mpg average and thats both freeway and city driving

 

I have about 700 miles on my Max in the past 4 days since I purchased it, and on the HWY i get 28MPG.

 

I worry when I see where drivers are measuring their gas mileage by 'miles per tank'. Some may be tempted to try to use the last few gallons in the tank, which is a good way to enrich your dealer, as well as the tow truck driver who drags your car to the dealer.

Using the last few gallons can bring the crud often floating on top of the gas into your injectors. Running out of fuel can ruin the catalytic converter (expensive, and not covered by warranty).

Letting the tank get very low can be problematic if you happen to be in an area where the power is, for whatever reason, out. Gas pumps won't work. With the times we live in, I always try to have five or more gallons in my tank.

I find it best to consider the '04 Maxima to have a 15 or 16 gallon tank, and automatically fill up when the 'low fuel' light comes on, usually before. There is still 4 or 5 gallons remaining in my tank when the light comes on.

MPG should be figured only one way: miles traveled divided by gallons used. The Maxima will do all the calculations for you, if you wish to use the onboard computer.

I am getting around 20 to 22 mpg around town, 23 or 24 in suburbia, around 26 to 27 on busy or hilly freeways, and around 28 to 29 on empty flat freeways. I consider this to be excellent mileage for a fairly large car with a powerful engine.

As to the original post, assuming the tank was really full before the forty miles, and the miles were on a fairly open road, there should not have been more than around two gallons used, and the guage should show around 90 percent full.

From experience, I have found that gas guage problems usually tend to get worse instead of better. If this problem is still there after 2000 miles, you may have to insist the dealer do whatever is necessary to correct the reading.

Be sure the car is either level or slanting away from the pump at fillup, and listen to be sure you hear the sound level change when the tank is full and the tank filler pipe is being filled.

Continue to do calculations, and if your open freeway mileage is not above 25 mpg after you have 2000 miles on the car, it may be time to talk to the dealer again.

 

As I mentioned that's taking into consideration the 5 gallon reserve. I calculate: ~350 - 375 miles per 15 gallon fillup = ~23 - 25 miles/gallon. 23 - 25mpg x 20 gallons would provide approximately 460 - 500 miles/tank if I let it run completely dry. So to put it best I'm getting about 25 mpg (almost entirely city).

Oh yeah, btw, I have about 2k miles on the car.

 

Hell I wish I could get that kind of mileage in SF! I'm lucky to get 20 mpg in this busy place. The stop and go traffic just kills gas here, not to mention all the rice rockets trying to race you.

 

That's right about where I'm at also... and I'm pleasantly satisfied as well.

 

Does anymore know the K&N Filter will improve the gas mileage???
'Cuz, currently I have about 9600 miles on my Max, I'm still getting about 17.9 mpg. Wonder why ???

 

Folks,

The gas gauge isn't linear. Nor is the tank shaped to reflect proper consumption on the gauge. And there is an anti-slosh circuit. So, reading is not accurate, but close estimate.

I, too get about 40-60miles when the needle drops to 3/4. But then, its at 260miles when the needle is at half. Some folks top off the tank so there is even fuel in the filler neck (maybe your gauge will hit 3/4 mark at 100miles).

Also, I've found that Texaco-grand gas gets better mileage on my truck, but not my Max. And becareful of the "winter" blends (Methanol stuff is responsible for worse mileage and harmful exhaust).



Off my soap box!

 

... yeah, and there's always the chance you'll get rear-ended there, too!

Mike

 

I noticed I get about 350 miles highway and local driving combined on 93 octane. I am by no means a gentle driver either. I would say that my car is not the best on gas, but my 0 to 60 sprints are not helping.

 

I get about 24 mpg on the highway if no traffic but rush hour brings me down to 17 or less. Also mpg goes down if I use the manual mode because I like to rev higher than the auto modes shift points.

 

Here's my take... I travel around Tucson to do my errands and such and I average 16.5mpg around town... No soon as I hit I-10 to get to Phoenix, I average around 28 - 30mpg...depending on whether or not I'm traveling 75mph or 100mph... All in all, the MAX is funny like that... I stay true to pumping my tank w/ Chevron 91 Supreme... That's the best Tucson offers and it runs in my engine w/ very little knock (which is notorious to Nissans)... So, to summarize, you need to experiment a little to get the right combination of "fuel-to-environment" ration best suited to your needs... My thoughts @ least...