Think about what the computer is computing = Miles per gallon. So it need some miles traveled and some gallons used to make that calculation. An isntantaneous calculation would be much more difficult for the computer to make. I doubt if even the most expensive autos offer that option on their computers.

Every time you reset this calculation in your Max, I suspect that the earliest new readings are not very accurate. But a reset about every 10 miles or so should get you the numbers you appear to be looking for -- as long as you read the MPG at the end of every 10 miles, the calculations should be reasonably accurate.

go sit in a volvo s80 and try their instanteous mpg info view - it's ridiculously ineffective for when you are changing speeds

averaging a tad under 20mpg in my 05 SL with 2000miles

I have an 04 SL with 29,900 miles and I reset my MPG computer each time I fill up. I drive about 50% highway and 50% city and I average at about 20 mpg. It is lower than I assumed I was going to be averaging. If the estimated mpg for highway is 28 and for city its 20, I assumed I would get about 23-25 mpg since I do half city and half highway and I was wrong. Sucks... :banghead:

According to the manual, This is because the maxima keeps a few gallons as "reserve fuel"....It is normal that when you fill up when your gas light comes on, you will only be putting in about 16 to 17 gallons of gas because the rest is still in the tank as reserve. The logic is that when your gas light comes on, some people ignore it and keep driving or some people are no where near a gas station so in these situations, you still have a few gallons in reserve even when your light comes on so you have enough time to find a gas station.

I have an 05 SE with 10000+ miles on it. Around town I get 22 to 23 MPG and average about 30mph. On the highway I get 28 to 29 MPG and average between 55 and 60 MPH.

3 gallons seems excessive in the reserve tank to me - but i guess that's nice - i'll have to go read the manual regarding this later

MPG from CO to IA
 

Just got back from Iowa with my 04 Max 6spd manual, and averaged 26.5 MPG go from Colorado to Iowa. I had the car mostly in 6th gear ~85mph @ 3200rpm..

Got pulled over in Nebraska on the way back! gotta love being below 6000 feet where your car can BREATHE!! WAAAAAY too much fun

M.p.g.2
 

[b
I Notice That My Gas Milage Is Getting Worse, The Car Has 10,000 Miles On It Around 9,000 Miles I Was Getting Almost 20mpg And Now It Is Down To 18.7, Any Idea Y

Uhm... have you reset your MPG meter recently? Have you changed driving styles (highway, city, etc)?

Does Permium Give Better Mileage
 

I've posted a new thread on this topic in the Fluids & Lubes section of this site. Check it out here:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=450870

The results apply to a 6 Gen Max, but I don't consider them definitive.

I have just about 2000 miles on my 06 SE 6SP. I my last tank i got 472 miles and 24.73mpg. computer said 24.3mpg. this was all highway driving (avg speed 72mph). normal driving (to and from work) i get about 23mpg. Is this what i should expect or may my mpg increase as time goes on?

23.5 ussually here

i probably get the worse mileage....i only get about 9miles to the gallon...its pretty shiatty....but then again starting the car for 30mins before i actually drive it does alot to it

That's outragous, funny but outragous. I can't imagine having to warm up a car for 30 minutes before driving it. Don't you have a block heater? Wouldn't that help? I lived in AK for 3 years (Juneau). I lost one car to the cold, an '84 volvo wagon. What a tank. But it was only because my ex's ignorant floridian cousin didn't know enough to put antifreeze in it.

Here's a question for everyone. I've been thinking about filling up with the lower octane fuel to save money. Does anyone else use lower octane? and if so, do you notice a difference in the MPG?

That is way too much warming of the vehicle before driving. You are talking about miles per gallon, and with the car idling, it does not go any miles. Thus you are getting 0 MPH for the gasoline being burned during those half-hour idles.

The suggestion of an engine block heater or an oil heater is a good solution, and will improve your mileage.

Doing that much idling is not good for your VQ engine. Unlike most diesel engines, it was not designed to idle for long periods of time -- like a half hour. With the engine's low RPM during idle, you are likely not getting enough motor oil lubrication to parts of that engine. I would not idle my Max for more than about 5 minutes (maximum) before driving it. At low engine RPMs the oil pump does not pump enough motor oil to properly lubricate all areas of your VQ.

There is not a definitive answer to this question on this site. And many members feel strongly, on each side of this question.

I'm on the side that believes regular (87 octane) gasoline will give satisfactory performance as long as you are not racing or some other activity where you need the absolute maximum performance from your Max. I live between 6 K and 7.5 K feet above sea level and actually burn 85 octane regular gasoline. But that is not indicitive of what you will experience closer to sea level burning regular gasoline. Due to the altitude effect, 85 octane at 6 K feet elevation (in most non-turbocharded engines) acts like 91 octane at sea level.

I'm still trying to determine if I can get better highway mileage by burining premium gasoline when cruising the interstates at lower elevations. I did one winter test that effectively said that other factors beside octane most likely influenced the results. That discussion can be found on this thread:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=450870

I will be doing a second "summer octane test" this coming July to see if I get better mileage burning premium gasoline in the summer time. I will post a new thread in August on that test.

Wow, that was quite the analysis. I think I' ll give it a try and see what I come up with although mine won't be nearly as detailed!!!:chuckle:

Well I experimented bad luck with lower octane. I was burning too much fuel. I was averaging about 15-16 mpg. Once I started to use 93 octane i began to run at 19-22 mpg. I save more gas and i noticed better performance. I thnk its worth it payng a little more for premium

Good point. While all new VQ engines are built the same, there are differences between individual engines. If premium works better for you, than that's the right gasoline for your Max.

I'm still trying to determine if I will get better mileage at lower elevations burning premium on the highways (where average speeds are over about 55 MPH).

Well i guess when you go for actual miles per gallon i guess it wouldnt be too bad....but i live in -40 degree weather (yes that is a " - " sign..negative 40 degrees). If i were to only let my car warm up for 5 mins before getting in it, i would still be freezing my arse off. When i toggle my little fuel economy button it tells me that i get 9 mpg....Also, when im at a stop light or sign i usually peel out...not purposely and i tap on the gas very lightly but it still peels out causing gas burnage.

My autostart will only let my car run for 24mins....so its not quit 30mins. but close...and usually i get in about 15mins afterward.....I did not know that having a car idle low like that could cause anything to the engine. Oil should still circulate throughout the engine.

And I do have a block heater as well as oil, battery, and washer fluid. When you live up here you have to have all of that stuff put on in order for your car to work properly. If you notice in my pic i have a little plug hanging out of the car. :jeffy:

You need a garage.

If it is only your arse you're worried about, get an arse warmer.

When the engine is idling, the oil is circulating, but not nearly as well as when the RPMs go up over 1K or so. May not cause you any problems, but I would not do this to my Max.

Very good to know. I just bought my new 05 two weeks ago; it has just under 600 mi on it and I am only getting about 14-15 in the city. So it will go up? I was pushing about 28 on the freeway the other day which seemed normal. Of course, my driving habits don't really help, either...

I wish i could get a garage, but unfortunately the government will not provide us single soldiers with one. Sucks for me :( ...My seats do heat up but thats not till i get into the car....it does suck to have to let it run that long but in this hell whole you have too, unless you want to freeze your arse off...right now it is -36 degrees outside....thats freakin cold

Lower Sulfur Gasoline will Impact Maintenance
 

Lower sulfur content in gasoline will be here by March 1, 2006. Read the details of this change and the implications that the change has for OCI and exhaust system life on my new posting in Fluids & Lubes.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=456754

2004 SE - Houston ......... I just got her like 2 weeks ago and I have been driving EVERYWHERE !....... I'm avg about 20-22 mpg and i reset when i fill the tank......... Funny how I filled the tank with Premi gas on the 9th and I still have a quarter of a tank left........ I LOVE THIS FREAKIN CAR ! :)

This is what I got on the screen tonight:

36.4 mpg :ben:

I drove about 30 minutes at an average speed of 60 mph, ranging from 55 to 65mph. All highway miles. Outside temprature was pretty cool at 46F.

beat that! :chairshot

Damn I am surprised that the car will even start.

Good to know. Now can we Californian get higher than 91 oct for our premium? Please!!!!!

That either have to be w/ slight decline, or at least really flat stretch of the road. The best I got was around 32 mpg (faster avg speed though).

Lower sulfur content in all US gasoline is very good news. It means that you can more safely extend your OCI and that your exhaust system will last longer. Check out the details in my post (#1) on this issue to see why.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....03#post4733203

I did not know that there were no oil companies in California making premium with higher than 91 octane. The oil company I worked for before retiring did not market in California, so I'm not very familiar with this market. I thought that Arco (now BP) had a higher octane. Sorry I can't help you more on this issue. Nissan does say that all the VQ engine needs in 91 octane to perform at Max power.

i get 21 mpg

I read you link before I posted, it's good news for cars and the environment at the same time.

As far as octane in CA, we went from 93 (in late 80's to early 90's) to 92, then to 91 a couple year ago. I also notice that Las vegas area is down to 91 too. I think Nissan says 91 is because of availability issue, not best performance. $.02.

This sounds like a byproduct of California mandating special gasoline specs -- what many in the industry called "California Boutique Gasoline." These more restrictive gasoline specs were supposed to reduce air pollution vs common gasoline specs. I suspect that these much tighter specs caused some if not all of this reduction in octane (but here I am just speculating and have no specific knowledge).

I believe the VQ was specifically designed to run on 91 octane because it is available throughout the USA -- even here at 6 k feet elevation where very very few vehicles need it to operate properly.

So far mostly city driving and my first tank of gas, 22MPG. Its hard keeping it under 4,000 RPM with a manual, way too much fun...

I drove on 91, from Torrance till it met 57 Freeway... Good 20 miles. It's pretty flat I'd say. Average speed has a lot to do with mpg. I too get about 32 mpg when I'm averaging 65mph. Try 60mph or even 58mph. You'll get closer to 36 mpg.

I am starting to go up now, I have 450 miles on my car and 24.1 MPG in mixed highway and stop and go. Not as good as my 05 Max with auto. The RPM's are higher on the 6 speed manual than they are on the 5 speed auto driving at the same speed in top gear.

I have an 04 with 6 speed. At 3 K RPM in 6th gear, my Max is going 83 MPH. I don't think the SE with auto-trannie is going much more than 85 MPH at the same speed. How about it, those of you with the auto trannie? How fast are you going at 3 K RMP?

Youre right, about 85 MPH. What speed do you put your car in 6th?

I upshift into 6th gear as appropriate. If I'm accelerating, I shift to 6th when the RPMs in 5th gear reach about 3 K (unless I'm racing). If I am only slowly accelerating, I will upshift at a slower 5th gear engine speed, and the engine speed in 6th gear will be from 1,700 to 2,200 RPMs. I don't like to cruise in 6th gear at speeds below about 55 MPH (about 2 K RPM).