blackmax07

I filled up 18.5 gallong, almost about $60 in gas..Well I got 233 miles before I got the empty sign..Seriously wtf kinda gas mileage is that..I mean in all honesty can they even do anything? or did I just get one of the maximas that guzzle gas..

233/18.5= 12mpg?

So if I take it to my stealrship will they do anything, or just give me some random bull****..

too_Da_MAX

what mods do u have? How are your driving habits?

Pearl93VE

iTrader: (14)

People tend to think they can drive the car like they stole it and speed out of their neighborhood everytime they're going somewhere and expect to see gas milage equal to what's displayed on the side of the car when you buy it. Well, it's just not true. A spirited driven 3.5 Liter V6 lugging around a 3400+ lbs car plus whatever else you throw in there is NOT going to get good gas mileage, especially if it's city.

Since you weren't very informative in your first post about how you drove it, what kind of gas you have, where you live, if it's highway or city driven. I'm just going to have to guess here. My VE30DE 3rd gen gets at best 15mpg city when I drive it harder. If you really want mileage to show you have to basically drive normally everywhere, as in no "what's my 0-60" runs every other night

When I had my VG 3rd gen it got 17 miles to the gallon for me and I just thought it was running rich, not a thing was done to it before I sold it to my cousin and now he sees 25+mpg out of it consistently. It all comes down to driving.

blackmax07

Don't beat on it at all..Sure once in a while but who does't..Its mainly city, I live in philadelphia..But not like packed city, just normal light to light traffic..All I'm saying is I don't drive like a manic, I barely even go over 2k rpm..And I'm getting 12mpg, thats like a damn h2..

MaXXXpower

iTrader: (4)

You know that most 6th gen max's get the empty light on when theres still about 4 gallons left. Did you put in 18.5 gallons after you drove 233 miles?

blackmax07

ahaa I would be the one to know lol, I drive on empty 24/7..Our reserve is huge ha..but nah, my tank was empty, I filled up 18.5 it wouldn't let me fill no more..I've been getting bad mileage so I reset the trip, and today saw the fuel sign, and I only traveled a mere 220 miles or something.

mynameispee

iTrader: (3)

you must be driving in the city all the time. maybe you need an oil change?

mmotown

I get at least 400 + mpg on a full tank and I have an automatic

Nietzsche

iTrader: (7)

I've been at 13 or 14 since the snow hit and the temps dropped. Before that I was running 19-20.

cefiro80

Weather change might be making a difference especually if you are running a different tire. Not a drastic change but still noticeable if you are running numbers. Also, check your plugs that can tell you if there is something messed up in the fuel delivery department. That is crazy though on a 07

cyclopsmd

I get 400 miles+ per tank also, mixed city/highway driving. On the highway, I easily see 500+. I have a nismo CAI and suspension upgrades, that's all. Also, since I have the cai, you know I get on it every now and then...

bdmaxima

iTrader: (3)

i actually get the same and i drive on the highway and city both but i seem to get a lil less then 230. i hav a auto also.

blackmax07

What do I tell them at the dealership? Explain whats going on, and let them hold the car? I mean I'm positive if I let them have it for a day they're going to go on the highway and be like its fine..take it back

tehaviator

I'm usually somewhere between 17 and 20. Your idea, however, of normal driving can be very different from everyone else's.

SmokeNismo

The weather you guys are having over there in the east coast definitely effects the gas mileage. The car is trying to get up to optimal running temp for a longer time, so It's running rich longer. and Since you say you drive mostly in city, I'm gonna assume that they're not taking very long trips so the engine doesnt ever get the chance to fully warm up. One last thing, Driving in city is the worst for the Max. I normally average about 18-19mpg driving in city only. But since my commute is mostly highway, I'm averaging about 26mpg, about 3mpg better than my moms 2002 4cyl camry. haha =)

bdmaxima

iTrader: (3)

but even durin the spring/summer time i would say i don't get more then 260

blackmax07

same, my summer mileage was kinda wack also..this sucks, I just hate the fact that I know they won't really do much about it..

Terrentius

Man, I hear ya. All I want to do is have 7 days between fill ups. If I get that, then I am happy. I run about 300m or about 500km a week.

I think that this is normal for our engines and the weight of our cars. They are heavy and the engine is powerful, which usually means they drink quite a lot of fuel. Mileage is going to drop in the winter because the engine takes longer to get to operating temperature. To get to operating temp the engine runs at a higher RPM, which inadvertently uses more fuel. There is no way to get around this because the way our transmission are designed differently than non-CVTs. It uses fluid pressure for the gears. Therefore, the train fluid has to be a certain temp to work properly. So, the engine will run higher in the beginning during colder temps to make sure the trans fluid is at the right temp so damage does not occur to the transmission. What will also bring down your mileage besides how you drive (already talked about) is the layout of the terrain you drive on. For example, I live in a valley, so I uses a lot more fuel to move around than a guy who lives in the prairies. There is just no getting around that. Going up any type of incline is going to use more fuel than rolling on relatively flat ground...it sucks but it is true. You can run synthetic oil, and I do, but I have barely seen any real substantial gains in mileage, which tells me that our engines are very efficient from the get go. It just turns over a lot easier now and keeps my engine temperature down.

In your case, 12 mpg, I would say take it in and have them hook it up to the computer. There is probably an issue. You are not driving the GT-R and that gets 15 mpg....

Good luck and keep us up to date.

bdmaxima

iTrader: (3)

idk i doubt it. i just got my car serviced and even had them do a 100 pt check nuttin came up wrong cept 2 new tires and maybe new belts. but im going to call them to ask if they could check it out but i will bet money they will just say it maybe cause of the weather and they way i drive

blackmax07

defintly man..I don't feel like getting the whole "jackasss leave us alone treatment"..The people there don't even want to fix your problem..And I bet the second I get there the readout will some how manage to go from 12 to 16..and then they say its fine..just my kinda luck

BigPete

iTrader: (2)

i get about 18mpg mixed. I do the same amount of city driving as highway. I have a bit of a heavy foot though.

lightonthehill

I never bother to even consider MPG when driving in the city. In the city, I might crawl along at 5 mph, stop-and-go, for blocks on end, sitting for what seems like several minutes at each light. Meanwhile, the engine is running, the gas is sucking, and the car is going almost nowhere. Sure, sometimes one can make several blocks at a fairly decent speed. Then stop yet again. I don't expect to get more than 5 to 10 mpg in those conditions.

The Maxima is designed for driving, not stop-and-go creeping. I get up to 30 mpg on open highway or freeways. That is where the Maxima shines.

blackmax07 - Have you had the opportunity to measure your mpg on a long (at least two tankfulls) trip on an open road? I think you will like what you see.

bdmaxima

iTrader: (3)

i can back what lightonthehill said. i drive back and forth to boston a lot and i get well over 400 miles on the tank doin 80+ and once and a while when im bored 110+.
highest i ever got was like 500 going to canada

maxinuff

+1. i reset my mpg right before leaving alaska last month, and managed an average of 26.5 mpg and over 490/tank all the way to tennessee...maybe you have a slight misfire thats no bad enough to be picked up by the computer and throw a mil light or something like that. I hear for alot of codes to be tripped, the problem has to happen x amount of times in x amount of time and so on.

madmik

iTrader: (1)

My best MPG on highway is with cruise control on. I get almost 30 mpg. Human cruise control is 24-25 mpg @ 68-70 mph.

City driving winter time will be 12-14 mpg, summer 16-18 mpg. Tire pressure is 32 front, 34 rear. K&N air filter.

coolmax05

iTrader: (8)

Unbelievable, I can't believe how low your gas mileage is. I'm not the slowest driver in the world to say the least-but I still get between highway and city about 22.5 miles per gallon. On the highway I get a solid 28 miles per gallon.

If you have 20's or larger that's gonna hurt (-1.5 miles per gallon). Really lousy tires can beat you up for (-1 miles per gallon). A lead foot can take you down (5 miles per gallon). Snow and lousy weather can hurt ya. And lastly if you date really obese women and bring along their girlfriends you're really asking for it!

After the holiday season look for even more degradation in your gas mileage due to over-eating (tis the season to be jolly).

samito

iTrader: (1)

i get about 12/14 miles city but on highway aget about 450 to the tank long distance driving

blackmax07

I love how the thread became "I get" I was just asking everyones opinions on what I can do, or what I should tell the dealer..I already know most of you get good mileage..haa

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

If you constantly step on it you will see that low numbers like that. If everything else runs fine I'd say there is nothing wrong with the car. Ease up on the gas and the number will go up.

S_Klass

Also don't forget that winter gas is reformulated to contain extra ethanol + other additives (to 'combat' the effects of the cold weather) that unfortunately reduce your mileage.

That coupled with the drop in temperature means that your car has to work harder to get to optimum temps causing poorer mileage.

bdmaxima

iTrader: (3)

LMAO

nismos14

iTrader: (56)

The only official way for you to measure your fuel economy is by miles driven/ gallons filled. This can also only be calculated after a FULL tank has been run. I get a consistent 23 mpg in my Alti and thats with 80% city driving.

lightonthehill

blackmax07 - City driving can vary greatly, and there have been situations where I was stuck in traffic and definitely got the same lousy mileage you are getting. That is because the motor is using gas and the car is going almost nowhere. Winter driving in a congested city is horrible on gas mileage.

I still feel (as I stated back in post #22 of this thread) that the thing your REALLY need to do is find a way to take long trip in dry weather on an open and fairly level road at a steady speed (not over 70mph), where you seldom have to reduce speed or stop. That trip would have to be at least one tankful, and preferably two. If your mpg from such a trip is less than 26, I would feel something is not right with your car. I usually get between 28 and 30 mpg on such a trip.

Tidbit - I keep 36 psi in front tires and 34 psi in back. I do that because the front tires carry almost two-thirds of the weight and do all the pulling, as well as most of the braking and steering. Carrying the recommended 33 psi in my SL would lower my mpg slightly, as well as give slightly less responsive steering.

S_Klass

Light - that's strange... for FWD cars, it is recommended to pressure the rears higher than then fronts to decrease rolling resistance since the rears are just along for the ride anyway.

I go 34 fronts 36 rears.

bb700092

When you fill up gas, do you try to push more and more gas in? That is, once your tank is full, the flow of gas will stop automatically. Now if you press the lever again, some more gas will flow in. You might do it again and again and the meter will show more and more gas flowing in but actually, most of this gas is not flowing to your car's tank but back to the pump. So one should not try to push more gas in.

The 07-08 CVT Maxima gets lower MPG than the 04-06 Maxima. That is what I figured from all the mileage threads. So don't compare your MPG with that of a 04-06 max.

Another factor is the duration of time or distance you drive from the engine being cold. If your workplace is only 5 miles away, you are wasting the gas to heat up the engine twice (while going and returning) from cold everyday. The MPG decreases when the engine first starts from cold and gradually increases once the engine gets to normal warm temperature. Thus, a person whose workplace is 50 miles away gets more time and distance to regain good MPG after heating the engine than a person whose workplace is just 5 miles away. The latter person is basically wasting MPG heating his engine but can't utilize that.

If you seldom go over 2K rpm and you do not idle much, then your MPG should be around 15 or more in the city. Do you have more than 5K miles on the car? Did you have your first oil change? I would suggest you purchase gas from different gas stations and brands and see if your MPG remains same.

blackmax07

yeah maybe I'll stop using Vshell power..I have about 5600 miles so far..Didn't know that about the gas going back into the pump, they owe me $2 something ahah.

Bezzle01

Check your tire pressure, run some injector cleaner and I would try some new gas. There are some gas stations around here that are using ethanol blended but its supposed to be less than 10%. That stuff is not as good on mileage and I definitely noticed a difference from other brands that do not use it. Since you have a CVT try to keep the rpms below 2k when city driving. And again check the tire pressure, that will hurt your mileage by a few if its low.

mfewtrail

I would like to see more of you CVT owners post results(like the originator of this thread). I drove my mother's '07 SL the other day and the display indicated that the average mileage was 23.9mpg. I'll get her to do some actual calculations the next time she fills the tank and see how close to accurate the display really is. Her driving consists of about 80% highway and 20% city. From my limited experience driving the car, it *seems* to me that it's using more gasoline than the previous maximas equipped with standard automatics or manual transaxles. Her car has around 3300 miles on it so far. She warms the car up several minutes before driving it by the way.

bb700092

mfewtrail, your mileage seems very reasonable for a CVT max with 3300 miles. I just returned from a 800 mile trip that has 10% city and 90% highway. I got 25.3 mpg overall. On the highways (including state routes with signals), I drove at 70 mph for about 200 miles and at 35-65 mph for about 520 miles. The rest 80 miles was pure city driving at 0-35 mph with very frequent stops, not very good roads, lots of traffic, etc. My max now has about 4800 miles on it.

I have posted this in other mileage threads but would like to reiterate. I noticed the following mph and mpg trend in my max during highway driving:

45-60 mph => 28 mpg (I could achieve up to 28.2 mpg once)
60-65 mph => 26.5 mpg
65-70 mph => 25.5 mpg
>70 mph => <25 mpg

I would request the 07-08 CVT max owners to observe their mpg at different mph and report the observations. Note that all of the above numbers are from the computer and not calculated by me. I believe, calculating mpg as total miles travelled divided by amount of gas filled is not as accurate as the computer.

I also noticed that running the a/c, heater, front windshield defroster decreases mpg.

largepkg25

I've got 9300 miles on my 07 SE and I drive 70% hwy 30% city. The first 3500 miles the car was a pig and I was getting about 17 mpg. Currently I'm getting and average of 23-24 mpg. This is due in part because of my learning how to drive this car properly to attain better mileage.