cvt ftl

 

I only get 15.7 mpg. *sighs*

 

Hi Guys and Gals....I live in Montreal where the winters can be brutal...I have seen Februarys where the average day time high did not go above -20 cel (-5 F) for 3+ weeks in a row! That does not even include the wind chill factor and the night time low! We're talking cold....now that I've depressed all of you...I will tell you that when it comes to cold weather driving with snow or no snow, Montrealers are the experts. Our city does an amazing job at snow removal and in fact it is a law in our suburbs that pick-up trucks with shovels are prohibited (not allowed).That's right! Only snow blowers to clear our private driveways!...so we have lots of John Deere's running around every snowfall! Also Montreal teaches other cities how to do proper and efficient snow removal. Our city will only shut down during the worst storms...over 6"s!

I find that in slippery conditions our Maxima's are outrageously bad at gripping the road from a standing start at a traffic light and that's with the best snow tires on the market....did you know that snow tire treads are made with crushed walnut shells! The crushed shells are added to the rubber compound to help give good traction. I can tell you that gas mileage suffers greatly in winter during the cold because all seasons get too hard and do not have enough grip and lose their bounce. For this reason winters are best during winter...Even though I drive on winters I know that my grip for starting and STOPPING is compromised although significantly better than with summers or all seasons. Now to my experience on gas mileage:First: When starting in cold and or snowy/slippery/icy conditions...I turn my TCS off. I like to feel the road when the tires are losing their grip so that I can vary the throttle accordingly. Also when stopping it has been proven that locking actually helps to stop faster than with ABS in icy or snowy conditions! Second: I put the Maxima in manual mode during icy conditions and I shift MANUALY. One thing that I noticed that the Automatic tends to have longer shift points. I try to get to 2nd and 3rd as quickly as possible while pressing lightly on the pedal. This reduces torque steer and prevents the wheels from slipping or losing their grip. I have noticed a significant improvement in my gas mileage driving this way. Also in winter I naturally drive slower on the highway and limit my speed to around 55 - 65. The use of winter tires combined with conservative driving in winter can result in a 30% increase in gas mileage!

 

your getting 16 and you complain? i average 14.5-15.0 at best. who should i see to check on that??

 

Good post. I agree with most of your points. IMHO, the Max in snow is not as good as a 4-wheel drive vehicle, but it is as good as any other two-wheel drive vehicle I've driven -- provided you get rid of the RSA's -- which are lousy in snow.

Where I have an advantage is that in snowy conditions, I can start in 2nd gear with my manual trannie. I believe that some Max auto trannies also allow for starting in 2nd gear. If so, you should try it. It reduces the torque at the drive wheels, which helps to reduce wheel spin.

 

I put Dunlop M3 's on my Maxima, and I use the manual shifter for the auto in appropriate conditions and have no problem in the snow. I grew up in Chicago so I know snow.

 

Here’s another major factor that contributes to poor winter mileage. At 20 degrees Fahrenheit, air is 11% more dense than air at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. For those of us in colder climates, our cars simply need more power to cut through the thick, heavy winter air, especially at highway speeds. That destroys mileage and there is nothing we can do to change it.

 

I bought a 04 a couple of months ago and looked at the mpg and it says 19 mpg but I drove 250 miles and the gas guage read 1/2 tank that is a hell of alot more than 19.2 mpg why is the computer so far off, is it a comunalitive since 04???????????????? WTF

Hi my name is Andy and I am new here

 

I must agree the grip off the line is horrible, I have studded agressive snows on all four corners and it doesnt like the take off at all. I had several max's over the years and live here in Utah and never had this prob with a maxima before. I think alot of the problem is the tourque off the line. Granted the 04 is totally new design and much larger then the previous gens.

Still love the car though

Andy

 

Welcome Andy
You have to do a reset to get current mpg, push in the button a second time & hold it in till the mpg reads **

 

The reset post above is correct. I reset my computer every time I buy gasoline to compare the computer with the manual calculation. The computer in my Max is quite accurate.

The gas gauge in my Max is not very accurate. I would never assume (because I've proved it quite often) that a half tank reading means that I will only need 10 gallons to fill the tank. It is usually more like 12 -- because the gauge is wrong. And calculating mpg based on miles per tank (or half-tank) is not a very accurate way to measure gas mileage, either. The computer is much more accurate than that, provided you reset it.

 

I totally agree. I observe the same in my Maxima.

 

hahah... same **** happend to me. that thing is BS. haha. you averege 15 mpg like me. i think thats alot too. But this time i tried Citco gas and i think im averaging more than usual. Im trackin to get 320 miles this time out of full tank.

 

I completely agree...the computer is the best way to calculate your gas mileage. In Canada we even have a switch on the side "M/E" that älows you to change the computer from Kilometers to Miles. So that you can see liters/100 kms. Do you guys in the States have this?

I'm a bit old fashioned as I grew up with the English system of miles...Kms so the conversion is a cool feature for me as all the new car ratings in Canada are given in liters per 100 kilometers and this alows me to compare my gas consumption to the others.

 

I have reset it at the time of fill up but it never gets above 19, I will check it with the computer vs. the calculator and see. I do average about 325-375 mostly city on a tank, I hope to take it to Cal. this year and see what she does on a long road trip.

I was at 250 and a half tank with the trip computer showing over 130ish if memory serves.

For the reset you just mean holding down the reset button correct?

Thanks for your replies

Andy

 

No, hold in the same button you push to get the mpg reading [fuel econ button]
first push gives you the mpg, next push & hold in till the mpg reads **

 

Thanks I'll give that a try.

Andy

 

I have a Maxima 04. Since 4 months ago, it's running very sluggish on low gear and has a horrible fuel consumptoin (used to be 22-23 mpg and now is only 18). I have done all service and ECU reset and fuel system flashing, to no avail. Any ideas?

 

You don't mention your mileage, which could help us with suggestions.

One possibility is that you have fuel system deposits that are messing up the fuel injectors. Suggest you do a clean-up dose of Chevron's Techron fuel system cleaner. You need to follow the directions on the bottle and be certain that you use enough Techron to actually clean the fuel system.

If you had posted this in January, I would say that cold temps could be causing part of your problem. In April this is not as likely to the a good explanation.

Good luck.

 

but u "knowingly" bought a "Maxima" <-- fun car... instead of a "corolla/civic etc".... or hybrid

so what is the prob??

 

Mileage is 92KM. I took it to the dealer a couple of times and they did flush the fuel system and changed transmission fluid and reset the computer. That did no good.... Do you suggest I still do the Chevron Techron cleaner? I am also feeling very sluggish in low gear. Could it be one of the cylinders misfiring?

Thanks,

 

92 K Km is 57 K miles. I have 66 K miles on mine, with none of these problems because I do a Techron clean up every 15 K miles or so. So I do recommend you try one. Chevron sells a bottle for a 20 gallon tank, which is what you have and thus need.

A mis-firing single cylinder would also cause the problems you describe. But I doubt that is your problem given your mileage.

You also should plan to replace the fuel filter by about 100 K miles. It is not hard (but not easy either). This filter is located under the back seat and on top of the fuel tank. But, if this was your problem now, you would have problems any time you called for heavy fuel consumption in any gear. A clogged fuel filter would also not impact your fuel economy.

 

16? lol. My f150 crew cab 5.4 with the 3.73 axles avgs 17. My 02 Maxima got 24 all day long and my 95 and 99 got 25 and 26 respectively. And I drove those rather hard... At 16 mpg, there is an issue.

 

So the mis-firing of one cyliner would not show on the ECS and display light would not come on?

 

I don't know if that is the case, or not. Perhaps others here would know if this would happen with one mis-firing cylinder.

With today's modern engine technology, it is quite rare for a single cylinder to mis-fire with less than 100 K miles on the vehicle. The plug or the wire could fail, but that is not likely to happen before 100 K miles.

 

Anybody know if sparkplug misfiring or going bad would show on ECU or it may not?

Thanks,

 

Location is a big factor in gas mileage too. Some cities have more stop and go traffic than others. When I drive I try not to rev over 3.5k rpm. How hard do you drive your car?

 

It won't always show up or throw a check engine light. If it's missing at a stoplight it could also be a coil pack. You might want to check those too.

 

How would I check the coil pack. tks

 

What do you think about this one I drive both city and highway in my 05 Maxima SE and I average around 13.2 mpg

 

I drive all highway, 71mph all day long (set by GPS) usually average 28-31mpg depending on wind conditions.

Avg 475 - 500 before the idiot fuel light comes on... then I can push another 50 miles...

On the weekends... I avg 14

 

i get 19.5 mpg only city drive, 3.5miles to work....if there are any ways to improve this mpg, i would love to know

 

ftww...

 

That is slightly better than I get with my interstate highway driving. I typically drive about 5 mph over the speed limit, but don't cruise over 80 mph. So I'm usually going between 65 and 79 mph. I get from 27 to 28 mpg and have on a few occasions gotten better than 30 mpg -- with a tail wind. You are certainly correct that wind speed and direction can make a big difference in your highway mileage.

Unless you have a good reason, it is not a good idea to consistently run your gas tank to near empty. The gasoline in the tank is the only medium to cool the fuel pump (located inside of the tank). I usually like to fill my tank when it gets between 1/2 and 1/4 full. But on occasion run the tank lower when I know about better gas prices up ahead.

This spring I have been filling up when it gets down to only about 3/4 of a full tank -- because it has been clear for some time that gas prices will be going higher as the year goes on.

 

Here in Colorado, I get 22 to 23 mpg with city driving. My average speed (per the computer) is also between 21 and 24 mph.

You don't say where you are driving (city) or your average speed. The best way to improve city mileage is to never floor the accelerator or to let the engine idle for a long time. So if you are at a RR crossing waiting for a train to pass, turn off your engine. You want to try to get the average speed up above 20 mph, so try to drive to minimize the number of times you have to stop at a stop light. I know in many cities, this can be nearly impossible, but it is a goal to shoot for. Good luck.

 

doesn't the fact that we have a 4 gallon reserve count as a good reason? If you go for gas once the light comes on, there is atleast 5 gallons in there. To me always keeping atleast half full is carrying extra weight more often.

if you go buy price rise and fall then actually you should fill up more often when prices rise. the longer you wait the higher the price will be next fillup.

 

In the winter time (or any time with high humidity), you want to keep your tank as full as possible -- to reduce the ability of moisture in the air from condensing on the inside sides of your gas tank, putting water in your gasoline.

A gallon of gasoline weighs about 5.9 pounds (assume between 5.7 and 6 pounds). So carrying an extra 7 gallons (1/3 of a tank) means you are carrying an extra 42 pounds around. I don't think this slight addition of weight will make much difference in your fuel economy. Particularly compared with the moisture problem and the need to keep the fuel pump cool. (But you are probably right that the 5 gallon reserve in our tanks is probably enough to keep the pump cool).

 

Don't forget the price of gas is horrible too... Double whammy...

 

My max is a new 07 (81 miles from dealership) and in the last 2 weeks, with a 4 hours completely highway trip, the highest i have seen is 21.5. It says i'm averaging 14.1 ...it also says my average speed is 16mph so...

 

Until your VQ engine is broken in, your mileage will not be that good. It should improve from about 3 K to 5 K miles on your odometer.

When I am driving the interstate highways, my average speed runs about 3 to 5 mph below my cruising speed. But you need to reset the trip calculator to get the average speed for that segment. Otherwise you get the average speed from the time you last reset the trip meter.