I have a 2000 Maxima SE Automatic, leased since September 2000, with 2800 miles on it. My average mpg is about 17.5. Most of my driving is local, 30-40 mph with stops, some parkway at 60-70 mph. I don't come near the advertised values of 20/28 city/highway. Two friends...one with a 2000 GLE is also getting about 17, the other with a 2000 GXE Automatic is getting over 20. So, is my mileage unusually poor, and if so, what could be the cause, what can I do about it? Also, I used 92 octane for the first 1000 miles, am now using 89 octane. Is this a problem? Any comments/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Grandpa

 

It's normal. My Maxima gets terrible gas mileage too. Some say that as the engine breaks in (past 3k miles), your mileage will improve. Mine didn't.

I have an automatic 4th gen, and it gets 16-17 MPG in the city, 22-23 on the highway. Combined 50/50 driving, I get around 19-20 MPG.

The best thing you can do to improve your gas mileage is to not drive your car that aggressively. You will be surprised how high your mileage will be if you go 65 on the highway instead of 75. Try lightfooting it for a tank, and I bet your mileage will increase. Also, if you take a lot of short trips (under 5 miles), the engine never really warms up completely, so your mileage will suffer there too.

 

If you rarely see the highway, then I would say you've got nothing to worry about. You really need some highway driving to get a handle on things.

When my '98 was brand-new, I had NO problem hitting 29-30 mpg all the time because I was always travelling. Then at about 6,500 miles I did the same highway trip and all of a sudden I got 24. I went bezerk and finally replaced the air filter with a Nissan one. Back up to 29 IMMEDIATELY. I was consistently doing 29 one-way and 32 the other on a 480-mile round-trip.

I've since moved to Philly and my car rarely sees the highway for more than 5-10 miles at a time, and my mileage is pretty low (19-22). I recently did a trip with a cleaned K&N filter (which I don't recommend for those who have not yet gotten it) and did 26 at best. My car has around 40,000 and has never seen a service yet besides oil, coolant, and constant K&N filter cleanings.

You really need to drive at least 100 miles away and back on the highway and see how much fuel you consumed to get a decent mpg figure. Set your cruise at about 70-72. If you don't get at least 27 then I'd suggest a new air filter. Some of these cars are manufactured in July and not sold until February so it's not impossible to have stuff needed even with low mileage. Good luck.

 

Until the engine really warms up it is designed to run rich, and won't shift into overdrive. This really kills gas milage on short trips. Also, at least here in NY/NJ, from Oct. to April they only sell Oxygenated Gas which also hurts milage. I lose about 5-7 mpg in this weather on a 10 mile (street/hwy) drive.

 

My mileage sucks too during the cold...

Don't count the Z as that's just a gas hog...