Newman

iTrader: (3)

i dont know if that would be true for the 6-speeds. at 55 mph in 6th gear a maxima would be at about 1200 rpms. thats way too low. i can travel at 75 mph at about 2300 RPMs which i think is fine.

for people who are more knowledgable than i am:
what is the optimal RPM to cruise at on the HWY? is
what is the minimum RPM i should allow the car to get down to before its time to leave 6th gear and use 5th?

for those with 5-speeds: what RPMs are you at when you are going 75mph?

melteye

I've put 2000 miles on my car... I get 300-350 miles per tank... What the hells up with that? (350 is COMPLETELT freeway).

Update... Just filled up tank. I got 261.9 miles and then the low-fuel light came on. Filled up 14.352... wtf? Isnt' the tank 18.5 gallons? why would the light come on when i have almost 4 gallons left.

Newman

iTrader: (3)

mines the same way. i noticed it comes on when i have about 4 gallons left. maybe they changed it from the 2 gallons (i think) it used to be. but the thing is, when my gas light comes on it tells me i only have like 31 miles until empty which is waaaaaaaaay off. its probably closer to 75-80

Maxmann

might as well weigh-in: my 'puter says I am getting an average of 26.8. When I calc manually, it is around 25-27 so it is not far off, but do I really care? No, not really.

Now what bugs me is that the ambient temperature reading is always way off once I've been driving a while. It starts out almost dead on what nearby readings are (i.e., bank signs, radio reports, etc.), but after a while, next time there is a weather report, it is about 5-7 degrees higher, always. The reading in my 01 was always dead on, and same in my Lexus. Guess they re-routed it and somehow it gets some draft from the engine bay?? Anyway, I've just learned to adjust by 5-7% if I really want to know how cold or hot it really is.

I like having these little bits of information, but it is frustrating to learn they really aren't much better than a back of the envelope calculation!

srm

Newman

iTrader: (3)

i noticed one day when i drove by a bank that my car said 70º but the bank said 76º. though, i think in this case the bank was just plain wrong for some reason. even if the MPG computer and the temp arent perfect they do give you some idea. they arent worthless if they arent perfect.

slo-ryde

My 2002 GLE (5900 miles) is getting 23 to 25 miles per gallon, mixed driving. I haven't taken any road trips in it yet but guess the mileage would be around 27 to 29 on the freeway with the cruise control on.

I have the same problem with the trip computer being way off. It's typically off by 4 miles per gallon (actual being 24, computer reading 28). When I had the car in for service they called Nissan but the response was not very positive. They told me there was nothing they could do about it and that it was never meant to be something to take serious. If enough people complain maybe they'll come up with an update to the computer?

JGRI2002

Well, I just dropped my Maxima off at the dealership this morning. The service tech was surprised to hear that my mileage was that low. He also found it odd that the trip (MPG) computer was that far off. I have yet to get over 22 mpg even on 100% highway miles. It sucks because my last Maxima got 28+ mpg. I haven't changed the way I drive either.

To top it off, over the last week my sunroof has opened by itself three times while I have been driving. First time it happened I figured I had left the switch in the wrong position. Second time I thought "That's weird". Third time is not a coincidence.

The Temp gauge you guys have been talking about is funny because mine says "icy" at anything below 38 degrees. Last time I checked freezing was 32 degrees.

I'll keep you guys posted about the MPG and Computer situation.

russrtw

I always look at my MPG meter (2K2 SE 6spd). The only thing I have added is a K&N replacement air filter... and I use 5W30 Castol Syntec oil (don't know if that helps or not)

I'm in Raleigh NC and I frequently take trips to Charlotte NC (140 miles). What I do is reset the MPG meter as soon as I get up to speed on the interstate. If I don't stop for anything, I get an average of 30 MPG... REALLY... and that's at 70 mph. I find that the meter is very accurate based on how you accelerate, etc. I have been downtown before and the meter showed me having an average of 19-24 MPG... which was correct.

Just wanted to pass that along.

Newman

iTrader: (3)

thats normal. it says something about it in the manual. although, i thought it was 36º. once it gets to 36º it will say "icy" and even if the temp rises above 36º it will continue to say "icy" until it reachs 3º above 36º. my numbers may be off but the basics should be right.

JBH

I have a 2002 with 1200 miles on it and get 18.5 mpg with primarily commuter driving.

Chance

I've got a 2k2 SE 6spd, about 2500 miles so far. I drive 20 miles each way on my commute to/from work; 90% is interstate driving, but incity so I'm often in a traffic jam. Daily, I have at least a couple full-throttle-RPM-to-redline, blasts from 0-50 or so, and a couple more third and fourth gear blasts from 45-80 where the traffic frees up.

I have not gotten less than 375 miles on a tank of gas yet, using Premium. I have not seen the gas light come on yet, I generally fill up when I'm down to about an eighth on the gas gauge.

The computer says I'm getting 27-29mpg, which I know is optimistic, but I haven't calculated my real mileage with precision yet because I don't have the patience to fill up to the filler neck; I've spent as long as ten minutes trying to squeeze my way to where I can see the fuel at the neck, but I always give up before I get to that point, I'm not sure why this car is so difficult to get up to that level.

Given that I'm generally putting in right around 14.5-15 gallons before I give up, I figure I'm getting anywhere from 24-26mpg depending on how bad the traffic jams have been that fuel cycle.

maxse01

My old 87 Saab 9000 turbo (2.0 liter 165hp turbo) had average and instant mpg computer and it was always exactly on. I could drive 80 mph for 180 miles with the cruise on and i would get about 29 mpg. (miss that 4 banger ) With my max now, 01 5 speed with intake, y-pipe, catback and chip. Traveling 330 miles up to my buddies school at 85 mph with the cruise on, no ac, i got 23 mpg. That's not bad for 85 mph in the mountains at 3500 rpms for 4 hours straight. My car got considerable better mileage after 10,000. I have 32k on it now, and i have settled into about 350 on a tank highway/city. With filling it 16 gallons, that's about 22 mpg. I flog her pretty consistantly so i am happy with it. (my thoughts )

maxima1970

I have just over 2200 on my 6-speed Max SE. My trip computer says I'm getting between 25.5 and 26.3 mpg (that's the numbers I've ranged over that last 5 or 6 tanks). My calculated mileage is only around 22 mpg so its about 4 miles off on mine.

I was wondering if the different blends of gas in different parts of the country are contributing to the wide variety of mpgs were getting. I'm in California and I know they add all these chemicals to make the gas burn cleaner but reduces gas mileage. In fact, I can only get 91 octane in my area (S.F. Bay Area).

Hey JGRI2002! I had that same mystery sunroof opening problem too! It's only happened twice but it sure was weird. I thought maybe I was driving by a haunted house or something! Let me know what your dealer says about that. I'm not taking my car in for service for a while and besides, I know they'll just shrug and say there's no problem because they won't be able to reproduce such a randomly occuring problem.

JGRI2002

Well I picked up the car last night but they were not able to figure out what was wrong with my computer mpg vs the actual mpg. I have to bring it back in for the sunroof and they will have a differnt tech look at the problem. He was not in on Friday.

Maxima 1970,
They figured out what was wrong and have ordered a part for the sunroof. I will give you the details when they fix it.

Don't know about the different gas grades causing the different mpg results. My buddy who has an 02 gets 26 to 28 mpg and he fills up at the same gas stations I do.

Shaggydum

I just thought I'd pipe in so that everybody may be able to feel better about their mileage. If my CPU is in fact about 3mpg high then I consistently average between 16 and 17mpg, because the computer never says higher than about 20.5 and is usually around 19.5. I have about 3400 miles on mine now and drive almost completely city miles.

I guess I'll have to calculate on my next fill-up to see how accurate mine is. And for the record, I drive it like I stole it a lot more than I should.

You can all sleep at night now knowing you're at least getting better mileage than me.

swallac2

For all of those with crappy gas mileage. Have any of you taken your cars to the track? Just wondering if your times suck too. Bad milage + slow time = may be something saping power?

Also do you ride around with the HVAC on Auto or Econ? I always run with Econ.

Newman

iTrader: (3)

actually, yeah. i went to the track and i was very very ****ed off about my times. 15.4, 15.4 and 15.3 im going to go again. within the next few weeks. at first i blamed my times on my inexperience in driving stick but maybe its not my fault at all. we'll see.
and i dont think i have mine on ECON. ill give that a shot. but that track time hypothesis is interesting. i wonder if you're on to something.

DAREN

iTrader: (3)

give your car some time.

my 93 SE 5Sp gives me ~18-21 city and on my last long trip with it i got 26mpg at 80mph+. currently the car has 128k.

my 95 Se 5Sp gies me about 19~21 city and the same 25-27 mpg on a trip. 54k on this one.

i am a firm believer in cheap vs. good gas. every time i use low quality gas i get about 30 miles less per tank.

as far as low octane vs high, i prefer 91+ due to my experience with other vehicles i own/owned. for instance (it may seem odd) my old 79/84/86volvo 244/240 DL used knock when i used 87 oct (and ashamed to admit 86 oct) one of them almost shut off on me when i was going up hill. i later found out that no matter how i tuned it/them cheap gas would make the engine knock under load. worse yet my mileage was not as good as my maxima. 16 city and 24 highway absolute best @80 mph. maybe i was expecting too much from a whopping 111crank hp and 4030 lbs.

john2002max

My computor is telling me I'm getting about 4-5 miles per gallon more. Every time I figure milage at the pump it's 4-5 miles less, and I'm using premium gas. I have not ran a whole tank on highway only yet, but I seem to get around 20 around town and some highway. I thought mine may always was less cause I can't keep my foot off the throttle!!! But that computer should be more accurate reguardless of driving conditions!

aadro

Don't be so worried.

(1) Do a search on "mileage" and you'll find the same thing being said many times over.
(2) The trip computer is consistently wrong, and consistently about 4 mpg too high for highway and about 3 mpg too high for city driving. I am not the first person that said this, just do a search, it's well documented,
(3) Other people will keep telling you what great mileage they get. Keep in mind:
-- (a) They may be just bonkers and doing their math wrong (no offense, but some figures they tell you are quite impossible for a 3.5L car)
-- (b) If you drive an automagic and they drive manual trannies, there is bound to be about 2mpg difference;
-- (c) Many people with pre-2002 Maximas will tell you how great their mileage is, w/o mentioning the fact that their car is different from yours, and really 0.5L smaller at 3.0L. You have to pay the piper for the extra horses.
-- (d) You should make sure your tires are inflated at least according to specs (32 psi). It makes a big difference. (Slightly higher pressure - I keep mine at 33 psi - may be even better for mileage, but do so at your own risk , and never exceed the pressure max. on your tirewall.)
-- (e) The time of year that diff people are taking their stats matters, and also the type of gas used. For actual comparisons you should make sure these things are all the same: car engine; driving type- city, highway, stop&go, etc.; tranny type - unless you're doing a comparison across tranny types; avg. driving speed - too high or too low are both bad for mileage; tire pressure; gas brand and type - the additives in CA and some other parts of the country make a big difference; outside ambient temperature (about 75F is the referent); geography/topography - mountain vs. plain,. etc...
(4) Get worried only if your mileage falls below the EPA mileage range mentioned on your new car sticker. For the 02 Maxima automatic transmission, this is 17-23 mpg city, and 22-30 mpg highway.

Hope this helps. I was following this thread for a while and ultimately HAD TO speak up

-A

mikemmcd

I currently have 5650 miles on my 2k2 GLE.
I drive almost all city driving with trips of less than a mile. Just filled up yesterday and my
computer said 17.1mpg and I calculated 13.5mpg.
Only use 93oct premium gas.
My Olds Bravada AWD got better mileage than that.
Terrible mileage.

john2002max

I completely agree with you about the big difference in driving conditions and MPG. But the computer should still give the correct MPG info reguardless of driving conditions. I seems like the car is trying too trick you into thinking your getting better milage than you really are. I don't even look at mine anymore, cause I know it's not correct. Nissan could have done a better job on this!

aadro

That I completely agree with. But if you follow the different threads here, you'll find lots of things Nissan does and doesn't do that we wish they didn't do or did, respectively, so I'm kinda jaded. [Just do a search of posts from aadro, and you'll see all my bit*hing about Nissan. ] There's a reason why the Maxima sells less than the Camry, although the Maxima is a better car for the money!!!

Newman

iTrader: (3)

i dont think the computer's error is the big problem. at least its consistant. if we know that its always off by 4 MPG then it is still useful. its like knowing you're clock is 5 minutes fast. even though its telling you the wrong time you know in your head what the real time is.

i think the big problem is that lots of us arent even getting 20mpg even with highway driving. something is wrong there. thats what i want to figure out and that is what i want to fix. i dont really care about what the computer tells me.

nddst

Hmmm....

I checked my tires before work this AM and the one's I tested were about 30/31 PSI. The tire said, do not exceed 44 PSI! Is that right?

I saw somewhere that I should put 36 PSI in. Anyone have recommendations? I have not seen anyone mention the high PSI on the sidewalls, so I figured I'd ask.

cwerdna

If I recall correctly, my actual mpg so far on my 2k2 Max GXE w/2600 miles has been from 16.5-23 mpg. I today just filled up and calculated 20.4 mpg, this is with some freeway driving (finally, don't get much since I live REAL close to work). This is reasonably close to what I got w/my 91 Camry V6. Most of my trips unfortunately are really short trips (<5 miles, some <1) and weather in WA state is usually cold. I don't think I've even driven my Max in 70 degree temps yet (it'll be 46-59 tomorrow).

Padsy's figures still sound way too high to me... but at the same time aren't so high that he somehow has an SE w/the odometer calibrated im km (which affects certain GLEs w/traction control, there's a recall on that).

As an aside, at http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/longt.../article.html, they got 13.9 mpg so far on an automatic V6 Altima. They must have a leadfoot driver...

nddst

I inflated my tires to 36psi (F) and 33psi (R).

Filled up at almost the same time, I'll let you know how it effects my MPH and handling.

remykins

If you look under the lid to your center console it tells you what to inflate the tires to. All 4 should be at 32PSI when they are cold. so 30/31 is prety damn close. You dont want to get them up to 36. Follow the reccomendations of Nissan.

aadro

(1) As many posts to this thread from different people will testify, the service techs usually know diddly!!! Give them an obvious scanner-detectable situation, e.g.: "Scanner says o2 sensor faulty --> action: replace o2 sensor" and they're fine. Ask them questions like yours (or ours) and they're usually lost. So for questions about mileage and sliding sunroof gremlins consult these posts ... unless there's something obviously wrong with your car, in which case the dealer techie is fine. [Of course, there are exceptions. ]

(2) No error in your temperature gauge. The "ICY" indicator comes on at 37 degrees or below. This is stated in your manual. The reason (presumably) is that at 37 degrees (ambient) and below, windchill may cause icy road conditions. Hope that helps.

aadro

Haven't you been reading these posts? Your computer MPG is usually WRONG. Repeat WRONG. Check actual mileage divided by gas required to fill from full tank to full tank. You'll find that the MPG you're reporting is between 3 to 4 in excess of actual!

Are you back on terra firma now ?

remykins

Have to take my car into the dealer tomorrow. Cant wait to see the look when I ask about my gas milage...

aadro

Yes, that is right for original manufacturer's equipment (OEM) tires. But it's not a good idea to go that high... the suspension etc. on your car have not been designed to handle it. The Nissan recommended pressure is 32 psi. Some people go 1 or 2 psi above it for the sake of mileage and handling. Do a search for tire pressure if you want more info.

cigarmanh

ABS

I have a 2K2 6Spd and I admit that I drive it hard, both local and on the highway. On the highway I usually cruise in 6th at 80 mph and in local driving I'm usually between 66% and 100% on the pedal while accelarating but then I put the car into 6th over about 45 mph for local cruising.

The best mileage I see is about 20 mpg and generally I'm down around 17-19 mpg. These numbers just don't seem right. GM makes a 3.8L V6 that is much better, even when driven aggressively. I think that the Nissan engine is running really rich. I do all my own oil changes and this last time around, the oil came out wreaking like fuel. In my old Honda, I would sometimes notice a slight gasoling odor, but never this bad . . .

I'm betting that there is a problem with one of three things on the '02 Maxes: MAF sensor, O2 sensor, IAT sensor (if it exists), Coolant sensor, or the program in the computer.

A few questions:

Does anyone know if the computer is flashed with a new program when the gas pedal recall is performed?

If so, has this improved anyone's fuel economy?

Does anyone have an ODBII reader which they have used to investigate the actual values the computer is using in its calcs?

Thanks!

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, I run 36 in the front and 29-30 in the back. I know the Nissan's recommendation is much lower, but it doesn't strain the suspension, as some are suggesting. The ride does get more firm. There's always a tradeoff. The firmness makes for very confident high speed driving.

Just remeber, these pressures are measured with cold tires. As my fronts warm up, or after sm espirited highway driving, the 36 psi balloons to 39-40 psi. Still under the maximum of 44 psi recommended by the tire.

Also, the 44 psi is the highest psi that the tire manufacturer recommends for thier tire, not Nissan. Kumho says that on their ECSTA supras in my size. It varies per tire.

DW

lcj2002se

Sounds like you have the same problem as I do - Mine is a 4spd auto and my mileage is just like yours. If I drive it hard, it drops to between 15 and 16. Have you taken it back to the dealer and griped about the s#### milage?

burma

On my last trip on the highway, i had the cruise control set for 66 mph. I checked the average speed computer, which i had reset when i engaged the cruise control, and it read 62 mph. I reset the computer another couple of times and came up with the same numbers. Anyone else have this experience?

ABS

Maybe Nissan did not compensate properly for the various wheel/tire combinations available? I did have the dealer verify that the speedo was showing the same speed as the computer on my 2K2 SE . . . what model Maxima do you have?

lcj2002se

I have the same problem - Always shiws around 20 - 21 mpg. Actual mileage is 13-17 city, dependion how hard I push it. 24 on the freeway. Have you ever asked the dealer about the crappy mileage???

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

OK here's my .02

I always get between 20 to 26. It depends on how much highway driving I get to do. Obviously my fuel computer reads 4mpg high just like everyone elses. And like someone else mentioned, since I know the clock is 4 mins fast I simply subtract what it says and I know exactly what I am getting at that moment.

If your oil smells like gas then you certainly have a problem and at this point I doubt anyone has conclusive evidence as to what the problem is. But from what you have said I would suggest that your foot is the problem. You do not drive a multi valve OHC engine the same way that you drive a pushrod engine. If you're using that much throttle to accelerate below 3000 RPM's all you're doing is dumping gas into the chamber and not getting the results you desire. Just for kicks, try using 30% to 50% throttle for medium aceleration and let the engine spin a little bit higher between shifts. This is basicaly how I drive my Max but I short shift at 2500 or 3000 RPMs when I casually leave a stop light. I frequently dog the pi$$ out of my car and still manange to average 22 MPG. You will quickly find that the engine is much more efficient with 35% throttle shifting late at 4000 RPMs than 75% throttle shifting at 2500 RPMs.

There is also a test that I do from time to time to make sure my fuel mileage isn't suffering because of the car instead of my lead foot. Find a nice long flat patch of interstate, cruise at 60mph in 6th gear. Reset the fuel computer and stay exactly at 60 long enough for the computer to produce a reading. Whenever I do this my computer usually pops up with 31 to 34MPG (in reality would be 27 to 30). Now try the same thing at 80mph and see what a big difference you'll get.

As for the ECU the answer is no. The Nissan ECU cannot be programmed at all that I know of. Thats why Jim Wolf always has to solder an extra ROM board to the existing one.

I am looking into getting the AutoTap to do my data aquisition. I do not know for sure if they hav one that will work with the Nissan ECU but I hope to try soon.