SilverMaxima06

Hello fellow 6th generation owners:

I am a first time car owner so obviously also a first time Maxima owner.

I was trying to get a feel for how many miles some of you here on the .org put onto your car a year. I am about to throw a lot of numbers your way but I apologize in advance. And I also would like opinons from the experiences Maxima owners here about how many miles would you expect this car under these conditions to go for? Just a range/guess is all I'm looking for. No one is perfect.

My daily commute for work is 150 miles (75 miles each way). Of the 150 miles, 110 of these miles are highway where I am literally cruising between 65-75 miles per hour. So a little less than 75% of my commute is clear highway driving. I work for the government and have flex scheduling so I pretty much work a 5 day week then a 4 day week. So thats 750 miles one week and the next is 600 which averages to 675 miles. And I essentially will work 210 days a year thus which averages out "nicely" to a total of around 31,500 miles a year.

Additionally, I car pool with a fellow employee to work, so this trend won't last once he gets his car and we start splitting these miles. But in the meantime until at least mid-February [I bought the car late July] I'll be putting A LOT of miles on my car. So he pays for a chunk of the gas right now -- a good solid chunk.

I've heard that highway mileage isnt as bad on your engine compared to city driving. Is this true? And what kind of maintanence levels/intervals do you think I should follow? So far I have been very strict to 3750 for my oil changes [I just hit 7500 Friday] and I've had 2 oil changes and rotated my tires. As of now, I'm sticking to dino-oil until its 'safe' to use synthetic. However this interval means I'll have about 8 oil changes a year and 2 tire rotations! Should I extend my interval to 5,000 since its mostly highway driving? Or keep at 3750 per the manual?

Lastly, at this rate of about 30,000 miles a year, how many miles do you think I can expect out of this car? Seeing as though my 36,000 mile warranty won't last me too long...

Thanks for listening to me and I look forward to hearing your opinions!

badboy16

you should stay with the 3750 oil change because the people at nissan told me that after 3750miles, the oil starts seperating or some **** like that, its made to run perfect until 3750 and then you need to change it out

BadThad

Personally, I'd stick with conventional oil if you're putting those kind of miles on the car. Your gas bill will be high enough, but using synthetic oil on top of that will leave you armless and legless.

As far as the change interval, I'd follow the mfg recommendations and not JiffyLube or whoever. The only way I'd change it more frequently is under harsh conditions, which is not what you described.

If you follow all the maintenance recommendations your Maxima should last virtually forever.....they really are great cars.

Glude

iTrader: (5)

Ive heard you can go up to 10k on synthetic with only having to change the filter though so the higher price isnt that big of a deal if the oil will last 3 times as long. Also, I put about 25K a year for the first couple years I had the max, I think this year ive averaged around 5k...lol.

04BlackMaxx

I have been putting on an average of 20,000 a year, but now i drive a bit less. 50% highway

2LEET4U

iTrader: (4)

wholy crap...... thats a lot of driving....

i put on 12,000-15,000 a year. Depending how many booty calls I can get....

SilverMaxima06

That's how it will be for me approximately.

First two years I suspect about an average of 30K a year and year three and onward hopefully will stay constant at around 15k-ish.


2LEET4U --- Yes, I know its a lot of driving but it isnt as bad as it sounds. There is practically NO traffic during my commute so its smooth sailing during the morning and evening [relatively to say the beltway here in md/dc/va].

I travel up I-95 from Silver Spring to a little past Baltimore [around exit 85] -- traffic is almost non-existent compared to the beltway, heh.

FrostMaxima

iTrader: (1)

35,000 miles per year for me and it has been all highway, i still get my oil changed every 3,750 miles and the tires rotated at 7K, the OEM goodyears lasted me 28,000 miles

MAX2DAMAX

iTrader: (5)

WHAT? you drive to their house, i have them sl*ts pick me up!

DTinVA

I drive about 50K a year and stick pretty closely with the Nissan service schedule. I've only had to do routine things so far.

PapaL

iTrader: (2)

I'm in the same boat, and area, as you. I drive about 110 miles a day round trip. Will drop by half next week, thank God for daycare close to our house. Just stay on top of the oil changes, drop in a K&N air filter, and enjoy the beltway at 0500 every morning.

MPScan

42 miles/day round trip for work, which is 50/50 highway and local roads, but tons of road trips and driving outside of work hours. Bought my 6th gen on 8/18/06 brand new and have 3,840 on it as of this afternoon (oil change this sometime this week before it hits 4K...lol). That's 23K/yr. Not too bad.

I had 144k on my 4th gen that I traded in and only ever did routine stuff (wipers, oil, tires, brake pads, general maintenance) with the exception of a new rotors all around at 118K, which was pretty much my fault anyway.

My 4th gen and this 6th gen are the first two foreign cars that I have ever owned. I bought this 6th gen Max based on my experience with my 4th gen. It was a friggen rock. Never let me down.

Mind you, i'm coming from Ford and GM products (Grand Am, Buick Regal, and two Ford Taurus SHO's..93 and 95...nice cars and fast, but a piece of ****!) -- but if my 4th gen experience is anything to go by (plus the posts from people on here) -- you don't have anything to worry about.

SilverMax_04

Silver06

Your highway driving is relatively easy on the car compared to stop and go city driving. Not only is the highway cruising easier on the engine but also on the transmission.

You might suggest to your car-pool buddy that once he gets his new ride that he drive twice for every once that you drive to make up for the months that you were the only one driving. (You can probably figure out how long you need to do this before he as "paid you back" for all of those drives you did.)

It's clear that you've read the Fluids and Lubes section of this site on when to switch to synthetic motor oil. I did it at 7500 miles (one dino oil change of the original oil) but would recommend swithing at 15,000 miles (3 dino changes). When using dino oil stick to the 3,750 oil change interval (oci).

Once you go to synthetic go to a 7,500 mile oci until your drive train warranty expires at 60 K miles. Then plan to go to a 10 K mile oci with a filter change only at 5 K miles.

Keep doing the tire rotations every 7,500 miles. You need to start doing this routine maintenance work yourself -- then you know its done right. Not many places will replace an oil filter without wanting to charge you for new oil. Also, the synthetic is much cheaper if you buy the 5 quart plastic bottles from WalMart. I do mine and find that its easier to get the oil filter out when the right front wheel has been removed for tire rotation.

I've had my 04 (with 6-speed) for 3.5 years and have 49 K miles on her. I don't commute, but take 3 or 4 long highway trips a year to get that kind of mileage (average 14 K a year). The US average for newer cars is 10 to 12 K miles a year.

I would expect you should get 5 to 7 years (at 30 K a year -- or longer if your driving falls to 15 K a year) out of your new Max (around 200 K miles) before you will probably want a new ride.

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

Just under 9K a year, in Aug of 2006 I have had my Max for 3 years and I'm still at about 27.6K

SilverMaxima06

what the?? only 28k?
that's not a good sign at all!!

what tires did yuo replace them with and have they or do they look like they'll be lasting longer?

SilverMax_04

I got 30 K miles out of the OEM Goodyears. They still had some tread on them, but the rumble from the cups in the tread (caused by a bad allignment from the factory that I did not catch until too late) made me get new tires earlier than I had planned (35 to 40 K miles seems reasonable).

I replaced them with Michelin Pilot Sports -- the best tire I could find. They were not cheap at $200 a tire, but they seem to be giving me good wear.

SilverMaxima06

SilverMax_04,

Thanks for the response! You seem to defintely be one of the more knowledgeable posters here and it's been very helpful.

I'll definitely keep in mind much of what you just said.

And you think just like me... I'll have him driving probably in 2 week intervals and I'll get 1 week or I'll be gettin the 'short' weeks while he gets the 'longer' weeks. Somehow, I'll make him make up for it.

I do my oil changes and tire rotations myself. That way I know its being done right and if it isnt... I have myself to blame. Rather than blaming some idiot mechanic which in turn will make me still blame myself if something goes wrong, hehe.

I would have hoped to get around 45k off these OEM tires but now it doesnt seem likely. Cost and price wise does using the synthetic oil balance out versus using dino oil? I just hit 7500 and I've done two oil changes. Costed me about 15 dollars per oil change including the new oil filter. Say with sythetic oil, I'll still be changing the oil filter mid way through but just on the oil. Does the cost of synthetic oil balnce out to the cost of two normal dino-oil changes?

Also, good call on getting the oil filter out easier with the tire off.
I'll also keep that in mind.

04SMOKE

I haven't reached 15k yet. Since I got it April 04 I guess that would be around 6k a year.

SilverMaxima06

Another thing,

right now with gas prices dropping, and me averaging around 29 miles per gallon, monthly gas costs isnt too bad since he's pay for nearly 75% of it.

Defiant_Max04

iTrader: (1)

About 14-15k miles per year for me..

2 Years, 4 months old, and has 32k on it...

good/bad/decent?

SilverMaxima06

I think 15k is optimal where you make enough use out of the car and you also don't over do it... like me

Defiant_Max04

iTrader: (1)

lol,

My goodyears ALL dry rotted at 26k miles!!

ALL FOUR OF THEM! HOW COULD THAT BE?!?!?

SilverMaxima06

Man that's really terrible for tires not to even last 40-50k.

What tire do you guys reccommend that could last me over 40k miles... that is once this OEM goodyear eagle-rsa i believe they are finished

Defiant_Max04

iTrader: (1)

Isn't it terrible that they were all dry rotted too...ALL four of them?

joemax1

Thank goodness! Now I know somebody who drives his Max as many miles as I do EVERYDAY! Yup, I drive ~150miles/day to work and back. Plus weekend out-of-town driving, I practically put 3,000 miles/month on this thing! But it's worth every mile!

Regarding OEM tires, my Conti's reached 50,000 miles and my new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S just arrived today so I can mount them this wednesday!!!

SilverMax_04

On many issues like this I defer to lightonthehill -- who has more experience than I have with both Maximas and cars in general. The two of us are some of the oldest members on this site (he has me by about 5 years or so). "light" has not responded to your questions, so you are stuck with me and my opinions.

I've done this for years. It is not rocket science and the owner of the car has the most at stake -- being certain the job is done correctly. After many years using other jacks, I finally got a floor jack that rolls on 4 wheels. That makes this job so much easier.

There are many differences of opinion on this subject. I worked for an oil company for 35 years before I retired. One of the top people in lubes there told me that he did not think the extra cost of synthetic motor oil was worth it versus the cost of dino oil. And he practiced what the preached and only used dino oil (and still does today) -- even though our company made a synthetic motor oil at the time.

I stick with synthetic oil because of an experience I had with a 1984 Toyota mini-van when I was using the company synthetic oil (got a small discount on the oil). A plug in the oil pan was blown out and the engine lost all of its motor oil. I noticed the problem because of a change in sound from the engine. I drove it home (about 5 blocks) and put more oil in the engine -- it was quickly gone. I then drove the van 3 miles to an independent repair shop I used -- not driving more than 30 mph. I left the van overnight. When the shop told me of the problem and said that there appeared to be no problem with the 2 Liter Toyota engine -- I knew I would use synthetic in all of my vehicles. I drove that van for another 2 years and never had any problems from having driven it about 4 miles with no oil in the pan -- because I was using synthetic oil.

Synthetic is not cheap, so I run my synthetic as long as possible before changing (7.5 K miles to keep the power train warranty in effect). After hitting 60 K miles (will get there before 6 years), I plan to go to a 10 K mile oci. I also like the ability of synthetic to stand up to heat better than dino oil. Each owner has to decide whether to spend the extra money on synthetic. I've made my decision.

Also, there are reasons why you no longer need to change oil ever 3 K miles. The sulfur content in gasoline is down from back in the 80s and 90s and just this past spring went down again. Sulfur from gasoline gets into the motor oil and combines with moisture there to form sulfuric acid. This is particularly true when cars are driven short distances not letting the oil heat up and the moisture evaporate.

If anyone doubts that synthetic can safely be used for 10 K miles (or 6 months -- whichever comes first), they should send a sample of their motor oil in for a lab test. The results will show that changing synthetic at anything less than 5 K miles is a waste of resources -- the synthetic's properties will still be quite good -- and a lab test at 10 K miles will show that the synthetic is still protecting.

Enought of my rambling.

Final point. When you change the filter only at 5 K miles, you will need to add almost a quart of new synthetic oil to make up for the oil in the old filter. This too helps keep the synthetic working properly for the full 10 K miles.

kamski

iTrader: (9)

Yeah but you baby that "biatch".

Kamski

Major Moves

Wow! You people are lucky. I live in good ole' metro Atlanta and I'm doing at least 20K+ a year, thats a good year. In Atlanta nothing is close and relatives and friends live miles away, here a 25 mile trip to a friends house is the norm. On top of that is was just announced that us good people of Atlanta have the longest average commute time in the country! So while im putting tons of miles on my car I do it sitting still in traffic...

I love my city

04BlackMaxx

9k a year of pure joyriding correct? Must be nice!

DONS459

Now that i am an old geezer and don't drive as much 3,500 a year. My 97 Grand Prix only has 38,000 and its almost 10 years old. I know, get back to my rocking chair.

SilverMax_04

Don,
You are only 2 years older than I am. Don't think of yourself as being old. A Max should help keep you thinking young.

I have put an average of 14 K miles a year on my 04 (bought in May of 03). Get out and see the country and enjoy yourself. The Max is a great road car.

FrostMaxima

iTrader: (1)

I replaced them with the Michelin Pilot sports, but as stated before they are not a cheap tire, the ride is very smooth and they are extremly quiet. My Goodyears got two nails in the sidewall of a tire and all four tires most likely only had 2K miles left in them, so I decided to replace all four. The RSA's were crap anyways, I could never get them balanced correctly and they got noisy.

SilverMaxima06

Yup I was about to ask a question like this over on the lubes section because I know when I take out my oil filter, a decent amout of oil comes out but I didnt realize a quart or was would have been needed for that. I thought more like half a quart or so, but that makes sense because you gotta make up for the lost oil somehow.

Let me see if I got this straight:
-- Switch to synthetic at 15,000 miles; that would be my 4th oil change.
-- Increase oil change interval to 7,500 from the original 3,750 until I reach 60,000 miles?
-- After switching to the 7,500 interval do I still need to switch my oil filter at 5,000? If so, does that mean I still need to change the filter again at 7,500? If not, do I just use the filter in 7,500 mile intervals?
-- Once I reach 60,000 miles, use 10,000 mile intervals with an oil filter change at 5,000.

Thanks again! 60k is the basic engine/power-train warranty, correct?

caldeputy

iTrader: (1)

less than 6k a year. work is less than a mile from house

SilverMax_04

The one quart is an approximation, when I get there, I will try to remember and let you know. You may get there before I do, given the miles you drive a year.

I have been running my filters (Nissan) for 7,500 miles with no apparent problem. (I have one more Nissan and then I will be going to a Mobil 1 filter). If you want, you can run any filter for many miles. I have heard of people who changed the oil and only on occasion changed the filter = bad idea. Because when the filter element becomes clogged, the bypass valve keeps the oil flowing by bypassing the filter element = no filtering of the oil. Bill99 in the stickies recommends longer oci for synthetic with a filter change in the middle. I've even seen people recommend 12 K miles with a filter change only in the middle. I don't want to send a sample of each oil change for a lab test, so I plan to change at 10 K miles.

60 K miles or 6 years, whichever comes first.

SilverMaxima06

I think 60k will come around long before 6 years.

This forum is great, I don't know what I'd do without it.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

About 20K a year. Goodyears lasted to 33K but they looked like drag racing slicks not to mention that they had no traction at all throughout their life. Changed to BFG and now I am a happy camper now.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

As to the oil changes I change my mobil 1 synthetic every 6000 miles along with mobil 1 oil filter. I pay $24 for 6 qt of oil at costco, the filter is $10 and the paki guy at the gas station changes it for me for $10 while I watch to make sure he does everything right. Oh yeah, I always tell him to wait like 10 minutes for all the old oil to drip out completely.

I am positive you can change synthetic every 10K miles/ 12 months and when I change my oil it is still brown'ish not black.

SEBOY

iTrader: (1)

I got my 04 se on september 2004 0 miles today i have 31,800 so far so good

SilverMaxima06

I did my first gas mileage estimate after my latest oil change to Castrol GTX w/ Pure One oil filter and I get no increase in gas mileage vs right before the oil change?

What gives? The average speed and driving is practically identical...

Hmm, time to adjust tire pressures and see how things go through to my next fill up.. hmm

My last oil change consisted of some shell dino oil and a fram oil filter... no way those two things could give me the same gas mileage as this fresh new oil change.. hehe