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Fuel economy oddity, symptom of some problem?


HankG
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I am admittedly very unskilled at mechanics and so I might be way off base here, but my Pathfinder's mpg seems kind of odd. For a little history of the vehicle, it had a full tune up shortly before I got it, I replaced all four o2 sensors, the coolant temp sensor, cleaned the MAF sensor, and added Warn manual hubs. It has only been getting 15-15.5 mpg. I did a couple tanks babying it as much as possible with slow acceleration, low rpm shifts, and cruise control at 60-65 on the freeway. After that didn't change anything, I decided to go to the opposite end of the spectrum which is what I found odd. I went through this last tank driving as inefficiently as possible: fast acceleration, high rpm shifts, speeding on the freeway, and no cruise control. Despite this, I still got the exact same slightly over 15 mpg. Am I wrong to think that it is weird that my mpg doesn't change when driving in a manner that should be hurting my fuel economy by as much as or even at least 25%? Does anyone have any ideas about what this could mean in terms of possible problems? Do I just have a weird vehicle?

 

 

Thanks for any help. :)

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Well, not to seem presumptuous, but it's been a few days with as many as 50 people viewing the topic, but no replies. Is everyone else stumped or does this fall into the category of too dumb to answer? Forum goers tend to love telling people how dumb they are, so I wouldn't think it was that, but I also didn't think there were any Pathfinder questions that this community couldn't answer. ;)

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How much city driving do you do? I know that in my truck that if i do ALL highway, i get almost 20mpg, but during my normal week routine, I get probably 16-17mpg because its 50/50 city/highway.

 

Also are you auto or a 5speed? With my dads r50, I get the best mileage when I drive it because I shift at 2500-3000. If you're an auto, leave the overdrive switch on all the time and don't gun it at the lights, that uses a lot of gas. Also try to use 55mph roads instead of 65 as, or at least in our r50, the gearing is such that at 65, the engine is revving at 2800 :ohno01:

Edited by redfinder
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My question isn't really about the low mpg as much as how is it possible to get the same mpg driving as efficiently as possible as well as inefficiently as possible?

Edited by HankG
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That is a good question since V6's tend to get thirsty with a heavy throttle, but I wouldn't say your 15-15.5 is that off. I think cali uses some ethanol in their gas which kills mileage, and if you have bigger tires, underinflated, clogged air filter, bad spark plugs, etc. you could be getting that bad of mileage.

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Forum goers tend to love telling people how dumb they are...

 

That's funny!!

 

Not that I have done any "testing" but there are times I drive normal - trying to keep it under 3000rpms, and others where I drive like a damn maniac... and I cant say the overall damage on a tank of gas was all that different.

 

I have found the worst for my truck is the cold (I can almost hear the truck GULP the gas)

and the best have been long drives out in the sticks, not many stops...

(as opposed to in the city stop and go, and the insanity that is the highways in the city.)

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That is a good question since V6's tend to get thirsty with a heavy throttle, but I wouldn't say your 15-15.5 is that off. I think cali uses some ethanol in their gas which kills mileage, and if you have bigger tires, underinflated, clogged air filter, bad spark plugs, etc. you could be getting that bad of mileage.

 

I'm not sure what Cali gas is like, but I'm actually currently running smaller than stock tires at 40 psi. The air filter looked good and the spark plugs were replaced less than 3,000 miles ago.

 

That's funny!!

 

Not that I have done any "testing" but there are times I drive normal - trying to keep it under 3000rpms, and others where I drive like a damn maniac... and I cant say the overall damage on a tank of gas was all that different.

 

I have found the worst for my truck is the cold (I can almost hear the truck GULP the gas)

and the best have been long drives out in the sticks, not many stops...

(as opposed to in the city stop and go, and the insanity that is the highways in the city.)

 

I live in a really moderate temperature zone; it generally only ranges from 40-70F. My daily commute is about 75% highway and 25% city. I can accept the gas mileage, but if there's something to fix I'd like to do it, especially since I have high hopes for future mods. I was hoping the static mpg would be a clue, but oh well. :tongue:

 

I love driving the Pathfinder so don't mind too much, but I do have to admit I'm kind of disappointed that mine gets almost 25% lower mpg than, from the mileage threads on these boards, a stock Pathy with manual hubs should.

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How much city driving do you do? I know that in my truck that if i do ALL highway, i get almost 20mpg, but during my normal week routine, I get probably 16-17mpg because its 50/50 city/highway.

 

Also are you auto or a 5speed? With my dads r50, I get the best mileage when I drive it because I shift at 2500-3000. If you're an auto, leave the overdrive switch on all the time and don't gun it at the lights, that uses a lot of gas. Also try to use 55mph roads instead of 65 as, or at least in our r50, the gearing is such that at 65, the engine is revving at 2800 :ohno01:

 

 

Adam, if your dad's R50 is reving to 2800 at 65 then it might not be overdrive. When I am going 65 in my R50 I am right around 2400rpm give or take abit. I know that when I am doing 75 I am at or really close to 2700rpms

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Adam, if your dad's R50 is reving to 2800 at 65 then it might not be overdrive. When I am going 65 in my R50 I am right around 2400rpm give or take abit. I know that when I am doing 75 I am at or really close to 2700rpms

Its a 5speed vg33 XE r50, not an auto. I think thats why. It also looks to have a beefed up rear suspension on it (rides stiffer in the back) and it was all ready to tow when he bought it with 40k on it. I think we've towed something twice in the 2 and half years we've had it.

 

My wd21 is at 2500ish and 100km/h and if i go 120kmh its revving at nearly 3000. Its just gearing I think.

Edited by redfinder
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I have a manual so no OD. My engine revs around 2900 at what the speedometer says is 65. However, it seems to read about five miles fast so 2900 at 60 approximately. Guess you have to pay for those nice low gears. :tongue:

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