Poor Mileage

[Oleschool]

I'm getting 10 mpg around town and think my 97 should do better.It gets close to 20 mpg on the highway.This thing is pretty bad on fuel around town.The timing belt was done before I bought it and I've changed a cat a knock sensor and an o2 sensor since.Any ideas what I might look at? Or is this just the nature of the beast?

[5523Pathfinder]

Have you tuned it up recently? How many miles you got on it? Any other recent work done?

[Karmann]

Change all the fluids, do the spark plugs, clean the MAF, air up your tires, and see if that helps. That should establish a motor health baseline, and manual hubs will only help it more. Welcome by the way.

[CDN_S4]

X2 on manual hubs. Less drag will help increase your mileage. These trucks just aren't great on fuel. But in addition to the regular maintenance such as changing all fluids, ensure your bearings are packed with fresh grease, your propeller shaft is lubed, and your brakes aren't sticking.

[XPLORx4]

I have found at least these two things to have a big impact on Pathfinder fuel economy:

1. Acceleration and deceleration

2. Cold starts

 

If you are heavy on the gas and brake, that's just wasting gas. Think about it this way: When you accelerate, any fuel you use to reach a certain speed is converted into nothing more than heat, dissipated in your brake rotors, when you slow down or stop. Gentle acceleration uses less fuel than heavy acceleration, and you can use less fuel by looking ahead at traffic patterns to coast to slow down vs brake to slow down.

 

When the engine and transmission are cold, it takes longer for them to reach peak operating efficiency. The transmission torque converter will not lock up as early when the AT fluid is cold, causing reduced drivetrain efficiency. I find that I can get better fuel economy in warmer temperatures than in cold temperatures.