| jpzep |
My "new" 04 SL AWD is averaging 13.9 MPG and I'm disgusted. Sold an Avalanche that was averaging 13 MPG so we could save money in the MO. Needless to say, the .9 MPG improvement isn't helping a lot. Mostly city driving in a smaller town and my wife drives very conservatively. Using Premium and have upgraded to Mobil 1. New air filter, tire pressure is 35.
Was wondering if there are any good cleaners or additives that anyone would recommend to try to clean things up a bit. Kind of grasping at straws here but any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Damian |
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| njjoe |
How many miles are on your MO? If you are approaching 100,000 miles then new plugs may do the trick.
-njjoe |
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| Eric L. |
Two best additives on the market are:
Chevron Techron Concentrate (the "concentrate" not "progard")
BG44K (hard to find, sold only at mechanics and ebay)
I wouldn't expect a miracle though. I get only 15-16mpg driving mostly city on my short commute (around 8 miles). |
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| njjoe |
jpzep-
Are you running stock tires (235/65-18)?
-njjoe |
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| jpzep |
| Yep. The tires need to be rotated but they are indeed stock. |
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| jpzep |
quote:
Originally posted by Eric L.
I wouldn't expect a miracle though. I get only 15-16mpg driving mostly city on my short commute (around 8 miles).
Thanks. I'll give one of them a shot. Found the hard to find one at a local dealership. When I bought the MO I had researched the mileage stats and felt pretty confident about getting at least 17 in the city. Maybe I'm being unrealistic but I read of people routinely getting 18-20 in the city. |
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| special-k |
quote:
Originally posted by jpzep
Thanks. I'll give one of them a shot. Found the hard to find one at a local dealership. When I bought the MO I had researched the mileage stats and felt pretty confident about getting at least 17 in the city. Maybe I'm being unrealistic but I read of people routinely getting 18-20 in the city.
For what it's worth I *never* got 18-20 in the city in my 04 SE. I have no idea how those who manage those numbers do it.
When I tried some of the suggestions (like keep it under 1500rpm when accelerating) I had irate people piling up behind me and old men with walkers passing me on the sidewalk.
I usually got around 16mpg. Sometimes as bad as 12-14 in the winter due to the combination of the oxygenated gas and the fact that the engine takes longer to reach operating temperature.
Our generation MO was rated at 20 city, which I think was extremely overstated. The EPA mileage estimations are stricter now than they were when our MOs were sold. Notice how the 09 Murano is listed at 18 city now?
My MDX is rated at 15 city, but I get about 16-17. I'm happier that way than if it was rated at 20 and I got that same 16-17. |
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| Eric L. |
| Yeah I admit, I am too much of a leadfoot to get better mileage. I don't know how people keep the rpms below 2000 when accelerating. To me, thats like standing still! But then I do notice I always accelerate faster than normal traffic, so I guess I pay the price with 15mpg. |
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| Tyler_Canada |
| Shorter trips will ruin your mileage too. The engine dumps in extra fuel until it's at operating temperature. The transmission won't lock to torque converter and bring down your RPMs until it's at operating temperature (usually a bit longer than it takes the engine to warm up). |
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| jpzep |
quote:
Originally posted by Tyler_Canada
Shorter trips will ruin your mileage too. The engine dumps in extra fuel until it's at operating temperature. The transmission won't lock to torque converter and bring down your RPMs until it's at operating temperature (usually a bit longer than it takes the engine to warm up).
That's probably the major culprit, short trips. There's just not that far to go in Macon, GA. The majority of our lives take place within a 10 minute drive time max. Rarely on the interstate either. This is probably a ridiculous question but you don't learn if you don't ask right?: Does it make sense to warm up the car before you go? Which wastes wastes more gas, idling it to warm up or driving it 10 minutes and having "extra fuel" dumped in?
BTW, I found the Techron concentrate at Wal-Mart so I'll put some in next fill up and report back FWIW. |
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| Eric L. |
| Just start the car and drive. Idling wastes even more fuel! |
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| Warhammer |
Hello all....new to the forums and loving it!
One thing that you might want to do is step up the engine cleaning to acetone. Some store bought injector cleaners say they'll treat up to 20 gallons. But if you put it into a 20 gallon tank it won't be as concentrated when compared to a 12 gallon tank like on a Sentra. Plus you'll have to treat your engine 3 times at that concentration in order to get close to your full performance and fuel economy back.
My wife's Sentra averages bout 34MPG over a tank. It experiences a drop in mileage periodically due to gummed up or dirty injectors. I'll simply give her a premeasured amount of acetone for her to put in her next tank and it solves the problem. Her gas mileage and performance is completely restored by the end of the tank. Plus, she loves the more spunky feeling the acetone gives her engine.
I've been using acetone as a fuel system cleaner for years and it works wonders. Just go down to Home Depot and buy their blue and orange can of acetone. The mix you want is 3 fluid ounces per every 10 gallons of gas. For a Murano's tank, put in 6.5 fluid ounces and your engine should be back to normal.
On the other hand...if you never take it out for more than very short jaunts, you're mileage will always be low. If I reset my mileage gauge after a fillup and then go home, I get about 14MPG. It settles to 21.5MPG by the end of the tank due to my 50/50 city/highway driving.
Hope this helps! |
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| ekaxel |
| Is acetone compatible with the MO fuel system seals? Will there be long term damage? |
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| Warhammer |
The conecntration of 3 fluid ounces of acetone to every 10 gallons of gas will not damage any fuel component, seal, hose, etc in any vehilcle. There will be no damage what-so-ever.
My 2002 Frontier (the truck I used to own) ran the stuff for 3 years before I got rid of it due to vandalism. The 100K service yielded no issues. All valves were still clean, injectors were firing perfectly, and seals were still pristine. We just use it periodically as a fuel cleaner for my wife's Sentra when she notices her MPG go down.
I should have taken pictures of the carbon that was building up on the Frontiers' exhaust tips when I first started using acetone. It needed to be wiped off every other week. After a few months the tips stayed clean. Over time, the engine was purged of carbon build-up and purred like it was new. |
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| nismo87 |
| i am one of those MO's whos numbers are at 18.4 or so....i do city and highway and it never changes i've been wondering if maybe its just messed up and doesn't change or if i really am there when i reset it it'll start at 15 and slowly it works its way up and stays. so i'm not sure if its a good thing or a bad thing |
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| Lightninrod |
quote:
Does it make sense to warm up the car before you go? Which wastes wastes more gas, idling it to warm up or driving it 10 minutes and having "extra fuel" dumped in?
Noooooo! That's one of the worst things you can do to an engine. Start moving as soon as you can but slowly, allowing everything(tires, trans, differential, shocks, suspension joints, etc.) to warm up with the engine. Drive the first mile or two at a slow speed and the engine will warm up as it should and the fuel delivery will even out more quickly keeping extra fuel from maybe flooding the piston rings, leading to extra cylinder wear and to plug fouling.
And, "Howdy" from a nearby neighbor down in Houston County.:)
Dan |
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| Gonzo |
| I typically drive the MO easy until the torque converter locks up.... seems like a good indication that everything has come up to a operating temp. |
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| 2007Murano |
The mileage you all are quoting - is it from the MO's trip computer readout?
Mine shows me 21.8 with mostly city driving - 20 min. trips. I'm not a lead foot - but not light either. I'm quite happy with this number considering it's 4000lbs of steel. :) |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by 2007Murano
The mileage you all are quoting - is it from the MO's trip computer readout?
Mine shows me 21.8 with mostly city driving - 20 min. trips. I'm not a lead foot - but not light either. I'm quite happy with this number considering it's 4000lbs of steel. :)
I wish I got that mileage. I have a 20 minute commute everyday too, and manage only 15.5mpg. I'm not a leadfoot either but I don't drive slow either. I tried driving very very gently and the best I could get was 16.5mpg - not worth the aggravation of accelerating slowly to me. |
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| 2007Murano |
Wow - why is there such a difference between Mo's?
Is it the diffence in model year from 03 to 07 maybe?? I thought they were identical. |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by 2007Murano
Wow - why is there such a difference between Mo's?
Is it the diffence in model year from 03 to 07 maybe?? I thought they were identical.
Its probably just the way I drive. I don't think I am particularly lead footed, but I admit I do accelerate faster than normal traffic if I am the first one at the light. |
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| bhbeecham |
| Have an 07 S AWD here and have never gotten below 19 mpg's per tank without towing. And when I towed a pop-up trailer I still managed in the 16-17 mpg range. I have seen many numerous statements about lousy MPG mileage on this site and one thing is always constant. The person complaining has bought their MO used. I shopped and bought my MO used and could tell big differences between different ones I drove. I had an 05 Xterra I bought new, lifted it and put on 33" all terrains and still managed 13 mpg city and 17-18 mpg's highway. Same motor only longer stroke on the pistons. I feel bad when I see somebody go through this though cause I am not sure there is anything you can do. Except the Acetone treatment, new plugs, high flow air filter, etc. Other than that it is just the unluck run of the mill. |
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| bhbeecham |
| OH and by the way 21-22 mpg's highway at 75-80 mph |
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| 2007Murano |
What differences did you notice between the MO's you drove?
I just filled my MO with premium to see if i will get better mileage.
The one constant i noticed on all used MO's is the excessive amount of chips on the front of the hood. :eek: |
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