1997 Altima, gas mileage?

[evoxpisces]

Hello everyone. I own a 97 Altima (4 cyl) with approx 120K miles. I never really bothered with calculating the gas mileage my car gets until recently. My parents' Civics get 35 mpg they claim and they seem to think that my Altima should be getting me 30 mpg, but I'm averaging 15-18 mpg...is that normal? I don't have a lead foot but I don't drive like a senior citizen either. I'd say my driving is about 75% city driving and I always let my car warm up for a few minutes before taking off. Maybe it's just me, but this gas mileage seems kinda crappy. I won't have to worry about it much longer though as I am getting a new Versa within the next few months but for now, I was just curious whether I'm the only one getting bad mileage.

[MagicM]

It could be 100's of different reasons. Maybe you have a sensor/Maf causing you bad mpg, but you said your driving is 75% city, and if you drive in gridlock stop and go traffic 15-18 isn't all that suprising. I also wouldn't recomend idling your car for a few minutes when you start it unless you live in frezzing climate you'll wreck your catalytic converters. as for 15-18mpg yes it sucks considering my 6000 lbs Range rover gets around 15-18 average, but i drive mostly 75% highway though.
Modified by MagicM at 7:44 PM 12/28/2007

[evoxpisces]

Well I've had it for about 4 years and I've always been getting the same mileage but I just never bothered to figure out what the mileage was. I don't let it idle for more than a minute unless it's freezing out, which even lately it hasn't been. But everytime I fill up gas I fill up about 11 or 12 gallons but my trip odometer is always between 150 and 200. Oh well. I just thought the 1st Gen Altima, being a small car and all, would've gotten much better mpg. Guess I was wrong.

[spike228]

Since its an old car, it can be a lot of things. I would mainly look at the air filter.

Also, the cold climate ruins the MPG rating for everyone.

15 to 18 is horrible. My 2.5l 3020lb 3rd gen altima can average 20mpg with 100% city driving. I have only seen my car get 15 to 18 when the average speed of traffic is 10mpg on a trip that is about 10 miles long. In full highway driving, I get 27 or so.