2001 Frontier MPG? WTF!

Post by **cobyp** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:00 pm

I just purchhased an 01 Frontier SC, I am extremely frustrated about the gas milage. I am getting about 14mpg on highway and 10-12mpg in the city. I have had this truck for 4 days now and already am blowing codes. WTF, I am unsure if it is going to be worth the ivestment to keep this rig. I live in Seattle drive about 100 miles a day which means filling the tank about every other day... Any suggestions?

Post by **Luv2ski35** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 9:19 am

How many miles? Are there any modifications like bigger tires? manual or aut? These trucks don't get the best MPG, but in stock form with the regular maintainance they should be getting 15 city/19 hwy with normal driving.

Mine is getting 11 city/16 hwy.....but I have 33" tires and lots of armor...

if you are over or close to 75K, then try a tune up...plugs (NGK only), wires, cap, rotor.....

also, try pulling your battery positive off for a night. This will reset the computer. Drive it 100 miles and have the codes read. IF there is a Knock sensor code, then your SCer is in fail safe mode and therefore you are going to get REALLY poor power and your MPG are going so suffer.

Let us know what codes it reads. THe knock sensor is an expensive job, but if you are at all a DIYer, it can be done. The sensor itself is pretty pricey as well.

Post by **Big-Bird** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:09 pm

If the knock sensor is doing the job it was intended to do by stopping pre-ignition this seldom means the sensor is at fault. It usually indicates other issues. In reality they almost never need to be replaced. My Xterra had a Knock Sensor code come up and once the code was cleared it never came back. Turned out to be some bad fuel in my case.

Other things can cause poor fuel economy as well but getting the codes read is the best way to find out what is going on.

If the Catalytic Convertors get plugged this can cause the problem. There is an air flow test that is designed to determine if the cats are plugged. ( I had mine tested when I was getting crap for fuel economy )...this was part of the bad fuel issue in my case. Bad Oxygen sensors can also result in poor fuel economy too. My 2000 Xterra has 3 of them. One in each Cat and one mid way down the exhaust system.

Have you checked the condition your air filter is in?

Fowled spark plugs are another thing to consider. If just one of these goes bad and it can make a knock sensor go nuts.

Did new plugs get installed recently? Are they the right ones?

Just some items from my own experience and talks with my friend the service manager of my local Nissan dealer.

Post by **Luv2ski35** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 5:14 am

I disagree with the knock sensor never going bad. They go bad all the time. They are very delicate for what they are with the special metals in them. If they get overheated, wet, take a big shock (like an accident), or any number of things they stop working. My nextdoor neighbor and drinking buddy is a Nissan Master Tech at Regal Nissan...he does Knock sensors on 3.0 and 3.3s all the time...with no return complaints.

THe super charged engines are pretty picky with the knock sensor and if one goes bad it's going to mess with the entire engine. The NA engines..it doesn't make a difference...and that has been dyno proven with a bad Knock Sensor then a new knock sensor. It showed no change in performance. With the SCed engine, when the SCer goes into fail safe, which it will with a bad knock sensor, the engine actually has less HP than the NA engine...that's why you get such crappy MPG.

I do agree to check the obvious first...plugs and whatnot. Youahve no idea what the previous owner did or didn't do.

Post by **Big-Bird** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:32 pm

Well I have to say your side certainly contradicts my information.

but again my unit is not an SC model and the story I told here came from the Service manager, who was also the shop foreman at the dealer at one time. In his experience they had replaced very few knock sensors and found other issues were at fault. Either way you slice it there are other items to check before committing to changing the knock sensor which is below the intake plennum situated in the middle of the intake manifold. So this equates to a big cost.

Fun fun fun!!

Post by **hsckris** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:53 am

i'd also suggest changing the fuel filter and pcv valve. a few years back my mom bought a used maxima and it was getting poor mpg and performance wasn't what it should've been.we pulled the fuel filter and turned it to see what the fuel in it looked like, it was solid black! changed it and did a gen. tune up and the car ran fine after that and mpg picked up.

Post by **wa-chiss** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:46 pm

I got an 01Xterra 3.3L w/ firestone destonation M/T's 30X9.5r16 and I get 16 avg. Of course it doesn't help that I'm always on the gas.

Post by **tecis** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:53 pm

i would be happy if it was more than 5,2 l/km on my wifes frontier.... but it is not possible...

the funny thing is, that on each rhythm (90/10, 70/30) city/ mexican !! freeway..the consumption is the same....

checked the nissan tiida (versa) today and i realized, that one truck is enough in my business.. im going to sell and use the ford in the future... which has 13,5 mpg ....lol..

Post by **Desert Rat** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:17 pm

that mileage is pretty normal for an SC. Get used to it.

Post by **hsckris** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:16 am

Desert Rat wrote:that mileage is pretty normal for an SC. Get used to it.

14mpg is normal? really?

i've been getting averaging 19-20mpg out of my 06 (on mixed tanks).

Post by **Desert Rat** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 7:19 am

The '06 has a completely different drivetrain and gearing. You have th 4.0 with much more favorable highway gearing (read: lower cruising rpms)

The 3.3 Supercharged motor is a gas guzzler and also requires 91+ octane gas.

Post by **hsckris** » Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:06 am

Desert Rat wrote:The '06 has a completely different drivetrain and gearing. You have th 4.0 with much more favorable highway gearing (read: lower cruising rpms)

obviously. i'm just surpised that it has gone up 6mpg, especially considering the 4.0 has substantially higher output and my truck is larger and (presumably) heavier. i suppose the gearing is doign it, but as i said, i'm getting this on mixed tanks (ie including stop and go driving)

Post by **Dano** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:01 am

I agree with Big-Bird and Luv2ski35 on what to try for poor fuel economy. Knock Sensor could most definately good bad and hinder performance as luv2ski was saying, but get the code looked at and it's probably wise regardless of the current situation to replace the plugs/cap/rotor/fuel filter just as maintainence if it hasn't been done recently, which chances are, it hasn't.

Let us know what you do!

-Dan

Post by **chemao** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 2:22 pm

Here's an idea that no one ever thinks of... GO GET IT TUNED!! These trucks are very poorly tuned from the factory. Get a good intake and exhaust system -- then take it and have it eeprom tuned. You'll get as much as 24MPG without any additional mods. It's well worth the 500 bucks for intake, exhaust, and eeprom tune. You'll save that money in no time, not to mention you'll gain an average of 30RWHP. If you change pulleys you can improve that figure to 50RWHP reliably.

JC

Post by **XterraVersa** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 7:47 pm

Desert Rat wrote:that mileage is pretty normal for an SC. Get used to it.

When I was using mine as a daily driver, I got it up to 18-20 mpg uncorrected for tire size.

33" tires, 2"BL, 3"SL, no aero front bumper plastic, extra weight from rear tire carrier, skid plates & trail gear.

I do keep the tires at 35+psi though for the highway.

I did have a knock sensor fail & was getting around 10 mpg until it was replaced under warranty. I would hate to see how much it would cost for the amont of stuff that has to be removed to get at it..

Post by **Desert Rat** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:56 am

funny...I don't get anywhere close to that in a NA Xterra. But something else to think about is gas quality. Phoenix requires oxygenated gas which cuts fuel economy dramatically. I get 25% better mileage on gas purchased outside of Phoenix metro. It may be that the smog nazis force that same crappy gas to be sold where the original poster is from too.

They say less pollution, but you have to burn so much more of it....doesn't make sense to me.

Post by **XterraVersa** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 12:31 pm

$3.25/gallon changed my driving habbits very fast.

In Denver we have 10% ethonal in everything because of the polution Nazis also. I also use the Sam's Club no additive gas.

Post by **Big-Bird** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 5:19 pm

Dam I really hate eating crow, but it looks like I now have a knock sensor issue....and or an O2 sensor.

Off to the dealer .......again!

2001 Frontier MPG? WTF!

2001 Frontier MPG? WTF!

Re: 2001 Frontier MPG? WTF! (cobyp)

Re: 2001 Frontier MPG? WTF! (Luv2ski35)

Re: 2001 Frontier MPG? WTF! (Big-Bird)

Re: 2001 Frontier MPG? WTF! (Big-Bird)

Re: (hsckris)

Re: (tecis)

Re: (Desert Rat)

Re: (hsckris)

Re: (Desert Rat)

Re: 2001 Frontier MPG? WTF! (cobyp)

Re: (Desert Rat)

Re: (XterraVersa)

Re: (Desert Rat)

Re: (XterraVersa)

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