How's Your Gas Mileage?

[srellim234]

I agree with you, but I was responding to repind's blanket statement about everyone being wrong who claims over 40 mpg. There are one or two people who are legitimately getting that figure, but they are way out of the norm.

[Alphahawk]

I have tried some semi hyper-mileing....nver turning the engine off though. I have coasted and not used the cruise and kept a soft foot going up hills so as not to let the car kick up to over 3000RPM to maintain 60mph or whatever my speed is and I have seen some gas savings with it. It will range between 3 to 5 MPG better doing those types of things....also trying to time lights. But it scares the crap out of me too. One has to be completely focused doing the hyper-mileing thing and I can't do it for very long. The only reason I really like this car is it is very comfortable for a big guy like me. Other than that the Versa is just kind of blah! The Vibe GT was a great car to drive....looked good...had lots of options that I liked but no way was the drivers seat comfortable to me and I knew if I bought it I would be miserable after a week. The Mazda 3 came close but was scared to death of the MPG...and it is slightly worse than what I get in my Versa but it is a whole lot more car...5 grand more in price also. I am in what I think is best for me. I feel that within 2 years max we are going to have some great choices for MPG and great car and options combined and then the Versa will be gone.

[repind39]

You're gas tank has an overflow valve that spills gas onto the pavement should you push too much into the tank. Trying to fill it all the way to the top is a waste of gas and money. When the fuel gauge says "empty" the Versa should take about 11 gallons (the other 1.5 are "reserve") unless you realllllllly stretched it.

What do you mean by "empty?" When the gas light goes on or when the gas gauge falls below the last line? Last time I filled up was about 3 miles AFTER the gas light went on, and the car took 11.7 gallons.... and that was just a hair above the last line on the fuel gauge.

The reason for trying to fill the tank with a max amount of gas is to fill the given volume to the max, so after you use an X amount of gas from that volume, you can fill it to that max volume again to see how many gallons of fuel you used.... I'm not sure how you can get an accurate reading of EXACTLY how many gallons of gas you used if you had unfilled volume in the gas tank. Sort of similar to that problem... you have a 3 and a 5 gallon jug, fill the 5 gallon jug with exactly 4 gallons of water; one of the jugs has to be filled to the max volume to get an accurate reading later on. So when I wait until the over spill; I'm ASSUMING that I have filled the max volume availible with gas and the deducation can start from there until my next fill up.... Not really sure how you can figure out exactly how much gas you used by counting the # of clicks the pump does before stopping since you don't know how much empty volume you have remaining.

I agree with you, but I was responding to repind's blanket statement about everyone being wrong who claims over 40 mpg. There are one or two people who are legitimately getting that figure, but they are way out of the norm.

I guess I should of made myself a little bit more clear. 40MPG can be achieved in perfect conditions.... driving on the highway, windows closed, hyper miling tricks etc. What I meant by almost impossible is achieving 40MPG in more realistic driving conditions.... say 50/50 city/highway, windows open or AC etc. And if you actually read what I said, I didnt say it was impossible... I said it was very improbable.

[srellim234]

For instant, exact mileage on a single tank you might get a little variation on airspace left in the tank, but if you finish the fill slowly, end it at the first click EVERY time, at the same gas pumps, the variation won't be any greater than your failure to measure spillover or blowback at the pump and factor that in. Plus, Since I've tracked over 50 fillups (593.44 gallons) I have a very good set of mpg records for this car. My overall average listed<--------------is the total odometer reading divided by the total number of gallons put in the car, not an average of the mpg for each tank. Averaging mpg per tank instead of adding them all up and then dividing WOULD yield incorrect numbers.

The key is to fill the tank the same way every time. I get very consistent readings with the variations being easily attributable to the driving conditions over a particular tankful.

[repind39]

The key is to fill the tank the same way every time. I get very consistent readings with the variations being easily attributable to the driving conditions over a particular tankful.

Thats actually a very good point too, didn't really think of it from that angle. I guess when topping off, the 1st click will come at pretty much the same time each time... not enough to throw the reading off by any meaningful amount anyway. I just got so used to topping off to the max whenever I was interested in getting a MPG reading, got stuck doing it the same way each time.

[fjwagner]

thanks guys,

my next question is how to calculate mpg, i am about to fill up again. also what kind of gas to you all use for your versa's

recommend that you do not continue to top off the tank after the pump goes off. That way you have a reasonably consistent gallons to use in the calculation for tank to tank comparison purposes.

[fjwagner]

Just took my bike racks off to see how much mpg increase I get. I am guessing about 3 mpg on the highway, but we shall see. Not riding much right now as focused on marathon training, so no sense burning extra gas.

[repind39]

Had a glimmer of hope today with the pathetic 25mpg I got. Last night the tire pressure light went off so I took out the trust pressure gauge to see what the pressure was in the all the tires and got the following reading:

Rear right: 55psiTear left: 50 psiFront right: 25 psiFront left: 30 psi



I put all 4 tires at 34psi (33psi is recommended) and I'm hoping that will improve gas mileage. I hope having the previous messed up pressure was enough to mess up the mpg drastically; I guess we'll see after the next fill up.

[RobsPages]

That's funny - I'm across the river from you in PA and my tire light went off this morning too.

I was 3-4 psi low at each corner and filled to 33.

[RobsPages]

Had a glimmer of hope today with the pathetic 25mpg I got. Last night the tire pressure light went off so I took out the trust pressure gauge to see what the pressure was in the all the tires and got the following reading:

Rear right: 55psiTear left: 50 psiFront right: 25 psiFront left: 30 psi



I put all 4 tires at 34psi (33psi is recommended) and I'm hoping that will improve gas mileage. I hope having the previous messed up pressure was enough to mess up the mpg drastically; I guess we'll see after the next fill up.

What is your commute like? Are you in traffic often? What's your average speed and how often do you have to brake?

If you use the turnpike to get to work - that could account for a bulk of your mileage woes. Remember that Highway mileage means consistent travel between 50-65 and not stop-and-go 70.

[repind39]

What is your commute like? Are you in traffic often? What's your average speed and how often do you have to brake?

If you use the turnpike to get to work - that could account for a bulk of your mileage woes. Remember that Highway mileage means consistent travel between 50-65 and not stop-and-go 70.

95% of the driving ranges from 35-50 mph, not really stop and go traffic either but like 1-2 mile stretches on average of consistant driving without too much stopping. That probably isnt enough to affect gas mileage by 15% but at this point I'll take high 20s at least if that can now be achieved with even tire pressure.

Also, when you start your car up in the morning, do your RPMs shoot up to like 1500-1600 for a minute or so before they settle down? I know this often happens in the winter but not sure if its normal during the summer... mine shoot up really high each morning, almost to 2000 sometimes.

[keanucosmo]

The key is to fill the tank the same way every time. I get very consistent readings with the variations being easily attributable to the driving conditions over a particular tankful.

I agree it is important to have a consistant fill procedure. I also include how the car sets in that. I try to have the front lower than the back and the drivers side lower than the passenger side.

I top off, but I don't trickle the gas in. I wait 25-30 seconds after the pump clicks off and then fill at the same speed as before. I do this 3 times. This routinely adds another gallon after the first click off without spilling any gas. This is the difference between going 400 miles per tank, which for me is 4 days of commuting, or 360 miles per tank.

[boingo82]

Topping off the tank is bad and wasteful.http://www.epa.gov/donttopoff/

Anyway I just got 31.29 on a 50/50 mixed city/highway tank. Not bad for the summer with AC on.

[keanucosmo]

It depends on how you top off. I agree that trickling gas in once the pump has clicked off is bad. However letting the gas settle for 20 to 30 seconds and then filling at the same rate as before allows for all systems to function the same as the initial fill. If the pump immediately clicks off after waiting, I don't keep going. As for leaving room for gas to expand, I always drive 10 miles minimum after a fillup, which burns off enough gas to allow for expansion.

[kc5f]

Topping off or not, expecting to get the tank full to the same level even at the same pump from tank to tank is unreasonable. Because of that, you can't really look at any one tank and know the mileage you're really getting. That's why I track mine over the last 2k and 10k miles, because any differences average out.

[aquaman67]

How much of what mileage you get is the driver? 20%? 30% or more?

[sencko]

Hm - it seems that the 1.5 dci 6 MT version here in Bulgaria was a wise choice - my average currently is about 6/100 (40 mpg) while the last few fuelings it is more like 5/100 in the summer ...

[jonrpatrick]

I've also been a bit more careful with my driving the last few tanks, specifically taking it out of gear and coasting as much as I can when approaching red lights. Slightly less aggressive takeoffs.

In almost 100% city driving, I got 31.3 on my last tank, and I'm thrilled with that.

I think the primary change is, that for the size and power of the engine, the Versa is not exactly quick due to the excessive weight. So, if you come to peace with accelerating slowly, you can tweak the mileage up. For me, that 31.3 is about a 2mpg increase.

JP

[srellim234]

We, too, raised our mileage since we got the car as we've experimented and tried suggestions to get better mileage out of it. The car is averaging only a little better, going from the 27s on my "light foot" driving originally to the 28s now. It's pretty well levelled off now. Including total mileage with the trip to Florida it's about 50-50 between city/highway overall. 25-26 city, 31-33 on the freeway. My mileage gets off to a poor start every day simply because I have four stop signs in the first 1/4 mile and of my house on a 25 mph speed limit. Two traffic signals within a block after that. Just getting out of the neighborhood is a chore.

I know the area around Charlotte somewhat and to those of us in the Los Angeles basin or New York City, Matthews driving is the wide open spaces compared to here. The definition of city really varies from place to place. If I were in your area and didn't have the "getting out of the neighborhood" problem our milages would probably be within one mpg of each other.

I think Nissan does have a quality control issue that is causing pretty wide variations in gas mileage from individual car to individual car. Not all of it can be blamed on driving style or location listening to the various posters here and what they're trying to do to get better mileage.

[frankoV]

fwiw: half-way through my road trip, 4432 km [= 2770 mi]; 40 IMP mpg = 34 US mpg; average speed 60 mph (sometimes 70, sometimes 50], mostly highway. I'm happy with it.

[srellim234]

fwiw: half-way through my road trip, 4432 km [= 2770 mi]; 40 IMP mpg = 34 US mpg; average speed 60 mph (sometimes 70, sometimes 50], mostly highway. I'm happy with it.

Sounds right in line with my CVT on the cross-country trip.

[hiimjered]

Around the city (with a lot of stop and go traffic) I average about 26-27 mpg. On the 700 mile road trip I just took at an average speed of 75mph I got about 33 mpg.

[frankoV]

Sounds right in line with my CVT on the cross-country trip.

Final numbers:

7252 km = 4506 mi

500.2 ltr = 110 IMP gal = 132.1 US gal

6.897 ltr/100km = 40.97 IMP mpg = 34.1 US mpg

speeds between 90 kmh [55 mph] and 110 kmh [68 mph]

hiway, ac running almost always

definite mileage improvement after 3rd oil change [@15000km / 9300 mi] : dyno oil, changed every 5000 km.

[comrlg]

You know. i bought my versa in january 08. with 31 miles on it. initially i was averaging 33-35mpg city driving. mine is a 6speed manual. I was raving to people about my wonderful gas mileage and since i make a 200 mile round trip every other weekend in the least it was a life saver. Well about two months ago i was having startup issues. it seemed to hesitate like cranking a diesel or something. worried it might be a starter issue and possibly leave me stranded i contacted my dealership. who advised me there was a fuel injector regulator recall and as soon as the part comes in they will call me and set up an appointment. I thought to myself "self, if there are fuel regulating issues once they replace that maybe just maybe my mileage will get better. " so i brought my car in to have the problem fixed prior to my 800 mile trip one way vacation to ohio. I mean i would hate to have sucky gas mileage on such a long trip. The day they returned my vehicle to me i didnt' get in it to go anywhere. it was almost two days later i got back into my car to go to work. when i noticed.... i have a half a tank of gas left ....with OMG only 89 miles to the tank. WTF is what i thought. I took it to the dealership.... the wonderful five star nissan dealership.... who said drive it til gas light comes on, fill back up and figure out your gas mileage. Well my vacation was only 2 days away... so to ohio we drove. On the interstate... so alot of cruise control, interstate driving. not a lot of stopping, starting slowing down kind of thing. a few mountains through the 'ginias of course. So with this new regulator in i was sure to get close to 40 mpg i mean i was getting 35 in town.... i beg to differ. my fuel mileage ranged from 22-28 mpg. ON THE INTERSTATE!!!! So when i got back from my vaca and i told my dealer about it.... you know me being a woman and all i don't know s*&t about a car... god forbid i might know a thing or two... but i am being put off by the service guys ... "the regulator has nothing to do with that maam"... ok did i miss the last turnip truck? A FUEL INJECTION REGULATOR..???mmhh does that not regulate the fuel injected? ok so why is it i could possibly think it might could maybe have something to do with my s#%&ty gassmileage? do riddle me this someone........could someone please help me out.... cuz i amgetting morepissed as the days go by. bri

[Frahman]

Well.

I've been getting 27-20 overall. Mixed. Best I ever got on the highway was 32. Got a scanguage. First tank I got 35 on the way back from Dallas (thats manually calculated, not what the scangauge told me) .

First 1/4 tank or so Scangauge was saying 45 mpg. But I had to hustle to get back to Houston by 5pm, so remainder of way went faster. Still got over 35 mpg actual. That is I needed 7.7 gallons to fill up after driving 272 miles. Scan gauge reported something like 6.6 gallons used, but you adjust that and it comensates in the future.

Scangauge didn't improve the mileage, but it sure lets you know what a difference in fuel consumption even a light foot on the gas pedal makes.

35 mpg I am OK with. 27 mpg (and I've had that on highway too sometimes) I am not OK with.

So, get a scangauge. Use it to determine the best way to drive with your engine/ environment. You can always sell it on EBay when you're done.

[alonsorules8]

I did a trip to Ohio under similar circumstances up I 70 and the Pa turnpike and only got on the first trip up 279 miles on a tank all hwy miles after the fuel pump was replaced. Since then and after 1000 miles of driving I am back up to 391 miles to the gas light turns on on my Ohio drives.

It takes a few tanks of gas to get the pressure right with the regulators and the computer. Once the computer and regulators find the right fuel mixture gas mileage increases nicely.

[Alphahawk]

I have not had any problems with gas mileage in my Versa but I do know many have....but if what you say is so then Nissan has some serious issues with this car and parts. There is no way that it should take any time much less a few tanks of gas to get things going right after a fuel pump replacement. If it was my car I would be camped out at the dealers door step. I think I have read every post on here about gas mileage since I joined. Some posts are very clear about driving habits and one can make an objective judgement about MPG. But many posts say nothing about their driving habits and when one says " I only got 270 miles on a tank" I am not sure how much gas was left in the tank. I keep waiting for my car to act like some of these I read about one here. So far my MPG is very good. Never under 30 and on interstate at 60 MPH I can get 40MPG. But put your foot down and run this thing at 75 or 80 and it drinks gas. I did one round trip last weekend and I got 30 MPG doing 70MPH cruise control on interstate. Car has 9,500 mile on it by the way in only a few months. I like my car but if these MPG problems show up it will be gone.

[Andrews Chalmers]

Took a trip totaling 600 miles this past weekend - averaged 39 mph on the highway at around 65~70mph cruise control. Return trip was 34mpg (10% ethanol) at a higher avg speed 70~75mph cruise control settings.

We'll see how bad the city mileage is...

[Offshore1]

Just filled up - 28.6 MPG.75% hiway

previous tank was 32.?

I drove it harder on the last tank of gas.Scangauge helps a lot.

Fuel mileage is ok. It is about what the avg driver would get w/ a Fit.

[srellim234]

This last tank the wife drove it most of the time. She doesn't hammer it, but she's not nearly as easy on the accellerator as I am. 80% city with the a/c on.

23.45 mpg.

Even she agrees. Once we get in a little better position financially we'll have a used 2007 Versa SL for sale.