I just bought a 08 hybrid. It's getting 24.5 mpg, city. It should be better. Does anybody have any ideas or tips for getting better mileage? Specific for an Altima hybrid please.
Another curiosity, this car is fast. I got it from a dealer who had little info. Some one who owned this car did do some cosmetic tricks to make it look cool. Rims off of a 350z, blacked out emblems, nismo emblem, and tinted windows. Cosmetic right? Except the car is fast, like pin you in the seat fast. And it's getting terrible mileage. I have little experience with hybrids but reading about this Altima, it should begin accelerating in EV mode and after getting up speed then turn on the gas engine. Well, it doesn't seem to be too efficient at that, instead the gas motor turns on kinda early, or immediately depending on how deeply I depress the accelerator peddle. It seems possible that who ever tricked out the car might have actually done a few things to speed it up, causing me to get poorer mileage. Has anybody heard about reprogramming the computer that controls acceleration? If so, I'm guessing a Nissan dealer could reset it?? Or do you know how to program for better fuel economy that factory setting???
Thank you for your Time!!
Low gas mileage issue 08 hybrid
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seldomseen
- Posts: 1308
- Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:40 am
- Car: '12 Nissan Altima Coupe SR 3.5
'15 Lexus GS350 F Sport
Re: Low gas mileage issue 08 hybrid
What do you mean the dealer had little info on the car? Did you purchase the Altima from a Nissan dealer? While it's not uncommon for hybrids have mpg discrepancies, the mpg you stated is definitely low for the car. Does the car have an aftermarket muffler or intake on it?
What type of car did you drive before buying the hybrid? I ask because the 4 cylinder isn't really "fast" but does have some decent torque. There really isn't to much that can be done to make an Altima fast either. Is your car throwing any engine codes?
Having a Nissan dealership check the car's ECM to see if it was reprogrammed sounds like an excellent first start. Particularly, if you cannot identify any sort of aftermarket engine/exhaust parts which may be affecting mpg. You might also want the Nissan dealer to service/inspect your car too to ensure that it will yield optimal mpg.
There's a company called UpRev that offers ECM retuning for Nissan vehicles, perhaps the previous owner took this route to liven up the performance of the hybrid.
What type of car did you drive before buying the hybrid? I ask because the 4 cylinder isn't really "fast" but does have some decent torque. There really isn't to much that can be done to make an Altima fast either. Is your car throwing any engine codes?
Having a Nissan dealership check the car's ECM to see if it was reprogrammed sounds like an excellent first start. Particularly, if you cannot identify any sort of aftermarket engine/exhaust parts which may be affecting mpg. You might also want the Nissan dealer to service/inspect your car too to ensure that it will yield optimal mpg.
There's a company called UpRev that offers ECM retuning for Nissan vehicles, perhaps the previous owner took this route to liven up the performance of the hybrid.
Re: Low gas mileage issue 08 hybrid
Thank you seldomseen, I appreciate the info. The car was purchased from a used car dealer, he bought it at auction. And it does seem faster than my 6 cylinder lexus rx300. Also, I knew the rims were too big for the car (18's) but, didn't realize that they would reduce my mpg's significantly. I'm working on getting the right size rims and I'm going to check on the other info you gave me. Thanks again.