Of course.

[Ever Victorious]

Just got the call I was dreading from the Nissan dealership.

"No, your car's running just fine. the 15% fuel economy drop you're experiencing is normal for the summer when they put ethanol in. and now we're going to charge you for running a diagnostic because we didn't find anything wrong under warranty."

BS... BS...and more BS. Cars don't just run along and then experience a sudden and pervasive 15% fuel economy loss for no reason whatsoever. And to try to CHARGE me for that? I don't think so.

[aleckz]

Summer gas is better gas!

[shiryu0]

isnt ethanol added for winter????? i always see mpg's jump during the summer were i live, my Lincoln runs excellent on summer gas, plus 110 degree weather , cant say about our Versa yet, but i expect the same........

[frankoV]

I just had the pleasure of going for a road test: the car is shaking on start, to about 30 km/hr (and getting worse).

"just normal", I'm told . . . a CVT thing.

Wonderful.

But at least they didn't charge me.

EV -- rather than going back through and searching for the answer -- why did you buy a second Versa? Was the first one a cherry to your present lemon?

[Vahagn23]

The only thing I can see a loss of fuel efficiency is to use your A/C and such, becaue wehn I use the A/C on the full I feel that I have to push the gas harder to go faster. I find it bull**** that for a diognastics they have to charge us. Its the biggest load of crap, they can say nothing is wrong with your car so you pay us for looking, where if something was wrong with the car they would have to fix it for free. Thats why I would take the car to a different mechanic to check it.

[Ever Victorious]

I just had the pleasure of going for a road test: the car is shaking on start, to about 30 km/hr (and getting worse).

"just normal", I'm told . . . a CVT thing.

Wonderful.

But at least they didn't charge me.

EV -- rather than going back through and searching for the answer -- why did you buy a second Versa? Was the first one a cherry to your present lemon?

First Versa was by no means a cherry, but I chalked it up to known early-production problems, and was hoping that my late-production '07 V would be much better. Sadly it's not.

They gave me an Altima for the day to drive. Damn their brakes are twitchy... but gee, the CVT didn't shake on start to 30 KM/h. If that's supposed to be normal, I guess that means the loaner was defective, right?

I love dealers. Really.

Vahagn - nope. I actually use the A/C just as much for defogging in the winter as I do for cooling in the summer.

[frankoV]

the CVT didn't shake on start to 30 KM/h. If that's supposed to be normal, I guess that means the loaner was defective, right?

Yup -- he told me it was normal on all CVTs; not as bad on the Altima; hardly noticeable on the Murano

sigh

When I go back for an oil change I'm going to have them put the shake on the work order just to have it "in writing".

[kc5f]

Neither my nor my daughter's Versa shakes at any speed. Unbelievably smooth and quiet. Definitely not an "all CVTs" thing.

Same thing on the "normal" summer mileage drop claim. My mileage charts for this and my last two cars cover 514,000 miles, and all consistently show a 3-5 mpg improvement in the summer.

[brainguyus]

That sucks because right now states are not required to disclose how much, if any, ethanol is mixed with the fuel, so you don't really know if the dealer is blowing smoke up your hinder.

As far as the CVT shaking goes I have a Versa and a Murano. Neither one has any shaking on acceleration. Who would market a car that shakes when you step on the gas??? When they say "normal" they probably mean "We're seeing alot of this".

[Great White Versa]

isnt ethanol added for winter????? i always see mpg's jump during the summer were i live, my Lincoln runs excellent on summer gas, plus 110 degree weather , cant say about our Versa yet, but i expect the same........

Even with the use of my A/C (no defogging needed here in vegas) I have seen my mpg go from 29/30 to 32/33 over the past month. I don't know why he would tell you that your mpg should drop for the summer unless he was either stupid or intentionally trying to mislead you.

[Ever Victorious]

That sucks because right now states are not required to disclose how much, if any, ethanol is mixed with the fuel, so you don't really know if the dealer is blowing smoke up your hinder.

Actually, I have a very good barometer to test this. My co-worker, another field engineer, uses his '92 (?) VW Fox to do his job. The thing will not run right on ethanolized gas. So I know which stations have ethanol and which don't, based on how his car runs after filling up. I make it a point to use the non ethanolized gas, because the V gets bad mileage on the ethanolized stuff.

Yet despite this, the economy keeps dropping. Yeah, I know, it's almost time to replace my 2nd air filter, but come on... it's not going to make THAT much of a difference.

Even with the use of my A/C (no defogging needed here in vegas) I have seen my mpg go from 29/30 to 32/33 over the past month. I don't know why he would tell you that your mpg should drop for the summer unless he was either stupid or intentionally trying to mislead you.

A little of column A, a little of column B. I got so pissed on the phone that I had to shut up or I would have said something REALLY bad, and made it impossible to get them to waive the labor (which they eventually did anyway).

[brainguyus]

Yet despite this, the economy keeps dropping. Yeah, I know, it's almost time to replace my 2nd air filter, but come on... it's not going to make THAT much of a difference.

I Strongly Agree...15% is a helluva hit! Consider also that the ECU will usually do a pretty good job of compensating for a dirty air filter.

[07V84Z]

The only thing I can see a loss of fuel efficiency is to use your A/C and such, becaue wehn I use the A/C on the full I feel that I have to push the gas harder to go faster. I find it bull**** that for a diognastics they have to charge us. Its the biggest load of crap, they can say nothing is wrong with your car so you pay us for looking, where if something was wrong with the car they would have to fix it for free. Thats why I would take the car to a different mechanic to check it.

I hate it when people say things like this. Why? Because I've been a mechanic, and I can tell you right now that this kind of thing does nothing but take time that you could be spending actually fixing another car, and actually making some money. You wouldn't be saying things like, "It's bulls*it for them to charge us..." if you were the technician, I can assure you that you'd want your time compensated.

That said, sorry to hear about you car EV...but I too have always noticed greater mileage in the summer months. I don't know what's causing your problem, but I would definately investigate it further. Good luck!

[brainguyus]

EV

My earlier post made me think of something you might want to try that's pretty simple. Clear your ECU. Since the ECU adjusts over time to your driving habits a reset might give you some indication where the problem lies.

I'm not positive about how to do it on a Versa but almost every car will clear the ECU if you disconnect the battery for about 10 minutes. Other than having to reset your clock and radio stations it's a cheap easy test.

[APEXi240]

I hate it when people say things like this. Why? Because I've been a mechanic, and I can tell you right now that this kind of thing does nothing but take time that you could be spending actually fixing another car, and actually making some money. You wouldn't be saying things like, "It's bulls*it for them to charge us..." if you were the technician, I can assure you that you'd want your time compensated.

It is a vehicle that is still under factory warranty. I am unaware of how techs at dealerships are compensated for work, but that should not be my concern with a car that I bought particularly for a warranty. It is not my responsibility to compensate the techs' time, it's Nissan's.

[Driving Instructor]

How much mielage? I noticed much better gas mielage when I changed my air filter....... about 15% ish.

Hope that helps.

[Ever Victorious]

It is a vehicle that is still under factory warranty. I am unaware of how techs at dealerships are compensated for work, but that should not be my concern with a car that I bought particularly for a warranty. It is not my responsibility to compensate the techs' time, it's Nissan's.

I fix computers, not cars, for a living... but we also have problems with customers taking our time looking at systems that aren't actually broken, that are warranty claims. What do we do? We look at the system. If there's nothing wrong, we don't charge them. It's not worth charging someone $65 today and running the risk that they won't come back for any other purchases of any kind.

But I may have to take the V back in AGAIN.

Yesterday, the day after I picked it up, I noticed a metallic rattle during acceleration or cruise at 2800-3000 RPM. Sounds like a loose heat shield or inspection plate. No biggie, just have to find the time to put the car up and get under it.

But the big one came today when, for the second time in recent history, the car did something COMPLETELY whacked out when I put it in gear at a dead stop.

When I put it in 1st at a dead stop and let out the clutch and gave it gas to go, it acted as if it was an automatic that was left in park. revved up, moved like an inch but didn't go, and kept revving as long as I had my foot on the gas. And when I pushed the clutch back in to try to take it OUT of gear and try again, it STUCK in this non-gear for quite some time. I had to force the shifter back into neutral, and then shift it back into 1st again and THEN it would go.