Poor fuel economy... Suggestions?

[lou from ny]

ok guys & ladies i really need some advice,

my 09 rogue is about 6 months old and has 1928 miles (i know i know. drive the darn thing...)

highway mpg is about 27 where it should be. city driving is 13-14 mpg as per the on board computer. I'm trying to drive very conservatively, not stomp on the gas or brake pedal and all the good stuff we are all trained to do, but i can't get anywhere near the posted 22mpg of the sticker.

i'm using 87 octane and mentioned this to the service tech when i brought it in for the 2 recalls. he said they ran a DTC test and found no codes stored in the engine and no defect found. they reset the fuel consumption gauge and recommend 93 octane. they also suggested calling corporate Nissan (1800nissan1) and seeing what they can do. of course i don't think they will do ANYTHING for me, but what can i expect? has anyone else found their mpg was this bad? what are my options?

if this was my motorcycle, I'd throw it on a dyno & check the air/fuel mixture ratio for starters. kings Nissan doesn't have a dyno, so that's out...

any ideas/suggestions?

Split as a separate thread by moderator

[koolyce]

Ok, you computer told you that consumption, but how it is in reality when you fill up you Rogue? It is the same?

[lou from ny]

yes kool, unfortunately, it's pretty accurate

[koolyce]

yes kool, unfortunately, it's pretty accurate

Mmm... A/C is on? your parking break? Air tire presure?

[lou from ny]

all excellent questions.

a/c off (it's getting cooler) windows closed, parking brake off (it gets good highway mpg 27-ish) tire pressure 32psi.

keep 'em coming. i might have missed something

[koolyce]

all excellent questions.

a/c off (it's getting cooler) windows closed, parking brake off (it gets good highway mpg 27-ish) tire pressure 32psi.

keep 'em coming. i might have missed something

If you turn defrost on, is mostly like AC on.

[lou from ny]

i can't say the a/c or defroster is never on, but mostly it's off. still good questions.

still waiting for nissan corporate to return the call, but they did say 24 hrs.

[ahhbeebee]

Even if the defroster is on full time (I did this by accident last year), and winter gas, I wasn't getting mileage anywhere near that bad.

I know you mentioned you try to be light on the peddle, but this is so user specific.

If you have a significant other, or someone else who can drive your car, maybe have them drive for a tankful and see if there's any difference. 32 psi is a little low, I believe 34 is recommended. Some of us getting really good mileage have actually been over inflating our tires, but if you do this, make sure tire wear is even, otherwise you might run the risk of lowering your traction and could become a hazard.

How is your typical commute? I find that idling especially when the engine is cold really kills (30% lower) my mileage.

[lou from ny]

ahh,

i get the tire idea, i typically keep my tires on my other vehicles overinflated a bit even going as high as 36 at times. for the rogue, since things are so poor I'm keeping things as stock as possible to not give Nissan any excuse to say I'm doing something wrong.

unfortunately, I'm out of work, so I'm the only driver right now. our commute consists of mostly quick hops to bring the kids to school, the grocery store, the bank & typical errands.

the car doesn't idle any other than at stoplights. warm up consists of starting the car and not revving past 2000 rpm's until it's in the normal operating zone. in other words, i don't sit in my driveway and warm it up for 10 minutes.

yes, short trips kill the MPG, but i'd still expect a car that promises to get 22 city to get maybe 18-20 not 13-14.

thanks everyone for the suggestions and the questions! keep it up!

[philipa_240sx]

Lou,

As you've already stated, the short trips are killing your gas mileage. You probably have the worst combination... short trips that barely allow the engine to warm up and lots of stop and go driving. This driving cycle is not very kind to your engine either.

Also, at 1928 miles the engine isn't even fully broken in yet. You really need to get some more miles on the vehicle... and longer distance trips at that.

I suggest getting an oil change done very soon if you haven't done it already. With such short distance/duration driving, you should be changing oil every 3 months. Collect a sample during the oil change and send it for analysis to Blackstone Labs:

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

They can send you a free test kit in the mail. Send the sample back to them along with the $22.50 payment. The analysis can give you a good indication of the health of your engine.

Keep us posted.

[philipa_240sx]

I split this off as a separate thread for further discussion.

[lou from ny]

thanks phillip!

i've got the nissan oil change package, so it will be getting changed every 3 months for certain.

blackstone labs....not a bad idea, i've heard of them, but if this is how the car will be used, i guess i'm simply stuck with horrible mpg.

maybe a hybrid next time????

[kerrton]

Nah, I think it'll get better as the engine breaks in. I drive just like you do, lots of short trips, and my mileage isn't that bad. Give it some time and it'll improve...

[Pescakl1]

maybe a hybrid next time????

Maybe an electric car? The Leaf is coming, should be here next year .

For a lot of city driving, fuel engine are not at their best. Like horses, they prefer runs in the wild with no constraint.An electric car is zippy (all the torque is low in revs, so good for starts), the only inconvenient is the range. With the Leaf, range will be 160kms (100 miles), so it will be enough for about 95% of people from what they said (statistics).

[roadside]

I make lots of short trips too. According to the trip computer, my average speed is just 23Km/h. It shows 9L/100Km shortly after a reset, then goes up every day until it reaches 12-14L/100Km. I've had my Rogue for 3 months/3500kms.

Looks like I'm due for an oil change (according to philipa_240sx). Do I also need Shcedule 1 maintenance, or is Schedule 2 enough?


Modified by roadside at 6:04 PM 11/23/2009

[zakmartin]

Lou,

I think your service tech has his head up his rear if he thinks that going with a higher octane fuel will improve your gas consumption. It actually has the opposite effect. Stick with the regular unleaded. I'm really amazed at how out of touch with reality some service techs are.

That said, do a Google search on "hypermiling" and try to stick with lessons learned from that.

I think you're going to find that once the engine breaks in, your mileage will improve. Generally, this happens after about 5,000 miles. At 1928 miles, your car is still a baby and your rings haven't worn in enough to prevent fuel loss. Take a nice long road trip at highway speeds and you'll make this happen sooner. I hear Florida is really nice this time of year.