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Nissan Sentra Real World MPG

88 messages,  Last post on Apr 09, 2013 at 10:59 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Sentra, Fuel Efficiency (MPG), Sedan

Messages Page 9 of 10

#77 of 88 Re: Poor FE on 2008 Sentra [rjmerryman] by backy

Nov 21, 2011 (10:32 am)

Replying to: rjmerryman (Nov 21, 2011 7:39 am)
Which engine does the car have, the 2.0 or bigger? CVT or stick? What were temperatures and wind conditions for both trips? Did you check tire pressures before leaving?
 
You'll take a big hit on mpg over 65 mph, in my experience with the 2.0. I can touch 40 mpg in mild weather if I keep it to no more than 65, but once I go over that it drops off a lot. Over 70, mid-30s is all I can do. I've never tried driving 75+ for an extended distance with the car (speed limits in my region aren't higher than 65-70) but I can imagine what that would do for FE.
 
Also are you sure you filled the tank the first time? I've seen a lot of problems on Sentras (I drive them a lot as rentals) re filling the tank. Even though I fill carefully, it's hard to completely fill the tank. In fact the folks at Hertz are aware of this problem, so when I explain that I just filled the tank and it still doesn't show Full they are sympathetic and don't charge me for a non-full tank. Thus it's possible you really didn't fill the tank the first time and didn't use 10 gallons of gas. However, you experienced the same mpg going home. That's when things like weather and winds can play a role.
 
What has been the mpg for the life of the car? Or doesn't your son track it?

#78 of 88 Re: Poor FE on 2008 Sentra [backy] by rjmerryman

Nov 23, 2011 (8:30 am)

Replying to: backy (Nov 21, 2011 10:32 am)
Car has the 2.0, standard not stick. And not CVT either. Temps for this trip were around 40 on the way there, maybe 50 on the way back. Neither direction was particularly windy. And I'm pretty certain that the tank was full each time. I think it's a 12 gallon tank, both fillups were with two bars on the display (I know that's not totally accurate) and both times it took 10 gallons to fill, so that's reasonable.
 
We got the car with about 65K miles on it and it's up to 73k now, so when I talk life of the car it's mostly it's "recent life". He hasn't been tracking until recently when he says it seems like he's always filling the tank. I told him of course that it's part of having a car and being responsible for paying for it, but it wasn't until this trip that I really saw how poor the mileage is. He does most of his driving in the city, but I expected much better than 25 mpg highway even at 75 mph. I think before I take it to the shop I'll drive it for a week (my commute is 99% highway) to see if I can milk 34+ mpg out of it driving a little more cautiously (ie - not like a teenager)

#79 of 88 Re: Poor FE on 2008 Sentra [rjmerryman] by backy

Nov 23, 2011 (9:42 am)

Replying to: rjmerryman (Nov 23, 2011 8:30 am)
This is a very odd 2008 Sentra. All 2008 Sentras had either a 6-speed stick or a CVT. So I'm not sure what your car has since you said it's not a stick and not a CVT. If it's not a stick shift, then it must be a CVT. Also the fuel capacity of the 2008 Sentra (also my 2010 Sentra) is 14.5 gallons. So when you have 2 bars left on the gas gauge, you are likely closer to having used 12 gallons than 10 gallons. At least that is true on my Sentra when there's 2 bars left.
 
Do you know what maintenance the car had before you bought it? In particular, do you know if it had the major servicing at 60k miles? If the car was not maintained well, that could drag down FE. So for example, have the plugs been replaced since the car was new? How are the filters especially the air filter? What was the tire pressure on your trip?
 
If I were you, I'd check all these things, including oil (when was the last oil change?) and then try driving it on your commute for awhile, not "driving like a teenager" as you said. The other thing to be aware of is, there's a little button on the side of the CVT shifter that turns off overdrive. Makes the engine rev a LOT higher than normal. A yellow light comes on in the instrument cluster when that happens. You might ask your son if he ever drives it with the O/D off... it would tend to improve acceleration, which a teenager would like, but would really hurt FE.

#80 of 88 New high on my 2010 2.0S CVT: 41.8 mpg! by backy

Jul 29, 2012 (11:30 am)

I took a 300 mile round trip over the past week. The outbound trip was with A/C on and I didn't pay much attention to FE. I used cruise on the highway portions (about 85%), the rest was suburban roads and rural roads, including some slow dirt roads (15-20 mph) . That trip got 36.6 mpg--pretty good, and above the EPA 34 mpg, but not great.
 
On the return trip I decided to see if I could get higher FE. It was cooler so A/C was needed only for the last 15 miles or so, I think there were more downgrades than upgrades (reverse on the outbound trip), and... I think this is the biggie... I had the instantaneous mpg display on the whole time and kept checking it. I've found that even a very small change in accelerator pressure can make a significant difference in mpg in this car, so I tried to keep the mpg meter as high as possible by using light pressure on the accelerator and coasting (in gear) as much as possible. Also on the 2-lane roads, I built speed coasting down hills and let my momentum carry me up hills, even if it meant I dropped below the speed limit (when no one was behind me of course). I used cruise only on the 60-mile freeway segment, otherwise I kept to the speed limit or just over. Limits were 55 to 65 except in towns.
 
The result? On the return trip, I averaged 41.8 mpg per the trip computer. This is the highest mpg I've achieved on this car on a trip of any distance. It shows what is possible in the car if you pay attention to FE. It takes a little attention, and if you're in a hurry it won't work as speeds need to be kept close to the limit. But I wasn't in a hurry, didn't need A/C, and had some fun testing the limits of the car short of what a hypermiler could achieve.

#81 of 88 2012 Sentra SR fuel mileage test by miamifan1

Aug 21, 2012 (7:34 pm)

I just did a round trip to the Jersey Shore and covered a total of 168.7 miles. The highway driving, all 130 miles of it, I cruised controlled at under 65 mph and had no traffic. The remaining mileage was traffic and low speed commuting.
 
Imagine my disappointment when, after this effort, I refilled with 6.1 gallons. I managed a miserable 27.6 mpg! Computer average read 35.2mpg, and average speed was 30mph.
 
I absolutely understand that the 'full-er' the tank, the more disparate the computer vs. reality chasm. But this is just ridiculous. I will reserve judgement until I can put together a longer-range highway trip. But at this rate, my car is disappointing me with the lackluster fuel consumption.
 
For some background, I'm in Philly, I purchased my car in April, and have put 9,800 miles already. I've measured my fuel economy on every tank of gas, and my best has been 29mpg of Philly-to-NYC round trip with the cruise set 70ish mph (can't recall exactly). My worst tank has been 22mpg in mixed city/highway.
 
I'm very happy with my car otherwise, and in reality, 25mpg average economy is decent. But, reading how some people can touch 40mpg is annoying to me. I want to match that feat! Or at least, be able to crack 30mpg...

#82 of 88 Re: New high on my 2010 2.0S CVT: 41.8 mpg! [backy] by longo2

Aug 21, 2012 (9:17 pm)

Replying to: backy (Jul 29, 2012 11:30 am)
" I averaged 41.8 mpg per the trip computer"
 
Hate to dis' your mpg's but the trip computer number is probably much higher than the 'miles driven divided by gallons used'
 
Nissan makes a great engines, just not very fuel efficient ones. My Nissan Versa CVT sucks gas like a gravel truck, always has and after 50,000 miles, still does.

#83 of 88 Re: New high on my 2010 2.0S CVT: 41.8 mpg! [longo2] by backy

Aug 22, 2012 (3:28 pm)

Replying to: longo2 (Aug 21, 2012 9:17 pm)
As I stated, I compare the readout from the trip computer to actual fill up computations and they are very close.
 
Getting 40 mpg in a 2010 Sentra isn't "automatic". It takes some effort, as I've explained. Not everyone can do it or wants to do it because it means sticking to speed limits and using a very light foot on the gas. But it's possible. But I've also gotten ~20 mpg on a 2.0L CVT Sentra before, more than once. I get that when I rent one for business and drive it in town all the time, AC on, short trips, and not a particularly light foot on the gas.
 
YMMV.

#84 of 88 finally broke 30mpg! by miamifan1

Oct 27, 2012 (1:35 pm)

If you read through my posts, you'd know I was struggling with lukewarm mileage. Well, I finally had a good highway trip that allowed me 65ish mph on cruise, pretty flat roads, and minimal traffic when I got off the highway.
 
I went to Baltimore from Philly, and back. In all I covered 218 miles and used 6.56 gallons which works out to a 33.18mpg tank!
 
If I remove the baltimore looking for street parking from the equation, its safe to say 34mpg was achieved.
 
The computer, meanwhile, recorded 39.8mpg average for the entire trip, but spent a large part of the trip reading 44mpg average. Its only when I commuted in my hilly town where it dipped below 40mpg.
 
At the end, I averaged 49mph, and the computer was promising enough fuel left over to cover 513 miles for that tank.
 
I'm happy to have finally managed the promised EPA economy, and happier that my car is not a 'dud', or needing mechanical attention. However, I think the kind of effort required to achieve this feat is ridiculous. This kind of effort, driving 15mph slower than all traffic on i95, and holding cars baack while reaching any lights, in order to avoid dead stops, should yield mileage closer to 40mpg. It takes real concentration and I can't imagine how people do it on a regular basis.
 
It was hard work.
 
I know there are a handful of similar cars like Corollas and Civics, cars that are well known to easily reach mid 30's on the highway without such heroic effort, have other trade-offs (the largest being higher transaction prices), but its hard not to dismiss Nissan for missing the mark.

#85 of 88 Re: finally broke 30mpg! [miamifan1] by backy

Oct 27, 2012 (3:12 pm)

Replying to: miamifan1 (Oct 27, 2012 1:35 pm)
I know there are a handful of similar cars like Corollas and Civics, cars that are well known to easily reach mid 30's on the highway without such heroic effort, ...
 
I don't know what kind of "heroic effort" you think you need to achieve mid-30s highway mpg on a Sentra 2.0 CVT. I can do that with zero effort just by setting the cruise control to 70 mph or less on the highway, and steer the car. Not too heroic on my part.
 
But to get 40+ mpg on the Sentra... yes, that takes some "heroic" effort, or at least a lot of attention to fuel economy. It's rated 34 mpg highway, so 40+ is a real stretch. Possible under some conditions, and with a very light foot on the gas. Most people I wager don't want to drive that way.
 
I see that the new Sentra has a smaller engine, lower power, but also higher EPA fuel economy. I bet that car will require a light foot to get that fuel economy, and many owners won't achieve it.

#86 of 88 Bad gas milage 2010 sentra by ezeekz

Mar 14, 2013 (11:08 pm)

I have a 2010 Nissan Sentra 2.0s with 41,000. Was bought used with about 32,000. After driving it all this time I have noticed I get shitty gas milage. I drive about 172 miles at about 72-75mph and I hardly press on the brakes at all. It's a steady drive with my cruise control on and I use half a tank from point A to point B. That seems shitty to me. I used about a quarter tank once with a 2012 nissan altima driving the same way same distance and got better mileage. I also own a 1996 nissan 240sx and that even gets better mileage than my sentra! Anyone know if that's normal mileage for my car, or should I be concerned about maybe changing spark plugs, filter, doing a tune up, or anything at all?

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