so i've been experimenting with my '07 NAH trying to calculate it's MPG average and i have to admit, i'm not thrilled with my first results. i filled it up (all 20 gallons) and reset my odometer. i drove from Pleasanton, CA to Reno, NV and back. i am sitting at ~500 miles for the round trip and my "low fuel" indicator just popped up letting me know I have about 50 miles left on my tank. so in essence, 550-575 miles on a full tank. keep in mind, the trip from CA to NV was mostly highway with cruise control at ~70mph. i had the dual climate control on set at ~72 degrees most of the time so i understand that would affect the mpg average a LITTLE. my problem/question: why the heck is this HYBRID only averaging 28-30mpg when i was under the impression it should be more like 35-40+ or more on highway? my last 2 cars (2007 Pontiac G6 6-cylinder and 2008 Chevy Malibu 6-cylinder) averaged about the same mileage that the NAH got on this same trip when i cruise control at the same speed. that blows my mind. shouldn't i be getting more like 700 miles on a full tank even if i only average about 35mpg? in fact, when i look at my current avg speed and average mpg on the dash LCD (which i reset also before this trip) it says i'm at about 35.7mpg average. WTF? so apparently nissan doesn't think i can do math? if i truly was averaging 35.7 mpg, my full 20 gallon tank shouldn't run out until i hit ~714 miles (and my low fuel shouldn't light up until ~660 miles). so yeah, can anyone help explain this? have you had similar results? what reasons are there for me averaging only 28-30 mpg HIGHWAY other than an actual problem with the car?

sorry for the lengthy commentary...

HELP!?

THANKS!

 

This is known bug for the NAH, probably happened as they copied the Toyota HSD firmwire verbatim from the TCH which has a 17.1 gallon tank.
When the low fuel indicator comes up there is actually more than 4 gallons left in the tank. I have driven for 150 miles after the low fuel indicator came up. For you another 100-120 miles look safe. The multi function
display mpg is optimistic by 1-2 mpg.

 

Hello xhellionx, I understand your pain. Not to diminish it in anyway and I don't want you to feel I am criticizing. Going on the assumption that everything is mechanically sound with your NAH, some logical explanations are, tire pressure, ambient temperature, speed and driving style.
We have all experienced the winter mpg kill that occurs with cold temps, we have all experienced the low or no regen braking during extreme heat. Tire pressure is important, most of us run higher pressure than recommended, I find it is an important player in MPG. Speed is an important factor. Here in NJ our limit is 65 mph and I try to keep it around 60mph, I can see the difference in the mpg real-time display. Driving style is a major player with the NAH (more so than with other compact hybrids) one moment of indiscretion showing off your acceleration capabilities will blow a tank. I have had some bad tanks but never 30 mpg. My highway commutes generally yield lower mpg however I find they are more accurate with the mpg display than the city mpg. Last year me and the family made a long highway trip from NJ to North pole NY, the round trip, including 3 days of around town driving while there, was about 750 miles and we made it in one tank for about 19 gallons worth. As you become more familiar with driving for efficiency your MPG will improve. With that said, I am looking to replace a minivan with another hybrid. This weekend I looked at the new Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius, and yes, the good MPG was a lot easier to achieve on those cars. What you sacrifice is passenger room you gain in fuel economy, but that’s true of any compact car. I was able to easily get 57 mpg in the short 15-minute test drive in city and highway. Anyway from a 19-mpg minivan almost anything is good. Good luck in your pursuit of the MPG grail. And igh statement is true, the fuel "distance to empty" display is off on this car.

 

actually, all Altima's give you a low fuel indicator with around 4 gallons left. to the OP, I think we all see the computer MPG is about 2 MPG off. You are getting an actual 33.7 MPG.

 

thanks for the replies

i figured i was only getting 30-35mpg which angers and baffles me to be honest. i was getting equal or better than that with a 6-cylinder car for crying out loud...i have a 4-banger hybrid now and can barely compete? lame is all i can say...what's the point???

 

Actually the NAH is rated 33 mpg on the highway. You are right there.
If you drive it at 70 mph you wont get any better than 36-38 mpg
especially on mountainous terrain. To get that you have to religiously
adhere to some hypermiling techniques. Hybrids do not do much better than similar powered gas-only cars on the highway. It is only in city driving that the difference is significant. If you mostly drive highways at 70 mph I am afraid you will gain little over similar gas only cars in mpg.

 

^I agree. In traffic is when I get my best mileage. Needing to drive through Boston to get to work, the Hybrid was a good choice for me

 

I made the same complaint during my last service appt. They held the car while I was out of town for a week to check it out and talk to Nissan about it. What I was told is that this is the #1 complaint they get for the hybrid (Nissan headquarters or whatever...) and that the car was designed to operate in bumper to bumper city traffic. It is programmed to come out of EV mode with acceleration greater than 10%. This is only possible in bumper to bumper traffic if you dont want to be honked at! While it makes no sense to me why Nissan would have designed it this way, it is what it is. You have to really focus on your driving to get great mileage out of this car. Now that I am in Dallas for a while, ive been getting much better mileage on the highway, especially with the flatter terrain and warmer temps.

 

also, you need to remember a TCH gets about the same fuel economy (maybe 1-2 MPG's more). if you were looking for consistent 40's, you need to get a smaller hybrid like a Prius, HCH, or Insight

 

Has anyone heard of any possibilities for them fixing this fuel bug on the NAH? Is the fuel gauge bugged too or just the low fuel indicator?