Ilovechess100

thats interesting you would think of using the lemon law because someone is not able to get the mpg stated on the window. There are a whole bunch of reasons that mpg may not be able to be achieved and most have to do with the driver of the car and his responsibility to drive and maintain it to the max of its ability.

Having a hybrid car does NOT guarantee anyone supper mpg, but the potential is there for the taking, it is NOT given to you on a silver platter.

The dealer or manufacturer should have some sort of recourse towards the car owner too, it would only be fair, right?

Before going off the deep end as you have, consider someone that knows how to drive a hybrid for max mpg and have him prove to the owner it can be done. OR, have the person who cant get it in his, show he can get it on the demonstrator model the dealer has.

No, I am not a dealer and never would want to be .

Its soooo much easier to blame someone else for their own inadequacies, isnt it? By no means am I saying the owner in this thread is a deadbeat poor driver but you have to really think things out before you suggest someone consider the lemon law.

 

I was not informed of this 12v battery recall; Nissan Corp however said I did not have any pending recalls on my car.

Alittle update on my car's condition:

I took some of everybody's advice from turning the a/c from 60 degrees to 72, and turning it down and putting 40psi on my tires. Now heres the result: Nothing has changed at all. I reset the computer to see if there was a difference and the car computer is still reading 27.5 - 27.7 mpg city. This is after reseting the computer. I'm wondering if there is a charging system error or battery malfunction.

 

Here is an off the wall thought, since it is a Toyota based system...maybe call a Toyota service dept & speak with the service manager.....explain your problem and feelings ask if you can pay them to do a check up on the hybrid system.

It is off the wall, they may say no but they may say yes and either confirm your fears or put them to rest.

If that fails, try another dealer....again tell them your concerns you know, that you are afraid you are going to get stranded somewhere.

In Washington state, I believe the lemon law comes into effect 2X safety, 3x general or 30 days cumlative.

 

realconook,

Do you have a battery charger? If you really want to start troubleshooting this thing yourself, I would run to WalMart and purchase a Shuemaker (sp?) charger. They are good chargers and won't break the bank. Then take the panel off the right side of the trunk interior. This will expose the 12V battery. Disconnect the battery terminals and put the battery on the charger. The charger will tell you the state of the battery first, anywhere from 0 to 100% charged. (let the car sit for a while or you won't get e true reading) A typical battery, sitting overnight, should show at least an 80% charge.

Charge the battery for a few hours (or until it reached 100%) and test drive the car again. Be aware that when you disconnect the battery, all presets on everything in the car will be lost. The cars cpu will also be reset. On your test drive pay particular attention to the regeneration (blue) area on the gage. You should be burying it.

I know this is something that Nissan really should be doing. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Steve

 

Thanks Steve thats a good suggestion, but I think I figured the problem out. I noticed driving early this morning the charging system when I pushed on the brake was going down all the way and I could see the system charging on the battery meter. However on the way home from breakfest it was failing to go down all the way to charge. I forget who but someone mentioned a sensor glitch when it gets too hot the battery charging system quits working after getting so hot. I live in the desert and it is already 92 degrees at 11AM and I believe it maybe due to this sensor glitch. I'll keep everyone apraised of my problem just incase I do I figure this out and other people like me who love this car but are not getting the fuel mileage they were hoping for.

Thanks for all the suggestions!
-Real.

 

I think Steve was the one that mentioned that.

The weird thing on mine is that the car wasn't affected by heat last summer, and this summer it is.

I should have someone from Nissan Corporate calling me on Monday. I'll voice my concerns on mine, however, it's driven perfectly since Wednesday. Of course, the mileage on this tank is way down from having the problem earlier and from the dealer using 1/4 of a tank for the one mile they drove (I think they probably forgot to turn it off at one point).

 

The heat sensor is not a glitch, it's a safety feature. Unfortunately the NAH only uses cabin temperature, via the vent on the back shelf, to cool the battery. So you need to run the AC if its over 90.

However, I have never seen MPG below 31 on my NAH at all. The only one who had that problem consistently was Gripperdon, who lived in Arizona and never made more then 3 mile trips. That combo killed his MPG.

I have no idea what could cause MPG in the mid 20's because I have never been able to get mine that low. The only thing I can think is that it may be a combination of:

too hot (greater then 90 requires AC which hurts MPG),

too short trips (all hybrids do best when the trip it at least 20 minutes long or more. Short 5 minute trips realy kill MPG unless the car is warmed up already),

low tire pressure (My worst MPG was when I had a nail in my tire. Just a note, I have never had my PSI over 35 and have never had MPG lower then 31),

the wrong oil (you are supposed to have 0W-20 unless you are in an area that is constantly over 100 degrees in which case you should use 5W-20. However there are very few Nissan dealers that have even heard of 0W-20. I guarantee that if you don't ask for the right oil and show them on their computer that the NAH is supposed to have it, you will not get it and you have 10W-30 in your car right now.)

Finally, there could be something wrong with your battery pack, but I have not run in to this yet so can't advise you except to have Nissan check it out.

These are my observations and I hope they help.

 

I have experienced the non-charge regen on a few occasions (also with temps over 91f) once the regen (safety) is activated, it will remain until you shut down. I have tested the issue and once the car is turned off and on, the vehicle resumes normal operation. I would not do this (other than as a test) because if it is a failsafe for the battery pack, then I don't want to destroy it or wear it down. I recommend trying it the next time you see it happen. (shut down and restart)
PS, during the regen failsafe, I did not lose MPG numbers as you have. I also did not notice this last year but hey, it was new to me and I could have missed it.

 

I'm noticing that the charging mode (when the red needle goes down into the blue) is only going down just 1 to 2 bars not all the way down during the middle of the day. When it is really cool outside it does go down all the way, maybe thats part of the problem??

 

I would say, no doubt that is a problem. If I drove my NAH in a hot climate, I probably would retrofit a fan beneath that vent. The Ford Escape hybrid actually has it's own A/C unit just for the batteries.