Why did he have to have this done? I average 33.1 MPG in my Sentra SL with the CVT. I drive it in normal mode, but 90% of my driving is highway with some hills. I'm not sure how accurate the computer is, but I do know the gas mileage is good as I look at my average monthly fuel bill and find it's no different than what I was getting in the 09' Corolla I traded in. -Ed

 

There was a recall on his car for bad air fuel sensors and his car shudders when accelerating so they put an updated tune on his car to help prevent that. The tune was from Nissan. I do a lot of city driving with eco on and I can't get it up. Its well under the advertised city mpg.

 

I think the key is "city driving." I have a new 2013 Altima 2.5 SL. So far, the best I've been able to get the display to say is 25.2 mpg average. 90% stop & go driving. When I do get on a fast-moving freeway, the indicator starts going up rather quickly. Just 20 miles at 60-75 mph made it go from 21 mpg to 25.2 mpg. Around here, even most freeway driving is stop & go. The sliding indicator my car has shows continuous mpg & it taught me that every time you stop, it takes a lot of fuel to get the car going again.

 

I've only been able to get mine up to 30 mpg. That was the day after I bought it. I've been using Shell's V-Power 93 octane fuel and have been at a steady 28.2 for the past couple weeks. Starting to think I may need to have mine tuned or calibrated. I did call the dealership and of course they point out that the advertised MPG is under "best driving conditions". I have about 1600 miles on it now. I'm slightly unsatisfied with my current MPG but hoping it will get better. Last night I filled up using 87 octane fuel and I swear the car almost died at a drive thru. I will be going back to V-Power. I will note that we have just rolled into summer and it's hit 100° here the past couple days with no change for the better or worse. I guess you could say that's a good thing.

 

Mine only has 200 miles on it and I don't know what octane furl they filled it up with. And Trent there's a recall out for the sentras having that problem, mine doesn't die at idle it dies right when I give it gas at low speed. Copied from automd

2013 Nissan Sentra Engine And Engine Cooling Service Bulletin 348595

NHTSA: ***Action Number: 10051855***Service Bulletin Number: 348595
Report Date:
Feb 27, 2013Component:
Engine And Engine Cooling*
Summary: Engine has hesitation or stops running at idle or very low speeds. Nissan. *kb


They fix it with a new tune. Hopefully that will give me some better gas mileage. Just what has me upset is that my lighter, smaller engine, less powerful car gets worse gas mileage than an altima with the big engine. It just doesn't add up to, or maybe I'm missing something. Thanks for the input guys.

 

Just what has me upset is that my lighter, smaller engine, less powerful car gets worse gas mileage than an altima with the big engine. It just doesn't add up to, or maybe I'm missing something. Thanks for the input guys.

Couldn't agree more! Nissan did verify that my Sentra isn't associated with any open recalls. Grim try using Fuelly.com and let us know if anything changes after that tune. Also check first to see if your VIN is associated with any recalls. If not, we may need to look into reporting one or something.

 

I tried looking up to see if my vin is within that recall and I couldn't find anything. Ill take a look at that website. I would fill up again with 87 too and take it to your dealer to have them look at it. That's definitely not right.

 

The higher octane will yield you nothing, you are wasting your money. I'm using straight 87 and I'm getting 33MPG. You have to keep in mind that when they estimate these MPG, it's all a big lie to entice you to buy the car. EVERY manufacturer does it and gets away with it (except Hyundai, they got sued and lost). In order to achieve those high advertised numbers, you'd have to be driving 40MPH on a straight roadway with no hills, no AC, no nothing. Those numbers are just not realistic, and the more you romp on the pedal, the worse it gets.

My buddy has an Altima. Be careful what you wish for, as that car has some major issues. Just check out the Altima forum. No thank you, I'm glad I have my Sentra. It's a much better running vehicle without all the issues. -Ed

 

The higher octane will yield you nothing, you are wasting your money. I'm using straight 87 and I'm getting 33MPG. You have to keep in mind that when they estimate these MPG, it's all a big lie to entice you to buy the car. EVERY manufacturer does it and gets away with it (except Hyundai, they got sued and lost). In order to achieve those high advertised numbers, you'd have to be driving 40MPH on a straight roadway with no hills, no AC, no nothing. Those numbers are just not realistic, and the more you romp on the pedal, the worse it gets.

I agree with your higher octane comment, however, your 'big lie' comment is not totally correct.
You are right about the gov't catching Hyundai and Kia using inflated numbers.

What you have posted is not how the testing is conducted.

Cold testing at 20*F is conducted.
High speed with a maximum speed of 80 mph is part of the test.

A quote from the EPA website: "Therefore, the EPA ratings are a useful tool for comparing the fuel economies of different vehicles but may not accurately predict the average MPG you will get."


Check out the US EPA website: Detailed Test Information
Click on 'detailed test information.'
How Vehicles Are Tested

A detailed article from Edmunds:
Here's Why Real-World MPG Doesn't Match EPA Ratings

 

The altima does have some issues, not gonna dispute that but overall its a very nice car. If the price was right I would buy one in a heart beat. Ed what kind of driving do you do. More highway than city?

 

More highway. I have noticed with the little city driving I do the MPG quickly begin to deteriorate.

 

On the while octane thing I will have to agree and disagree at the same time. Its been proven that higher octane can result in higher mpg. Its also been proven to do nothing. Octane is simply the resistance to knock. But, as octane increases the burn becomes slower allowing to give a more complete burn given the engine has an efficient combustion chamber. Now if the slower burning octane (93) has a more complete burn than the 87 that we put in then it will register the o2 sensor that it is rich (the more complete the burn the less oxygen there will be in the exhaust showing a rich condition) therefore cutting fuel trims and decreasing fuel consumption by volume. Also with more complete burns come slightly more power so there will be less throttle positioning required to accelerate the same. Now I'm not familiar with the engines so I can't say which way it would go. Like I said before if I was him I'd put 87 in and show the dealer what its doing and see if they can fix it. Because even if 93 does give you better gas mileage it will still have to offset the difference in price. Being that you car just runs better on 93 is a good excuse to use it. But these engines were designed for 87. It shouldn't do what you say it does. Sorry about the long lecture too. Just trying to share my experience.

 

But these engines were designed for 87.

Owner's manual says use a fuel with at least an octane of 87, never any lower. Says nothing about running higher octane gas.

IMO, it's similar to feeding your self processed food, vs organic food.

Since my last fill up, using 87 octane, the car almost stalled, my IC went blank for a good 5 minutes!?, and the car is obviously louder and doesn't run as smooth. I'll be sticking with my V-Power which is only about $3 more a tank as well as taking my Sentra to the shop today.

 

Its fine man, I understand. And good luck I hope they fix it. Next tank I fill up with will be 93 so ill see how many miles I get to the tank ans then ill do it for 87.

 

I have an altima , my sister is looking to get a sentra. Nissan mileage isn't looking as hot as I thought :[

 

Well actually the 13 altima 3.5 gets pretty good gas mileage. Besides the shuddering problem those cars have they're fantastic. I've got a 13 sentra Sr with the navigation and drivers package and overall I do love the car. Brakes are nice and powerful, acceleration is a little slow but that's the trade off for mpg. Steerings soft, turns smooth, rides smooth with little road noise. Like I said overall fantastic. I think all the other owers will agree with me. As you know from our other thread the sound system is a little lacking to an enthusiast and the Bose in my opinion isn't worth the $1,200. Not unless you just gotta have the moon roof. But I will say my mpg is getting better. I've been using the same gas from the same store and with unchanged driving habits its went up from 24.2 to 26.5 mpg. So I think it'll just take some time to get it where it should

 

My roomate drives a 13' Altima S 2.5 and is getting 32.7MPG while I get 33.3MPG in my 13' Sentra SL. Doesn't make a lot of sense now does it? -Ed

 

Not considering the sentra weighs 2800 lbs and the 2.5 altima weighs 3200 and the 3.5 weighs 3300 lbs. And the 2.5 is still bigger and more powerful. What kind of drivong do you do?

 

You asked me this already on the forum, look at my earlier post. We both drive highway, but he drives a bit longer distance in his Altima.

Regarding Nissan service, yes, it's a joke. They are so melancholy and not seem to care. I guess that's the programming all Nissan workers receive from the top down. They seem to dismiss your problem and say it's "normal." It would be funny to see that the consumers stop buying their cars and only then would they start to look at customer complaints seriously and re-think what went wrong here. -Ed:banghead:

 

Everything checked out fine according to the dealership. Only hit about 275 miles to my last tank. That's like 21 MPG?! Whatever ugh. Service is a joke.

 

You always hit the nail on the head Ed. I agree with just about everything you say here

 

Oh yeah, sorry I forgot I already asked that. Did they get the car to act up with them? When I went in I went straight to the service lane manager and told him what was happening with my car and they took good care of me after that. They acknowledged the problem but they just don't know how to fix it yet.

 

Well at least someone is getting the service they deserve around here. I have been to 3 different dealerships and the customer service is terrible to begin with, and like Ed stated they are so quick to say it's "normal" when it's obviously not. I don't understand. Do they make commission by not addressing and fixing the problem? These ppl act like it's coming out of their own pocket. Hey 7 times to the dealership for the same reason and they will return your money and take the car back. My passenger door panel keeps popping out and it still has yet to be fixed. This is the second time they are ordering the same part!? And they also stated that the reason my IC has gone blank at times is due to the heat and that it's been address on the Nissan forums which I have yet to locate. All sounds like a crock of shit to me. Next car purchase will be from a well known quality customer service manufacture/dealer. It may be a BMW or something but at least I will receive the service I deserve after forking out 20 thousand dollars!

 

Lexus :soapbox:

 

Agreed. That's bull crap. Open up a case against them. Wonder if that'd do any good?

 

My wife and I rented a 2013 2.5 S Altima a few weeks ago for a 700 mile round trip to Branson, MO to see how it was on the road. We both loved the car. The seats are the most comfortable I have been in while driving a car. We had no problem with the CVT while we had the car.

We used ethanol gasoline and got 41.15 mpg on the trip back. The MO back roads were very hilly and had a 55 mph speed limit which we adhered to. There were quite a few small towns and then Springdale which is fairly large town.

When we got back to Oklahoma the speed limit was 65 on the two lane roads and 75 on the turnpike. We ran the speed limit at all times, but there were 4 construction zones on the turnpike which had 55 mph speed limits.

I figured the mileage by pen and pencil in order to get the true gas mileage. I have just about decided to get the Altima over the Sentra for the extra power it affords.

They will have to get the CVT problems worked out first though.

 

FWIW, I've put nearly 11,000 miles on my SV in about 4.5 months. I average around 33-34 mpg across all my driving (about 85% freeway, but with about 10-20 % of those miles in stop/slow-and-go traffic.

I find that my mileage is somewhat lower than what the dashboard odometer indicates. I routinely see ~36 mpg, but when I do the math at every fill-up, it's about 2 mpg lower.

Last week, though, just for kicks I reset my mpg meter right at the start of my daily commute (~60 miles each way, with about 5-10 miles each way in stop/go traffic). Just for that particular day, I got ~43 mpg round trip, including ~10-15 miles to get lunch in light city traffic. At one point, during the first 25 miles before I encountered any significant traffic, my mpg meter read 56.0 mpg (Net elevation change was a drop of about 500 ft.). I generally drove with the cruise control set to around 70-72 mph, depending on traffic.

So, this car is definitely capable of reaching its EPA estimates, but it has got to be driven somewhat gently (eco mode, cruise control, less than 75 mph).

 

So, this car is definitely capable of reaching its EPA estimates, but it has got to be driven somewhat gently (eco mode, cruise control, less than 75 mph).

I do not know too many people that drive under 75 especially where I live. I'm just stating the EPA ratings are just not realistic to "real" everyday driving conditions. There's a difference from lab tests and real world conditions, and they should be based on that, not concocted in some test lab. -Ed

 

Okie that's some pretty good gas mileage. I don't think you can go wrong with either car. Its just which one fits your needs and wants better. PHL holy cow you drive a lot. You definitely need a fuel efficienct vehicle lol. I've been driving gentle from day one. I was complaining about the 24 mpg I was getting at first because that's quite a bit off from the advertised 30. But every day I drive it it gets better and better. Right now its up to 27.2 mpg so I feel much better.

 

I definitely like the Sentra grill better than the Altima grill. I also like the Sentra driving lights better. It is a shame we can't design our own cars.

 

Hey we can always swap!

 

I like the look of the sentra head lights more but as SentraEd said they just suck for brightness. My high beams do nothing I swear. SentraEd have you found the hid kit for the fog lights? I tried looking and could'nt find any.

 

The Retrofit Source Inc

This is a link I was sent in another forum. I haven't done any research for other vendors but it's estimated $150 for the kit. That's about right, it's just you need to trust the vendor who makes them and I know nothing about this vendor.

 

Thanks SentraEd. I just found that kit on the altima side of the forum. The lows and fogs are h11 and the highs are h9. I was looking at the the morimoto elite hid kit. And you can't beat their 5 year warranty