Ok, I just bought an 02 xterra supercharged and it only has 40,000 miles on it. I drove it back to were i live in southern utah and i only got 225 miles on one tank. from what i understand i sould be getting around 15 -18mpg. i averaged maybe 12. I checked the filter and changed it and this is my second tank on it and now i might get 240 on this tank.
I called nissan and the tech said that he has had 2 xterras himself and that i sould expect to get over 12 mpg. I think that that is crap. the reviews state that it gets 15-18. what can i do. i really need help. if i dont get it fixed ill be forced to sell it.

Welcome to SC Xterra. You're not going to improve much, unless you drive differently.

Can your driving style be attributed to your mpg?

So if you don't have that extra 3mpg then you will sell it? 3 mpg will not make that much of a difference in money. You will loose more money having to resell it so soon.

well what i want is 18. I bought it cuz i am moving across the country at the end of summer. maybe i am missing something. but ihave read tht alot opf people on this forum are getting aroud 300 a tank.

Yeah, i think that 18 mpg is a little too optimistic. I was getting that before all my mods on a non s/c '02 that I have now. I drove it really conservatively, never went higher than 2,500 RPM's , cruising at like 55-60 down the highway. You might swing around 16 mpg, maybe if you drive light footed.

no offense man, i dont wanna come off sounding like an asshole, but i and many others here have seen plenty of these threads about poor gas milage,its an SUV, you can't expect good gas milage out of an SUV unless your driving an escape hybrid or something (and thats not even a real truck), the xterra is a real truck with an underpowered V6 (except for the supercharged 02+), it has the aerodynamics of a brick, and the 15/18 on the window sticker is based on ideal conditions, i get about 12-14mpg in the winter and i've hit 18mpg once in the summer, i didn't buy the X for the milage, i bought it for its capabilities, don't let the poor milage ruin your X for you

yea i know.. i love the xterra and have always wanted one. it just put a damper on things when i was not getting the mileage that i thought that i should be getting.

Hey mudx4x4 i noticed you live in Mass. i am actually moving there. I will be going to school in Turners Falls and probably be moving to greenfeild or somewhere arould there.

yea man, i hear you on the milage putting a damper on things, when i first bought it last year, i was really excited and loved it right off the bat, but the MPG sucked, plus i bought in the winter so it was even worse than i thought it would be, i was only getting like 12-13 most of the winter and i thought i had made a mistake in buying it, then i pretty much said to myself, its a great, reliable truck, its gonna be shitty on gas, so i just let it go and enjoyed it, i stopped measuring exactly how far i get, i know i get anywhere between 140-150 miles per half tank, depending on my driving style, plus once spring comes around and the winter blend gas is gone, your mpg should go up by a couple

and about moving out here, it'll be nice to have another local around here, we should def hook up for some wheeling when you get all settled down, greenfield is about 45-50 min from springfield

Drive 55
Make sure your tire pressure is correct

And draft whenever possible.

Check the computer for a knock sensor code. If the code sets (a knock sensor code will not turn on the check engine light) then it will kick off the boost, retard the timing and BAM will kill gas mileage.

Techs hate doing them, so many won't tell you that the code is there. You'll have to ask specifically to get it. Then, be prepared to dish out some coinage, 'cause the sensor aint cheap, neither is the labor.

Set your timing to +2° advanced from base spec and run some injector cleaner through the system. BG 44K works good.

Also remember, many places run a winter blend of fuel to combat the brown cloud. You'll run across several different blends as you drive cross country in the winter. Any cross country trip in the winter will result in less fuel mileage vs. doing the exact same trip in the summer.

Enjoy the S/C X!

Cyclemut:
you said run some injector cleaner through the engine. is that a simple pour in and drive kinda thing?

I get 200 miles to a tank, maybe. But I live at 9,000 feet and my commute in the winter is 4x4 everday (15 miles each way, plus about 5 - 10 miles each day at the mine site).
It sucks, but thats part of owning one of these things. Carpool to work, walk to the store, ride a bike, but stop bitching about the gas consumption. No car or truck tells the truth in the sticker mpg, it's not a realistic test that determines the rating. Plus everything is dependant on the driving conditions each person encounters, such as elevation, hills vs. flat, tires, roof rack, acceleration ...

My advice: drive like a grandma and carpool, it cut my monthly gas bill in half.

BG 44K is an in-tank fuel injector cleaner. Put it in on a full tank of fuel and run it to about 1/8 of a tank. Then fill up with good fuel (Amaco, Conoco, BP, the name brand stuff) and see how she runs.

The cleaner relies on the amount of time it's in the engine, not the dilution (I.E. don't use on 1/2 tank of fuel because you think it'll work better, use it on a full tank).

These are all excellent posts, plus winter is a poor time to judge gas mileage. You will be lucky if you see 18 this summer though. My N/A SE's window sticker punched in at 16/20 and that 20 is rarely seen. 19 is the best of the bunch. This winter without the need for 4 wheel drive I see 16 alot, so please don't feel to bad. I went with the SE over the SE S/C just for the extra fuel mileage, and it ain't there. If I would have known what I know now I would have went with the supercharger.

--Well i've watched the mileage posts , because I stated I don't care about mileage--But you have to realize that two or three /mpg means about 90+ bucks a month for a "constant" driver and I apologize for that , but you have to put that in your "overall equation" before you buy an Xterra--"RIGHT"--

Just got my X, all the tanks I've run through so far I'm averaging 15.5mpg. It's a 5 speed and I tend to short shift in an effort to keep the milage up, but I'm not gentle with it by any means.

I'd run injector cleaner through it, and if you are using a blended fuel try to switch as that will kill your mpg also.

I hope this isn't the most stupid question in the world, but what does the "SC" designation stand for?

SC = supercharger

See, knew that was a stupid question!

lol

I usually get around 280-290 miles before my gas light comes on...of course, i dont floor it on the highway either, i usually cruise around 60-65

Chuck, If you type "gas mileage" under "search" in the Performance section you will see tons of posts with your same concern. There are tons of suggestions, but, in my opinion, no remedies. People suggest spark plugs, muffler/exhaust upgrades, intakes, oil upgrades, etc. You might get a bit more throttle response/acceleration with these upgrades, but most aren't seeing measurable gas mileage improvments. I think most are getting what you are. My averages are around 230-250 before the light goes on. As far as the people who say they average 300 miles, I would like to sit in their X's and watch it hit 300.
My advice, enjoy the truck and drive it the way you want! Life's too short!

Don't know if this applies to xterra owners, but I was having lunch with people from work and one guy said that there is a chip that will help get better gas mileage. He also said that performance will also come down. Does Xterra have such chip available...anybody used it?

Here's a dumb question: how do you guys check mileage?

Thanks in advance!

Don't believe in any chips that advertise any gains.

Checking mileage: Fill full tank until the pump clicks and stops. Do not top off. Reset the trip odometer right there.

Drive as long as you can before filling up. If possible, run as low as you can, that will give more accurate numbers.

Fill up full thank again until the pump clicks and shuts off. Divide the mileage on your trip odometer by the number of gallons that you just put in the truck.

The result is your miles per gallon.

Thank goodness for the Summer season. Last month I had my best since I bought my 01 Xterra; getting 271 miles on a tank. I just pulled in the driveway today at 248 and I still have a quarter tank left. I have a 38 mile commute tonight so I am thinking I have a good chance of getting 280 or better before filling up.

Little things that I did to increase from 14 to about 16 - 16 1/2 MPG:

1. Drive at or under 2000RPM when at all possible. That also means when pulling away from a stop to be slow and easy. Also, 50 MPH is about 2000 RPM at crusing speed.

2. Plan your trips better. I leave 15 minutes earlier and take the older highway and drive 50MPH. You know, everyone has that old highway that they built an interstate around.

3. Take off the roof bin and the front fairing. Wind resistance is wind resistance no matter how aerodynamic it looks. Don't worry it will grow on ya, it did for me. Plus I finally found a purpose for that glass roof it came with. Damn, its a Sunroof

4. Tire Pressure is 33.5psi in the front, max pressure is 35psi. Different tires on back I run at 38.5psi with a max of 44psi. Its alot bumpier, but less resistance is less resistance.

5. Brake gently. The average person brakes their car in 10 seconds. By braking sooner and extending that period to 15 seconds, you are actually saving gas! Know your road and lights, anticipate when you are going to have to slow down and do it at a gentle controlled rate instead of waiting to the last minute and slamming the brake pedal.

6. Bought Satellite radio - If you are going to drive slower you need to have a lot of things to take your mine off the fact that you are spending more time in your X.

7. Laugh - Every time I see a Hummer H2, Dodge RAM, Chevrolet Avalanche go flying by me at 70/80 MPH I can't help buy chuckle at what those morons gas bill is going to be.

8. Owning an SUV, especially one like the X is about enjoying life. Learn to use the functional side of the X. For me there is nothing better than a Saturday afternoon to the local mountain bike trails for a couple hour ride. The more you take part in other things, the less time you will have thinking about the fact that your last gas bill was $45.

Enjoy!!

Here's one to think about: start the engine late and turn it off early. Say you drive your vehicle 4 times a day, and it takes you 5 seconds to buckle up, mess with the radio, and do whatever else you do before driving away. Same at the end, unbuckling and so on. If you start your engine first and turn it off last, you're idling for an unnecessary 10 seconds a trip.

Doesn't sound like much, but x 4 trips a day = 40 seconds daily x 365 = 14600 seconds / 60 = 243 min / 60 = a little over 4 hours a year your truck is running at exactly 0 MPG.

Can you tell I once worked at American Airlines, where they saved $100,000 a year by taking a small tomato out of the dinner salads? Well, back when there WERE dinner salads.