I leased a 2003 Infiniti G35 in February of '03. I have noticed within the last 3-4 months that my miles per gallon was somewhere between 11-13 mpg. On the sticker it stated 19 city and 23 highway. I have not been getting 19. I have checked my tire pressure to make sure every tire is equal, I've taken it to the dealer to make sure everything is OK mechanically. I have complained to the customer line at Infiniti, where I found out that I am not the only one who has had this problem, "but that I probably had a lead foot". I am really, really bitter. To me, this was false advertising - I would NOTt have considered this car if I knew that it only got 11-13 mpg. Does anyone know what my next step is? BTW, I still have 30 months left on my lease, and I have to carpool with my husband to work in his car now b/c I can't bear to pay $150 a month in gas for only one car.
sorry the car makes estimates based on normal driving styles. a 265hp motor is going to guzzle gas when you get on it. You might have chosen a 4 cylinder if you wanted superb gas mileage, something with about 100hp. They don't drink much gas at all like a geo metro Nice car though, very fast. takes gas to go fast though
I really didn't think about the gas costs when I bought the car. You live, you learn. I like the car other than the obvious gas costs. Anyway, I do appreciate the advice, and I will keep this post updated as to what happens, if anything. If anyone has had a similar problem, or if anyone works at a dealer and knows how I can approach this, please let me know. I do accept the fact that driving conditions could account for some of the loss, but even the service advisor admitted to me that they don't get good gas mileage, and he has heard it from other customers as well. My advice to anyone buying a car - DO YOUR RESEARCH! and think of the total cost, not just the initial cost.
I've had this issue arise with, believe it or not, a Ford Focus. Initially, it got no better than 23 mpg on 95% highway driving. I even kept a spreadsheet of gallons purchased and miles driven. I'd check every forum discussion I could (Edmunds.com/townhall, other G35 bulletin boards) and see who else is complaining about this. Despite opinions, 11-13 mpg is near Hummer and Suburban mpg territory and wholly unacceptable for a 6 cyl motor (I think the G35 also uses the CVT tranny, which actually optimizes mileage). Regardless, Nissan's engines are much more refined and much better tuned than some Detroit guzzler. Take it to the dealer, have them run their little mpg tester (they'll come back with excellent gas mileage of course), then take it to an independent Nissan/Infiniti specialist (you'll have to pay them, but they'll be more objective) and have them test it. The rest is going to be up to you as to whether or not you want to fight this all the way.
Dear kickman, Thanks for your post. I am taking it in on Sat. to have the mpg checked by them. (No doubt they will come back with a decent mpg and say that my driving is the reason the mpg is so bad - even though my husband drove it for awhile and got the same results.) I want to be prepared for results. After having it tested independantly, what do you think are my options for fighting it? I can just take it, or I can fight it.
First, have the diagnoses performed by both Nissan/Infiniti and independent, unless Nissan actually acknowledges the problem. Then have them make the necessary attempts to remedy the problem. If Nissan comes back and says that everything's fine (which they probably will), have an indy inspect and diagnose. Second, get familiar with your state's lemon laws. There must be a certain number of attempts made by the manufacturer to remedy the problem. Make sure you take it to them that number of times. Some manufacturers have stopped inspecting for low gas mileage as part of the warranty. Be prepared for this. It could get expensive to get all of these inspections performed. If, after all that, you still want to persue, check your owner's manual to see if Nissan/Infiniti requires BBB arbitration prior to litigation. Keep every piece of paper and keep it organized. If you're gonna fight these folks, you'll need them.
So it may not be worthwhile to fight them unless it gets worse. I was told by a friend at work to try to get the manager of the local dealer sympathetic to my case, and possibly have them help me. (FYI, I don't think that will happen.) Anyway, I don't have the money to spend fighting them. I live in Florida, so I plan on reading up on the lemon laws. I really am not up for a huge expense and hassle, but I don't want to carpool with my husband for the next two years either. Thanks again for your help! I will update this post as this progresses.
I have the perfect solution, which is what I do. Ride a bicycle. Just park the Infiniti in the garage.
I WISH I GOT 11-13 MPG!!! YMMV Might be STARVED for OCTANE...go to the MID or PREMIUM...if that does not work...you need some adjusting with the FUEL/AIR RATIO (guess)--not a mechanic---but I did work in a "FULL SERVICE" GAS STATION WITH SERVICE AND A MECHANIC...
bleh, lots of misconceptions in this thread. 1. If you ever take that thing past 3 or 4k RPMs while you drive it, you aren't going to get the EPA mileage. They base that on driving very non-agressively. Just because your hubby drove it and noticed lower gas mileage than advertised does not mean he drove it lightly either - in fact if he's like most guys he probably drove it harder. I know I do =) 2. If you are indeed *****footing it everywhere, then you definitely may have a problem with your air fuel mixture. Premium fuel would hardly help this though. The only thing you need is to use what the manufacturer recommends. 87 Octane is fine for 90% of the motors out there with the exception of motors with forced induction (turbo or supercharged). You only need the higher octane to prevent predetonation. 3. Someone mentioned that Nissan's engines are more refined than a "detroit guzzler". This is not necessarily true, though I am actually a big Nissan fan. A 2002 Chevrolet Camaro with the 5.7l V8 w/325hp gets 19/28mpg EPA vs the 20/27 for the G35 w/280hp 3.5l engine. I was surprised to see this; one would think that the smaller engine would get much better mileage, but in fact it does not necessarily do so. Other things come into play, such as drag, weight, gearing, etc. Also the fact that a bigger engine has so much more power that you just never tap it fully, come into play. 4. Most likely, if there is a problem, it will have something to do with your air/fuel mixture. Get it checked. If you're running rich, you will get absolutely horrible mileage. It is worth noting that my fiance's pathfinder gets about 14mpg on the highway. A friend's expedition was getting 15mpg on the highway. The G35 is a beautiful car, but it's a prime example of the cost of performance.
The buyer's order you signed when you purchased the vehicle releases the Car Dealer from any liabilities on the car. They sold you the car, they are now done with you. Don't expect them to take much time on this. That doesn't mean you couldn't sue Nissan/Infinity, they would probably just break the lease to get out of a lawsuit.
Re: False Advertising-Auto-Please h Quick question on this. Is this car being driven mostly Highway or City, and as such is the city quite a bit of stop and go, some sitting in rush hour traffic, coming to a stop light, having it turn green, then going 200 feet to another light? My point is this. If you take a Honda Insight 5 speed with a stated MPG of 61 / 68 into a suburb of Los Angeles, and give it to someone who drives 20 miles over 2 1/2 hours to get into work every day of the week going through terrible rush hour traffic, stop and go, and such, I would expect the Insight to run around 35-40 MPG if even. So before planning on a class action lawsuit about false advertising (I believe there are very strict guidelines that have to be followed in the manufacturers testing of MPG) I would try and get a good idea of how the driving conditions are affecting fuel economy. If you get it to the shop Saturday and it comes back with a lower than expect fuel economy, Nissan / Infinity will hook it up to diagnostic equipment and figure out if it's running lean or what not. If it comes back within specs, and you don't live in an area with either too much going up and down hills, or too much stop and crawl rush hour, try a simple test. Take the car out to a long stretch of Interstate highway on Sunday. Go to an exit and fill up the tank. Then pull out onto the highway, making sure to not let your foot go too far down on the accelerator. Make sure your overdrive is on, so 65 MPH cruising speeds have you sitting around 2-3K rpm. Then set your cruise control at 65, and drive 25 - 30 miles. You can fill up then, and see pretty accuratly what mileage it got. It should, at the very least, get upwords of 19 MPG, so if you have to put 2 gallons in after driving 25 miles you KNOW there is a real problem and then spend your money on an independant mechanic to do a MPG test. ChrisB But to be honest with you, I have only gotten at or above the City mileage listed for my cars on several hundred mile trips, around town I basically never even got up to the City amount. Be lucky you didn't get a minivan, my new Sedona's 195 horse V6 is only booked at 15 / 20.
Re: False Advertising-Auto-Please h Thanks for the advice. I found a G35 message board on the internet yesterday, and I found that people were having the same problem, and they got better mileage by making adjustments to the air conditioning system (like certain settings which conserve gas, while still running the a/c), and also watch my driving habits more closely. I am going to try this, and I will be satisfied if I get 15 mpg. Keep your fingers crossed. I'm not going to sue anybody b/c I'm happy with everything else about the car. (Although my husband would be happy if I did get out of my lease b/c he wanted a Saab instead;-)) I know that it is a huge battle to get out of ANY lease, and its partly my fault for not thinking ahead about the mpg before.....Thanks all!
