2016 Nissan Versa SV Fuel Mileage Update

My CVT on my Dodge Caliber was wonderful, despite all the trouble lots of people had with the CVT. Even in the mountains, my CVT worked superbly. The CVT works better than any other transmission in stop & go traffic..... absolutely elegant. After 53,000 miles, my mechanic did have to replace the gasket BETWEEN the engine & the CVT. The CVT was a Nissan Jatco production & the engine was a collaboration between Hyundai, Mitsubishi & Dodge. Dodge couldn’t even get a gasket designed right on their own efforts. Anyhow, bad reports about the CVT kept coming. A few years after the introduction of the lovely 2011 Elantra, I traded the Caliber for a 2013 Elantra. Been exceedingly happy ever since.
I think the CVT in the hands of a careful driver gives good longevity. In the hands of a throttle-happy moron, the CVT has its problems. Years after getting rid of the Caliber, I met two Caliber drivers who had the CVT, who each had 200,000 & 230,000 miles. No problem with their CVTs ever.

 

So far the Versa has 23K miles and there's been no problem with the CVT. I plan on doing fluid/filter changes every 30K miles. How often did you service the fluid filter in your Caliber?

 

Dodge manual had CVT fluid changes every 60,000 miles. Needless to say, when the connecting gasket between the engine & CVT was replaced at 53,000 miles, the CVT fluids were changed too.

 

The manual on the Versa doesn't list a mileage for fluid/filter changes but says the fluid condition can be checked by a dealer. From what I've read online this is just something stored in the ECU that reports the amount of time the fluid has been overheated. I suspect taking it to a dealer to have this done would probably cost as much as me doing a fluid/filter change myself and the fluid/filter would be much more effective at protecting my transmission. I recently bought 10 quarts of the Nissan NS-3 fluid on ebay for about $125. including shipping and an original equipment Nissan branded filter is about $15. I'm guessing the 10 quarts I've got should do approximately 2 drain refills. While not extremely cheap to do it will only have to be done probably about every 3 years and is better than risking a damaged transmission.

 

My wife and I decided to ride to a neighboring town Friday afternoon that is up a 4 lane that doesn't usually have much traffic. Since there was little traffic on the road I set the c/c at 40 MPH for about 30 miles to and 30 miles back. At one time the Ultra Gauge was showing a tank average of 60 MPG but, that was very early in the tank. When I parked it yesterday after going to church and to mom's house for lunch I was between 150-160 miles into the tank and the Ultra Gauge is still showing a tank average of 58 MPG. The Ultra Gauge usually under reports my actual mileage by about 1 MPG. Unless something unexpected happens I'm probably going to be able to beat my best tank by a few extra MPG.

 

The Versa loves 40 MPH driving. When I'm on flat ground and the temperature is in the mid 80's and up I see some really amazing numbers on the Ultra Gauge. There's a few stretches about a mile or a little longer each that I drive a few times on nearly every tank that during the summer and at 40 MPH will maintain an instant MPG of 70-95 MPG. I forgot for sure but, I think at 50 MPH on those same stretches the numbers drop to about 60-90 MPG. I'd love to have the Versa out in the flatlands of OK and KS for a couple tanks just to see what I could do on nearly perfectly level roads. We don't have any mountains in this area of KY but, there are small rolling hills over lots of this area.

 

I'm now about 250 miles into this tank and despite 6 trips so far on one of the worst sections of road that I travel on a regular basis ( about 11 miles each) and two on another bad section (about 10 miles each) the Ultra Gauge is reporting 56.7 mpg. The alternator went out on the Escort Friday. I could have bought a rebuilt store brand one locally for about $124 all in but, I checked Rock Auto and they had a rebuilt Magnetti Marelli (rebuilt by Chrysler Corp.) on a closeout sale I could get for $66 including shipping and don't have to send in a core so I decided to save the money, probably get a better quality rebuild, and wait a few days for delivery. I've got the old alternator off so when the new one gets here all I have to do is put it on and the Escort will be back on the road in approximately 30 minutes.

 

The Escort being down is whittling away at my great tank because now I'm using the Versa for taking my wife to work and back with 2 trips a day to and from which includes having to drive the bad 11 mile section of road 4 times a day. I usually drive the Escort to the gym to do the water therapy on my back. That's two short trips of about 1.5 miles a day. At approximately 300 miles into the tank my tank average according to the Ultra Gauge is down to 55.9 MPG. My guess is that it's actually closer to 56.5-57 MPG since the Ultra Gauge usually under reports.

 

I got the Escort back on the road yesterday but only after the short trips and bad sections of road brought the reading on the Ultra Gauge down to 54.6MPG. Next time time I drive it will probably be Sunday and will again drive both bad sections going to church and then to mom's for lunch but, I should be able to make up part of that with a good section of 4 lane on the way home from mom's. With what the Ultra Gauge reading is right now and considering how much it is usually off by maybe I can log a 55+MPG tank. If I can log a 55MPG tank it will be my best tank ever in any car I've owned. I did have a tank years ago in the '88 Escort Pony that I used as a daily driver for about 20 years that was over 54MPG.

 

If your CVT is geared like my Nissan Jatco CVT was in my Dodge Caliber, your highest gears occur at 50-60MPH & higher. You probably get a good blend of fairly high gearing, low mechanical, internal drag & low aerodynamic drag, while at 40MPH.

 

I figure most of the gain between 40 MPH and 50 MPH comes from less aerodynamic drag.

After going to church, mom's house, and back home today (appox. 50 miles) the Ultra Gauge is reading 54.7 MPG. If it's not used any during the week this week I'll probably fill up again next Sunday about 3 miles before I get home. That will put me at over 500 miles and will still be right around a 1/4 tank which is about as low as I usually let the tank get before filling. I've currently got about 465 miles on this tank. The owners manual states a 10.9 gallon tank. I always top off the tank so I programmed the Ultra Gauge for an 11 gallon capacity but I figure I usually have at least 11.5 gallons when I get done filling up. If that's the case I have an extra .5 gallon buffer above and beyond what the Ultra Gauge says. I'm pretty sure if I wanted to on this tank I could break the 600 mile barrier but, I don't like running the tank too low on account of overheating the fuel pump. The fuel pump for this car is pretty expensive. I think someone told me a Nissan replacement is about $800. I checked Rock Auto awhile back and as I recall their cheapest one was between $200-300. It's not worth damaging a fuel pump that costs a few hundred dollars just to see how far I can go on a tank of gas. I'm happy with 500 miles on a tank. Years ago I drove cars with tanks twice the size of the Versa and had a range of about 300 miles.

 

You have to worry about over-heating a fuel pump while driving a Dodge Challenger at 140MPH, 20 GPH & running low on fuel. Running your Versa low on fuel, at 0.9 GPH has no problems from the heat.

 

Filled up again today. This was my 7th consecutive fill at 50+ mpg. 521.6 miles on 9.546 gallons for 54.641 mpg, my best tank to date. Gauge was still showing 1/4 tank. I was hoping for 55 mpg but there was just too many trips on a couple bad sections of road. The temperatures have cooled down some in the past week and I hope they continue to do so but, if the temperatures keep staying cooler that 55 mpg tank may have to wait till next summer. I'm not sure but, I think this may have been my best ever tank in any car I've owned. I remember once or twice I got over 54 mpg in the '88 Escort Pony that I drove as a daily driver but, I don't know how much over. Years ago I had a Yamaha 400 motorcycle that usually got somewhere in the 60-65 mpg range but that was on a vehicle that weighted about 350 lbs. and the engine was only 25% the size of the one in the Versa. At that time I weight about 130 lbs vs 200 lbs now.

 

Yes, cycles aren’t “efficient” compared to cars, due to their small size, despite manufacturers giving some of their smaller cycles, what would be considered good MPG for gasoline cars. Nevertheless, I was happy with my 1980 re-geared 450 Suzuki, when it started giving mid-70’s MPG.

 

My last bike was an 1100 Yamaha. It got about 38-40 mpg. Mid 70's is good mileage out of a 450. Just like cars I imagine the manufacturers of bikes could improve the mileage if they tried. It really seems scooters/mopeds should be able to do better. They are light weight, often 50cc and run at low speed which would cut wind resistance.

 

A 50 cc scooter would be next to useless around here. Maybe in dense city traffic , something I rarely see out here in the burbs.
A 150CC scooter ? Now you're talkin'. But I'm still a fan of the manual clutch and transmission on a motorcycle.
A scooter , is by (my) definition , a two-wheeler with automatic transmission.
A 150cc scooter or motorcycle going 45 MPH or slower would be pretty efficient.

 

I don't understand the last tank in the Versa. Usually the Ultra Gauge under reports the mileage by 1-1.5 mpg. This tank when I was hoping to make 55 mpg it was over reporting at 54.8 mpg and actual was 54.641 without any re=calibration at the last fill.

 

Wheel diameter isn't a factor?

All common sorts of two-wheelers have abysmal drag coefficients by automotive standards.

 

Most scooters have smaller wheels than motorcycles.
Some , like the Honda PCX150 , have "full-size" wheels.
I personally like the Honda Grom , which does have smaller wheel/tires , but
also has a real manual transmission( therefore not a scooter). I think Honda says 134 MPG for the Grom.