# Thinking of replacing X trail because of gas mileage? Think again.



## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

I confess that I have always been a tad frustrated by my X trails gas mileage. I have always figured that much of it is my fault as I drive quickly and use wider tires and rims in summer and winter tires during the cold season.

Anyway I have been monitoring my gas mileage for the past 5 months, and low and behold my avg has been 12.56 L per 100Km. Pretty much all city driving. Except for one weekend which was 90% highway and it got 10.3 L per 100Km.
Furthermore I have gotten a couple of fills that were high at 14.3 but that coincides with lots of road construction and slow traffic on the bridges I use everyday.

Now I was thinking this looked bad compared to the original claimed mileage for the vehicle which was 10.8 city and 8.1 hwy L per 100km.

Consequently, despite my love for the Xy I have been wondering if maybe its on the downslope and I should consider a new or newer vehicle and save on gas. Afterall Nissan is advertising the 2014 Rogue as getting 8.2 city and 6.2 highway. That would be almost a 30% improvement on my gas mileage, and hence a potential 30 % savings on gas over the next number of years. Which would be thousands in savings.
You are probably nodding in agreement right now. Well turns out we would be fools. 

Transport Canada has done us a great favor. They have updated their mileage figures for vehicles to correspond with a new more realistic 5 cycle test as opposed to the past standard 2 cycle one. So now they show the old figures and the new more real number for all the different models.


So a 2006 awd auto X trail is now rated at 12.2 city and 9.6 highway.
Mmmm suddenly my real life numbers for my 8 year old vehicle are looking spot on to exactly what I should be getting with a new one!!!

Now of course I am curious as to the new numbers for some different vehicles I might consider.

Here they be-- all models are awd auto versions.

2014 Nissan Rogue 9.5 city 7.4 hwy
2014 Ford Escape 11.2 city 8.5 hwy
2014 Rav4 10.4 city 8.1 hwy
2014 Kia Sportage 2.0 12.7 city, 9.7 highway
2014 VW Tiguan 2.0 11.7 city, 9.4 highway
2104 Honda CRV 10.6 city, 7.9 highway 

and if shopping for used

2011 Rav 4 *6 cyl, 12.6 city, 9.1 hwy
2011 Rav 4 11.1 city, 8.6 highway
2011 Crv 11.5 city, 8.9 highway
2011 Forrester XT 13.5 city, 9.7 highway
2011 Forrester 11.3 city, 8.9 highway
2011 BMW X3 2.8 12.5 city, 9.3 highway

My conclusion the best I could do would be a 15% improvement with the new Rogue. Most others less than 10%. Some the same or worse.

With 2011 models my savings drop to under 5 % better gas mileage. And frankly, I honestly think if I got more green tires and boosted pressure a few pounds, and switched to 0w-20 oil I could probably gain that in my own mileage improvement.

Conclusion seeing the 2006 x trail has a higher tow rating and has more off road capability than pretty much all of the above including the new Rogue, I would be giving up a more useful vehicle for very minor gains in gas mileage or performance. Fact is I think my insurance premium increase alone would be more than my gas savings with a 2014 Rogue.
I have installed sat nav, bluetooth and rear view camera in mine so I am not really gaining anything in new tech.
Besides that the distance between the back seat and the center arm rest is perfect for my Springer Spaniel Gizmo to pretend he is co-pilot. Some features are priceless after all.
PS Blows my mind 2014 rogue dont all come with heated front seats.


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## zac3ne2nr (Jun 30, 2005)

I can tell you though first hand experience with our 08 rogue vs 06 XT using 91oct on each.
For each fist click fill.
rogue 60 lt tank, got 550-600 mixed driving.
On a 800 km trip with that CVT transmission, 120km @ ~2000RPm I got 700km.

The XT gets 450 to the gas light max. The final drive ratio is too high, 120 @31-3200


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Thanks for piping in Zach, glad you get great mileage with your Rogue, but you aren't giving the X trail its due. Best I have gotten was 607 kms with 58 litres of reg gas at avg speed of about 130km per hour and stretches at 140, on a trip to Guelph.
Just last month got 510 with 52 litres avg around 120 to 125 on the new highway 50 to Mtl which is much hillier than going through Ontario. 

Typically with mainly city driving, and not much air con use I get 400 or so out of 52 L-- my fuel gauge light illuminates with approx 10 L still in the tank. Hot stretches this summer with air con going full blast and stuck with severe slow downs on bridges and summer construction I got as low as 350 out of 51 L.

Will check my revs a bit more carefully seems to me at 115 to 120 I am around 2500.
Last thing, it seems to me when I have checked Rogue mileage claims from real life owners, many aren't getting anywhere near the mileage you describe.

Anyway with the Rogue I would have to put up with gas tank on wrong side, a much darker interior, a cheaper suspension set up, less practical space, lower towing limit, less off road ability for the odd time I need it, not to mention worries about CVT compared to the more proven bullet proof transmission in the X. And while looks are very subjective, I know which I think is the more attractive overall vehicle which was not designed with Suburban Moms in mind >


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## zac3ne2nr (Jun 30, 2005)

I also had a m/t Xtrail before getting the automatic one and the revs were just as high.The box / transmission in my opinion was not meant for long highway drives.

I am going to be doing my plugs, filters and injectors over the next few weeks and let's hope and wait for an increase. 
I already had my CVT replaced under warranty so trust me I am living with a thorn in the flesh. I was just very surprised with the later generation QR25 and low rev CVT with such a heavy body gave such good mileage. The mileage on the Xt is 214k and the compression is still health across the board so I am looking at ensuring my ignition and air systems are healthy.

I don't have any kids and am usually in the rogue by myself, not saying the lowere weight of towing is giving me bettter kms.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Zac3 if you really want to improve your gas mileage on your x trail, get rid of the roof rail lights, as well as the carrier on top, and change tires. Your x gains a wee bit by being lowered but you have added weight and road resistance with your 19'' tires. You are putting more load on your engine and affecting gas mileage. Also your tire size and width is affecting your optimum transmission performance.

I also suspect we are talking a non awd Rogue being compared to an awd x trail.
Based upon the numbers you have cited you are getting 10.5 L per 100 km in mixed driving, and 8.57 L per 100km hwy .

Original figures put the 2008 2wd Rogue at 9.1 city and 7.2 hwy. Updated real life estimates are now 10.4 city and 8.6 hwy.Throw in an AWD 2008 Rogue and we get real life figures of 10.9 city and 9.1 hwy. 

Back to the X trail and its mileage we should also consider trim level. Supposedly an xe awd gets the same gas mileage as an LE. In truth LE weighs 100lb more as well as has an air foil which affects gas mileage.

Lastly re Long drives-- from what I have gathered the primary problem of the cvt is long drives overheating the cvt fluid which froths and then starves the tranny of lubrication, effectively destroying it. You have already replaced your Rogue Transmission once. Are you really confident you can keep the Rogue for 10 years or longer without tranny problems???


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## molly (Oct 31, 2014)

Well, so far I am getting 10 l/100km, mainly highway but some city driving. Do all X-Trails have this CVT? Is this a good thing? Exactly how does it work and why would it affect gas mileage?

Now, you men folk can do some grunting and explain this to a gal who has AMA so she never has to change a tire, hahaha...


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Hi Molly,
Then the menfolk will leave you the pleasure of researching Nissan CVT transmissions. But rest assured your X trail does not have one :laugh:

Glad you are getting the right mileage. Would indicate you have a good one given its mileage. Guess we will know more when you get your code read tomorrow.
Try and stay warm, it's gotten rather cold out West...


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

All Rogues have cvt, and T31 x trails sold overseas but they were never sold here.
We got the Rogue instead of the updated X trail in 2007.


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## molly (Oct 31, 2014)

Thanks for all that, as usual! Toyota informed me that I would have to take it to a Nissan dealer to get the code read in a timely fashion. But he gave me a couple suggestions, thinking it may have to do with the gas cap and a recent trip to the gas station. And told me to disconnect the battery foir 20 minutes to reset the computer and then see what happens. When it is not -25, we will do that!


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

???? Dealers drive me bonkers... Consult II codes are standardized, and I won't get into their history, other than to say that your x trail and most vehicles out there have a standard interface and any code reader will work.
All you want is the code , and for fun to know when the last time the ecu was reset. They could even clear it for you. If the service manager tells you he cant, tell him you are surprised to learn from his mouth that most corner garages and Canadian tire are more technologically advanced and capable than a Toyota dealership.

Its true they wont have all of the Nissan software and ability to dig into menus and do as much as the Nissan dealership, but that is beyond the point. You want some idea what the problem is and to be able to research the fault code before having any work done. 

If its your gas cap, and you have made sure its on right and clicked a couple of times, the check engine light will go off in a couple of days by itself. Unless you want to reset your ecu do not disconnect the battery. For what its worth they will probably disconnect your battery to work on your fog lights. Its common practice when doing electrical work.

Gotta go, but thanks for reminding me why I got a Bluetooth code reader off ebay for 19 bucks. Its even been handy for my friends BMW x5 and his codes. Fact is my X has not thrown one yet, his has a few times lol.
Fact is you do not even need it. You can get your own codes and clear them with a manual procedure, but its a bit tricky and you may or may not have an easy time of it.
Just research how to get Nissan error codes without code reader. 
Only -2 here !


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## zac3ne2nr (Jun 30, 2005)

the rails are the adventure package and their designed to add little drag.
I'm not running 19s, I'm running the factory 17 wheels.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Hey Zac
I am only quoting you and one of your mods
Volk C-V pro 18x9 rims w 19'' tires
* I assumed you meant 18'' tires to go on those rims.
Anyway your pics are awesome. I like what you have done, but I am sure you will agree the reason for your mods has never been to increase gas mileage.

Are you now using winter tires on your 17'' standard rims? They to affect gas mileage but so does winter.
PS was the Rogue 2wd or awd ? I am assuming your X is awd though some SE's were not.


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## X-TrailDave (Feb 15, 2011)

Quad,

Great info on the mileage, thanks. My Bonavista also has about 140K on it and I still love this tough little truck. 

I tried your suggestion about cleaning the MAF this past weekend, so I'm anxious to get out for a long ride to see if there is any measurable improvement. It looked clean as a whistle when I removed it for cleaning and the engine was already running smoothly, but I figured it couldn't hurt as it's never been done since I bought it used at around 70k KM.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Hey Dave we have the exact same model, colour, mileage and now clean MAF's lol.
As I mentioned in the MAF thread I put up, mine looked clean as well, and its possible some of the benefit was resetting the ecu with the change in seasons. But it has removed a bit of vibration when idling at stops. 

For anybody wondering about the mileage figures they are from Natural Resources Canada Fuel Consumption ratings. I mistakenly cited Transport Canada.

Strangely the 2006 X trail does not even figure in the SUV category, its considered a station wagon - small. Keeps good company amongst Volvos, Saab 9-5 sportcombis, BMWs, VWs, even Toyota Matrixes, and Subaru Outbacks, and sadly is rated 40th out of 53 in its class for gas mileage. Moreover the X that would get the best gas mileage the manual 2wd does not exist in their rankings.

However in 2005 it was considered an SUV and it ranked 11th of 224 SUV models for sale. That was for the auto, and in the top 10 two were hybrids. The rest all had manual transmissions and smaller engines except for the Subaru Forrester. I must admit the list looks a little suspect, the Ford Escape placement leaves you shaking your head in 3rd spot for a manual 2 wheel drive version. They originally claimed 9,7 city and 7.3 hwy L per 100kms, that was revised to newer real figures of 11.1 city and 8.7 hwy. But, when I go to the EPA site their actual figures are 12.38 city and 9.8 hwy for the same model, which is actually worse than the X trail awd auto. 

Anyway the long and short of this exercise, has been to demystify gas mileage figures a bit for owners of older vehicles because they have been misleading. Firstly, the original official figures tend to make your actual gas mileage look bad by comparison, and make many an owner think their vehicles are in need of extensive work to get back to the mileage they are supposed to have. Secondly, they make newer cars seem much better in comparison than they actually are. There have been gains without a doubt, but the truth in my case with vehicles I would consider would be that I might fill up 3 to 6 times less a year. Hardly a reason to dump something I still enjoy, and that is payed for!


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## chadn (Jan 28, 2010)

Check out fuelly.com for some real world fuel economy numbers. You can browse by vehicle and also by trim levels and engine types within each vehice. 

The x-trail is almost as good as the newer rogue and better than the new ford escapes. I still get 10 L/100km plus or minus a bit depending on speed and conditions.

X-Trail









Rogue









Escape


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Hi Chadn
I have looked at the fuelly figures. Only problem is that the X trail gets skewed by the diesels and those with 2.0 engines. There figures for 2006 include only 2 2.5's and again not distinguishing between awd and 2wd versions. Of the two they have one averaged 10.2 and the other 11.8.
Furthermore these self reporting ones are only as good as the people reporting, and if you look at true delta or fuelly and dig into the stats a bit you will find errors get included in the numbers. You may have a car only report once or twice in july having done all highway mileage, and likewise you may have one reporting only during winter months with pure city driving.
The EPA site actually has some driver reported fuel numbers. For example the 2104 Rogue numbers reported by actual drivers are as follows

# mpg State City% Highway% Date 
1- 28.9 CT 24 76 11/09/2014 
2- 28.0 IL 40 60 03/19/2014 
3 27.8 MI 20 80 06/02/2014 
4 25.4 VT 35 65 11/05/2014 
5 24.5 CA 90 10 01/08/2014 
6 22.0 VA 50 50 07/15/2014 
7 20.5 CA 50 50 05/02/2014 
8 20.3 WA 61 39 11/08/2014 
9 18.0 CT 80 20 10/06/2014 

Now the EPA stated ratings for this 2014 are 25 mpg city 32 hwy and 28 combined.
Out of nine, 2 of them managed to get to the combined figure. Five of them never even reached the city rated 25 , and the last placed one only got 18 mpg American. Imagine you are that last guy driving in Connecticut in June, he got the equivalent of over 13 L per 100 kms with 80% city driving. Guess he was stuck in traffic a fair bit and using air con, just like me when I get similar gas mileage. 

The mileage numbers being touted by manufacturers are a marketing game. In Europe there are claims that Mercedes has gamed its figures by 40% over the past 10 years. Its not just KIA and Hyundai, as should be clear to everyone by now DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

So Dave anything to report after having cleaned your MAF?


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## X-TrailDave (Feb 15, 2011)

quadraria10 said:


> So Dave anything to report after having cleaned your MAF?


Hey there. Well, as much as I like to think it's running smoother, quieter, with more power, I'm not convinced that made any difference - not that it wasn't a good thing to do as regular maintenance. Mileage seems to remain the same.

As others have mentioned, I find a BIG difference in mileage when I'm doing a steady 120-130 for prolonged periods, as opposed to running along at 100 km/h. But really, unless you're on the 401 in the GTA area, who does 100??

Overall, while I should be happy with the mileage I'm getting, I'm getting nowhere near the hwy numbers listed in the manual. We all know that the testing process is nowhere near real-world driving, but I expected better. 

I've got 140K on her now and it's time for another oil change. Think I'll go synth this time for the winter, but I have gone back and forth between that and reg. oil and really haven't noticed any appreciable difference. I just know that synth in winter will flow faster at really low temp start-ups, which is worth the extra few bucks, IMO.

Still love my little truck. Been looking to go a little bigger next time. Kinda lusting over this new Jeep GC at our local dealer, but not at those new car prices!


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Thanks for the report XTrail Dave. You echo my conclusions. Did not make a huge difference. No appreciable increase in gas mileage, however the weather did get colder and that affects mileage. 

I would say engine and tranny a wee bit smoother with almost no vibration at idle. If you change your air filter regularly the maf does not get very dirty in my opinion. Still it was easy and beneficial so will do every two years assuming we still have the X. But as long as she keeps running nicely its a keeper.

Changed my oil a week and half ago to Mobil 1 0w30 and the X trail seems to like it for cold starts. Seems to get to normal operating temperature faster. Was on sale at Cdn Tire so thought what the heck. Will probably extend my oil change interval to 7500 kms rather than the 5 or 6K I have always done.

Will admit the new GC is nice, though I am not crazy about the headlight treatment, and I would be leery about buying a first year new model. Every time I see a Ford Escape I chuckle inside and figure its been to the dealer more often in its short life than mine ever has. Maybe a new Forester, but that is not very different from what we are driving. Heck I even now use the same 225-55-17 Yokohamas Geolandars from a 2012 one as summer tires.

Hope the weather is nice down east and that you are enjoying the lower gas prices.


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## molly (Oct 31, 2014)

quadraria10 said:


> Hi Molly,
> Then the menfolk will leave you the pleasure of researching Nissan CVT transmissions. But rest assured your X trail does not have one :laugh:
> 
> .


Hi Quad! I just filled up my washer fluid and noticed that in big letters it says 2.5 CVTC on the black cover inside the motor, whatever that part is...so I guess I do have one!!  Would this fact explain the subtle shifting feeling I get when driving?? And I don't mean on a hill; I know that feeling...


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Hi Molly,
No you do not have a CVT transmission. The CVTC on your engine cover stands for Continuous Variable-valve Timing Control. Its an engine feature. 
Variable valve timing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

CVT stands for Continuous Variable Transmission 
see
CVT Technology | NISSAN | TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
and
XTRONIC CVT | NISSAN | TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

No X Trail in Canada has a cvt transmission. They were introduced with the Murano here.
If you have a problem with a cvt it basically cannot be repaired and requires full replacement from what I understand. The 4 speed auto in ours is a traditional geared automatic transmission and it has typically been very reliable. 

I really have no clue what issue you are describing. Its normal for your transmission to shift gears as that is how it operates. Its possible that your existing code causes slight throttle problems and that affects shifting. The actual performance of your engine, exhaust and transmission are all inter-related.

Last thing is you did buy a very high mileage vehicle. Its probable that there is some wear in your transmission. Assuming the fluid is good and at the proper level, I would live with it if its not causing any problems while driving. If it gets bad or sends a transmission code you will want to have it checked out by a transmission shop, but from what you have described it doesn't sound like anything too significant.
I hope its fine. All the best for the Holidays!


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## molly (Oct 31, 2014)

I feel silly now! But thanks for explaining it!! Looks like it is better not to have one of those. I will keep observing things and post after having the exhaust system looked at.
Have a wonderful Christmas!!


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## Micko (Dec 22, 2014)

Hi all. New here. I drive a 2013 manual Diesel and am getting what the sticker on my Xy said it would. 7.2 litres per 100ks. Checked and rechecked the ks travelled from full tank and how much to fill it again. I drive about 70 to 80% highway though and the rest through bush tracks.


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