I bought my 03 Auto Coupe, used. The car had about 59k miles on it. I noticed that the check engine light doesn't light up on the car when it first starts. Im not too sure if its been disconnected or if the bulb is burnt out or whatever. Everything on the car seems fine I have put about 5k miles on it already. The only problem I noticed is my fuel economy. I always get about 18 mpg. I DONT drive the car hard at all, and the majority of my driving is highway NOT city. So im not too sure what to do. I know this car can get much higher gas milage, but I don't know why im struggling to break th 18 mpg. Do you think it can be an o2 sensor or something, i guess i won't know since the check engine light is out. PLease HELP.

I use to drive really hard on my 01 I30 that car was heavier and had a 4 speed auto not 5 and I never got less then 20 or 21 mpg...and thats driving it really hard.

 

double check by hand. See how much gas you put in and the miles you go. Its that easy my friend. also search, there are TONS of threads about this.
Thanks!

 

Do you know anyone who has a CEL code scantool/reader?

I'd start there and see if the computer is throwing a trouble code that is not being reported by your Check Engine Light. Whatever you do, don't just go indiscriminantly replacing parts and hoping that you fix the problem along the way.

 

Does the light turn on if you turn on the ignition but don't start the car? I think that's when it should go on, not after you start the engine, but I haven't paid too much attention to mine recently.

 

Just curious if there are any mods on the car. Usually it won't make a difference but you never know.

 

Take it to an Infiniti or Nissan dealer and have them hook up a CONSULT-II computer to it to see if their are any codes and to run some diagnostics. Shouldn't cost too much. Have you done all the regular maintenance, like air filter, tire pressures, etc.?

 

A little too much pressure being applied in the area of the right foot and the throttle

 

im getting about 12 mpg... normal driving... and im bone stock... so your 18 would be nice...

 

Thanks guys for the info. My car is completely stock with all the regular maintence up to date. Yes, the light doesn't light up at all meaing when it suppose to before the car gets cranked over. I was told that we can't get a diagnostic check done if the check engine light is not functioning properly...is that true. Will those scanners that you guys spoke about get a diagnostic if the check engine light is not functioning properly?...thx again

 

You may want to get that checked out.

 

I once got 7MPG on the EVIC on my 350Z

 

i have.. i cant find a the problem

 

Wow that sucks man, if I got got 12mpg on my car and I wasn't mashing the gas and driving city 100%, I honestly would just trade it in. You should be getting at least 8-10mpg more, you aren't driving an Escalade or something.

 

If the light itself is burnt out or disconnected for some reason, you can still pull or check if there are any trouble codes stored in the ECU through your OBD-II port using a scan tool. That port is located just above the gas pedal on the underside of your dashboard(beneath steering wheel) inside the cabin. If you have an Auto-Zone near your home, they usually pull codes for free unless you live in Cali(I've heard rumors that they don't do it in Cali, but not sure if that's true).

I'd start with the Auto-Zone free code pull if I were you... unless you have a friend who owns his own scan tool. They aren't expensive. If someone tries to charge you to pull codes, just go buy your own scan tool.. since they might try to charge you like 60 bucks to pull the code, but you can buy a cheap scantool for 60 to 100 bucks.

 

I had 16mpg last tank and that was with 3 full throttle runs up to about 90 on the freeway. Hopefully I'll have a better number this time because I haven't gone past 4K rpm.