Nissan Titan XD Forum banner

Fuel mileage

18K views 46 replies 21 participants last post by  Mytuner2002 
#1 ·
I have a Platinum Reserve with the 5.0 Cummins. About the best fuel mileage I can get is 15 MPG not towing anything. The Dodges get 25 plus and Ford is advertising 30. It's a sweetheart of a truck, very responsive, leans into a load good when towing like you would expect from the Cummins, but it's a fuel hog. Between the lousy fuel mileage and small fuel tank, you're stopping frequently to either add fuel or add DEF!
 
#2 ·
Are you driving short trips? I will average 15-16 in town if I only run for 10 minutes or so between stops vs highway trips I will average 18-20 at 70mph.

I'm hoping with the Ez Lynk delete that even if I get the same milage but don't have to buy DEF fluid all the time that will add to my MPG savings.

As far as warranty with the Delete I checked with Geico and since I bought the the truck new and added the Geico bumper to bumper breakdown warranty I'm covered even if I make mods to my truks for a full 100k miles. With a $50 deductible it made sense.
 
#4 ·
IASage,

How many miles did you have on the truck? It is barely broken in at 5000 miles, and my mileage continue to improve up to about 7500 miles.

That being said I'm surprised your mileage is that low, I rarely see anything that low unless I'm only driving around town with some stationary idling thrown in. I usually see as high as 21-22 mpg with a loaded truck but no trailer, and 17-19 with a medium sized trailer. Those are highway/Interstate at the speed limit without large grades.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
#6 ·
I have a Platinum Reserve with the 5.0 Cummins. About the best fuel mileage I can get is 15 MPG not towing anything. The Dodges get 25 plus and Ford is advertising 30.
The Ram, Ford, and now GM diesels are going after the same consumers, which is a different group than what Nissan was targeting. The consumer they are going for is the 1/2 ton buyer that wants a diesel for either the better mileage, or just because it's a diesel. The XD is aimed more at the group that need to use the truck as a truck a bit more than your average 1/2 ton (or actually even 3/4 ton) truck buyer. The idea behind it was to have a vehicle that performs great at it's listed capacities. So, if you have to haul or tow at close to the limits of the truck (say, towing more than 8K), you'll find that the XD will handle that load better than any of the 1/2 tons.

In other words, mileage wasn't the primary factor. In fact, due to the GVWR of the XD, fuel mileage is not a requirement under CAFE.

That said my mileage is better than my previous truck. Tundra 5.7L Crewmax. The Tundra was 4x2, while the Titan is 4x4, otherwise they are comparable. Average including regens is around 14-15. In city driving, I typically average 15-18+. Best trip so far has been just under 22 mpg, but haven't done any highway only trips of decent length yet.
 
#7 · (Edited)
City driving you will not see great numbers but on the highway I usually get between 19-21 unloaded, towing on avg I get 9-11. I will add though in windy and continuous grade changes I only avg 16 unloaded and 10 towing in the same stretch of highway.

If you don’t want to delete I recommend thinking about a module like the AG Diesel or AFE, I like the added power the AG gave. I’m running the highest setting at 60hp 100ft/lbs torque. Really this is how it should have come from the factory. Now if you get on it it’ll suck fuel faster but if you drive for economy you’ll see an improvement. I haven’t towed with it yet but I’m sure there will be an improvement.
 
#8 ·
I've only had mine for 500 miles, but I got about 21 on the way home from the dealership (4 hours away) and I have been indicating about 16-17 on trips around town. I love that it gives you the average fuel economy for the just-completed drive cycle when you shut it down.
 
#9 ·
Really?



I am assuming you are talking about the new 1/2 tons with smaller diesel engines. Their 3/4 tons are not getting anywhere near that mileage...even if they are fully deleted. Remember the XD weighs more than most of the big three's 3/4 tons. This is in all aspects a 3/4 ton truck with a smaller engine that is marketed as a tween er (5/8 ton truck). I would also take their advertised mpg with a grain of salt. Even the small Colorado with the 2.8 Duramax is not getting 30mpg. Lot of complaints about what that truck really gets with the 4 cylinder diesel. Those guys have to delete and tune it to get even close to 30mpg.

That being said....I can get 21mpg if I leave my EGR unplugged....which I do when not towing. Pulling my fiver I get about 11.5 to 12.5mpg at 62mph.
 
#10 ·
Ecodiesel is known to grenade at 60k miles or less. Ford has no real world proof of MPG yet, do they? Neither truck can or should ever tow what the XD can tow. Plus Cummins should last much longer than the others IMO. Didn't ram just get in trouble for lying about the ecodiesel?
 
#24 ·
To add to your point about the Ford (30 year Ford F250 guy before my XD) the new "gas to diesel 6 cylinder is a bad choice. I get technology and "smarter" in today's world but if Detroit Diesel couldn't do it well, who was part of GM and the original designer of the 6.2 and 6.5 GM diesel then I don't think gas to diesel can be done.
Esepcially not today when operating temps have to run 210 vice the old IDIs 185 degrees.
Don't get me wrong, I actually thought the 6.2 and 6.5 was a pretty decent design but very unforgiving when it came to maintenance.
Maybe my old brand will get it done but I'm not holding my breath on a gas converted engine.
 
#11 ·
I didn't mean to badmouth the baby Cummins. It's a sweet engine. In all fairness my P Reserve has less than 5,000 miles on it. The mileage I reported from was a ski trip to Jackdon, WY. Speed ranged from 75-90 MPH. I recognize you can't go fast cheap!! I just thought it should do a little better. I am kind of spoiled, I'm accustomed to a VW TDI that gets 40 MPG under the same conditions and additionally has a range of 500 miles or more on a tank of diesel. And since the Germans cheated it will go 15-20,000 miles before requiring DEF. Is that awesome or what??
 
#27 ·
If it makes you feel any better?..I bought a "blown up" 1985 VW Jetta Diesel in 1990 for my wife. Rebuilt the motor (with a little cussing and broken knuckles) and put it back on the road. That little jem got 35 MPG then and it was quite a bit heavier than than the new TDI today I'm guessing. Point being....you can't expect to get the same fuel mileage out of any pickup that you get out of a VW diesel car.
....and to be honest I don't think the Germans cheated?...I think they were realistic about consumer expectations and the fact is, even with the programming "issue" the EPA claimed the car still got better fuel mileage than it's American counterparts and NOX levels were still lower than most. The EPA and Justice Department were just cash hungry for the Federal government and were looking to fill the "empty coffers" they created. Kinda like the way they sued Blue Bell Ice Cream.....I mean really? Blue Bell Ice Cream lol?
 
#12 ·
Emissions friendly comes at a cost, as bad as the mpgs are on this truck I would say nissan didn't cheat, that being said now that I have tuned and deleted I'm still lucky to get 20 if I drive sensibly. This is a heavy truck empty and 302 cubic inches is rather small.
 
#17 ·
Yep, Dodge had some disparity between what their eco-diesel was supposed to be doing and what it was doing, I think emissions was one of their "problem" areas, and I never heard anyone say that they were getting anywhere near the promised mileage, etc. I don't think you can even get the 1/2 ton with the diesel this year so far.

I admire Ford's 1/2 ton solution, boosted 6 cylinder gas motor pushing an aluminum truck, it's really great for what it is, but it's not comparable to the XD, though It's a great option for a light duty pickup. (Note: just like in the Chevy commercial, I had a neighbor haul a couple loads of landscaping blocks in the back of his new Ford and it dented the **** out if the bed.)

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
#18 · (Edited)
I had an ecodiesel that I traded for the Titan. The fuel mileage is pretty incredible and I regularly averaged 26mpg on long highway trips carrying a decent load (cargo not towing). This actually went up a couple mpg's after getting a GDE tune (really wish they made one for the Titan) but the engine flat out scared me. It seemed a lot of failures were being reported and after mine started having some of the common failures I decided to get out. Miss the fuel economy but not the truck. I forgot to mention towing with the XD is night and day better.
 
#19 ·
It's very interesting how varied the reported mpg are amongst us. From dealing with our work fleet in the past, granted they were cars not trucks, it was remarkable how the exact same make/model/year of vehicle could have average mpg that varied by more than 5-10 mpg. It's pretty amazing how things like different tires or wheels, different air filters, different sources or grades of fuel, and additives in the fuel, and times of year would effect the mpg. One of the biggest factors, however, was the operator. I'd trained or ridden with most of them and some were heavy into the accelerator, heavy into the brakes. Some would take the whole interstate on ramp to get up to speed, others were barely on the ramp before they got up to speed. A few insisted on driving as fast as they could get away with whereas other operators just motored along at the speed limit with traffic. We had one older guy who insisted on doing all of his paperwork in the car, motor running, heat or air conditioner on, and so on.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
#22 ·
I also traded a GDE equipped Eco Diesel that always got 21 intown and 26 highway. This was after a 3 inch lift with 34s, so I'm a ttle disappointed with 16 around town and hitting the pump almost every couple of days, once full gauge says 360 miles until empty. The Eco with 26 gallon tank 500 plus easy.
 
#26 ·
I just towed 11,750 lbs over three trips in my 2017 XD SV 2WD for a total of almost 2000 miles in over 100 degree ambient and never added a drop of DEF.
My towing mileage is between 9.5 and 10.5 at that weight (depending on winds and hills).
I drive to Austin during the week for a total of 120 miles plus round trip every day and at 65-70MPH I average 19.5 all day long (hand calculated not computer).
If you are adding DEF all the time and only getting that mileage then you drive in town all the time (start and stop) and put very miles on your rig.
You may want to consider trading for a gas engine.
By the way, I drove Ford F250 diesels for 30 plus years and since the Advent of the 6.9. I never got the mileage all those "soccer dad's" and "deer lease haulers" claimed they got or get in their Fords.....and no one is getting 25MPG in a Dodge 2500 or up diesel. I'd bet a couple paychecks on it??
 
#32 ·
I agree, you can get widely varied results due to driving behavior. I also get 21-23 straight highway miles or 17-18 mixed now that the Platinum Reserve 4X4 truck is more or less completely broken in. I've never seen below 12 mpg with a seriously heavy load and hills however I've never towed max load so 1-2 mpg drop might be possible. With lighter loads and/or towing just 2-3,000 lbs I get around 17-18 highway which I find pretty amazing. These trucks tow like a dream, I know from experience that the Dodge, Chevy and Ford options in this range do not provide the same experience.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
#38 ·
I cant get better than 14.5-14.8 with the cruise set at 75. Im fully d3l3ted. Occasionally ill get into the low 15s. I cant understand why its so bad. The Ram 2500s we have easilly get 19-20 at 75-80. Even out Ram 5500 heavy duty chassis cabs match or beat my XD and these things are turning at keast 2000rpm at 75! My wifes sequoia running 85 on Hwy 130 gets 15mpg and easily gets mid to high 16s with the cruise set at 75. Towing even a small trailer at 65 gets 9-10 mpg. Towing my small 18' jet boat I could only get 9-10mpg hwy staying at 65. Love this truck but the fuel economy is horrible! My dads Tundra 5.7 gets better fuel economy empty and towing the same trailer than my XD. I can't wrap my head around what could be causing this. When I first got it the best I could get was 16mpg hwy at 75. It doesn't use oil, and change ny fluids and filters religiously! I'd be happy if I could get 17-18mpg. The fact you guys are on here getting 20+ mpg and I'm 9nky getting 14-15 is crazy. I thought it was because I had the RC 2"x1" lift/level with 275/65/18s but I went back to stock height and stock tire size and it actually seems worse. Cant get better than 15mpg, most times its in the mid to high 14s. Even at 65 I can't get better than high 15mpg, and with no head wind I can get 16. Any Ideas or suggestions? one trip going to Oklahoma I actually got 18-19mpg going between 75 and 80mph but i have not been able to achieve that economy other than that one time.
 
#39 ·
The ones claiming that stuff actually believe what the dash is saying hahaha! My truck is always saying I’m getting 19’ish on interstate at 75 but when you hand calculate it’s only 16. All these dudes claiming 21 and more have no proof at all to show.!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top