Help out a lady Z driver!
03-13-2007, 09:01 PM
#1
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 1,075
Help out a lady Z driver!
Hey all, a lady friend of mine has a problem with her 2005 350Z that I'm hoping someone here can figure out. 
I hate for her to have had such a bad experience with her Z, or for her to think they aren't good cars, after all.
First, the basics: she's the sole owner/driver, and has about 38k miles on it. It's an automatic transmission, unmodified, and used just for commuting.
Starting late last year, she suddenly started experiencing abnormally low gas mileage, which she calculates to about 13mpg. She says she started experiencing this after an oil change. Under warranty, she's made repeated trips to the dealer to get it fixed, trying everything from another oil change, new tires, an alignment, etc. As a drastic resort, she says the dealer even swapped in a brand new engine. And yet she still is experiencing the poor gas mileage. I've asked, and she says she doesn't offhand notice any abnormal sootiness on the back bumper or any unusual smells.
So does anyone have any ideas what might cause the poor gas mileage? I was thinking perhaps something with the engine management (though I wouldv'e imagine a CEL would've been set off if it was something that bad), since that's something unlikely to have been swapped out if just the engine was replaced. I was also thinking maybe the O2 sensor, but you would think the dealer would've checked that before doing something as drastic as swapping the engine (assuming the dealer didn't just SAY they replaced it but did nothing). Any thoughts?
I hate for her to have had such a bad experience with her Z, or for her to think they aren't good cars, after all.First, the basics: she's the sole owner/driver, and has about 38k miles on it. It's an automatic transmission, unmodified, and used just for commuting.
Starting late last year, she suddenly started experiencing abnormally low gas mileage, which she calculates to about 13mpg. She says she started experiencing this after an oil change. Under warranty, she's made repeated trips to the dealer to get it fixed, trying everything from another oil change, new tires, an alignment, etc. As a drastic resort, she says the dealer even swapped in a brand new engine. And yet she still is experiencing the poor gas mileage. I've asked, and she says she doesn't offhand notice any abnormal sootiness on the back bumper or any unusual smells.
So does anyone have any ideas what might cause the poor gas mileage? I was thinking perhaps something with the engine management (though I wouldv'e imagine a CEL would've been set off if it was something that bad), since that's something unlikely to have been swapped out if just the engine was replaced. I was also thinking maybe the O2 sensor, but you would think the dealer would've checked that before doing something as drastic as swapping the engine (assuming the dealer didn't just SAY they replaced it but did nothing). Any thoughts?
03-21-2007, 09:24 PM
#5
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 1,075
Actually, it's a bit after-the-fact now... This last weekend, a drunk driver took out her Z. ~_~ Thankfully, she wasn't in the car, as it was parked when it happened. The rear end is caved in and is pretty much a loss. But don't go asking for parts or the engine off it, as, understandably, she's pretty upset and doesn't want to talk about that.
end of story
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