Owner’s Log: MaximumPhil’s 2010 Maxima Update 4

Phil has had his 2010 Nissan Maxima for a full year now, and he’s got another great update for us on his experience with Nissan’s flagship sedan.  If you’ll notice, his MPG calculation is slightly below mine, which can be due to a number of factors – driving distance, style, and gas used – Phil uses regular, while I follow Nissan’s recommendation and use premium.  Read on for Phil’s experience in the last quarter.

 

Stats:

Time period covered: 04/01/11 – 06/30/11 (1st full year of ownership)
Miles driven this reporting period: 1,777
Average MPG this reporting period: 19.0 (reported by owner)
Lifetime miles driven (9 mos.) 7,032
Average MPG lifetime: 19.0

Services Performed:

Tire rotation – no charge

Costs:

Maintenance: $0
Other costs (non-fuel): $0
Total costs: $0

Comments:
Okay…. Although I have owned this car for only one year and accumulated just over 7k, it is nonetheless worth noting the absence of any issue of consequence – no rattles, no squeaks, no leaks, no complaints.  That aside, there was one item that I should note.  For reasons identified below, I don’t consider the following an issue:  In mid-May I discovered a chrome pin (pictured on the left side of the attached photograph) on the front passenger-side floor mat, and a spring attached to the base of a brass knurled nut (pictured to the right of the pin) on the driver’s side floor mat; the pin fits perfectly inside the spring, so I conclude they probably belong together. I can’t identify these items, but can only suspect they may have dropped either from under the dash or perhaps during operation of the moonroof.  However, the service manager of my local Nissan dealer was unable to associate these parts or their function with my car.  I e-mailed the photo to Customer Service at Nissan N.A. seeking their opinion, but they were not very helpful (turns out Nissan N.A. is acutally located in Manila [Philippines], not North America, and after taking note of my e-mail and attachment, they assigned me a correspondence reference number and simply referred me back to my local Nissan dealer.  Irksome, since my Nissan dealer could not identify the parts in the first place).  Oh well, I’m keeping the parts in my glove compartment and as my travels take me in the area of other Nissan dealers, I’ll take advantage of the opportunity to ask if they can identify the mystery parts.

In mid-Spring, I took a short three-day trip to Ocean View, Delaware together with my wife, another couple, and some luggage, a total of 480 miles, including incidental travel in and around the Delaware/Maryland beach cities, averaging 25 mpg.  Now that the temperatures are up in the 90’s, the air cooled seats are a welcome addition to the array of options that are available in my Premium equipment package. 

Best regards
Maximum Phil