Just bought this 2001 XG300 with 84K miles on the odometer.
I was wondering what would be "normal" fuel economy for the
car at this point in its life. My commute involves a mixed bag of city and
highway miles. Not sure what to expect. And, other than tire air pressure
and clean air filters, is there anything I can do that might positively impact
fuel economy?

EPA estimates are 17 city and 25 highway. Having said that, given my tendancy to overinflate the tires and driving like grandma, I usually get at least 15% over the highway estimate. Therefore, if it was my car, I'd expect to get close to 30 mpg on the highway driving the speed limit with thin motor oil and 50 psi in the tires. Of course I don't expect you to drive like me, so I'd say normal people would get 25 on the highway.

the overall fuel comsumption on an XG is 25-26mpg (imperial) but that does not include much stop/start city driving. this asumes that you drive in a sensible way, start booting it around and you will obviously get far less

I seem to be getting closer to 16 MPG. (150 Miles on 1/2 tank based on 18 Gal Tank)
I am a sensible driver (cruise control at 60 MPH on highway). Any thoughts on how I
might improve mpg's? Over inflate tires??

16mpg and the way your driving is worse then me driving the same way in a '03 pathfinder SUV(17mpg). I dont even have a running XG yet but 16 is really low. Things you can try are fuel filter, K&N air filter, better grade and brand of fuel, tune-up, STP injector flush in tank, tire pressure.
Also you can re-learn the PCM by disconecting battery negative and move it over to contact with the positive and this will drain all capacitive discharge, do this for a good 30 seconds. Reconnect and turn the key on and off within 1 sec to relearn the throttle postion, keep it of for 20 sec and get back on the road.
Btw how exacty do you calculate gas mileage, do you estimate or actually punch in numbers on a calculator?

This post has been edited by mac1: Feb 6 2010, 03:14 AM

I Can Change The Air Filter,Adjust Tire Pressure And Control What Grade Goes In The Tank, But Where Is The Fuel Filter? And I Dont Think I'm Qualified To Start Screwing Around With The PCM (Had To Look Up The Acronym On Google).

Fuel filter is on the fuel pump assembly in the fuel tank. Or if you're lucky, you'll find it outside the tank under the car (there was two ways of doing it, earlier XGs were outside.)

I'm still getting used to my XG. Mine has the bigger engine than yours, but last two fill-ups were 20.3 and 22.6 MPG, almost entirely highway driving. I'd like to do better; maybe it's time to remove the roof deflector. (seriously, why did the last owner install that?)

In general, (it's too cold for me to go out and look right now) the fuel filter is usually near one of the rear wheels--usually the driver's side. There are two fuel lines, usually covered in plastic, that run from the tank to the engine. One of them will have the fuel filter in it. It's a little bit smaller than a soda can.

I'm not all that excited about high-octane fuel. It won't hurt your engine, so there's no harm in trying it. On the other hand, the Car Talk guys are pretty darn sure it's not beneficial for most users.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/premium/myths.html

"Top-Tier" gasoline on the other hand (which has more detergent than required by law) may help clean out your engine, giving you better mileage.

high octane will ruin your catylist. the fuel filter is under the car by the left rear wheel right next to the fuel tank. $20 at autozone. re-learning the computer is as easy as I explained, it basically re-learns where your shift points are and your normal driving habits. Nothing to it just follow my instructions you will not short anything else. The battery posts cannot come in contact with each other but the wires can when they are disconnected. There are capacitors in the computers that hold battery voltage which need to be drained so it has to be re-learned all over again. But the other stuff I mentioned will do more for you. It could just be winter fuels messing with your mileage like with my other cars.

Fuels that also contain lead--such as avgas--will ruin a catalyst, regardless of octane. On the other hand, unleaded high-octane fuel is safe (just not worth the money). If you live in a country where "premium" means leaded high-octane fuel for old carbureted cars, you shouldn't use that.

Recently bought my 01 XG300 as well. So far been averaging 22-23mpg with mine. I plan to change to a K&N, run some fuel injector cleaner thru it, and switch to synthetic oil and see if that makes a differance. I drive very nicely, never speed, most of my driving is highway(30 miles to work one way).

Most of the advice given here I agree with. New filters, both fuel and air. Spark plugs and wires also. Change the oxygen senser if it hasn's been done. It will give a false reading after several thousand miles and cause the mixture to become richer. I live in Minnesota and change the oil and oil filter every 3000 miles or 3 months. I run my tire pressure to the stated value on the tire, not the door post on the vehicle. My fuel milage is about 27 mpg highway.

Jay

To the two people who just bought a 2001 XG could I ask what you paid for it?

Not to be nosey but I am about to sell my 2001 XG300L and am trying to figure out a price for it....

Edmunds shows around $2-3K for an average 2001 XGL. Naturally, condition and mileage are factors. Where are you located?

Honestly, I would rather not say, but I do know I paid a bit high for it. Bad credit sucks...