# Improving the gas mileage on 1999 Nissan Pathfinder **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** nissan, pathfinder\ **Created:** [April 18, 2018, 4:35am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/improving-the-gas-mileage-on-1999-nissan-pathfinder/115872 "2018-04-18T04:35:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/improving-the-gas-mileage-on-1999-nissan-pathfinder/115872/21 "2018-04-18T21:30:56Z")
> [@thegreendrag0n](#): > > I see way too many drivers who tailgate and then push their brakes on 2-3 second duty-cycle: they definitely burn way more gas than needed Yup! Yesterday, I was in back of a guy with a fairly late-model Accord, and he was braking his car every few seconds as a result of his tailgating. Because I kept a safe following distance, I rarely had to do any braking. What I found to be interesting was that the **only** brake light on his car that still worked was the left rear, so in addition to wearing-out his brakes prematurely and ruining his gas mileage, he is clearly also burning out brake light bulbs prematurely. Once he burns-out that one remaining brake light, he will probably get rear-ended, and I feel sorry for the poor schmuck who does actually rear-end him. ---
**Author:** ![thegreendrag0n](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thegreendrag0n/32/9265_2.png) [@thegreendrag0n](https://community.cartalk.com/u/thegreendrag0n)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 11:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/improving-the-gas-mileage-on-1999-nissan-pathfinder/115872/22 "2018-04-18T23:34:42Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > Once he burns-out that one remaining brake light, he will probably get rear-ended, and I feel sorry for the poor schmuck who does actually rear-end him. I’m gonna get my dash cam from that dusty closet now 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/improving-the-gas-mileage-on-1999-nissan-pathfinder/115872/23 "2018-04-19T01:56:36Z")
Good ideas all around. About the best the owner can do as far as the engine is concerned is keep the suggested maintenance up to date, a make sure it is running at the correct operating temperature. If the coolant is even a little lower in temperature than it should due to a warped, leaky, or stuck thermostat, that can significantly degrade mpg. There’s no check engine light on, right? ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/improving-the-gas-mileage-on-1999-nissan-pathfinder/115872/24 "2018-04-19T02:10:23Z")
Sounds like you drive just like I do and my wife drives just like yours with similar results. I try to think of the brake pedal as a device that turns gasoline into heat instead of propelling the car. The above was supposed to be a reply to MikeinNH and I can’ seem to edit who it is too. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/improving-the-gas-mileage-on-1999-nissan-pathfinder/115872.md?page=1)