Fuel gauge problem and Sevice Engine Soon light

[BlueT]

Originally Posted by mschris

I am contacting an attorney to see what I can do under the Lemon Law. I have had my xterra in the shop 3 times for the same problem that they claim to fix each time.

Well, I got mine "fixed" at the dealer about 3 months ago. It recently acted up again the other day, only goes up to 3/4 tank now and the engine light back on. So much for being "fixed" --- Round 2, comming up. This is crazy. Now watch, they might change out the entire fuel assembly like it should have been done to begin with, and it would have been covered under WARRANTY doing it the correct way first!! Hmmm, think I''ll get a refund? LOL What a SCAM Nissan!! What a SCAM!!

It's a shame cause there are lots of good things I like about my truck, but NISSAN CUSTOMER SERVICE is as bad as bad can be. Think twice before buying a Nissan product.

I hope there is a class action law suit over this - I'd be on that bandwaggon real quick. Well, back to the dealer we go ---- again!!

[bartond]

I'm having the same problem with my 2006 Xterra. I fill my gas tank, the gauge falls to the bottom and the light comes on, then shortly the check engine soon light comes on. After it is driven for a short distance the gauge will gradually move to the top and work again and after several trips the check engine light will turn itself off. I am going to file a complaint hoping for a recall.

[dahunt]

Originally Posted by thegreatxterra

FILE A COMPLAINT AT THIS WEBSITE ---->>IVOQ - File a Complaint Apparently this is a problem that deserves a recall! Why should we take the cost of repair when this was an existing problem on earlier models? You'd think that something would have been done in order to prevent a repeat. Here is a copy of my complaint.

"I had 1/4 of a tank of gas and went to fill up. After filling up my gas tank, I turned on the car, at which point the needle did not register the full tank. After driving a couple miles, the check engine light came on. I went directly to the dealer and was told that it was a fuel sending unit/sensor and that it was no longer covered after 30K miles. After returning home and doing research, I went online to x.nissanhelp.com After performing a search, I came across many others who have experienced the same problem. Apparently it has something to do with the fuel sending unit. A similar problem was found on the 2000-2004 xterra models and a recall was performed when the vehicle would stop after not getting any fuel, posing a great danger. It seems that somthing in the unit is faulty and will corrode over time. There is a general consensus that everyone who is having the problem is experiencing the same thing after having the vehicle for over 2 yrs and with around 39k-49k. If this problem existed in previous models, and it was recalled, the 2005-2007 xterras, frontiers, and pathfinders should get this fixed at no charge to the customer!! Why wait for accidents and possible deaths, especially since the problem lies in an integral part of the vehicle. Cost of repair ranges from $300-600."

Please file the complaint if you agree that we, the loyal Nissan customers, should not have to pay for something that is clearly a defect on Nissan's part.

I'm a 05 pathy owner... And i agree with your post but... This model is soooo full of bugs... Nissan should have been embarrassed to release this to the public. I might consider a nissan car in the future... but as for trucks or SUVs... well lets just leave it to the people who know how to the make them... like toyota or ford... nissan truck... never again...

[7gregory]

I just filed the complaint from the above link. it is easy to do and only takes a few minutes. I strongly encourage everyone else to do the same so maybe we can get a recall.

[hawkinscb]

I stopped to fill up and left the station with a full tank. I merged on the interstate and my fuel gauge fell to empty and the low fuel light came on. I drove approx. 50 miles and the gauge moved up to full but very slowly. This is the same routine after each fill-up. I have a 2006 X w/47,000 miles, now the SES light is on. My low air pressure light has been on for months and will go off for awhile after a service. I tried to trade this thing off and the dealer knew instantly the problems the X has. He said my trade would be about $1000 less because of their cost to repair for sale.

[nismo07]

I used the link above and submitted a complaint. Check it out:

I filled up my tank and after setting for a minute idling I noticed my gas gauge was below empty and the Distance to Empty light was on and reading -----. My original thought was that I didn’t tighten my gas cap enough, but I ALWAYS do. A minute later the Service Engine Soon light comes on. I have a 2007 Frontier Crew Cab NISMO with 67,000 miles. While driving home the gas gauge slowly worked its way up to just below full and the SES light was still on. I have not driven very much more to see if the gas gauge works properly. I have been looking through my extended bumper-to-bumper warranty, which extends out to 72 months or 100,000 and it does show that the gas sending unit is covered. After visiting the following website: Fuel gauge problem and Sevice Engine Soon light, I noticed many other people with 2005-2007 Nissan Frontier, Xterra and Pathfinders are having this same issue and the dealers are charging 400-700 dollars to fix. Many of these people are out of their warranty period and have to pay out of pocket. My warranty requires me to pay a 100 dollar deductible. Sounds like this Fuel Sending Unit deserves a recall.
Ill keep you posted if they honor the extended warraty I have. We need to get more people to fill out complaints.

[crhartzler]

I have a feeling I am about to experience what some of you have already experienced. As of now, at 49,000 miles, the fuel gauge needle isn't moving the usual distance (past full) upon fill-up. Instead, it stops now just under full. As a result, I am getting about 25-30 miles less at 3/4 full. At first, I thought bad gas or needs a tune up. But on the last three tanks, the needle wasn't moving up the usual distance.

The needle seems to drop at the same rate(s). I say "rates" plural, which I will get to later.

I get to near Empty, and am still at 25-30 fewer miles than average. My guess is that an extra 1-2 gallons of gas exists, but I am not willing to take the risk. Risk, Nissan, Risk! Getting stranded in the middle of nowhere, second guessing a bad fuel gauge IS a life-threatening, recall deserving issue. Blizzards, deserts, and bad parts of town are nowhere to run out of gas.

Now, back to the variable needle drop "rates" issue. My initial vehicle survey yielded one complaint: Fuel Gauge. Not the mpg, but the way the gauge was reading/variably dropping. I was at HALF a tank and nearly 200 mpg. By the time I was at empty, I was only 325 or so. This IS the problem! This isn't a conspiracy: Nissan's magical fuel sending relay or whatever is stacking the MPG at the top half, and dropping the needle much faster on the lower half, and now it is backfiring.

Anyone else experience these issues? Let's call Sculley and Mulder.

[vzimbardo]

Can you tell me which extended warranty you have? I have the Gold preferred and I want to see if this is covered under this and if there is a deductible?

Originally Posted by nismo07

I used the link above and submitted a complaint. Check it out:

I filled up my tank and after setting for a minute idling I noticed my gas gauge was below empty and the Distance to Empty light was on and reading -----. My original thought was that I didn’t tighten my gas cap enough, but I ALWAYS do. A minute later the Service Engine Soon light comes on. I have a 2007 Frontier Crew Cab NISMO with 67,000 miles. While driving home the gas gauge slowly worked its way up to just below full and the SES light was still on. I have not driven very much more to see if the gas gauge works properly. I have been looking through my extended bumper-to-bumper warranty, which extends out to 72 months or 100,000 and it does show that the gas sending unit is covered. After visiting the following website: Fuel gauge problem and Sevice Engine Soon light, I noticed many other people with 2005-2007 Nissan Frontier, Xterra and Pathfinders are having this same issue and the dealers are charging 400-700 dollars to fix. Many of these people are out of their warranty period and have to pay out of pocket. My warranty requires me to pay a 100 dollar deductible. Sounds like this Fuel Sending Unit deserves a recall.
Ill keep you posted if they honor the extended warraty I have. We need to get more people to fill out complaints.

[mpe235]

Originally Posted by vzimbardo

Can you tell me which extended warranty you have? I have the Gold preferred and I want to see if this is covered under this and if there is a deductible?

It is covered by the gold preferred. If you have a deductible on the contract it applies to all repairs covered by the contract.

[Slick 6MT]

Does anyone know how long/how many complaints it usually takes to get a recall to get activated?

My 05' Pathfinder has the same problem at 47,000 miles...

[sergey85]

i dont think its decided by how many complaints but if its a safety issue

[ljmushinski]

I am having the same problem as everyone else on here. I have an 2006 Nissan Xterra with 47,402 miles and I filled up and noticed my gas gage showed my tank completely empty!! Of course my SES light came on. I went to the Nissan dealer this morning and they told me that I am out of my warrenty and it will cost $500.00-$600.00 to fix. So I did a little research and found this site! Thank you everyone for replying on this site. I think that Nissan should do something about this, this is B.S.!!

[hkygoale]

My frontier is doing the samething!! And just the other day my 2006 GMC Envoy started doing it. Apparently, from looking at blogs from GM owners, GM is having the same issue!! What crap company is making these sensors? Is Nissan and GM buying them from the same company? And I agree this should be a recall item it could create a huge safety issue!

[mpe235]

Originally Posted by hkygoale

My frontier is doing the samething!! And just the other day my 2006 GMC Envoy started doing it. Apparently, from looking at blogs from GM owners, GM is having the same issue!! What crap company is making these sensors? Is Nissan and GM buying them from the same company? And I agree this should be a recall item it could create a huge safety issue!

Yes GM and Nissan are buying the sensors from the same company. I think the company that is making them is visteon.

[Searay]

I have a 2006 Frontier and my gas gage went crazy at 42,000 miles. After filling the tank the gauge would remain at empty (or where ever it was when I decided to fill the tank) and the “Check Engine Soon” lamp would come on. After driving around for a while the needle would go to the correct level and work normally until I filled it again, at about a half of a tank the Check Engine Soon lamp would go out.

Now this is the DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU PART. After about two months I called the local dealer in my area and asked what it would cost to replace the fuel gage sender unit and I was told $600.00 WHAT THE ----, I asked why $600.00 and they said it was part of the fuel pump and not a separate unit. I looked at the warrantee at http://www.nissanusa.com/ and the fuel pump is listed under the Powertrain section and is covered for 60,000 miles.
I printed and highlighted that section of the warrantee and took it to the dealer and they confirmed that the fuel pump is covered for 60,000 miles.
I made an appointment to have the fuel pump replaced later that week. Three hours after a took my truck in I got a call from the service department stating that they diagnosed my problem and I had a bad fuel gauge sender unit (I have known this for two months), also they found a bulletin stating that the sender unit can be ordered as a separately from the fuel pump, and only warranted for 36,000 miles and it will now cost $300 to fix the problem.
I told them I didn’t need a diagnostic that my sender unit was bad I already knew that, and that is also something I can replace myself, so they stuck me with a bill for $99 for the diagnosis.
THANKS TO THIS WEB SITE, I looked for the just discovered bulletin by the local dealer and found it was over a year old NTB07-069a I argued with the service manager and they decided to refund my $99 dollars.

Replacing the sender unit is not rocket science but with all servicing of a vehicle some precautions must be taken. If you have never done anything like this before, or just feel apprehensive about the project take the vehicle to a professional.
There are five connections to the gas tank of the 2006 Frontier (I believe it would also be the same for the Xterra and Pathfinder). The first is the gas filler hose, second and third are two air vent hoses (probably to a filter box), third the fuel delivery hose running forward towards the engine and fifth the electrical connector for the fuel pump and sender unit.
The sender unit itself is delicate and if not handles carefully it definitely will be damaged. The hose connections to the tank are also delicate plastic pieces and require patients, if not the parts will break. If you are willing to try this set aside about four hours with nothing else to do although the job should not take more that two hours. I did the exchange myself but the assistance of another person will help greatly. A method of slowly lowering the tank (such as a motorcycle jack) would be ideal.
I ordered the parts for Courtesy Nissan in Texas (the sender unit and the rubber o-ring seal for the top of the tank). After removing the top of the tank I realized the original o-ring was in great shape after 42,000 miles, but since I bought a new o-ring I replaced it anyway.
Gasoline is heavy at about seven pounds a gallon, my gauge was working well enough so I could run it down until the warning lamp came on which is about four gallons (about 28 pounds), the tank itself is made of plastic and is not heavy.

My truck is a six speed manual, so to be on the safe side I engaged it in 4 WD so all four wheels would be locked while the truck was in gear and parked, alone with the emergency breaks to keep it from rolling.
I drove the back wheels of the truck on ramps by placing the ramps between the front and real wheels, so the rear of the truck was elevated but the ramps were not in the way (the lower part of the ramps were behind the back wheels).
I disconnected the filler hose which was a simple hose clamp; afterwards I placed a cardboard box under the tank to lower it slowly, if the tank comes down too quickly the electrical connection, the fuel line towards the engine and the two air hoses will be stressed and possibly break one of these connections.
I supported the gas tank on a cardboard box and removed the rear metal strap supporting the gas tank; by removing the bolt towards the center of the vehicle, the other side of the strap on the left side of the vehicle is a hanger for the strap, and does not have a bolt. The strap can by swung away after removing the bolt, or un-hooked from the hanger. Next remove the front strap be removing the bolt towards the center of the vehicle, then the bolt towards the left side of the vehicle can just be loosened and not removed. After lowering the tank on the box I was able to disconnect the other four connections (two air hoses, fuel line and electrical connector). It is difficult to describe how of these connections are mated and each one is different, but I was able to disconnect all of them with the help of a very small fiat bladed screw driver.
After completely separating the tank, clean the top surface as much as you can to prevent debris from entering the tank.
On the top of the tank is a metal seal ring that must be removed in a counter clockwise direction. My method was to apply grease to the surface of the seal ring and tap it with a hammer and metal punch; this took a bit of effort.

The fuel pump assembly is spring loaded so don’t be surprised when you remove the seal ring and the fuel pump grows taller that the tank (I guess it is a one size fits all for various size and shape tanks). The sender unit is attached to the side of the fuel pump, you can’t miss the sender unit if you have the new unit close by, it slides off away from the tank so don’t try to pull it forward like I did at first, there is also a bulb that attaches to the bottom of the fuel pump (probably a temperature sensor). There are two electrical connections to the sender unit and again that little flat bladed screw driver will help, remember these parts are not robust so patients will be needed to remove them without damage.
Reassemble in the reverse order and apply grease to the locking seal ring to help it slide around in a clockwise direction easily. Use the hammer and punch again to help it along and look for the detents where the lock ring has to stop to be properly engaged.
Count that you have attached all five connections (al lease for the 2006 model) and take a good look at the hanger for the rear fuel tank strap to make sure it is properly engaged before bolting it up. If you scheduled enough time and are patient it should go well.

Good luck.

[hevierthnheaven]

I have a 2005 nissan xterra with 55,000 miles, it has recently started acting weird. Much like many of you; the Fuel gauge has been registering below empty even with a full tank and the SES light will go on and off for various amounts of time. I have had numerous problems with my truck including a defective paint job that resulted in pin sized rusting, a blower motor shitting the bed, and now this. I have tried to redeem warranty repairs and have been denied multiple times by numerous nissan dealerships, including the one where I purchased my vehicle. I love the truck but it is truly crippling my wallet spending so much money on these stupid and costly repairs that shouldn't happen on a virtually brand new vehicle. For the longest time this was my dream car and I hate to say it but due to these problems and it being my first nissan, i cant say i'll ever go nissan again. It's truly ashame that nissan is not making good on a wide spread problem that is being experienced by many of its models not just limited to the xterras damn anybody have any suggestions? this sucks and in no way shape or form am i happy about my experience with this vehicle.

[vzimbardo]

Just a follow up to the SES Light and Fuel Sending Unit. I called my dealership where I purchased the truck and made an appointment for service regarding my fuel gauge acting erratic. When I brought it in I questioned them about the Fuel Sending Unit and the service tech said they have had a few of them come in and repalced but they could not find any recalls from Nissan about it. So I let the truck for service and they were able to get me a rental car, since nissan does not offer loaner vehicles. To make a long story short the dealership replaced the part (of course it was the fuel sending unit) and they paid for the rental car. When I purchased the truck I was hesitant about getting the extended warranty because like many of us, I thought it was a way to get more money out of me. My wife convinced me to get the gold preferred so that the truck is covered for 100,000 miles. I do not regret getting this because it saved me from having to put out money right after the holidays. So for all of you that got the extended warrenty this part is covered and a rental car is included.

[controlsengineer]

I have 06, did the exact same thing. turned out to be SERIOUSLY corroded battery terminal. There are 7 cables coming fom the +tive terminal. I guess voltage drop was affecting the resistor in the sender unit.

CE

[doncain]

Another Fuel Level Sender Unit VICTIM in Colorado :-( I haven't had any fuel gauge issues, but the check engine light has been on. Now, $110 later I know what the problem is. For now, I'll use the mileage to know when it's time to refuel. Just like the rest of you, waiting and hoping for a recall. I will also pursue a non-dealer alternative to save the money. I love my '05 Pathfinder, so this just stinks.

[ksullivan]

I have a 2007 Frontier Nismo with 56,000 miles on it that has had an unbelievable amount of issues. It is the worst vehicle I have ever owned and as such I would not recommend any Nissan vehicle!
Two weeks ago I had the front ABS sensor replaced @ $ 396. The following Sunday I experienced the fuel gauge dropping to empty, service engine soon light going on and then the eventual rise to full. This repeated it itself throughout the week. After reading these posts I called Nissan and got the run around. They kept insisting that I have dealer diagnose the "issue" even though we all know what it is. Fuel sending unit. Machines don't vary that much. Two days later the "good will" committee calls me and tells me that they have decided not to pay for the repair decision final. All that came out before I could say a word. What garbage! Of course Nissan and the dealer keep coming back to the fact that I should have bought an extended warranty. My comeback is that I should not have to spend $2,000 on an extended warranty after spending $27,000 on a new truck! If the trucks are so bad they should just extend the warranty out to keep the customer happy. This latest repair cost me $471.71. Oh did I mention that I also had the front left tire pressure sensor replaced too at $225.40. What!!! Naturally I should have known this truck would suck when at two weeks old the abs, slip, diff and service engine soon lights came on during Boston rush hour traffic on the Tobin Bridge. The dealer kept the truck for a week as apparently the repair involved dropping the rear end out. Good design Yeah - The dealer also gave me a hard time about getting a free rental since I did not buy that extended warranty. There have been other issues too but I think I made my point.

Trading in this piece of garbage for a Chevy Z71. At least all the repair money will all stay in America instead of eventually being sent to Tokyo.

Party on Nissan - You lost this customer and numerous others forever -