Update! NHTSA is investigating fuel gauge issue

Post by **LaCapitalRue** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:56 am

I am sure you guys have seen these links regarding the Nissan recall and Infiniti owners fuel gauge problems. http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/0...calls/ ... ?id=316682

I am revisiting this issue because I am fed-up. Its not that we can't afford the replacement cluster but we shouldn't have to pay for a defective part.

More importantly, this presents a major safety issue by potentially causing a driver to run out of gas on the interstate and be seriously or fatally injured in a rear-end accident. I have counted at least 56 other 2003-04 M45 car owners on this forum who have experienced this problem. This does not include the potential thousands of M45 owners who have experienced the problem but not reported it. I presented this info to the Dreyer & Reinbold Infiniti (Indianapolis) service manager who says that because he wasn't making money off of me through service then he had no interest in addressing my problem. He wasn't even interested in reviewing the NHTSA complaints related to the issue. Nor was he interested in reviewing the matter with Infiniti corporate. Shocking that in the midst of a 540,000 vehicle recall which partly involve fuel gauge malfunctions, that Dreyer Reinbold based their response on whether I had any money invested in their service department.

As of today, there are only 6 complaints filed with the NHTSA

Even you have had your cluster replaced, please file your issue with the NHTSA. It is the only way Nissan will give this the attention it deserves.

Post by **tytamto** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:13 am

Call Infiniti corporate and have a chat with them about it... the dealer can only do so much, unless you are friends with the manager or owner

Post by **mrkoffee77** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 11:40 am

Just put my complaint in! Thank you so much for bringing this problem to light! It'll probably take a few days for my complaint to be put in the database but it's in there! This is a great time to spread the word on this problem with all the Toyota controversy.

Post by **LaCapitalRue** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:48 pm

Greetings all,
I just received the following email from the NHTSA...

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2011 2:04 PM
To:
Subject: Your report to NHTSA: 2003 Infiniti M45 Inaccurate Fuel Level Reading

Dear ,

Thank you for reporting to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in April 2010 concerning inaccurate fuel gauge reading on your 2003 Infiniti M45. We have received additional complaints recently. To help us further evaluate this issue, please take a few minutes to respond to the following:

1. I noticed that you had reported an incident date of March 21, 2008, was there a reason for the 2-years delay in reporting to us?
2. Has the vehicle been repaired? Was the problem with the dash fuel gauge or with the fuel level sender at the fuel tank? If repaired, please fax (202-366-1767) or email me a copy of the repair invoice.

Thank you very much.

Steve Chan
Safety Defects Engineer
Office of Defects Investigation / NHTSA

If you haven't filed your complaint, make sure you do so right away!

InfinitiEric · Post by **InfinitiEric** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:40 pm

The first indicator that a problem is on the track to being recognized and properly solved is personal communication from the company or agency that you originally reported the problem to. I do hope that this stands true for you and that you all get much the much needed closure for this situation.

P.S. Apparently the NHSTA has taken the fuel gauge recall task force to full power - here's another individual who received an e-mail: http://vipstylecars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=393479

Post by **mhmiersma** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 12:46 pm

I posted my complaint at NHTSA. Hoping this issue will finally be resolved. I'm sick of relying on my milage reading to know where my fuel level sits!

Post by **MaxBolus** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 1:18 pm

Me too! Got a nice email from Mr. Chan as well!

Now let's get the rocking driver's seat under investigation!

Go NHTSA!

Post by **SdotSdotS** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 6:51 am

What exactly is the fuel gauge issue referred to in this thread? That CNN link is dead.

I have an 07 and sometimes if I'm on a road trip, the gauge drops straight from 1/4 to E and the gas light will come on (causing me to almost panic and rush to a gas station), only to find out that there are several gallons of gas left in the tank.

Post by **MaxBolus** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:54 am

lookit this:
m45-fuel-gauge-problem-post-here-if-you ... 16682.html

From my Armchair Tech Advice vantage point, I'd say you may have a sending unit problem. Most of the faulty gauge clusters seem to do the opposite: they indicate 1/2 or more tank of gas when the tank is actually near empty.

cheers

Post by **The00Dustin** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:12 pm

SdotSdotS wrote:What exactly is the fuel gauge issue referred to in this thread? That CNN link is dead.

I have an 07 and sometimes if I'm on a road trip, the gauge drops straight from 1/4 to E and the gas light will come on (causing me to almost panic and rush to a gas station), only to find out that there are several gallons of gas left in the tank.

My 06 was doing that a year or two ago, and I had them pull the sending unit out to test it hoping for warranty replacement. They found no problem, but then it quit doing it. Now it starts acting like it's going to do it toward the end of winter, but is perfectly fine toward the end of summer (as if maybe the winter gas gums up the unit/sensor).

Post by **rxstasy7** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 11:41 am

just filed complaint with nhsta any bit will help, good work guys.

Post by **Ryan Heo** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:22 pm

I filed mine about 2 month ago. Mine was stalled in the middle of I-75.

Post by **richtree** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 8:45 am

should I still file a complaint?

if so how do I do this /

Post by **Double E** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 10:29 am

Um...really? This will make me sound like a jerk but you know we're talking about the NHTSA, right?

Going to their Website would seem to be the first step to most of us to report a claim to them. Was it not to you?