"miles to empty" sensor not working properly

[IamNick]

Not sure if I am characterizing this correctly--in any event, I have a 2010 FX 35. Ever since I purchased in 11/09, I noticed that the "miles to empty" reading will run itself down to about 30 miles and then blank out to two hash marks (on the dash) or two asterisks (on the console display). The low gas warning sensor will come on when my range is down to about 45 miles. The "miles to empty" will continue to decrease until it says 30 miles and then blank out as noted above. I brought it in today to the dealer to check this out and was told that this is normal operation. They said they have had other people complain about this but Infiniti has not indicated it is either a defect or a glitch and they do not have a fix for it. This reading makes little sense to me as I want to know how far I can go before needing to fill up again. The Lexus I had before this car as well as the Honda before that would both take the miles to empty reading down into the single digits. When I fill up after the low gas warning light comes on I normally get in the range of 21.8 to 21.9 gallons. Since the tank holds 23.8 gallons, I should have approximately two gallons in the tank. While I understand that the "miles to empty" calculation is based on the remaining gas in the tank and the current mileage, it would seem that there should be a sensor able to tell how much is left in the tank and based on the current driving conditions be able to tell me how far I can go until absolutely empty. Quite frankly, taking me down from 45 to 30 miles to empty and then blanking out is of little help. I would just as soon have had just the warning light and that's it.

Has anybody else had this problem/issue??

[MinisterofDOOM]

It sounds like you might have an issue with the low fuel level sensor. It's separate from the gauge sensor (or was on older Nissans, anyway) so it's possible for the gauge to work but the low-fuel level sensor to be bad. That might be throwing off the DTE computer.

I know the M guys have seeing irritatingly frequent fuel gauge issues as well, and the FX is closely related to the M. You might want to pop into the M forum and see what they have to say.

[Thorshammer]

You are not alone.
Infiniti uses some sort of calculating computer that bases your miles to empty on your current gas mileage, which fluctuates based on how you drive.
You never know how many gallons you have or what percentage of fuel you have left. This is nothing new.
My son had a 03 G35 with the same issues as do I in my FX.
There needs to be a recall on Infiniti low fuel warning system because It is the most useless system Infiniti put in their cars.
Not even the mechanics can tell you anything other than you have 30 miles left when the warning system is activated.
Totally useless system.