Fuel Gauge Not Lighting All The Way UP

6MT

Because people should be concerned about the two bottom lights on the guage. Not the top ones. Besides, most people don't fill their tanks up right to the top. So the result is that those lights don't light.

Dead horse thread.

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Andrew

2009 370Z Sport/Touring 6MT sold
2013 Honda Civic Si coupe D/D

RandyD

meh - as soon as i get to half a tank - i go top it off.. (generally)

Augustus

Fair enough.

But I would counter that so long as the problem continues to arise, even in nearly-new Z's, then it's relevant and worth discussing.

Totally agree, there are far bigger problems in life than a flaky fuel gauge. And yes, there is much gnashing of teeth over a fairly trivial problem. But that is, IMHO, the gist of every automotive forum I've ever visited.

However, in my case the gauge actually appeared to get stuck. I drove 100+ miles with all-but-the-last-dot lit. Had it not 'magically' started working again, I could have eventually run out of gas with the gauge reading "Full-1". I was curious if anyone else has experienced this, as that is a bit more concerning than just a 'won't-hit-F' problem.

I wonder if a Miata fuel gauge would solve the problem . . .

roy'sz

normally when i top off +1 gallon it won't lite up but when i leave work at 12a.m. it is lit. I can go approx 80 miles before it extinguishes depending on how full it was when I left work and if i vary my driving mode. At 120ish is normally when it distinguishes the 2nd led light. But, being that I stuffed the hell out of my car, first light came off at 98.7 and 2nd came off at 150. I sit now at 302.4 with one lite above the half mark.

Augustus

Interesting. I don't get 100 miles on the first dot. More like 50. Half a tank for me is about 200 miles on the highway. I just filled up an hour ago with 15.6 gallons; 332 miles on the tank & 3 dots lit. I guess my gauge is calibrated a bit differently. It seems pretty linear, other than this one incident a couple weeks ago.

I've dealt with crazy gauges before... I used to have a Solstice GXP. It's gas gauge would stay pegged on F for the first 200 miles, then drift to three quarters by 250, then half by 275, then at any time thereafter it'd just fall to "E" with nothing in between. Crazy.

roy'sz

no its just that i take about 20min in my garage to fill another 2 gal. I commute 500mi a week and don't feel like gasing up in the middle. Plus im babying the throttle

jikhead

I've have been fighting this issue with one particular dealer and Nissan USA for over a month; and neither would acknowledge any problems with the car. Just getting this second dealer to acknowledge, yes...we see the problem just as you do...was a start. In the end, I the consumer, has been ultimately right the entire time. So as long as the second remaining fuel sender gets replaced, then I will be OK. But to answer your question: I presume they were hoping the problem was isolated with one sender unit and the attempt to keep their costs down on the repair work.

G Fo12ce

Thought I'd come and update after a long while. Mine's a 2010. It's been 4 times since the original post that I've had to take the car back over the last 2years. It will work for a few months then the senders will take a dump again.

This is what happened to mine. They replaced the cluster the first time with no effect, then replaced the senders which fixed the problem temporarily. Like I said about they've failed 3 more times since then 2 years ago.

Um, no. After the third time getting the senders replaced mine started to not light up the top light after a fill up. After parking the car and letting things reset the top light would illuminate so I decided to let it ride. Eventually it failed to the point where after the fuel level reached 3/4 the meter would go totally dead. I'd get the low fuel warning and the 30 miles to empty warning. When it would drain down to 1/4 tank the meter would come back.

I got the car back 2 weeks ago and it's working for now. Nissan was involved this time (I called them)and essentially all they did was warranty another set of sending units and test all the pin outs in the harness. I encourage you to call after the second time you have this issue because it stated in the lemon law if you go to arbitration you've had to make contact with the manufacturer in the 3 attempts to fix it. That way you have the steps in place should you decide to go that route. As you might expect I dont feel really confident it's going to stay working after 3 previous sets of senders. As much as I like the car I may consider persuing them buying it back. Also I've asked them to address the hatch not lifting past the latch when you pop it open either (stuck hatch issue). I think it may be worse on the NISMO because the size of the spoiler. That hasn't been resolved either.

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Nismo Suspension: New Owners Check Here!

Cmike2780

There's a TSB for it. They need to replace the springs. The new ones are taller.

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[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

XwChriswX

Was this for the 09's only, or for all year models? Mines a '10 and this only happens if I haven't opened the hatch for a while, or after it's rained and its sticky. I just hit the button again and it releases, so it's more just an annoyance than a real problem to fix...

What would a person need to have with them walking in the door asking to have it fixed?

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Bonnie - Stage 2, Audio build coming this fall!
R.I.P. Abby 3/29/10 - 3/30/14

Cmike2780

Here's the thread. Not sure if it applies to 2010, but the original ones on mine were almost 1/4" shorter. It's over $30 each, so I would try to get them to cover it under warranty. I would print out the TSB and bring it with you and see what they say. They actually gave me a hard time at first.

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[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

XwChriswX

I will have to see what they do, when I have a chance to take care of it.

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Bonnie - Stage 2, Audio build coming this fall!
R.I.P. Abby 3/29/10 - 3/30/14

G Fo12ce

This last time around they did replace the springs and it's better. But it still sticks after not opening it for a while. The writer suggested lubing the rubber seal with silicone spray occasionally because it can stick, but its already doing it just a few weeks after so ymmv. I filled up a few days a go and the gauge is working as of now, but it took a while for it to fail the last few times. We'll see.

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Nismo Suspension: New Owners Check Here!

spoolio

looks like I'm having the same problem now. second time in a few months. 1st time I had just filled the tank, left the station and it only read a half tank...pulled into the next station to top it off but was already full. went back to normal after jostling around a bit at an autocross.

now it's happening again. filled it up yesterday before an event, on the way home it registerd zero LEDs, was flashing the warning light at me telling me I only had 125 miles to go, then thru a CEL?!? Tried restarting a few times, refilled today, read/cleared the CEL (misfire) and still having the same problem.

I'd bring it to the dealer but quite frankly I've been 4 times in the last 2 months and 2 days just last week (for a separate issue) and don't feel like going back any time soon. Hoping it starts working properly before my 19 hour road trip in a few weeks!!

ukmastermind

Do let us know what happens.

Sounds like you have a much more complicated/serious case than just a defective Fuel Sender Unit (e.g. CEL)

*My new sender unit has been working well for 6 months now....knock on wood