2004 Nissan Titan Fuel System Problems

I was driving down a main road by my office, accelerating when the car suddenly stalled. As the truck was independently decelerating, the steering wheel became hard to steer due to the truck being "off". I managed to force it to turn to a shoulder so as to not get rear ended by vehicles behind me. I could've been on the highway with traffic speeds up to 70mph and it would've been a different scenario. I later found out that the 1/4 fuel on the gauge was faulty and I was out of gas. I went to the NHTSA website to find out 2005 model Titans were included in the recall but not my 2004.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 NISSAN TITAN. WHILE DRIVING, THE FUEL GAUGE DISPLAYED 1/4 TANK OF FUEL; HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE RAN OUT OF FUEL. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO FENTON NISSAN OF KNOXVILLE (4515 CLINTON HWY, KNOXVILLE, TN 37912), BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER INFORMED THE CONTACT TO CALL NHTSA TO FILE A COMPLAINT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 212,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

CANNOT PUT GAS IN VEHICLE WITHOUT BLOW BACK. "CHECK ENGINE SOON" LIGHT CAME ON ABOUT A WEEK AGO AND WHEN I WENT TO FILL WITH GAS...HAD BLOW BACK. CODE WAS P1446...VENT VALVE CLOSED. REPLACED VENT VALVE SOLENOID, CLEARED CODE. LIGHT STAYED OFF FOR 2 DAYS AND THEN I TRIED TO FILL TANK...GOT BLOW BACK AGAIN AND "CHECK ENGINE SOON" LIGHT CAME BACK ON JUST 2 MILES DOWN THE ROAD AFTER FILLING ON A CITY STREET NOW WHAT ???

FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS I'VE BEEN FIGHTING AN EVAP PROBLEM. IT STARTED 5 YRS AGO WHEN IT WOULDN'T LET ME FILL IT WITH GAS. THEN MONTHS LATER IT GOT WORSE N WORSE WHERE IT WOULD TAKE 20MIN TO FILL TANK. I'VE REPLACED PURGE VALE 3 TIES IN LAST SEVERAL YEARS AND IT WORKS GREAT THEN 6 MONTHS LATER BACK TO SAME ROUTINE. THERE NEEDS TO BE A BETTER FIX TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE N I KNOW IT'S OLD BUT THERE'S THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DEALING WITH THIS ISSUE

EVER SINCE I HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE, THE FUEL GAUGE WOULD NEVER READ FULL BUT STOP AT 7/8 OF A TANK. NOT A BIG DEAL BUT LAST NIGHT MY GAUGE READ BETWEEN 1/8 AND 1/4 TANK AND I RAN OUT OF GAS ON A MAIN ROAD AT NIGHT. THE FUEL LIGHT NEVER CAME ON AND NORMALLY DOES WHEN I AM LOW ON FUEL. DOING RESEARCH ON THIS I FOUND THAT THERE IS A RECALL FOR 2005-2009 TITANS FOR THIS SAME EXACT ISSUE BUT NOT 2004. READING THE FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE RECALL, IT 100% REFLECTS THE SAME ISSUE THAT I AM HAVING. I CALLED NISSAN AND SPOKE TO A REPRESENTATIVE AND SHE SAYS MY VEHICLE DOES NOT APPLY TO ANY RECALLS. SHE SAID TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THEM LOOK AT BUT FOR THEM TO DIAGNOSE, THEY WILL HAVE TO DROP THE FUEL TANK WHICH WILL COST QUITE A BIT. I LOOKED ON OTHER FORUMS AND THIS SEEMS TO OF BEEN A VERY COMMON ISSUE WITH 2004 MODEL YEAR BUT WHY IT WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL IS BEYOND ME. THIS NEEDS TO BE RESOLVED BECAUSE NOW I HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH FUEL IS ACTUALLY IN MY TANK AND I WOULD RATHER THIS NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. I GOT LUCKY WITH THE SPOT I WAS IN WHERE MY TRUCK STALLED ON A VERY BUSY ROAD AND DID NOT GET INTO AN ACCIDENT. I HAVE ATTACHED THE ORIGINAL RECALL NOTICE FOR THE 2005-2009 MODEL YEAR.

I WAS ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK WHEN MY LOW FUEL INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON; MY GAUGE SHOWED APPROXIMATELY 1/8 REMAINING. THIS WAS NORMAL, AND THE POINT WHERE THE LOW FUEL LIGHT NORMALLY TURNED ON. THE NEXT MORNING, ON MY WAY TO WORK, THE LIGHT TURNED OFF AND THE NEEDLE SHOWED JUST OVER 1/8 TANK. THIS WAS ALSO NORMAL FOR THE LIGHT TO SWITCH ON AND OFF AS THE LEVEL TEETERED AROUND THE SWITCH POINT. A FEW MILES INTO MY TRIP, THE NEEDLE JUMPED TO AROUND 1/4 TANK, WHICH WAS NOT NECESSARILY NORMAL, BUT I HAD NO REASON TO QUESTION THE LEVEL BASED ON THE PREVIOUS ACCURACY OF MY GAUGE. HALFWAY TO WORK I LOST POWER, AND HAD TO PULL OVER ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. MY TRUCK WOULD NOT START, ALTHOUGH IT STILL SHOWED 1/4 TANK REMAINING. I DID AN INTERNET SEARCH ON MY PHONE FOR /2004 TITAN FUEL GAUGE PROBLEM/ AND IMMEDIATELY GOT RASHES OF HITS FOR DESCRIPTIONS EXACTLY LIKE MINE WHERE THEIR TITANS SHOWED 1/4 TANK REMAINING, BUT RAN OUT OF FUEL. AFTER WALKING A 4 MILE ROUND-TRIP TO THE NEAREST GAS STATION AND BACK, I PUT GAS IN THE TANK, AND DROVE TO WORK. AFTER A QUICK INTERNET SEARCH I FOUND A RECALL NHTSA# 10V074000 FOR 2005-2009 TITANS (MINE IS A 2004) AND NISSAN SERVICE BULLETIN EL08-013A FOR 2004-2009 TITANS. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP AND NISSAN AMERICA THAT MY VEHICLE IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL, AND WILL NOT BE COVERED. I AM FINE WITH A FUEL SENSOR FAILING AFTER 186,000 MILES AND NOT BEING COVERED, BUT NOT IF IDENTICAL VEHICLES (2005-2009) WITH IDENTICAL HARDWARE ARE BEING RECALLED AND RECOGNIZED AS HAVING SAFETY ISSUES. THE INTERNET IS FULL OF PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS ISSUE ON THEIR 2004 TITANS, AND THEY NEED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL.

THE VEHICLE SHOWED 1/4 TANK OF GAS, WAS RUNNING FINE AND SUDDENLY SHUT OFF WHILE A YOUNG GIRL 18 YEARS OLD WAS DRIVING HOME FROM DROPPING OFF SIBLINGS AT SCHOOL. AT 55 MPH THERE WAS NO POWER BRAKES, NO POWER STEERING WHILE DRIVING ON A TWO LANE ROAD HEAVILY TRAVELED BY 80 TON GRAVEL TRUCKS. NISSAN KNOWS THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND HAS HAD A NUMBER OF TITANS EXPERIENCE THIS ISSUE CAUSED BY A FAULTY FUEL LEVEL SENSOR. THEY DID A TSB ON ALL BUT 2004S EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE THE SAME PART. NISSAN REQUIRED ME TO TAKE IT TO A DEALERSHIP FOR NISSAN DIAGNOSTIC ($93) EVEN THOUGH THE DEALERSHIP ALREADY TOLD ME THIS WAS AN ISSUE AND NISSAN WOULD PROBABLY COVER IT. THE NISSAN REGIONAL REP ([XXX]) REIMBURSED THE REPAIR BUT REFUSED THE DIAGNOSTIC FEE SHE REQUIRED ME TO GET. NISSAN DENIES RESPONSIBILITY FOR RECALLING THESE VEHICLES WHICH THEY KNOW CAN JUST SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS TO BE RECALLED IMMEDIATELY!! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA RECALL 10V074000. (NISSAN). THE RECALL SHOULD APPLY TO 2004 MODEL TITANS. CURIOUSLY IT APPLIES TO THE SAME MAKE AND MODEL FOR YEARS 2005-2009. IN MY CASE THE FUEL GAUGE NEVER WORKED WELL (PURCHASED NEW) BUT AT LEAST THE LOW FUEL WARNING GAUGE LIGHT CAME ON. ON OCTOBER 21, 2014 THE GAUGE COMPLETELY MALFUNCTIONED. IT STUCK AT APPROXIMATELY 1/3 OF A TANK AND THE VEHICLE RAN OUT OF GAS (NO LIGHT INDICATOR) WITHOUT WARNING. AT 70 MPH ON A TOLLWAY, THE VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER. GIVEN THE SIGNIFICANT RISK TO DRIVER HEALTH AND SAFETY POSED BY THIS TYPE OF MALFUNCTION (WHICH WAS CURIOUSLY ADDRESSED FOR 2005 AND THEREAFTER) AND THE EXTREME RISK OF CRASH THAT IT CAUSES, THE RECALL SHOULD BE EXTENDED AND NOT EXCLUDE THE FIRST MODEL YEAR OF THIS CAR. WITHOUT POWER STEERING AND BRAKE CONTROL AT 70MPH, I WAS LUCKY ON THIS OCCASION. OTHERS MAY WELL NOT BE. *TR

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY DOING 75 IN MY 2004 TITAN. ALL OF A SUDDEN I LOST ALL POWER AND THE TRUCK WENT DEAD. MY FUEL GAUGE WAS AT A 1/4 TANK SO I THOUGHT IT WAS THE FUEL PUMP. FOUND OUT THE NEXT DAY THAT MY TANK WAS COMPLETELY EMPTY AND THE GAUGE WAS WRONG. VERY DANGEROUS!!! *TR

IMAGINE DRIVING DOWN A MOUNTAINOUS ROAD IN IDAHO STATE. YOU ARE GOING DOWN A HILL IN A PICK-UP TRUCK PULLING A CAMPER. ALL OF A SUDDEN YOUR VEHICLE GOES INTO LIMP MODE - IT WON'T REV OVER 1000 RPM. YOU LOOK TO PULL OVER BUT THERE IS ONLY A SMALL SHOULDER. VEHICLES ARE SKIDDING TRYING TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT AS YOUR VEHICLE IS DISABLED AND ONLY PARTIALLY OFF THE ROAD. AFTER FIXING THE PROBLEM, I REALIZED THE TRUCK SHOULD NEVER HAVE GONE INTO LIMP MODE. IT IS A CRITICAL DESIGN FLAW WITH THE VEHICLE. I WAS PUT IN HARMS WAY FOR NO REASON. ALL VEHICLES USE TO HAVE THE ENGINE SPEED CONTROLLED VIA MECHANICAL LINKAGE OR CABLES FOR THE GAS PEDAL. VERY FEW FAILURES EXISTED WITH THIS DESIGN. TODAY GAS PEDAL RUN BY A WIRE THAT SENDS AN ELECTRONIC SIGNAL TO THE VEHICLES COMPUTER. THE COMPUTER IN TURN EVALUATES THE GAS PEDAL POSITION WHICH THEN SENDS A SIGNAL TO THE FUEL INJECTORS AND THROTTLE BODY TO CONTROL THE ENGINE. THE CRITICAL DESIGN FLAW COMES INTO PLAY WHEN VEHICLE DESIGNERS COMBINE OTHER ELECTRONIC SENSORS ON THE SAME CIRCUIT AS THE GAS PEDAL. NON-CRITICAL COMPONENTS LIKE GAS EVAPORATOR SENSORS, POWER STEERING SENSORS, AIR CONDITIONER SENSORS. WHEN ANY OF THESE NON-CRITICAL ITEMS EXPERIENCE AN ELECTRICAL SHORT, THE VEHICLE GOES INTO LIMP MODE POTENTIALLY PUTTING DRIVERS IN HARM'S WAY DOES THIS RECOMMENDED SOLUTION FIX ALL PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE GAS PEDAL? NO IT DOES NOT. IT IS A LOT SAFER. I BELIEVE NHTSA SHOULD EVALUATE & ASSESS THIS CRITICAL DESIGN FLAW. I HAVE BEEN A CONTROLS ENGINEER FOR 28 YRS AND THIS DESIGN IS NOT SAFE. PLEASE REFER THEIR MODEL A60 SERIES MANUAL. NOV 2003 EDITION, REV-APRIL 2004, PUB NO. SM4E-1A60U1. SECTION B , PAGES EC-423 THRU 427. I WOULD FIND IT SATISFACTORY IF NISSAN REDESIGNED AND FIXED ALL VEHICLES BY SEPARATING CIRCUITS WITH CRITICAL ENGINE COMPONENTS FROM NON-CRITICAL COMPONENTS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 NISSAN TITAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL SENDING UNIT FAILED AND WAS CAUSING INACCURATE FUEL LEVEL READINGS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL LEVEL GAUGE WOULD DISPLAY THAT THERE WAS ONE QUARTER TANK OF FUEL WHEN THE FUEL TANK WAS ACTUALLY EMPTY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THE PROBLEM WAS THE SENDING UNIT AND THERE WERE NO RECALLS FOR THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND CONFIRMED THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS AND OFFERED NO OTHER ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 88,000.

MY NAME IS [XXX], I HAVE A 2004 NISSAN TITAN I'VE HAD MY VEHICLE IN THE SHOP 5 TIMES FROM THE FUEL RAILS LEAKING WITHIN THE LAST 4 MTH. THIS DID NOT JUST START THE FUEL RAILS HAVE BEEN LEAKING OVER THE YEARS I JUST DID NOT KNOW WHAT THE SMELL WAS COMING FROM. ONCE THE PRESSURE BUILD UP IT STOPS LEAKING THAT WHY I COULD NEVER SEE THE FUEL LEAKING, UNTIL ONE MORNING I CRANKED UP WITH THE HOOD UP. THE THING IS THESE FUEL RAILS LEAKS THE FUEL ON THE ENGINE AND I KNOW NISSAN KNOWS THIS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

WHILE FUELING, GAS BACK FLOWS OUT OF INLET DURING FIRST 1/4 TANK. FUELING MUST BE DONE AT A TRICKLE FOR FIRST +- 5 GALLONS, OR YOU END UP BEING DOUSED WITH GASOLINE. *TR

AFTER FILLING THE GAS TANK FULL WITH GAS, THE FUEL GAUGE ONLY INDICATED THE TANK IS 3/4 FULL. THIS HAPPENS VERY TIME I FILL UP. A FUEL GAUGE ISSUE COULD LEAD TO THE VEHICLE RUNNING OUT OF FUEL AND LEAVING MY FAMILY AND I STRANDED SOMEWHERE. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN. *TR

WHEN RE-FUELING 2004 NISSAN TITAN, THE FUEL SPEWS BACK OUT THE FILLER NOZZLE ONTO OPERATORS BODY. DEALER HAS PREVIOUSLY REPLACED CHARCOAL CANISTER AND FUEL TANK ON 10/ 2005, 12/2005, 1/2007, BUT PROBLEM CONTINUES TO OCCUR. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 NISSAN TITAN. WHENEVER THE CONTACT PLACED FUEL INTO THE VEHICLE, THE GASOLINE WOULD COME RIGHT BACK OUT OF THE TANK THROUGH THE FILLER TUBE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT A PRESSURE VALVE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 24,800.

WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE, THE TACHOMETER HIT 3500 RPM AND THE ENGINE WENT FLAT. THERE WAS NO TYPE OF WARNING LIGHTS, IT WOULD REV UP TILL IT REACHED 3500 RPM AND THEN IT WOULD JUST CUT OUT LIKE IT HAD HIT THE REV LIMITER. I TOOK IT TO A NISSAN DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT A LOW SPEED MISFIRE WAS THE ONLY CODE IN THE MEMORY AND THEY FELT THE PROBLEM WITH THE RPM WAS THE FUEL PUMP AS THEY HAD ALREADY REPLACED TWO 04 TITAN FUEL PUMPS. I CALLED BACK SEVERAL DAYS LATER AND WAS TOLD THE PROBLEM WAS NOT THE PUMP BUT THAT TWO OF THE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS WERE DAMAGED DUE TO THE MISFIRE. THEY HAD THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD UNHOOKED AND THE TRUCK RAN FINE. I HAD BOTH OF THE CONVERTERS REPLACED AND THE PROBLEM WAS STILL THERE. I TOOK IT TO ANOTHER NISSAN DEALER AND WAS TOLD THE FUEL PUMP WAS ONLY PUTTING OUT 34 PSI AT IDLE AND SHOULD BE 60. THEY ALSO SAID BECAUSE OF THE LOW FUEL PRESSURE THAT BOTH OF THE FRONT CONVERTERS WERE DAMAGED AND WERE NOW FAILING. THEY TOO STATED THEY HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE 04 FUEL PUMPS. I CONTACTED NISSAN (FILE NUMBER 6258543) AND ABOUT THIS AND RECEIVED NO HELP OTHER THAN BEING TOLD TO "HAVE A NICE DAY!' I HAVE SEARCHED THE INTERNET AND HAVE FOUND DOZEN OF INCIDENTS WHERE THIS HAS HAPPEN TO OTHER OWNERS AND THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO STEM FROM A FUEL PUMP PROBLEM ON THE 2004 TITAN. IN SOME CASES THE ENTIRE ENGINE HAD TO BE REPLACED WHEN THE CATALYTIC EXPLODED UPON THE RAW FUEL FROM THE MISFIRE REACHING THE CONVERTER. IT EXPLODED SENDING PIECES OF THE CONVERTER INTO THE ENGINE CYLINDER. NISSAN HAS NO TYPE OF SCREEN OR MESH IN THE CONVERTER TO CONTAIN ANY PIECES IN CASE OF A FAILURE. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED WHILE I WAS PASSING THE SEMI WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE COMING HEAD ON, THIS PROBLEM COULD HAVE RESULTED IN FATALITIES. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT NISSAN NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF BEFORE SOMEONE IS SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED! *TR

MY FUEL GAUGE READS 1/4 TANK WHEN I HAVE NO GAS IN THE TANK. IT WILL GO BACK TO PARTIAL FULL WHEN I FILL UP BUT THEN IT WILL SHOW 1/4 TANK AFTER A PERIOD OF DRIVING. THERE IS NO RHYME OR REASON OR ACCURACY. WHY WAS THE 2004 NOT RECALLED FOR THIS WHEN EVERY YEAR AFTERWARDS WAS RECALLED FOR THIS PROBLEM.? I HAVE CONTACTED NISSAN AND THEY WILL NOT RESPOND.

AT 42,000 MILES, MY 2004 NISSAN TITAN STARTED LEAKING FUEL FROM THE FUEL TANK. MY NISSAN DEALERSHIP STATES THAT IT IS DUE TO A FAULTY FUEL SENDING UNIT AND FUEL TANK. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS TOPIC ONLINE IN FORUMS AND HAVE FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 2004 THROUGH 2007 NISSAN TITANS. I HAVE MADE A REQUEST THROUGH NISSAN CORP. FOR A "GOOD WILL REPAIR" AND HAVE NOT GOTTEN A RESPONSE IN THREE DAYS. MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR EIGHT DAYS. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE FUEL TANK AND THE FUEL SENDING UNIT. *TR

2004 NISSAN TITAN WITH BLOWN ENGINE DUE TO FUEL PUMP. CONSUMER STATES THAT THE VEHICLE CAN NOT BE DRIVEN DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. SHE STATES THAT THE CLOSEST DEALER IS IN CANADA AND THEY TOLD THEM THE FUEL PUMP FAILED CAUSING THE ENGINE TO BLOW. *KB