2005 Nissan Xterra Fuel System Problems

YES IN THE 2005 NISSAN XTERRAS THERE IS NO FLOATING ARM DEVICE WITHIN THE FUEL SENDING UNIT. WHICH IS WHAT IS CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO HAVE THE FUEL GAUGE ON THE FRONT DASH PANEL TO READ INCORRECTLY TO THE ELECTRONIC SCREEN. IT ALSO DOESN'T REPORT YOUR DTE ON THE DASH PANEL BECAUSE THE FUEL SENDING UNIT HAS BEEN CORRODED, OR WAS MADE OF PLASTIC, AND HAS BEEN COMPLETELY DAMAGED. SO NOW WHEN THE VEHICLE SITS WHILE STARTED FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME THE FUEL GAUGE WILL GO TO EMPTY BUT REMAIN RUNNING, OR YOU COULD FILL YOUR VEHICLE UP ALL THE WAY WITH GAS, AND THEN WHEN YOU START THE XTERRA, THE VEHICLE WILL THEN SHOW EMPTY STILL UNTIL IT WAS AT 3 QUARTERS OF THE TANK, THEN IT WILL READ IT AT 3 QUARTERS OF A TANK UNTIL HALF A TANK. UNLESS THE VEHICLE SITS TO LONG WITHOUT MOVING, THEN VEHICLE WILL SHOW THE FUEL GAUGE ON THE FRONT DASH PANEL TO BE EMPTY. THIS IS UNSAFE BECAUSE IT WILL CAUSE NISSAN XTERRAS TO RUN OUT OF GAS ON THE ROAD WHICH COULD LEAD TO FRONT, SIDE, REAR, AND ROLLOVER CRASHES.

THE VEHICLE IN QUESTION STARTED TO LOSE POWER WHEN DRIVING THIS PAST SATURDAY. SO, BASICALLY MY CAR DOES START THEN AFTER DRIVING IT A FEW MINUTES OR MORE WILL STIFFEN AND CUT OFF. THANK YOU

WHILE DRIVING MY XTERRA WHICH HAS 65000 MILES APPROXIMATELY, MY GAS GAUGE DROPPED FROM 3/4 TANK TO BELOW EMPTY. MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND MY CAR IMMEDIATELY STOPPED IN THE ROAD. I HAD TO BE TOWED WHERE I WAS TOLD I HAVE P0463 AND MY CAR WAS OUT OF GAS. I WAS TOLD THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH. ISSA XTERRA. I WENT TO DEALER TO GET IT REPLACED AND THEY SAID $700. I SEE THAT THIS IS TOO COMMON AN ISSUE. I THINK THE MANUFACTURER SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DEFECT. I'M JUST HAPP HAPPY I WASN'T DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN IT STOPPED. LUCKILY I WAS ON SIDE ROAD.

MY VEHICLE HAS 43,419 MILES AND AFTER FUELING THE VEHICLE THE FUEL GAUGE DROPPED TO EMPTY AND THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON DASHBOARD LIGHT ILLUMINATED. A CHECK OF THE DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE (P0463) DISCLOSED A FAULTY FUEL LEVEL SENSOR "A" CIRCUIT HIGH. I HAD THE REPAIR DONE AT NISSAN. THE FEE FOR LABOR AND PARTS WAS $367.88. I SEE SEVERAL HUNDRED REGISTERED NHTSA COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS ISSUE AS WELL AS HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET. I BELIEVE THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL AS THIS IS CLEARLY A DEFECTIVE PART. THERE IS A RECALL ON THE 2006 XTERRA FOR THE SAME ISSUE.

SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT WHEN FUEL GOES BELOW HALF TANK. THE FUEL GAUGE MAY NOT ALWAYS SHOW CORRECT READING, MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR CAR TO STOP IN MIDDLE OF HIGHWAY, IN MIDDLE OF SNOW-STORM, OR OTHER DANGEROUS SITUATION, THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON WHEN FUEL LEVEL IS BELOW HALF TANK AND RESETS ITSELF WHEN FUEL TANK IS FULL.

PURCHASED MY '05 NISSAN XTERRA IN THE SPRING OF 2012 WITH ABOUT 160,000 MILES. FOR THE PAST 2 MONTHS I HAD MINOR ISSUES LIKE SHUDDERING/VIBRATIONS RANDOMLY WHEN I ACCELERATED AND THE HEAT NOT WORKING WHEN I WAS AT A COMPLETE STOP. IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE OTHER DAY WHEN I WAS AT A COMPLETE STOP AND MY CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE PROPERLY THAT I KNEW I HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION. I TOOK MY XTERRA TO 3 DIFFERENT MECHANICS AND EACH ONE EXPLAINED TO ME THAT I WOULD NEED A COMPLETELY NEW TRANSMISSION AND FROM THERE THEY WOULD SEE IF I IN FACT NEEDED TO CHANGE THE RADIATOR (WHICH THEY WERE POSITIVE WAS THE ORIGINAL ISSUE DUE TO SIMILAR ISSUES WITH OTHER NISSAN SUV OWNERS). THE REPAIRS WILL COST ME WELL OVER $4,000 AND UNFORTUNATELY AS A COLLEGE STUDENT, THERE IS NO WAY I CAN AFFORD TO REPAIR THE TRANSMISSION AND RADIATOR. WHAT WAS APPALLING TO ME WAS WHEN I RESEARCHED THE ISSUE ONLINE. THERE ARE HUNDREDS UPON HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ONLINE ON VARIOUS WEBSITES ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND NISSAN HAS YET TO ISSUE A RECALL. THE EXTENDED WARRANTY EXCLUDED MANY PEOPLE AND PUT MANY MORE AT AN UNFAIR DISADVANTAGE. I PERSONALLY BOUGHT MY NISSAN, BECAUSE OF THEIR REPUTATION, BUT THE FACT THAT THEY WILL NOT COME TO THE AID OF THEIR CONSUMERS SPEAKS VOLUMES OF THIS COMPANY. *TR

ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON . TOOK IT TO AUTO ZONE WHICH YIELD A CODE REFERRING TO THE FUEL SENSING UNIT.

WHEN DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS I BEGAN TO NOTICE THE ENGINE BOGGING DOWN WHEN CHANGING GEARS. UPON TAKING IT TO MY MECHANIC I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS A LEAK BETWEEN THE TRANSMISSION AND ENGINE COOLANT SYSTEMS. THE FIX WOULD REQUIRE A REPLACEMENT OF BOTH SYSTEMS TOTALLY APPROX. $6000! APPARENTLY THIS IS A "KNOWN ISSUE" WITH 2005-2010 XTERRAS. UPON CONTACTING NISSAN I WAS TOLD THAT SINCE MY VEHICLE WAS OVER 100,000 MILES THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THAT THEY COULD DO FOR ME. IF THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE, AND A RATHER MAJOR ONE AT THAT, I'M NOT SURE WHY THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY RECALLS OR SOME KIND OF FIX. *TR

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON THEN WHEN I FILLED VEHICLE WITH FUEL GAUGE WENT TO EMPTY AND LOW FUEL LIGHT CAME ON. GAUGE DOES NOT COME BACK ON U TIL VEHICLE IS DRIVEN FROM 85 TO 125 MILES AND THEN TAKES AWHILE TO REACH UP TO AROUND 3/4 FULL. NEVER REALLY SURE HOW MUCH FUEL IS IN TANK. WAS ADVISED TO CHANGE THE FUEL TANK CAP AND DID TWICE BUT STILL NOT WORKING. HAVE TO RELY ON TRIP GAUGE TO KNOW IF I HAVE ENOUGH FUEL. THIS SEEMS RISKY FOR AN ALMOST 75 YEAR OLD WOMAN. *TR

FUEL GAUGE REGISTERS EMPTY TO ARBITRARILY AMOUNTS OF REMAINING FUEL REGARDLESS HOW MUCH FUEL IS ACTUALLY IN TANK. ONGOING PROBLEM TO DATE. *TR

GAS GAUGE READS EMPTY WHEN THE FUEL TANK IS FULL OR SHOWS SOME QUANTITY OF GAS WHEN IT IS EMPTY AND VARIATIONS IN BETWEEN. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM AFFECTING SEVERAL MODELS AND YEARS THAT NISSAN EXTENDED ITS WARRANTY FOR, BUT DID NOT RECALL, CLAIMING IT IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE (SEE HTTP://WWW.NISSANASSIST.COM/WEB/FUEL-SENDING-UNIT/INDEX.PHP?MENU=2). THE EXTENDED WARRANTY DID NOT ADVISE OWNERS TO REPLACE THE PROBLEM SENDING UNITS, IT JUST PROVIDED FOR REPAIRS IF AND WHEN, SUBJECT TO MILEAGE AND TIME LIMITS, THE VEHICLE MANIFESTED THE SENDING UNIT PROBLEM. MY LOW MILEAGE VEHICLE DEVELOPED THIS PROBLEM AT 46000 MILES, WELL UNDER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY MILEAGE LIMIT BUT THE TIMING WAS BEYOND THE ARBITRARY EXTENDED TIME PERIOD. FOLLOWING MY OPENING A CASE WITH NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS THEY DENIED COVERAGE FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE FUEL SENDING UNIT AS IT WAS BEYOND THE ARBITRARY TIME LIMIT, ALTHOUGH WELL BELOW THE MILEAGE LIMIT. FAULTY FUEL QUANTITY READINGS ARE NOT JUST AN INCONVENIENCE. THEY CAN RESULT IN HAZARDOUS OVERFILLING OF FUEL TANKS (OR ATTEMPTS TO FILL AN ALREADY FILLED TANK) WHEN THE GAUGE ERRONEOUSLY READS EMPTY RESULTING IN FLAMMABLE GAS SPILLS, DIZZYING AND ENVIRONMENTALLY UNSOUND VAPOR EMISSIONS AT THE PUMP. ON THE FLIP SIDE WHEN THERE IS LITTLE OR NO FUEL IN THE TANK BUT THE GAUGE SHOWS SOME QUANTITY OF FUEL SUCH AS 1/4 TANK OR MORE, DRIVING OFF ON LONG COMMUTES OR TRIPS RESULTS IN RUNNING OUT OF GAS ON HIGHWAYS. IN MY CASE THIS IS IN RURAL AREAS OR BACK ROADS AND HIGHWAYS OUT OF CELL PHONE RANGE AND FAR FROM SERVICES, AND CAN OCCUR IN SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS. I BELIEVE THIS KNOWN PROBLEM IS A SAFETY PROBLEM THAT POSES UNNECESSARY RISKS TO DRIVERS AND SHOULD HAVE RESULTED IN A RECALL, NOT JUST AN ARBITRARY LIMITED EXTENSION OF WARRANTY, AND DISCLAIMER BEYOND THAT. *TR

FUEL GAUGE ISSUE P0463 FUEL LEVEL SENSOR IS ERRATIC, INACCURATE, OR INOPERATIVE. NISSAN REFUSED TO ACCEPT THIS RECALL. NHTSA ACTION NUMBER 10032627 SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER 280480. *TR

THE XTERRA FUEL SENDING UNIT HAS GONE BAD/MALFUNCTIONED. UPON FILLING UP VEHICLE THE GAS GAUGE CONTINUED TO SHOW XTERRA WAS EMPTY AND DIAGNOSTIC CODE P0463 WAS ABLE TO BE READ. I HAVE HEARD NUMEROUS ACCOUNTS OF THIS ISSUE WITH XTERRAS. *TR

WHILE I AM DRIVING MY VEHICLE THE FUEL GAUGE STOPPED SHOWING THE FUEL LIMIT PROPERLY AND SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON SINCE THEN. I DID NOT FIND ANY SOLUTION, NISSAN HAS THE FAULTY DEVICE AND IT SHOULD FIX IT. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

GAS GAUGE WONT READ, DISPLAYS EMPTY WHEN FULL. GOES BACK AND FORTH. 2006 AND 2008 RECALLED FOR SAME PROBLEM AND PART # BUT NISSAN WONT PAY TO HAVE 2005 FIXED OR DO A RECALL. WE BUT FROM ROANOKE NISSAN DEALER USED AT 57351 MILES. THEY DIDN'T OFFER WARRANTY AND WE DIDN'T GET EXTENDED WARRANTY. *TR

THE GAS GAUGE GOES FROM HALF FULL TO EMPTY AND LIGHT COMES ON WHEN THE CAR IS IN IDLE. THE GAUGE DOES NOT RE-SET UNTIL THE TANK IS FILLED AND DRIVES FOR ABOUT 100 MILES. I BELIEVE IT IS AN ISSUE WITH THE SENDING UNIT. IS THERE ARE RE-CALL? *TR

LAST YEAR, 10/29/12, I NOTICED MY GAS GAUGE SHOWING EMPTY WHEN I HAD SLIGHTLY MORE THAN 1/4 TANK OF GAS, BUT NEEDLE MOVED ONCE TRUCK WARMED UP AND STARTED MOVING. THEN LAST MONTH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. NISSAN IS TELLING ME I HAVE TO PAY ROUGHLY $600.00 TO FIX THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR (CODE P0463). MY TRUCK HAS NOT EVEN 38,000 MILES ON IT. NOW I DIDN'T PASS INSPECTION. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT NISSAN SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS REPAIR AND RECALL DUE TO THIS PART. *TR

VEHICLE FUEL GAUGE ABRUPTLY DROPPED FROM APPROXIMATELY 1/2 FULL TO COMPLETELY EMPTY WITH LOW FUEL LIGHT ILLUMINATION WHILE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. FUEL GAUGE REMAINED AT EMPTY WITH LIGHT ON AFTER REFUELING AND MAINTAINED THIS STATUS FOR THE REMAINDER OF TRAVEL (APPROX. 1 HOUR, 50 MILES). VEHICLE WAS THEN PARKED FOR 1 HOUR AND UPON RESTART, GAUGE SHOWED 6/8 LEVEL. VEHICLE WAS AGAIN REFUELED TO ENSURE ADEQUATE FUEL AND GAUGE LEVEL DID NOT CHANGE. AFTER APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES GAUGE AGAIN ABRUPTLY DROPPED TO EMPTY AND REMAINED THERE. *TR

MY 2005 NISSAN XTERRA HAS EXPERIENCED A FUEL SENDING UNIT FAILURE. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS PROBLEM ONLINE, I HAVE FOUND THAT THIS IS A KNOW PROBLEM FOR THIS YEAR AND MODEL. NISSAN DOES NOT RECOGNIZE IT AS PROBLEM, NOR WILL THEY COVER IT UNDER WARRANTY. THIS IS SUCH A PROBLEM THAT THERE IS OVER A 2 WEEK WAIT TO GET THE PARTS TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THE GAS GAUGE WILL ALTERNATELY READ DIFFERENT FUEL LEVELS. WHEN THE TANK IS FULL, IT READS THAT THE TANK IS EMPTY AND THE LOW FUEL LIGHT IS LIT. IT WILL THEN CORRECT ITSELF, AND ONLY REGISTER TO A 1/4 OF A TANK. AFTER IT REACHES THAT LEVEL, IT WILL NO LONGER GIVE AN ACCURATE READING AND AT TIMES WILL ONCE AGAIN READ AN EMPTY TANK. *TR

GAS GAUGE HAS QUIT WORKING...COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE AUTOMOBILES...WHY NO RECALL? *TR