Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | ||||||||||||||||
| 12V088000 | NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. | from 03/07/2002 to 06/03/2004 | V (Vehicle) | 8120 | 04/27/2012 | ODI | NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. | 03/06/2012 | 03/06/2012 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | Nissan is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 infiniti m45 vehicles manufactured from march 7, 2002, through june 3, 2004. due to a circuit board failure, the fuel gauge may read a fuel level higher than actually exists. as a result, the vehicle may run out of gas without notice. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | The vehicle may stall without warning, increasing the risk of a crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will modify the circuit board free of charge. the safety recall began on april 27, 2012. owners may contact nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Customers may contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov. | |||||||||||||||
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER - STORAGE - FUEL GAUGE SYSTEM | ||||||
| PE11038 | NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. | 12/14/2011 | 03/22/2012 | Fuel level gauge system failure | 12V088000 | |
| In a march 5, 2012 letter to nhtsa, nissan north america, inc. (nissan) submitted a defect information report identifying a defect in the combination meter circuit board in approximately 8,120 model year 2003 through 2004 infiniti m45 vehicles manufactured from march 7, 2002 through june 3, 2004 (recall no. 12v-088). according to nissan, heat generated by several components of the circuit board may cause solder cracks due to thermal shock.open circuits created by the solder cracks may cause the fuel gauge to read higher than the actual amount of fuel remaining in the gas tank or always indicate full.because of this condition, drivers may run out of fuel without notice, resulting in an engine stall without warning with no possibility of restart. the office of defects investigation (odi) analyzed complaint data provided by nissan as well as complaints submitted to odi from consumers.in total, there were 315 unique reports indicating an inaccurate fuel level reading while driving, including 61 that resulted in an engine stall incident (7.5 incidents per thousand vehicles).in addition, nissan provided warranty data showing 2,525 claims for replacement of the subject component (31% claim rate).nissan will begin owner notification in mid-april 2012.owners of the recalled vehicles will be notified to take their vehicle to an infiniti dealer, who will install a sub-amplifier in the combination meter to bypass the electric circuit and ensure accurate fuel level indication.this preliminary evaluation is closed.the odi reports cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints under the following identification numbers (odi nos.): 10429412, 10427140, 10426741, 10424642, 10423199, 10418078, 10416519, 10414944, 10412053, 10408935, 10406834, 10406096, 10404206, 10404080, 10395207, 10392714, 10386134, 10380863, 10374719, 10373992, 10369584, 10365717, 10365428, 10356315, 10353972, 10351181, 10349252, 10348351, 10342961, 10342641, 10336272, 10329869, 10325399, 10324572, 10323996, 10323757, 10322403, 10320190, 10318987, 10317547, 10317273, 10317234, 10317030, 10308445. | ||||||
| PE11038 | NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. | 12/14/2011 | Fuel level gauge system failure | |||
| The office of defects investigation has received 43 complaints alleging inaccurate fuel gauge reading in model year 2003 through 2004 infiniti m45 vehicles, including 26 incidents alleged to result in engine stall.all 26 incidents reported stalling because the fuel level reading indicated fuel in the tank when there was none.the complaints show an apparent increasing trend, with most received within the past year.a preliminary evaluation has been opened to assess the scope, frequency and potential safety consequences associated with the alleged defect. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | |||
| 09/30/2011 | 62000 | ||
| This vehicle's year, make and model has a known fuel gauge issue that nissan/infiniti chose to ignore for the longest time. i thought i was one of the lucky ones because my car car didn't have the issue but it happened back in september of 2011 while driving home from work. luckily, it was only me in the car and i was able to coast onto the shoulder and call my wife to bring gas for me. | |||
| 06/15/2011 | 74000 | ||
| This car has a well-known issue with the fuel gauge where it no longer works correctly. this resulted in my car running out of fuel as the instrument was not working correctly to notify me of my correct fuel amount, leaving me stranded on the highway. i believe this issue is already under investigation by the nhtsa. a recall should have been issued for this as it is a manufacturer defect. | |||
| 02/16/2012 | 112000 | ||
| Hello, i own a 2004 infinity m45 and i wish to file a complaint. my gas gauge dosen't function properly and it reads half full at empty which caused my wife to stall out at night!!!!! on the highway!!!!! i thought it may have been just my car at first until i googled it realizing there are thousands of identical incidents. my check engine light is also on reading p0461 faulty fuel sensor. i hope someone can get get infinity to fix this situation seeing its obvious that this is a manufacturing issue...thanks for your time in advance... | |||
| 06/15/2011 | 74000 | ||
| This car has a well-known issue with the fuel gauge where it no longer works correctly. this resulted in my car running out of fuel as the instrument was not working correctly to notify me of my correct fuel amount, leaving me stranded on the highway. i believe this issue is already under investigation by the nhtsa. a recall should have been issued for this as it is a manufacturer defect. | |||
| 02/16/2012 | 112000 | ||
| Hello, i own a 2004 infinity m45 and i wish to file a complaint. my gas gauge dosen't function properly and it reads half full at empty which caused my wife to stall out at night!!!!! on the highway!!!!! i thought it may have been just my car at first until i googled it realizing there are thousands of identical incidents. my check engine light is also on reading p0461 faulty fuel sensor. i hope someone can get get infinity to fix this situation seeing its obvious that this is a manufacturing issue...thanks for your time in advance... | |||
| 06/11/2009 | 45000 | ||
| My fuel gague was showing a half a tank of gas and i ran out of gas stalling ing the middle of an intersection. the vehicle is out of warrenty do to time frame but well within the mileage. this continues to be a problem and i have run out of gas 2 additional times. the vechile reads full 99% of the time but will drop down to about a half a tank every now and then (but not often), usually as it gets close to being empty. the dates and mileage for this compliant are not actually but are to my best guess. | |||
| 01/12/2012 | |||
| Car cut off due lack of gas, however, the fuel gauge was showing a half a tank. | |||
| 06/11/2009 | 45000 | ||
| My fuel gague was showing a half a tank of gas and i ran out of gas stalling ing the middle of an intersection. the vehicle is out of warrenty do to time frame but well within the mileage. this continues to be a problem and i have run out of gas 2 additional times. the vechile reads full 99% of the time but will drop down to about a half a tank every now and then (but not often), usually as it gets close to being empty. the dates and mileage for this compliant are not actually but are to my best guess. | |||
| 01/12/2012 | |||
| Car cut off due lack of gas, however, the fuel gauge was showing a half a tank. | |||
| 06/11/2009 | 45000 | ||
| My fuel gague was showing a half a tank of gas and i ran out of gas stalling ing the middle of an intersection. the vehicle is out of warrenty do to time frame but well within the mileage. this continues to be a problem and i have run out of gas 2 additional times. the vechile reads full 99% of the time but will drop down to about a half a tank every now and then (but not often), usually as it gets close to being empty. the dates and mileage for this compliant are not actually but are to my best guess. | |||
| 01/12/2012 | |||
| Car cut off due lack of gas, however, the fuel gauge was showing a half a tank. | |||
| 02/09/2009 | 33000 | ||
| My fuel guage read 1/3 of a tank and i ran out of gas. i bought the car used in approximately jan 2009 and i bought an extended complete powertrain warranty. they initially thought it was my float mechanism in the gas tank but finally realized it was the dash and replaced it under warranty ($50 deductible applied). my warranty expired a few miles ago (car has 90500 miles on it now) and i have begun to notice the problem again. currently i fill up after the trip odometer reaches 300 miles driven on a tank because while the guage appears to work accurately, once it reaches 1/4 of tank left, it begins to rise and will go as high as 3/4 full. sometimes turning the car off and then back on will reset it but it will soon begin to rise again. very annoying and according to the dealer the dash costs $900+ (in 2009). ramsey infiniti of ramsey nj did the work in 2009. | |||
| 11/23/2011 | 88000 | ||
| I ran out of fuel lost all power @ 70 mph with fuel gauge reading 1/4 tank. no accident but there was traffic in my immediate area and it was 9pm and dark. | |||
| 09/22/2011 | 86500 | ||
| While driving vehicle the fuel gauge and fuel remaining computer showed a significant amount of fuel left, almost half a tank. after a couple of minutes of driving the car sputtered and stalled. i pulled over and tried cranking the motor. after several failed attempts i noticed that the fuel gauge was now settled on empty. checked the computer and it showed 0 miles till empty. luckily my wife was able to bring me the gas for the lawnmower. this has happened several times since this intitial incident. a couple times with just my wife and children in the car. fortunately my wifes commute involves streets and avenues and no freeways or highways. i've communicated my issues on forums and blogs, tunrs out this is a common problem, and so far nothing has been done by infiniti to address this. the fix comes at a ridiculous price, dealer wants to change out gauge cluster, upwards of $1,000. i've been using the keep it full method, since i like the car, of course i shouldn't have to be doing this. i decided to file this report after reading that the nhtsa was looking into the issue. thank you. | |||
| 08/01/2011 | 90971 | ||
| This car died on me on the highway when the fuel gauge said that i had a 3/4 tank of gas remaining. the car started sputtering like it had run out of gas so we added gas and it started right up. i drove it to a local infiniti dealership righ away. they diagnosed the problem as in instrument cluster, which shocked me as i have never heard of an instrument cluster being responsible for a car running out of gas. i searched some online forums only to discover that there were hundreds of other people who had the same problem. had the fuel sending unit or furl pump went out, that would be understandable, but the instrument cluster going bad could have been very dangerous. since the cluster controls milage and all the warning lights such as check engine lights, this was very scary. it seems that infiniti knows there is a problem with these as many of the people on the forums said infiniti had paid for a new instrument cluster. with this problem being so prevalent, i think it is very important for the nhtas to look into. i believe it should be a recall with the number of people having problems. although my issue happened around 90,000 miles, there were many others that experienced the poroblem at 30 and 40,000 miles. | |||
| 02/15/2010 | 59000 | ||
| As a follow-up to an earlier post (odi id number: 10369584) i took my vehicle to the infiniti dealer in roswell georgia and when looked at by competent technicians who actually broke down the vehicle, it was determined that i have a faulty gauge cluster (expensive but the guys here know their stuff, are thorough, and know a bit about customer service). even after being properly diagnosed infiniti consumer affairs (ica) still refused to compensate (wish they had just told me that in the first place). the most infuriating thing is that ica acts as if they never heard of this problem before... do they not have access to the internet. i searched and before the first dealer even looked at my vehicle i knew two things; 1) the problem was common based on the number of blogs and the fact that there wasn't a lot of these made in the first place, and 2) that it was most likely the gauge cluster as almost every instance of owners having their fuel sending unit replaced ended up having the same problem again. | |||
| 02/15/2010 | 59000 | ||
| My 2004 infiniti m45 | |||
| 09/04/2010 | 117500 | ||
| Car's fuel gauge indicated nearly 1/2 tank of fuel remaining when tank is completely empty. i found out the hard way -- was driving, made a right turn onto a busy road, hit the gas and the engine died. if this had happened on i-75, particularly the 20+ mile stretch that's under construction and has no shoulders, this probably would have resulted in a major accident. | |||
| 08/05/2008 | 93500 | ||
| Fuel gauge incorrectly indicated 1/2 tank of fuel, but the vehicle ran out of gas while on an interstate highway, forcing me to exit to berm. gauge still indicates incorrect fuel level. | |||
| 01/06/2010 | 22704 | 1 | |
| Purchased my 2004 infiniti m45 at willow grove infiniti in the suburbs of philadelphia with 22,160 miles. i performed a thorough test drive and found no problems with the car. the car was bought to be my weekend car since i'm already supplied with a company car from work.after 3 weeks of minimal driving, found that i had put over 300 miles but the fuel gauge was still reading just under half tank. this car has a 20 gallon tank and is known to have between 16-19 mpg. at the very best, logic would say i would get 380 miles out of a full tank. i decided to keep driving until it reached 1/4 tank remaining to see what kind of mpg i'd receive from a full tank. i did not get the chance. at mile 346 in the trip odometer, the car sputtered to a stop. luckily, i was only 3 blocks away from my home. i looked at my gas gauge and it read between the half tank mark and the quarter tank mark. i immediately removed the idea of it being a fuel problem and thought it had to be electrical. but after several attempts of restarting, the electricity was fine except the car would remain on for a few seconds and then sputter to a stop. i walked home and filled a 1 gallon tank of gas with the help of my sister for transportation. i filled my empty tank with 1 gallon of fuel, started the car, and drove to the gas station to fill up the rest. it took over 19 gallons of gas to fill it up. the tank was bone dry. i was relieved that this incident didn't happen on the long island expressway or any other ny parkways because pulling over would have been extremely dangerous if i was given the chance by other motorists.obviously filling the tank with 20 gallons is a problem. i did my due diligence online and found countless m45 owners to have this problem: http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=316682 i took my car to competition infiniti in saint james, ny and was told infiniti does not repair this common problem. i find this unacceptable for a customer to pay $1000+ for this widespread problem. *tr | |||
| 02/28/2010 | 87000 | 1 | |
| On february 28, 2010, my 2004 infinity m45 gas gauge read that i had a little over a 1/4 tank of gas. as was driving down mathilda avenue in sunnyvale i began to notice that my vehicle was sputtering. i managed to get onto el camino real and luckily was able to pull over. unfortunately, i coasted to the right curb in a bus stop area. i was very lucky that i was not hit by another vehicle as my vehicle was barely able to coast to the curb. my husband arrived with a gas can and poured gas into the fuel tank and the car started. i called the frontier infinity in santa clara, calif. where i bought the car and explained the situation. they responded that they couldn't do anything about it since my car model was not on the recall list. *tr | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER | |||
| 06/02/2011 | 58500 | ||
| 2004 infiniti m45 ran out of gas with my gauge reading 1/4 left. found out it is a problem with gauge cluster which is about $1000.00 to replace. i have found out this is a common problem but infiniti refuses to help with the cost. there needs to be a recall. thank you. | |||
| 04/05/2011 | 115000 | ||
| For no apparent reason, the fuel gauge on my 2004 infiniti m45 started acting up. when the fuel goes below half a tank, the fuel gauge will rise. the mileage reading correlates & tells me i have lots of fuel left, when in reality it may be on or near empty. i am forced to use the trip odomoter to try to guess when the fuel is running low. i have been told it's a problem with the fuel gauge cluster & this is a fairly common problem with the m45's. i don't understand why it's not a recall or isn't covered under warranty. | |||
| 04/02/2010 | 18000 | ||
| Incorrect gas level on 2004 infiniti m45. common problem with many m45's in 2003 and 2004. gauge cluster needs to be replaced. | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER - STORAGE - FUEL GAUGE SYSTEM | |||
| 05/15/2009 | 58000 | ||
| Tl*- the contact owns a 2004 infiniti m45. the contact observed while driving approximately 45 mph the fuel gauge displayed an incorrect reading which indicated the fuel tank level was full. however, the fuel tank consumption was half of the fuel level capacity. additionally, the fuel gauge displayed an inaccurate reading that the fuel tank was empty. the failure occurrences fluctuated at any speed. the vehicle was then taken to dealer for diagnostic test. the failure was contributed to the fuel gauge assembly. there had been no repairs to the vehicle at the time of the complaint . the failure mileage was 58,000. the current mileage was 80,000. | |||
| 01/17/2009 | 130000 | 1 | 10/09/2004 |
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 infiniti m45. whenever the contact drives the vehicle he noticed that the fuel gauge will show 1/2 gallon more gasoline than the vehicle actually has in the tank. the vehicle had not been diagnosed by the dealership and there were no prior warnings. the current and failure mileages were 130000. updated 05/10/10 *bf updated 05/10/10*jb | |||
| 12/01/2008 | 80000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2004 infiniti m45. when the contact added fuel to the gas tank he noticed that the fuel gauge would constantly fluctuate without giving the driver an accurate reading. the vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that the fuel sending unit needed to be replaced. there were no prior warnings and the current and failure mileages were 80000. | |||