Fuel Gauge Stuck on Empty and Service Engine Light On

Franey · Postby **Franey** » Wed May 22, 2013 5:37 pm

This afternoon, my fuel light came on, and it said that I had 28 miles left in the tank. So, I stopped at the Shell station and added 18 gallons of 93 octane. I'll be towing my camper in a couple of days, and I feel better when I put premium fuel in. I don't know if there is anything to that or not. Anyway, when I finished pumping, it made a gurgling noise for 5-10 seconds. I thought it was odd, but didn't pay it much attention. I got back in and started the engine, and the fuel gauge stayed pinned all the way to empty. The fuel light stays on. The DTE just shows ------. And, the service engine light is now on. I'm going to run to AutoZone and see if they can tell me what the code is. I read that someone had a similar issue, and it may have been water in their tank. It was pouring rain while I was pumping the gas, but I was under a canopy. I doubt if any got in that way. Any thoughts?

aadadams · Postby **aadadams** » Wed May 22, 2013 6:17 pm

99/100 your fuel gauge sending unit has failed. Common problem. I just replaced mine to discover that it still didn't work when I finished. Talk about frustrated! I started the job at 9 AM and didn't finish until just before dark. Mostly because I'm getting old and I was doing it alone. At any rate, I ended up taking it to the dealer afterward. They discovered that the part was defective and charged me about 450 in labor to replace the defective part that they sold me the day before... GRRR! It won't hurt anything, but you won't pass emissions in most states that go in for that... And, you will have to monitor your mileage closely to ensure that you don't run out of gas. The trip portion of the gauge still works you just have to cycle through...

Franey · Postby **Franey** » Wed May 22, 2013 7:00 pm

Thanks for the reply. I went to AutoZone to have the code checked and it came back P0463, fuel level sensor circuit high input. He showed me the part that I likely needed (as you said, the fuel level sending unit), and it was $303.00USD. I thought I'd come here and research to see if it was something I could do myself. I'm not a mechanic, but I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty to save some $$. It looks like this requires you to drop the tank, though. That's probably more than I want to tackle.

Franey · Postby **Franey** » Thu May 23, 2013 9:29 am

All symptoms were the same this morning, but everything magically started working again this afternoon. The service engine light is still on, but I assume it just needs a reset. I doubt I'm in the clear. I'm sure I can expect it to go out in the next two hours to five years. It looks like Nissan extended the warranty on the fuel sending unit from 36 months/36,000 miles to 72 months/72,000 miles. Inevitably, mine waited until 80 months/85,000 miles to act up.

aadadams · Postby **aadadams** » Thu May 23, 2013 12:01 pm

Early on, it will appear to go from working to not working, depending on how much fuel is in the tank. You can't trust it anymore though. I can't remember exactly, but the part from my Nissan dealer was like $80-90. My dealer price matches Courtesy Nissan. If you decide to do it your self, Have a breaker bar and some extensions handy. Find a board to use to support the fuel tank on your hydraulic jack. The lower the fuel level in the tank the easier the job is. Finally, have a buddy help out!

deermjd · Postby **deermjd** » Fri May 24, 2013 7:53 am

That sucks that you're not too far outside of the extended warranty period. The fuel level sensor is available from Nissan as a separate part, so you don't have to purchase the entire fuel pump unit. If you decide to tackle the repair yourself, it's an easy job and great way to learn. I just followed the steps in the factory service manual that's on this forum. Very straighforward job. The replacement level sensor I installed looked to be a better design than the original so hopefully it won't have to be replaced again.

Postby **smj999smj** » Sat May 25, 2013 10:57 pm

There was a technical service bulletin for this issue. However, some 2006 models had the part recalled, so if you have a 2006 MY, check with your Nissan dealer for any "open" recalls or campaigns per our VIN #, or call 1-800-NISSAN-1.

HuskerPath · Postby **HuskerPath** » Thu May 30, 2013 10:08 am

I had the same problem. I went through 2 or 3 fuel level sending units to no avail. Eventually had to replace the fuel tank. That did the trick. No problems since.

Didn't notice if this was mentioned above but you should never over-fill the tank as this can damage the sensor. Once the pump clicks off, don't give it any more squeezes.

Best of luck to you.

Franey · Postby **Franey** » Fri Aug 16, 2013 1:52 pm

Just to follow up... each time I fill my tank, it reads empty. Around 3/4 tank, it works again. It gets flaky again when the tank is low. I've decided to just set my trip counter and keep an eye on it. It sucks, but it isn't worth $400-$500 to get it fixed. Oh well...