2003 Infiniti M45

AS I WAS DRIVING HIKE AFTER WORK ON 95 SOUTH MY INFINITI ALL OF A SUDDEN SHUT OFF WHILE I WAS ON THE MIDDLE LANE ON THE HIGHWAY, I MANAGES TO LET IT RIDE OVER AND GET TO THE EMERGENCY LANE BEFORE THE CAR CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP, I DID NOT KNOW WHAT WAS THE ISSUE UNTIL I HAD IT TOWED TO MY MECHANIC AND HE TOLD ME THAT THE CAR HAD NO FUEL, I DID NOT UNDERSTAND BECAUSE THE GAUGE READ A QUARTER TANK, AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH AND GETTING MY CAR SCANNED FOR THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THAT IS NOW ON BECAUSE OF IT, I FOUND OUT THAT THIS MODEL M 2003-2004 ALL HAVE THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE GAS GAUGE (INSTRUMENT CLUSTER). *TR

I FIRST INCURRED A FUEL GAUGE ISSUE WITH MY 2003 INFINITY M45 SEDAN AROUND APPROXIMATELY DECEMBER 2009. MY MOTHER WAS DRIVING THE CAR AT THE TIME OF FIRST INCIDENT AND THE FUEL GAUGE HAD READ FULL. ON HER WAY TO WORK SHE RAN OUT OF GAS WHICH CAUSED AN ENGINE FAILURE. AS A RESULT, SHE WAS STRANDED ON THE SIDE OF A MAJOR HIGHWAY. UPON TAKING THE CAR TO A LOCAL INFINITY DEALERSHIP THEY WERE ALMOST INSTANTLY ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM AS A FAULTY INSTRUMENT GAUGE CLUSTER. I WAS TOLD THE PART ALONE WAS AROUND $900 AND AFTER LABOR, IT WOULD BE OVER $1000 TO FIX. MY ONLINE RESEARCH HAS PROVEN THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM AND SEVERAL THIRD PARTY COMPANIES HAVE BEGUN OFFERING REPAIR SERVICES FOR THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE. I HAVE COME INTO CONTACT WITH WELL OVER 20 03-04 INFINITY M45 OWNERS WHO HAVE THE SAME ISSUE. SOME OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM WITH AS FEW AS 20,000 MILES. IT IS AN ISSUE THAT INFINITY IS AWARE OF, BUT IT IS MY OPINION THAT THEY CHOOSE NOT TO RECALL THE ISSUE WHEN THEY CAN MAKE AN EXTRA $1000 OFF REPLACING THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. I WAS MADE AWARE THAT THE ISSUE WAS NO UNDER INVESTIGATION. THERE ARE ONLY AROUND AN ESTIMATED 8100 03-04 M45S CURRENTLY STILL IN USE. AS A RESULT, OUR VOICE IS NOT HEARD VERY LOUDLY EVEN THOUGH THE PROBLEM IS EXTREMELY COMMON IN THESE VEHICLES. I AM MORE THAN WILLING TO OFFER ANY FURTHER INFORMATION ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE MATTER. *TR

THE FUEL GAUGE STOPPED ACCURATELY INDICATING THE AMOUNT OF FUEL IN THE VEHICLE. SUBSEQUENTLY THE CAR RAN OUT OF FUEL WHILE DRIVING ON LOCAL ROAD CAUSING DISRUPTION IN TRAFFIC BEFORE IT COULD BE MOVED TO THE SHOULDER. AFTER A CURSORY CHECK TO SEE IF ANYTHING LOOKED TO BE AMISS, WE DECIDED TO START WITH THE SIMPLE SOLUTIONS AND WORK TOWARD THE MORE COMPLEX. WE ADDED 5 GALLONS OF GAS TO THE CAR AND IT IMMEDIATELY CRANKED AND RAN FINE. THIS IS WHEN WE NOTICED THAT THE GAS GAUGE FAILED TO MOVE. THE GAUGE SHOWED TO BE ABOUT 1/2 FULL BEFORE WE ADDED FUEL AND DIDN'T MOVE AFTER ADDING THE FUEL. THE FUEL INDICATOR HAS NOW MOVED TO PAST FULL AND HASN'T MOVED SINCE. WE HAD AN INFINITI DEALER LOOK AT THE CAR AND THEY GAVE US AN ESTIMATE OF $1502.00 TO MAKE THE REPAIRS. THE MALFUNCTIONED OCCURRED AT OR NEAR 72,000 MILES, WELL AFTER THE WARRANTY PERIOD. REVIEWING INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET SHOWS THAT THIS APPEARS TO BE A RATHER COMMON OCCURRENCE FOR THIS YEAR/MODEL. OFTEN THIS WAS REPAIRED BY INFINITI IN CARS THAT WERE STILL IN THE WARRANTY PERIOD. BELOW IS A LINK TO A WEBSITE THAT'S HAS OVER 160 POSTS CONCERNING THIS PROBLEM. HTTP://FORUMS.NICOCLUB.COM/M45-FUEL-GAUGE-PROBLEM-POST-HERE-IF-YOU-HAVE-HAD-IT-T316682-150.HTML. *TR

I HAD JUST PURCHASED THE CAR AND WHEN I LEFT THE LOT AROUND NOVEMBER 1ST, 2011 AT 95K MILES , I WENT 10 MILES HOME TO MY PLACE, THEN 10 ADDITIONAL MILES TO MY MOTHERS PLACE TO SHOW THEM THE CAR. THEY GOT TO SEE THAT IT DIED IN HER APARTMENTS WHEN THE GAS GAUGE READ THAT IT WAS FULL. WE TRIED TO JUMP THE CAR, BUT WE DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS OUT OF GAS AND HAD SOMEONE WITH A GAS CAN TO HELP US. THE REFERRED ME TO A SHOP AFTER THE INCIDENT THAT'S NOT EVEN APART OF THE BBB AND NOT CERTIFIED AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO LOOK AT THE CAR. THEY WANTED ME TO HELP THEM FIND THE PART BUT THE CAR IS UNDER WARRANTY. I'M STILL DEALING WITH THIS ISSUE AND I HOPE YOU ALL CAN HELP ME RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. *TR

I KNOW THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ON FUEL GAUGE ISSUES WITH THE 03-04 M45. MY CAR NOW HAS 87K AND HAS HAD THIS ISSUE SINCE AROUND 73K MILES. ONCE IT GETS DOWN TO 1/4 TANK, IT WILL SOMETIMES GO TO E AND TURN THE LIGHT ON OR GO BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN 1/4 AND 1/2 TANK MARKS. I KNOW THE QX56 HAD A RECALL FOR THE SENDING UNIT BUT THE GAUGE CLUSTERS ARE THE ISSUE WITH THESE CARS. I'M HOPING INFINITI WILL PROVIDE SOME HELP SINCE THIS IS QUITE A BIG CONCERN FOR EVERY DRIVER. THANK YOU. *TR

FUEL GAUGE DOES NOT SHOW ANYWHERE NEAR CORRECT AMOUNT. BOUGHT CAR 1 YEAR AGO AND HAS BEEN SO FROM DAY 1 . REPLACED FUEL SENDER BUT DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM. REPLACED GAUGE CLUSTER WITH JUNKYARD PART AND IT WORKED FOR ABOUT 1 MONTH THEN IT FAILED AS WELL.EVERYONE I KNOW WHO OWNS THIS CAR HAS OR HAS HAD THIS ISSUE. PLEASE HELP US. *TR

2003 M45 CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON FOR GAS GAUGE, ALWAYS FULL. THE DIAGNOSTIC SAYS ITS THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR. REPLACED THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR (ABOUT $400) BECAUSE THE VEHICLE HAD FAILED THE STATE EMISSIONS INSP. THE CHECK ENGINE IS STILL ON AND NOW I HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. ALL-IN-ALL THIS IS TURNING OUT TO BE A PRETTY SERIOUS (EXPENSIVE) PROBLEM. MY CAR WON'T PASS INSPECTION AND MY REGISTRATION IS OUT. I'VE RUN OUT OF GAS SEVERAL TIMES ALREADY, SINCE NOTHING IS TELLING ME HOW MUCH GAS I HAVE. THE CAR SHUTS DOWN COMPLETELY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. ON ONE OCCASION HAD TO WAIT ON THE SIDE OF A VERY BUSY INTERSTATE FOR AN HOUR TO GET GAS FROM A TOW TRUCK DISPATCHED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY. *TR

I PURCHASED MY M45 FROM USED CAR DEALER AND WHILE DRIVING HOME THE CAR STALLED DURING CHICAGO RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. THE WRECKER TOWED ME BACK TO DEALERSHIP WHO ASKED IF I RAN OUT OF GAS - I THOUGHT NOT POSSIBLE SINCE THE FUEL GAUGE READ 3/8. THE DEALERSHIP FILLED THE GAS TANK AND CAR STARTED UP. I WAS STRANDED A SECOND TIME IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC IN RESIDENTIAL AREA AND THIS TIME MY TANK READ 7/8. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON (CODE P0462) DUE TO LOW VOLTAGE LEVEL TO THE FUEL LEVEL SENSOR DUE TO FAULTY INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. INACCURATE FUEL GAUGE READINGS COULD LEAVE THE DRIVER AND OR THEIR FAMILY IN DANGER OF BEING SERIOUSLY OR FATALLY INJURED IN A REAR-END ACCIDENT IF THE CAR STALLS ON THE INTERSTATE. NISSAN INFINITI CAR OWNERS CLUB HAS IDENTIFIED NO LESS THAN 50 OTHER 2003-04 M45 CAR OWNERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM. NISSAN NORTH AMERICA IS AWARE BUT REFUSES TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. *TR