2004 Infiniti M45

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. *TR

THIS COMPLAINT RELATES TO A 2004 INFINITY M45. IN THE SUMMER OF 2009, I NOTICED THAT THE FUEL GAUGE WAS SHOWING NEARLY A FULL TANK OF GAS, BUT I THAT WAS INCORRECT BECAUSE I HAD NOT PUT ANY GASOLINE IN IT IN OVER 3 DAYS. THE NEXT DAY AS I WAS TRAVELING OVER A VERY BUSY BRIDGE IN TAMPA, FL, MY VEHICLE SPUTTERED TO A STOP. SINCE THAT TIME, THE FUEL GAUGE HAS NOT WORKED CORRECTLY. SHORTLY AFTER THAT TIME THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT ILLUMINATED. I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO BE CHECKED OUT AND WAS ADVISED THAT THE REPAIR WOULD COST IN EXCESS OF $1,000.00. MY VEHICLE WAS JUST OUTSIDE OF THE 60,000 MILE WARRANTY SO I WENT ONLINE TO INFINITI'S WEBSITE TO SEEK ASSISTANCE BUT NEVER GOT A REPLY AFTER NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS AND PLEAS FOR ASSISTANCE. ONE WOULD THINK THAT A MANUFACTURER SUCH AS INFINITI WOULD TAKE BETTER CARE OF IT'S CUSTOMERS. AFTER NOT RECEIVING A REPLY A REPLY ONLINE, I CONTACTED MY LOCAL INFINITI DEALER AND WAS PRETTY MUCH TOLD I WAS ON MY OWN WITH GETTING MY VEHICLE REPAIRED AND OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. AS OF THE TIME OF MY COMPLAINT, MY VEHICLE HAS 86,543 MILES ON IT. THIS IS WHY I'M FILING THIS COMPLAINT! *TR

THIS COMPLAINT RELATES TO A 2004 INFINITY M45. IN THE SPRING OF 2010, I NOTICED THAT THE FUEL GAUGE WAS SHOWING NEARLY A FULL TANK OF GAS, BUT IT HAD BEEN A LONG PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE I HAD PUT GAS IN THE TANK. WHEN I FILLED UP THE TANK, I REALIZED THAT THE TANK WAS NEARLY EMPTY. SINCE THAT TIME, THE FUEL GAUGE HAS NOT WORKED. SHORTLY AFTER THAT TIME THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT ILLUMINATED. I'VE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP SEVERAL TIMES. THEY HAVE REPLACED SEVERAL SENSORS. FINALLY, THEY CONCLUDED THAT THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER IS BAD AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED, A COSTLY REPAIR. RUNNING OUT OF FUEL ON A BUSY INTERSTATE IS A DANGER, AND SOMETHING THAT MUST BE FIXED. MOREOVER, THE VEHICLE WILL NOT PASS STATE INSPECTION WITH AN ILLUMINATED "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT. AFTER NOTICING SEVERAL SIMILAR COMPLAINTS RELATED TO THIS MAKE AND MODEL OF VEHICLE, I CALLED INFINITI TO SEE IF THEY WOULD HELP WITH THE REPAIRS. THE VEHICLE IS OUTSIDE OF WARRANTY, AND INFINITI REFUSED TO OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THIS WAS DISAPPOINTING. I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT A LUXURY CAR MANUFACTURER, LIKE INFINITI, WOULD AGREE TO REPAIR OR REPLACE A DEFECTIVE SENSOR CLUSTER THAT OBVIOUSLY SUFFERS FROM A DESIGN OR MANUFACTURING DEFECT. AS A RESULT OF THE SAFETY ISSUE ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEFECTIVE SENSORS, AND INFINITI'S REFUSAL TO VOLUNTARILY ASSIST IN THE REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT, I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 INFINITI M45. THE CONTACT STATED THE SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAG REMAINED ILLUMINATED ON THE WARNING PANEL. THE DEALER CONFIRMED THE AIR BAGS WERE DEFECTIVE AND WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED AT THE EXPENSE OF THE OWNER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND ADVISED THEY WOULD INFORM THE CONTACT AT A LATER DATE IF THEY WERE ABLE TO ASSIST WITH REPAIRS. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 83,999.

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

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.

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

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