Since I took delivery of my Z in Dec. '02, I have noticed that when filling up I can only put about 15-16 gallons in the tank. From the owner's manual, the capacity of the tank should be 20 gallons. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that there muas be some problem with the placement or operation of the sensor in the tank.

I have heard from a few folks with the same problem. Anyone else?

FYI: Mine is at the dealer today for routine maintenance and to check out this problem.

 

Mine worked fine for about a year, but I started noticing the same problem the past few months. I ran it down to where the dte gauge showed --- and it only took 15 gal to fill.

 

this happened to me 1 time. it was the 2nd time I ever filled the car up. my fix was to 1) not let it get super low 2) dont put the nozzel in all the way

 

Well, I picked my car up from the dearlership and they say that it is operating properly. They said that they have also heard people make a similar comment about the Maxima.

Oh well. I can live with it, I just wanted to make sure that it was working as designed and wouldn't leave me on the side of the road due to an incorrect reading.

 

I just starting noticing the same problem with my 03 350Z.

I decided to take some pictures of the problem.

First pic: Fuel gauge before filling up. My DTE says 51 miles, which coincides with gauge position.

 

All the tank would take is 11.541 gallons!

 

.

 

I started the car, and this is where the gauge settled at. I'm still at the gas station.

 

A quick errand, and 1.8 miles later I'm at home, and this is where the gauge is.

 

I could swear that when the car was new, the gauge would go past the top mark on a full tank.

This is starting to suk. I mean, I love gas fumes just like everyone else, but I prefer to increase the amount of time between fixes.

 

wow

i've heard people gasing to around 17 or 18

but 11.5? wow

 

when the gas light first comes on, i can only put about 15 gallons in. when the DTE says - - -, i can put in 16.5 gallons. the most i have ever put in was 18.2..

m

ps. my gauge does the same thing.. after a fillup, stays a little low, until the next time i start the car. also, when running low, i have had the needle to the empty line (light on), and then 5 minutes later, back up a little with the light off. wierd!

 

Just to make sure that I wasn't dreaming this stuff up, this morning my DTE was 38 when I started the car. After about 12 miles, it was -------- and the fule guage needle dropped below empty. I pulled into a gas station and filled up - 16.4 gallons.

Once the car was started the guage didn't go all the way to "Full" but stopped a little short and my DTE was about 379 miles. My brother regularly puts 18 in his '04.

Anyway, as long as it is consistent and doesn't leave me on the road ...

 

I think they all do this. Good luck getting 20 in.

 

dam man, those are some steep gas prices! how often do u fill your tank?

john

 

I always like to know exactly how many miles I can get of the car when the Fuel light comes on. I haven't ran out of gas yet. But I have driven 20 miles after the DTE light comes up with its " -- ". So I always think of it as reserve. =)

 

There is clearly a problem with the Z when trying to fill it with gas. There is some interaction between the Z and the station/pump. I've filled up on about 8-10 different gas stations over the past 12 months and I'd say 60 % have no problem and 40 % have a problem. I fill up 2 other cars at these same stations and over several years I've NEVER had the problem that I have with the Z. Never. On the other cars I don't have to worry about which station, how far you put the nozzle in or anything else.

So there is clearly something about the Z that makes it very sensitive to which nozzle or station fills the tank. Get the wrong one and you'll be 4-5 gallons short of a full thank.

 

More often then I'd like, now that I am only puting in 12 gals a visit.

I fill up about very 6 days.

I'll have to try some different stations/pumps, but I don't think this will solve it. I've been using the same station since I got the Z. Maybe it has more to do with the price of the fuel. The station might think I can't afford more then $27 bucks a pop.

 

Thats one of the downsides to living in cali everything here is expensive, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

I can never get much more than 16 gallons in with it on empty, but the gauge is past full with 16 or so gal..

 

I have the same gauge problems with my 03 Touring. Last time I got gas, I let the gauge get to E with the light on and 37MTE. Filled up and I could only get 13.335 gallons in the tank. Asked the dealer if this was normal and they said your car just has a 6.5 gallon reserve. I've had several vehicles, and this seems like a BS answer to me! Anyway, does anyone's Bose 6-disc skip in the mornings?