FUEL GAUGE erroneous reading ?

There is a Nissan Special Service Campaign in Malaysia regarding Nissan Grand Livina and Latio.. regarding erroneous fuel gauge reading.. quoted as follow

"

quoted..

" Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM) is initiating a service campaign for the Nissan Grand Livina and Latio. The campaign involves 32,100 units of the Grand Livina assembled from Dec 2007 to June 2010, and 9,300 units of the Latio sedan and hatch produced between May 2007 and June 2010.

Now, before you go panicky, rest assured that this is not a defect that will cause your car to explode or spin out of control. This, ETCM's representatives were keen to stress to us over the phone, is not a recall.

According to the press release issued by ETCM, it has recently discovered cases of erroneous fuel gauge readings in the lower positions caused by (technobabble alert) 'electrochemical migration on the resistor-card in the fuel gauge being affected by a combination of environmental aspect, fuel variation and etc.'

Owners of the affected vehicles are being contacted by writing, and are being advised to make appointments with their nearest branch or authorized dealers to have the defect rectified with a new and improved fuel gauge. ETCM also advises all affected owners to keep their vehicle's fuel level at above half tank at all times as a safety precaution.

We further advise that you cultivate the practice of resetting your trip meter at every refill, which would enable you to double check your fuel gauge reading against your distance traveled.

ETCM’s Executive Director, Dato’ Dr Ang Bon Beng said, “Customers are always our top priority. We initiated this service campaign to cover all the vehicles produced during the mentioned period even though not all the vehicles may be affected. All labour and replacement parts for this less than an hour exercise will be free-of-charge.”

refer to the website for full details..
http://autoworld.com.my/v2/news/nb_details.asp?awReviewId=3405&awCatId=RT.ATC.CAR.NW

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Also.. for those having a quite questionable fuel consumptions like mine.. I found this website quite interesting and might shed light to the problem if it realy is..

http://forum.autoworld.com.my/index.php?showtopic=37355&st=20&start=20


partly quoted: ( from Malaysian Owner : Nokia 6280)

"I suffer with high FC and the wheel is not too smooth for the past 3 to 4 months, even after my last service with ECU tuning.. FC still high and still not smooth.

I bring my wheel back to fine tune above problems and below were done by the SC, now my car felt very smooth but one thing that i noticed.. previous my RPM will stay or drop a little after i release my fuel padel while driving but now it will drop to close to 1100 RPM when release my fuel padel. But need to monitor my FC for few weeks.

1. Replace Fuel Sender Unit, this is the replace the faulty part for the recent recall
"According to the press release issued by ETCM, it has recently discovered cases of erroneous fuel gauge readings in the lower positions caused by (technobabble alert) 'electrochemical migration on the resistor-card in the fuel gauge being affected by a combination of environmental aspect, fuel variation and etc.'

2. Gauge Assy fuel tank

3. O RING f/gau99

4. Full factory ECU reset.

5. reset inital RPM from -1 to 0 "



Hope NMPI will be aware of this Fuel Gauge problem encountered by their counterpart in Malaysia and will do the same goodwill as well..

Hi peeps,

I am experiencing some faulty readings on my GL's fuel gauge. My GL is 2 years old now. I have observed this for the first 2 to 3 months from the time we bought it (July 2009). The gauge would usually drop from full or half empty to completely empty. At first, i thought, well, it was still new and maybe it just need sometime to adjust. The normal reading would usually be that we would get plus/minus 150km when the guage would read halfway, then it would slowly drop until we get arround 250 to 300 km. My wife and I tried several types of fuel, just maybe we may not be using the right one. Below were our observations:

Shell (we are not using shell for about a year now so this was 2009/2010)

1. (2009) Shell super unleaded: works fine, no problem with fuel gauge. Reading is normal as mentioned above. Though we get really low mileage with this fuel, about 260km on full tank, pure city driving. I don't now about the new one they have now.

2. Shell premium: fuel gauge would not read right. At full tank, it stay at full, but when we idle for more than 3 minutes, say when waiting for someone or stuck in traffic, we would watch the fuel gauge drop to empty and the empty lights would turn on. It would go up slowly again as we drive.

3. Shell V-power: works fine. No problem with fuel gauge. reading is normal as mentioned. Good mileage, at about 290km on full tank, pure city driving.

Petron (2010/2011)

1. xtra unleaded: have not tried this one yet.

2. XCS: Same with shell premium. Or even worse, most of the time the fuel gauge reads empty and empty light is always on. I get paranoid all the time. I refill immediately only to find out I have only spent 10 liters. On several occasions, I've been using this fuel as the price of gas goes up.

3. Blaze: My fuel of choice. Gauge works right, reading is normal as mentioned. Better idling sound from my GLs engine, and some minute but noticeable performance gain, engine runs cooler. Can stretch up to 350km on full tank, pure city driving. Made some backward computation on price versus mileage, mileage offsets price compared to XCS.

Here is the catch, even with Petron Blaze about 3 weeks now, my GL's fuel gauge is reading abnormally, its almost always empty with the empty lights. But as soon as i drive, it slowly picks up. Yet, it is not accurate. At one time it reads a quarter full, when i fill up I only had 20liters. So i guess it may not just be the type of fuel now. I will bring this up to the CASA at Westgate Alabang sometime this month or the next to have them check.

^^ By the way, My GL is the mid variant - AT.

Nangyari na sa akin to sir, ni report ko sa dealer and they replace the fuel float, free naman dahil under warranty pa. Now, so far so good/ accurate ang fuel guage reading ng GL ko..

Thanks for the reply sir Chualie.

i still have this problem, but since im in the habit of resetting my trip meter me idea ako kung kailangan ko na magpa-gas. accurate yung fuel gauge ko pag-dating sa 1/2 pababa. napansin ko lang din is yung sa pag-release sa gas pedal, parang hindi agad bumabagsak yung rpm ko. will the fix suggested below fix my problem kaya?

thanks

I also observed that. I just don't take it to heart. Ever since, my habit is go for a weekly full tank and I reset my trip meter only after fill-up.

Changing the fuel float will only make your fuel gauge accurate, pero hindi yun idling or yun pagbagsak ng rpm when u release the gas pedal-I don't experience this. Napansin ko lang na when you fill up gas while the engine is running, the fuel gauge is inaccurate, kaya from then on I close the engine during gas fill up. Pag nag ignition ko, ok na ulit ang reading ng fuel gauge.

Ang problema ko naman eh there are times na excessive white smoke ang lumalabas sa muffler usually when the engine is cold or kaka start lang. It's more than the normal smoke na lumalabas pag cold ang engine. This happens after using sea oil's extreme 97 octane for a long time. Nag switch ako sa unleaded ng seaoil and it's gone (The excessive white smoke) I guess talagang pang unleaded fuel lang talaga ang para sa GL since ito yung label na nakalagay sa gas thank "use unleaded fuel". Lately laging unleaded fuel na ang nilalagay ko. And ok naman d na excessive ang labas ng usok.

Sir Chualie, and to other as well,.. with regards to using fuel such as XCS and equivalent na not unleaded sa other brand, as per manual ng GL natin, it mentioned na it will damaged the catalyctic converter... so better dont use fuel na hindi unleaded.. baka it will void our engine warranty..

with regards nman sa fuel indicator, last August I meer NMPI technical staff and they mentioned na ganun daw talaga ang response ng indicator natin, bigla na lang nababa ang reading..due to the design ng tank... and if we notice also, the number of graduation ( lines) after the half level, towards sa 1/4 level and empty, e mas marami.. means di talaga linear yung indicator ng GL natin..

chualie wrote:Changing the fuel float will only make your fuel gauge accurate, pero hindi yun idling or yun pagbagsak ng rpm when u release the gas pedal-I don't experience this. Napansin ko lang na when you fill up gas while the engine is running, the fuel gauge is inaccurate, kaya from then on I close the engine during gas fill up. Pag nag ignition ko, ok na ulit ang reading ng fuel gauge.

Ang problema ko naman eh there are times na excessive white smoke ang lumalabas sa muffler usually when the engine is cold or kaka start lang. It's more than the normal smoke na lumalabas pag cold ang engine. This happens after using sea oil's extreme 97 octane for a long time. Nag switch ako sa unleaded ng seaoil and it's gone (The excessive white smoke) I guess talagang pang unleaded fuel lang talaga ang para sa GL since ito yung label na nakalagay sa gas thank "use unleaded fuel". Lately laging unleaded fuel na ang nilalagay ko. And ok naman d na excessive ang labas ng usok.

Thanks for that info. D ko kasi nababasa yung manual ng GL.

@quiescent, thanks sa info. i use XCS mainly because mas maganda ang FC ko and less engine vibration ang nakukuha ko. check ko nga din manual, parang hindi ko ata nabasa yung sa unleaded na part. hehehe

aln wrote:@quiescent, thanks sa info. i use XCS mainly because mas maganda ang FC ko and less engine vibration ang nakukuha ko. check ko nga din manual, parang hindi ko ata nabasa yung sa unleaded na part. hehehe

There's definite savings if you use fuel with higher octane, starting from 95. The benefits outweigh the negatives as engine response is better and longer mileage. Tried Shell fuel save and it did not give me the same mileage as XCS. My GL runs better with Petron.

@lydemer, are you also using XCS. Do you think na me effect nga sa engine natin or catalytic converter ung pag gamit ng hindi unleaded fuel?

Lydemer wrote:

aln wrote:@quiescent, thanks sa info. i use XCS mainly because mas maganda ang FC ko and less engine vibration ang nakukuha ko. check ko nga din manual, parang hindi ko ata nabasa yung sa unleaded na part. hehehe

There's definite savings if you use fuel with higher octane, starting from 95. The benefits outweigh the negatives as engine response is better and longer mileage. Tried Shell fuel save and it did not give me the same mileage as XCS. My GL runs better with Petron.

+1 dito.. XCS user din ako. I changed to xcs kasi napansin ko sa unleaded mahina yun hatak ng auto.

aln wrote:@lydemer, are you also using XCS. Do you think na me effect nga sa engine natin or catalytic converter ung pag gamit ng hindi unleaded fuel?

Mga sirs, correct me if I'm wrong, pero ang alam ko unleaded din ang XCS pati Petron Blaze ang pagkakaalam ko unleaded din. As far as I know wala na talagang leaded gas dito sa atin

@botman, yun din ang alam ko eh. i think petron blaze 100 is pure unleaded without ethanol

Mga Sir,

I search the net and check about the xcs if leaded or unleaded.. in petron website..they were not mentioned as leaded fuel, http://www.petron.com/fueljourneys/fuels/fuel_journeys-fuels.asp?ID=90, http://motorcyclephilippines.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18201

and also found out na seems wala na nga unleaded dapat sa atin since 2005 pa.. and they only used it till now for aviation fuel na lang..hopefully this is true, so we dont need to worry again sa catalycic converter ng GL natin.. ..

last time kasi before changing mga fuel to Total unleaded, lagi kami nag kakarga kami sa petron, and the same time we also get a some litters ng XCS para naman sa motor ..then I asked the visor about the difference bet. petron super unledaded nd XCS, plainly he mentioned na oXCS is leaded and mostly used sa mga motorbike nga.. then as per manual nga ng GL natin na mentioned na avoid using leaded fuel as it will damaged the CC ng GL natin..so i didnt used it ..

aln wrote:@botman, yun din ang alam ko eh. i think petron blaze 100 is pure unleaded without ethanol

yes sir, unleaded na po ata talga tayo. ayoko lang is yung ethanol eh

I'm using Petron XCS. Still experiencing reading error on the fuel gage. Had it replaced at Mantrade but still the same issue.

dreamur wrote:I'm using Petron XCS. Still experiencing reading error on the fuel gage. Had it replaced at Mantrade but still the same issue.

same with me, had the gauge replaced as well. parang ganun na talga ang guage natin, pag full tank mabilis bumagsak then saka magiging stable pag dating sa half.

aln wrote:@lydemer, are you also using XCS. Do you think na me effect nga sa engine natin or catalytic converter ung pag gamit ng hindi unleaded fuel?

Sorry for the late response, I am using blaze or velocity sa GL ko. So far so good naman siya. In my case kasi, the higher to octane rating and if hindi ethanol, mas maganda ang mileage ko. However di naman ganun kabilis ang pagbaba ng fuel gauge meter ko. The needle starts to move downward pag nasa 50-55 km if highway driving and around 30-35 kilometers sa city driving after a full tank. My advise is to switch different brands of fuel once in a while and reset the odometer reading after filling the tank. This has become my practice ever since and it has worked for me. Oo nga pala, do not forget to always check your tire pressure once a week since it has an effect on your fuel consumption. My recommended tire pressure is 35 psi for the front and the rear. Make sure that you refuel and check tire pressure in the evenings or early mornings as the temperature is cooler and better on your mileage as fuel and air is more compressed when cooler.

Mgs chief just to ask i kept on reading this issue regarding erroneous fuel gauge reading for GL my problem is when will or how will i know that my GL have this issue kasi patapos na this coming May 12 ang warranty ng GL ko napansin ko na din yung amoy usok sa aircon vent pag dumadaan ako sa nagbebenta ng bbq pero in traffic never smelled anything, me and my wife is very happy with our livina since this is our first car we bought kasi yung 1984 ford laser ko was pamana ng parents ko sa akin at pagdating ng araw papamana ko livina ko sa future son ko

nicolite wrote:Mgs chief just to ask i kept on reading this issue regarding erroneous fuel gauge reading for GL my problem is when will or how will i know that my GL have this issue kasi patapos na this coming May 12 ang warranty ng GL ko napansin ko na din yung amoy usok sa aircon vent pag dumadaan ako sa nagbebenta ng bbq pero in traffic never smelled anything, me and my wife is very happy with our livina since this is our first car we bought kasi yung 1984 ford laser ko was pamana ng parents ko sa akin at pagdating ng araw papamana ko livina ko sa future son ko

Hi nicolite, just have it undergo inspection and report your concerns ASAP so your SA should be able to check your fuel gauge and rectify any issues with it as well as the smoke coming inside your cabin. Given that these issues are no longer new, your SA should be able to provide you the needed fixes if not to inform you which is normal and not.

+1 on Lydemer

pero me times kasi yung SA's are not technically knowledgeable sa problems ng owners lalo na yung mga bagong units na sasakyan.

aln wrote:

dreamur wrote:I'm using Petron XCS. Still experiencing reading error on the fuel gage. Had it replaced at Mantrade but still the same issue.

same with me, had the gauge replaced as well. parang ganun na talga ang guage natin, pag full tank mabilis bumagsak then saka magiging stable pag dating sa half.

.

Ito rin ang na noticed ko at nagpakaba sa akin nun first ako na nagpa full tank, sabi ko, bakit ang lakas yata nitong GL sa gas,(mas tipid pa yun sedan ko na 2.0).
Pero nun pagdating nga ng half yun fuel gauge, medyo hindi kasing bilis ng drain kumapara sa full tank.

Is this normal for everyone else ?