Fuel gauge Sandbagging is really bothering me

[Desidon]

Now that I have had 4-5 tank fill ups on my 2013, I have never been able to put more than 22 gallons in. I always wait till range goes to "----" and even then around 22 is the max I can put in.
At 15 mpg... The range of this suv is around 300 miles which is on the low end.
I know there are 4 more gallons in there based on a 26 gallon tank capacity and that can take the range to a somewhat decent 350 miles...

Has anyone taken this issue to the dealer to get the gauge recalibrated?
Can anyone here put in more than 22 gallons?

 

[Dread_Parrot]

half tank

Interesting. actually I don't know if I have ever put in over 20-21 gallons? I will watch now.
I try not to let it get down below a quarter tank, in case the wife is caught in a traffic back up.
Now that it is winter I am getting a good solid 18 -18.5 mpg, and that's allowing it to idle a little bit in the cold morning sometimes. mix of country road and town driving. Avoiding stoplights helps that fuel mileage immensely. I am running gasoline without any ethanol, little more expensive,but no issues.
have a good one,
Parrott

 

[2011 QX56]

There's a thread that discusses this in detail. Several owners have gone in to try to get this fixed, but I'm not aware of a resolution. I had this problem on my 2011 QX and it's exactly the same on my 2012. I think Infiniti has decided not to address this.

 

[casedds]

I had this problem in my 2011 which I no longer have. It took approx 2 weeks to have the instrument cluster sent from Japan. As the odometer is connected to this cluster the car cannot be driven. Once that part was replaced it still was never accurate, and I did get the occassional smell of gasoline in the passenger compartment. My Q was in the shop for over a month total related to this problem. It is not worth to have this issue fixed. Just assume that when the light goes on you have approx 100 miles before you run dry.

______________________________

 

[Desidon]

I had this problem in my 2011 which I no longer have. It took approx 2 weeks to have the instrument cluster sent from Japan. As the odometer is connected to this cluster the car cannot be driven. Once that part was replaced it still was never accurate, and I did get the occassional smell of gasoline in the passenger compartment. My Q was in the shop for over a month total related to this problem. It is not worth to have this issue fixed. Just assume that when the light goes on you have approx 100 miles before you run dry.

This cannot be normal or even considered good design.
How does this compare to other luxury brands? Do lexus, MB suv etc also report empty with 4 gallons in the tank?

 

[Silverback]

I don't think I have had a vehicle in the last 10 years that was even close to empty when the gauge was close to reading Empty.

If the manufactures let you run out of gas the out cry would be deafening.

 

[Kcrebel]

I also have a 2005 Chevy Duramax Diesel with the same issue. I bought it brand new and it has been that way every tank. I filled up last night when the warning chimes alerted me that the fuel level was low (less than 50 miles range). Because diesel foams terribly I am the anal guy that fills it to the rim slowly by letting the foam settle off and trickle the fuel in. Filled to the neck it held 19.4 gallons. Tank size is the same as the qx at 26 gallons. Fuel gauge was in the Red below 1/4 tank also. So I still had a little over 6 gallons of fuel left and it was warning me I had three at 19 mpg roughly.
So I agree with the other poster all manufacturers are going to add in a safety reserve for the ones of us that will push the limits of a tank. You guys know the excuses: "I'll fill up this afternoon after work", "Running late this afternoon to soccer practice, get it tomorrow am" "While warming the engine tomorrow am, I'll fill up this afternoon so I won't be late to work this am", etc etc etc.
Facts are that running engines out of fuel is a bad thing. Running engines low on fuel is a bad thing for the fuel pumps. I've been fortunate to never have to replace a fuel pump in a vehicle in my lifetime. I firmly believe part of that reason is because my brother and my Dad are both mechanics and have taught me to never run lower than 1/4 of a tank when possible because doing so makes the fuel pump work harder as the fuel sloshes around in the tank while moving and when really low in the tank not only does debris get pulled in along with water,etc, there are periods of time when air will also get pulled in creating loss of pressure, etc....
Long story Longer...Lol...My roommate from college was the person I described above. Always pushing the limits of a tank of gas. Never putting more than $5 or $10 in at a time (obviously that was way before today's fuel prices). I know of at least four times he has had to replace fuel pumps on vehicles he has driven. Coincidence? I think not.
Point is while it is frustrating for us as consumers and drivers to not have accurate fuel gauges the reality is that you are going to have to fill up eventually anyways right? Does it really matter if you fill up today vs tomorrow? At Mile marker 150 vs 250?
For me personally there are so many other things I enjoy about the qx I don't mind the fuel gauge issue.
Sorry for the rant. Wasn't intended to be one or aimed at anyone in particular just sharing experience and advice fwiw. Lol.