2003 Nissan Pathfinder Fuel System Problems

Your fuel gauge isn't working correctly and hasn't been for 2 years. When you fill up the tank, the gauge shows full, but it never drops below the halfway mark no matter how much fuel you actually use. This means you have to track your mileage manually and refuel every 225 miles to avoid running out of gas. The fix will likely involve replacing the fuel gauge sender unit in your fuel tank, which is responsible for sending accurate fuel level readings to your dashboard.

Your fuel gauge showed the tank was at least half full, but your vehicle wouldn't start because it had actually run out of fuel. This caused unnecessary repairs costing nearly $1,000 before the real problem was discovered. The fuel gauge is giving inaccurate readings, which could be dangerous if you run out of fuel unexpectedly while driving on a highway. Fixing this likely requires replacing the entire instrument cluster.

Your fuel gauge isn't reading the fuel level correctly, causing you to unexpectedly run out of gas. This has already cost you money in towing fees and has forced you to top off your tank more frequently than necessary. The fix will likely involve replacing or recalibrating the fuel gauge sender unit or the gauge cluster itself.

Your gas gauge has stopped working, even though the fuel sensor is fine. Your mechanic believes the gauge itself is the problem. This appears to be a widespread issue affecting many 2003 Pathfinders. Fixing this will likely require replacing the fuel gauge cluster or instrument panel.

STRONG SMELL OF GASOLINE AFTER FILLING TANK. A LEAK FROM FUEL FILLER NECK WAS THE ISSUE. REPAIR WAS MADE, BUT IT WAS OVER $400. SAW 2 OTHER COMPLAINS ON NHTSA #S 10781139 AND 10703027. THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE ON PATHFINDERS THROUGH 2001. PERHAPS IT IS TIME THIS BE INVESTIGATED ON 2003S AS WELL.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN PATHFINDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE REFUELING THE VEHICLE, IT STARTED TO LEAK FUEL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 140,000.

EVERYTIME I FILL MY GAS TANK, THE GAS FILLER NECK LEAKS, FROM WHAT I CAN TELL IT IS CAUSED BY CORROSION. I;VE CONTACTED MFCTR. NISSAN/MANUFACTURER DO NOT HAVE ANY OPEN RECALL CAMPAIGN FOR THE YEAR OF MY VEHICLE, THEY DO HAVE AN EXISTING RECALL SAME ISSUE/GAS FILLER NECK LEAKING ON MODEL AND YEAR OF 1997 THRU 2001

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN PATHFINDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL PUMP FAILED AND PREVENTED THE CONTACT FROM SEEING THE FUEL GAUGE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURE WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 160,000.

THE METAL ON THE FILLER NECK ON THE GAS TANK HAS CORRODED TO A HOLE BIG ENOUGH THAT WHEN THE VEHICLE IS FUELED GASOLINE SPILLS OUT OF THE HOLE ONTO THE BACK TIRE AND THERE IS A STRONG SMELL OF GASOLINE FUMES IN THE CABIN. *TR

COMMON COMPLAINT FROM WHAT I AM READING. 03 NISSAN PATHFINDER WITH 82K MILES, WITH A MALFUNCTIONING FUEL GAUGE. I JUST BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE FROM A USED CAR DEALERSHIP AND HE IS GOING TO TAKE A LOOK, BUT WITH THE AMOUNT OF ISSUES I AM READING ABOUT, AND THAT NISSAN RECALLED THE 06 PATHFINDER WITH A SIMILAR ISSUE, ITS JUST IRRITATING THIS IS GOING UNRECOGNIZED BY NISSAN. GAUGE READS JUST OVER HALF A TANK ALWAYS AND SINCE I AM NEW TO THE CAR I AM REALLY GUESSING ON MILEAGE PER TANK, USING THE TRIP MILEAGE TO FIGURE WHAT I HAVE LEFT. BASICALLY I HAVE BEEN TOPPING OFF EVERY OTHER DAY. IS IT A GUMMED UP TANK AND THE FLOAT STICKING? A BAD GAUGE, A BAD FUEL SENDING UNIT? A SHORT BETWEEN THE GAUGE AND SENDING UNIT? WE SHALL SEE. AND I JUST BOUGHT THIS LESS THAN A WEEK AGO, CAN I HOLD THE USED CAR DEALER RESPONSIBLE FOR IT? *TR

2003 NISSAN PATHFINDER GAS GAUGE IS INACCURATE TO LEVEL INDICATED. ON EMPTY INDICATES FULL TANK. ONCE FILLED IT WILL REMAIN ACCURATE UNTIL 1/2 EMPTY THEN BEGINS TO CHANGE LEVELS EACH TIME VEHICLE IS STARTED. AT TIMES IT READS FULL, OTHER TIMES 1/2 FULL AND THEN JUMPING TO FULL. NO ERROR CODE. *TR

2003 NISSAN PATHFINDER GAS GAUGE IS INACCURATE TO LEVEL INDICATED. ON EMPTY INDICATES FULL TANK. ONCE FILLED IT WILL REMAIN ACCURATE UNTIL 1/2 EMPTY THEN BEGINS TO CHANGE LEVELS EACH TIME VEHICLE IS STARTED. AT TIMES IT READS FULL, OTHER TIMES 1/2 FULL AND THEN JUMPING TO FULL. MECHANIC REPLACED FUEL SENDER UNIT WITH NISSAN PARTS FROM DEALERSHIP. PROBLEM REMAINS. PRESENTING A PO462 CODE BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER REPLACING OF FLOAT AND SENDER UNIT. *TR

CAR REPEATEDLY DEMONSTRATES 1/2 TO 1/4 TANK OF GAS BUT IS EMPTY CAUSING USER TO RUN OUT OF GAS WHILE DRIVING. NO FUEL LEAK, MECHANICS CONTINUES TO STATE THEY FIND NO PROBLEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 NISSAN PATHFINDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL LEVEL GAUGE WAS PROVIDING INACCURATE GASOLINE FUEL LEVEL READINGS. THE FUEL LEVEL GAUGE WOULD INDICATE THAT THE FUEL TANK WAS HALF FULL WHEN THERE WAS NO GASOLINE IN THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT HAD EXPERIENCED SEVERAL INCIDENTS IN WHICH THE VEHICLE STALLED DUE TO LACK OF GASOLINE IN THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION HOWEVER, THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE A FUEL LEAK. THE FLUTE WAS REPLACED ON THE FUEL TANK AS A PRECAUTION BUT NO AVAIL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 126,764. *TR

I NOTICED MY FUEL GAUGE ON MY 2003 NISSAN PATHFINDER SE DID NOT CHANGE EVEN THOUGH I HAD DRIVEN MORE THAN 200 MILES ON A TANK OF GASOLINE. AT APPROXIMATELY THAT SAME TIME, THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON. WHEN WE HAD THE CODE CHECKED IT CAME BACK FUEL LEVEL SENSOR. IN RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE ON LINE I FIND THAT A LARGE NUMBER OF NISSAN OWNERS HAVE HAD THE VERY SAME PROBLEM AND IT IS A COSTLY REPAIR AS THE GAS TANK NEEDS TO BE REMOVED IN ORDER TO REPLACE THE SENOR. NISSAN HAS ISSUED A RECALL FOR CERTAIN YEARS, BUT NOT CURRENTLY THE 2003. THIS PROBLEM COULD PRESENT SERIOUS ISSUES FOR DRIVERS IF THEY DEPEND ON THEIR FUEL GAUGE TO TELL THEM IF THEY HAVE FUEL. ISN'T THAT WHAT THE GAUGE IS FOR? *TR

GAS TANK FAILURE DUE TO CORROSION. AFTER SMELLING A STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE I BROUGHT MY 2003 NISSAN PATHFINDER TO THE DEALER TO HAVE IT CHECKED, THEY DISCOVERED THAT THE GAS TANK HAD RUSTED AT THE TOP OF THE TANK UNDERNEATH THE REAR SEAT ALLOWING GASOLINE VAPORS TO ENTER THE INTERIOR AS WELL AS THE EXTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE CREATING A POTENTIALLY DEADLY SITUATION. I WAS INFORMED BY THE DEALER THAT THE GAS TANKS WERE ON A NATIONAL BACK ORDER AS NONE ARE AVAILABLE. *TR

THIS IS MY SECOND AND A FOLLOW-UP COMPLAINT TO THIS WEBSITE. VEHICLE DIES RUNNING AFTER ENGINE REACHES NORMAL TEMP AND SO FAR ONLY IN FREEZING OUTSIDE TEMPS. RESTARTS, DIES, RESTARTS, DIES, ETC. DEALER UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE. HAVE RECENTLY RECEIVED VEHICLE BACK FROM DEALER WITH A FUEL PUMP RELAY REPLACEMENT. ON THE VERY FIRST COLD DAY (15 DEGREES) SINCE IT WAS RETURNED, I HAD A REPEAT EPISODE OF MY PRIOR COMPLAINT. VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALER FOR THE FOURTH TIME. *AK