NHTSA Complaint #10883732 — 2015 NISSAN MURANO

IN NOVEMBER 2015, THE CAR FUEL LIGHT CAME ON DURING A TRIP. BEFORE I COULD GET TO A GAS STATION, THE CAR SUDDENLY BECAME SLUGGISH AND WOULD NOT GO OVER 20 MILES PER HOUR. THE ENGINE DID NOT TURN OFF INDICATING IT STILL HAD GAS. I WAS ABOUT A MILE AND A HALF FROM AN EXIT AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE ON THE SHOULDER AND GET TO A STATION AND REFILL THE CAR. I TOPPED IT OFF AT 16 GALLONS (CAR HOLDS 19). THE CAR RAN FINE AFTER IT WAS FULL. THIS WAS A DANGEROUS SITUATION GIVEN THAT TRAFFIC WAS MOVING AT 70 MILES PER HOUR WHEN THE CAR DROPPED TO 20 MILES PER HOUR. I CALLED NISSAN USA AND MY DEALER AND WAS TOLD THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING UNLESS AN ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON OR THEY COULD REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. IN MARCH 2016, THE CAR FUEL LIGHT AGAIN CAME ON WHILE ON A RESIDENTIAL ROAD. WHILE THE CAR REGISTERED 35 MILES LEFT UNTIL EMPTY, THE CAR AGAIN BECAME SLUGGISH AND WOULD NOT EXCEED 20 MPH. I DROVE TO A GAS STATION AND TOPPED IT OFF AT 15.5 GALLONS. THIS TIME, LIKE THE LAST, THE CAR WORKED NORMALLY WHEN IT WAS FULL. IN APRIL 2016, THE DEALER AGREED TO REPLACE THE TWO FUEL LEVEL SENSORS. SINCE THEN I HAVE NOT HAD THE ISSUE BUT ALSO HAVE FILLED UP BEFORE OR IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE FUEL LIGHT COMES ON. EACH TIME I HAVE ONLY BEEN ABLE TO GET SLIGHTLY OVER 15 GALLONS IN THE TANK. I HAVE NOTICED THAT OTHERS HAVE REPORTED SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THIS MODEL ON AUTOMOTIVE WEBSITES. THIS ISSUE APPEARS TO BE A DESIGN FLAW THAT COULD LEAD TO SERIOUS INJURY FOR THOSE WHO SUDDENLY LOSE POWER ON A FREEWAY. CAR OWNERS SHOULD BE WARNED TO FILL UP IMMEDIATELY IF THE FUEL LIKE COMES ON.