Nissan Ute Range

This is a typical car company response to the problem of pedal error which has raised its head many times since about the 1980s when car maker started getting sued by drivers who had pressed the wrong pedal, but claimed the car had accelerated of its own accord.

The solution was to make sure that if the driver accidentally pressed the throttle, if they also pressed the brake in panic, the car would stop accelerating. By pressing the brake and throttle together in your car, you’re reproducing that exact situation. So, really, there’s nothing wrong with your car, and it’s only doing what it’s programmed to do.

A lot of drivers don’t like this feature, however, as it means the slightest hint that both the brake and throttle are applied at once is enough for the car to cut its power and not move, as you’ve discovered. Many have found that when trying to enter fast moving traffic or make a quick lane change, and operating both brake and throttle at the same time for a quick getaway, this function is actually dangerous.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot you can do about it other than learn to not even brush the brake pedal when you want to make a quick start.

Surprisingly, yes it is a fairly common observation. The idea is that having the gauge tell you that the tank is nearly empty even though it has a few litres still sloshing around in it, is a great way to convince you to find a service station before you run out of fuel. In the old days, many cars had a reserve tank which had to be switched on when the main tank ran out of fuel. This reserve tank was your insurance against being stranded. The modern fuel gauge acts in the same way by ensuring you have a supply remaining even when the gauge is telling you you’re just about empty.

Normally, a car has around 50 to 80km of fuel left when the gauge reads zero (although don’t be tempted to find out the hard way). So the 20 litres remaining in your tank when the gauge is on empty is on the high side, but far from abnormal.

This could be caused by any number of things, and an electronic scan of the vehicle will surely reveal some of its secrets and may point you towards the fix. It almost sounds as though the car is going into limp-home mode when you first start driving it, but then reverts to proper operation once the engine has warmed up a little. But this could also suggest a turbo-boost leak somewhere in the system that is closing up and disappearing once there’s some heat built up.

If there’s oil around the intercooler hose, you may have oil in the intercooler itself. This can cause all sorts of problems and is often caused by a worn turbocharger. I’d definitely be having a close look at the turbo unit, checking for wear and damage as this could be the root cause.