"Dishonest" fuel gauge?

I purchased my 2005 Vue with just under 32k miles on it, back in 2008. From day one, the fuel gauge has been wonky. Once the fuel levels get to 1/4 tank or so, the indicator can swing wildly from indicating near empty all the way back to 1/4 again. When I first start the car it will almost always register as being nearly empty, and can take anywhere from a minute to several minutes to "figure out" that there is actually more gas in the tank than it thought. As I am driving it can continue to swing back and forth as well. The end result is that I am persistently paranoid that I am going to run out of gas, and persistently annoyed that I have to keep a close eye on the odometer to make sure I don't.

Is there some sort of sensor somewhere that I need to replace or is this just a VUE quirk?

Most likley you have a bad fuel level sensor, this is pretty common. Fuel tank will need to come out to replace it.

1) tsb 05-06-04-075 inspect the connector for loose contacts.
If the connector has loose contacts, replace the primary fuel pump module.

2) The PLUS portion of GM Fuel System Treatment PLUS is the addition of a filmer additive that, when used regularly, can protect fuel system sending units

3) reprogram ECM to latest calibration