This sounds more like a warranty issue.
No, it is not normal and were this an issue with firmware, we would have heard about it before. No one else has claimed similar symptoms with any of the firmware versions since the Fuze’s debut. So I doubt very seriously whether it will be fixed by updating the firmware.
My advice would be to take it (or send it) back to where you got it for a replacement, or barring that contacting SanDisk directly for an RMA ( R eturn M erchandise A uthorization) and have them replace it for you.
