2004 Nissan Murano Power Train

I OWN A WELL MAINTAINED 2004 NISSAN MURANO SL AWD. THE TRANSFER CASE SPONTANEOUSLY BROKE WITHOUT ANY WARNING. ONCE THE EVENT OCCURRED, I IMMEDIATELY LOST THE ABILITY TO ACCELERATE ON A VERY BUSY STRETCH OF ROAD. THE ARE ALSO, ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, WENT FROM ABOUT 40MPH TO 15MPH WHILE I WAS TRYING TO ACCELERATE. THERE WAS TRAFFIC BEHIND ME MOVING AT 40MPH, AND THIS UNINTENTIONAL DECELERATION OCCURRED WITHOUT ANY BRAKE LIGHT WARNING TO THE DRIVER BEHIND ME. THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A FATAL COLLISION. THANKFULLY IT DID NOT, AND I WAS ABLE TO PUT MY HAZARD LIGHTS ON AND ROLL TO A STOP ON THE SHOULDER LANE. I HAD THE CAR BROUGHT TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP FOR PROMPT REPAIR. I PAID $3500 FOR A NEW TRANSFER CASE TO BE PLACED. THE DAY I DROVE THE VEHICLE HOME, I NOTICED AN OIL BURNING SMELL, WHICH WAS LATER FOUND TO BE A TRANSFER CASE LEAK. THIS WAS A LEAK FROM THE NEW TRANSFER CASE. MY CAR IS CURRENTLY BEING RE-REPAIRED AS WE SPEAK. THIS IS ALMOST 2 WEEKS NOW THAT I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT MY CAR. I HAVE NOTICED THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH THE NISSAN MURANO PARTICULARLY IN THE 2003-04 YEAR VEHICLES. MY VEHICLE IS OUT OF THE 5 YEAR/ 60000 MILE DRIVETRAIN WARRANTY, AND THEREFORE I HAD TO BEAR THE FINANCIAL BURDEN OF THIS APPARENTLY DEFECTIVE COMPONENT. *TR

WHEN PUSHING DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR, THE CAR DOES NOT ACCELERATE SMOOTHLY AND AT SOME POINTS DOESN'T ACCELERATE AT ALL AND LOOSES POWER. IT OCCURS IN FREQUENTLY. I HAD TO REPLACE THE VALVE BODY THAT COST $1800K. *TR

2004 NISSAN MURANO WITH JUST 70,000 DIES AFTER PUTTING THE CAR INTO DRIVE OR REVERSE. THE CAR WORKED FINE THEN WHEN I GOT BACK IN IT TO GO HOME IT STARTED FINE AND THEN WHEN YOU PUT IT INTO GEAR IT KILLS THE ENGINE. TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY GOT NO CODES AND THERE ARE NO WARNING LIGHTS. THEY ARE SAYING THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAS TO BE REPLACED FOR $5500. *TR

2004 NISSAN MURANO, CAME TO A HALT IN TRAFFIC STARTED BUCKING, TOOK TO THE DEALER, TRANSFER CASE IS CRACKED $4,300 REPAIR. MY PRIVATE MECHANIC TOLD ME NISSAN ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN ON 2003 - 2004 MODELS REGARDING TRANSFER CASE CRACKING, REPLACEMENT WITH 2005 PARTS AND NEW ELECTRICAL SWITCH. I CONTACTED NISSAN CORPORATE THEY SAID THEY WOULD GET BACK TO ME A WEEK LATER THEY ONLY OFFERED THE RESPONSE "WE CAN'T HELP YOU FINANCIALLY AT THIS TIME" AFTER VIEWING POSTS ONLINE THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM IN 2003 AND 2004 MODELS. THANK GOODNESS MY HUSBAND WAS NOT ON THE INTERSTATE WHEN THE MURANO DECIDED TO DIE. HE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. EARLIER THE CAR HAD AN OIL LEAK I TOOK IT TO SEVERAL MECHANICS UNTIL IT WAS FIXED. THIS CAR HAS ONLY 72,000 MILES ON IT, A TRANSFER CASE SHOULD NOT CRACK. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY 2004 NISSAN MURANO DOWN A BUSY STREET WITH NO SHOULDER AND I HAD A COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. LUCKILY, I WAS NOT HIT BY ANY CARS. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED. THE ONLY FIX IS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION. TOTAL COST: OVER $6000.00 I DO NOT HAVE $6000.00 TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. THE BAND IN THE CVT TRANSMISSION FAILED AND CAN NOT BE REPLACED. I HAVE ONLY 85,000 MILES ON THE MURANO. THIS IS A COMMON DEFECT ON '03 AND '04 MURANOS AND NISSAN DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THIS AND WILL NOT WORK WITH ME TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. *TR

2004 NISSAN MURANO, 71,000 MILES. SUDDEN CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE DRIVE TRAIN. NO WARNING, NO INDICATOR. CAR WAS GENTLY DRIVEN. *TR

NISSAN MURANO CVT TRANSMISSION CAUSES DELAYED ACCELERATION. AFTER 65,000 MILES THE VEHICLE DID NOT IMMEDIATELY RESPOND WHEN THE ACCELERATOR WAS PUSHED. IT WOULD INCH FORWARD THEN SURGE. AT ONE TIME I BARELY AVOIDED A MAJOR ACCIDENT WHEN MERGING INTO TRAFFIC AND THE ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND TO THE ACCELERATOR; THEN SUDDENLY SHOT FORWARD A COUPLE SECONDS LATER ALMOST CAUSING A COLLISION FROM THE DELAY. WHEN I TOOK IT IN THEY SAID I NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION; BUT I NOTED THAT THERE WAS NOT A RISE IN RPM'S WHEN IT DID NOT ACCELERATE AS WOULD BE THE CASE IF IT WAS SLIPPING. WHEN I ASKED ABOUT THAT THEY SAID IT WAS PROBABLY THE SOLENOID SWITCH THAT KEEPS THE ENGINE FROM REVVING WHEN THERE IS A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. AFTER CHECKING ON THE INTERNET I FOUND WEB SITES WITH MANY PEOPLE REPORTING THE SAME PROBLEM. MANY SAID THEY FOUND IT WAS THE SWITCH GETTING DIRTY AND THEN SHUTTING DOWN THE RPMS. I TRIED A TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGE AND IT SOLVED THE PROBLEM FOR ABOUT 30,000 MILES THEN STARTING DOING IT AGAIN. I CHANGED AGAIN AND IT IS ONCE AGAIN RESOLVED. BESIDES THE FACT THAT NISSAN HAS A MANUFACTURING ISSUE HERE THIS PROBLEM IS VERY DANGEROUS. WHEN YOU STEP DOWN ON THE GAS AND THERE IS A DELAY IT CAUSES YOU TO DIVERT YOUR ATTENTION FROM DRIVING; TYPICALLY YOU AUTOMATICALLY PUMP THE GAS AGAIN. THEN THE SUDDEN SURGE FORWARD IS UNEXPECTED AND MAY PUT YOU IN A PLACE YOU DID NOT NOW (AFTER THE DELAY) WANT TO BE; ESPECIALLY IF MERGING INTO TRAFFIC. *TR

NOV 2007 HAD TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT APPROX 50,000 MILES. THIS HAPPENED ON THE INTERSTATE, ENGINE SUDDENLY CUT OUT & HAD TO CROSS OVER 4 LANES TO GET TO RT SHOULDER. WAS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY BUT NOW HAVE TRANSFER CASE ON THE VERGE OF FAILURE AT 62000 MILES, JUST 2000 OUTSIDE OF WARRANTY. *TR

LEASING A NISSAN MURANO 2004. I HAD THE TRANSMISSION REPLACED AT 26K AND NOW AT 100K THE DEALERSHIP IS TELLING ME THAT IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. A TRANSMISSION SHOULD LAST THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY 2004 NISSAN MURANO THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE IN TRAFFIC AND WAS FORCED TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND RESTART THE VEHICLE. MY 8 YEAR OLD SON WAS WITH ME AND THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT AND INJURY. SUPERIOR NISSAN, WHERE I PURCHASED THE CARE LESS THAN 5 MONTHS PRIOR, SAID THAT THE TRANSMISSION VALVE BODY AND CAM LOBE SENSOR WAS GOING BAD. THE VEHICLE HAS ONLY 67,000 MILES ON IT. THE DEALER REFUSED TO STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT AND QUOTED US A COST OF $2200 TO REPAIR. AFTER READING HUNDREDS OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET, I FEEL THAT NISSAN SHOULD BE FORCED TO RECALL ALL MURANO MODELS WITH THE CVT TRANSMISSION AND REPAIR THEM. THIS IS A KNOW PROBLEM AND THEY ARE IGNORING THE FACT THEY PUT OUT A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT THAT COULD CAUSE INJURIES OR DEATHS. *TR

2004 MURANO SL AWD WITH ONLY 29,000 MILES WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT, SLIP LIGHT, AND VDC LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON. UPON PUSHING THE GAS PEDAL, IT TOOK A COUPLE SECONDS FOR ANY ACCELERATION TO OCCUR. AFTER GETTING ON THE HIGHWAY AND PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL AGAIN, THE ACCELERATION WAS DELAYED AND WOULD ONLY GO UP TO ABOUT 40 MPH, BUT THE RPMS WERE EXTREMELY HIGH. EVERY TIME I TRY TO TAKE OFF FROM A STOP, IT TAKES AWHILE FOR ANY ACCELERATION TO OCCUR. FEELS LIKE THE TRANSMISSION IS SLIPPING. VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED AND I HAD TO PAY FOR IT. NOW I'M BEING TOLD THAT EVEN WITH ONLY 29,000 MILES, IT'S NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. *TR

THE PROBLEM OCCURS ON A HOT DAY IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC WHERE ONCE YOU COME TO A STOP, WHEN PUSHING THE GAS PEDAL DOWN IT TAKES A GOOD 10-30 SECONDS BEFORE YOU GET ANY RESPONSE FROM THE TRANSMISSION, AND WHEN YOU FINALLY DO, IT'S VERY VERY SLOW AS IF THE CAR IS STUCK IN 4TH GEAR TRYING TO ACCELERATE. WHILE DRIVING 30MPG+, IT STARTS TO FEEL LIKE THE CAR IS PULLING BACK, IN AN INCORRECT GEAR. DOING A QUICK SEARCH SHOWS THAT MANY OTHER OWNERS OF A NISSAN MURANO EXPERIENCE THIS PROBLEM, AND THAT THE DEALERSHIP SAYS THAT ITS THE PRESSURE SENSOR AND THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS REPLACEMENT, COSTING BETWEEN $5400-$7000. I HAVE NOT CONTACTED DEALERSHIP YET BUT AFTER READING OTHER CUSTOMER'S COMPLAINTS IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE I WOULD HAVE ANY LUCK GETTING THIS FIXED WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY FOR A WHOLE NEW TRANSMISSION. *TR

THE TRANSMISSION CAUSES THE ENGINE TO STALL WHEN STOPPING AT A LIGHT, THEN JERKS. *TR

TWO TRANSFER CASE FAILURES LEAVING THE CAR STOPPED IN TRAFFIC. NEEDED TO BE TOWED TO DEALER. DATE LISTED IS FOR LAST FAILURE ONLY. DEALER REPLACED THE TRANSFER CASE UNDER WARRANTY THE FIRST TIME. SECOND TIME REQUIRED $4000 PAYMENT. NO EXPLANATION AS TO THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE PROVIDED BY DEALER. *TR

MY 2004 NISSAN MURANO, WITH 75,000 MILES STARTED TO HAVE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. IT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE, AND SEEMED NOT TO SHIFT INTO GEAR. THEN IT JUST STOPPED. EVENTUALLY IT WOULD NOT SHIFT AT ALL, AND WHEN PUT INTO GEAR, THE CAR WOULD THUMP AND THEN STALL OR DIE. THE NISSAN DEALER, BILL HOOD NISSAN, HAMMOND, LOUISIANA SAID THEY WOULD NEED TO REPLACE WITH A NEW TRANSMISSION...THIS ORIGINAL CHARGE WAS $4,635. I CANNOT AFFORD THIS EXPENSE SO I WAS NOT ABLE TO HAVE THE WORK DONE THERE. AFTER READING THE NISSAN OWNER'S WEBSITE POSTINGS, I FOUND THAT THIS HAS BEEN A RECURRING PROBLEM WITH A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF NISSAN MURANO OWNERS...SO MUCH SO, THAT I PERSONALLY BELIEVE NISSAN SHOULD HAVE RECALLED THIS TRANSMISSION. I AM A VERY UPSET NISSAN CUSTOMER, AS THE NORMAL DRIVETRAIN WARRANTY IS ONLY 60,000 MILES, AND NOT THE USUAL IMPLIED WARRANTY OF 100,000 MILES. I AM HOPING THAT BY POSITING THIS, OTHERS MAY BECOME AWARE OF THIS ISSUE, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, AND THEY END UP MAKING PAYMENTS ON A TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT, -OR- PLEASE PURCHASE THE EXTENDED DRIVETRAIN WARRANTY FROM NISSAN. *TR

MY 2004 MURANO IS NOW CLOCKING 80,000 MILES. I NOTICE A PROBLEM WITHIN THE LAST 20,000 MILES WHENEVER I GET STUCK IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. I WOULD STEP ON THE GAS AND NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN FOR A FEW SECONDS AND SUDDENLY IT TAKES OFF. I HAD TO SLAM ON MY BRAKE TO PREVENT SMACKING INTO THE CAR IN FRONT. THIS PROBLEM CONTINUES THROUGHOUT THE STOP AND GO TRAFFIC ORDEAL. MY DEALER INFORMED ME THAT HE IS NOT AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND SUGGESTED A TRANSMISSION SERVICE. THIS PROBLEM HAS CONTINUED BUT ALWAYS AFTER DRIVING THE CAR FOR A WHILE OR WHEN I AM IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. I UNDERSTAND FROM THE DEALER THAT IT IS A PRESSURE SENSOR PROBLEM THAT IS TYPICAL FOR MODEL THAT I HAVE. THE PROBLEM IS THE COST REPAIR IS HALF OF THE VALUE OF THE CAR. *TR

I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY THE NISSAN DEALER THAT MY TRANSFER CASE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. IT LOCKED UP WHEN I WAS IN THE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE MODE OVER 50 MPH. THEY INITIALLY TOLD ME THIS WAS A PROBLEM WHICH HAS BEEN ADDRESSED IN NEW MODELS BUT THEY WERE UNWILLING TO CONSIDER A RECALL EVEN THOUGH IT LEADS TO FREEZE-UPS WHILE BEING DRIVEN. BLOGS CLEARLY SHOW THAT HUNDREDS OF WRITTEN IN REGARDING THIS ISSUE WITH THE 2003 AND 2004 MURANOS. I PAID OVER $5,500 AND NOW HAVE ADDITIONAL TRANSMISSION ISSUES JUST A FEW MONTHS LATER. *TR

AT 67,000 MILES THE TRANSFER CASE OF MY 04 AWD MURANO CRACKED. AS A RESULT A CONTROL PANEL AND SWITCH WERE ALSO DAMAGED. GRAND TOTAL TO REPAIR $4200. ONLY EVENT LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE WAS A CLICKING OR SLAPPING SOUND 3 DAYS PREVIOUS TO THE PART COMPLETELY FAILING. I THOUGHT THAT THE NOISE WAS RELATED TO MY RECENT TIRE ROTATION INITIALLY AND THE CAR COMPLETELY BROKE DOWN ON THE WAY TO THE REPAIR SHOP. WEBSITE POLL WITH 43% OF PEOPLE RESPONDING THAT THEY HAD PROBLEMS WITH THIS PART REFERRED ME TO THIS SITE. *TR

HI, I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND TURNED THE CORNER AND HEARD A HORRIBLE NOISE. THERE WAS NO WARNING, NO LIGHTS ON THE DASH -NOTHING. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A AUTOMOTIVE SHOP. I WAS TOLD THEY DID NOT WORK ON THE PROBLEM. SO I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE LOCAL NISSAN DEALER. THE NISSAN DEALER SAID I HAD A CRACKED TRANSFER CASE AND THE ESTIMATE TO GET IT FIXED IS $5049.96. I OWE $1780.00 ON THE CAR. AND NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE 5K TO FIX IT. *TR

VEHICLE WILL DRIVE NORMALLY. WITHOUT ANY WARNINGS THE VEHICLE WILL QUICKLY SLOW DOWN TO 10 - 15 MPH. THE ENGINE REMAINS RUNNING AT APPROX. 3K RPMS BUT WITH VERY FEW, IF ANY, POWER TRANSFERRED TO THE TRANSMISSION. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DOES NOT ILLUMINATE AND IF THE VEHICLE IS SHUT OFF AND RE-STARTED; THE CONDITION CLEARS. *TR

CAR STARTED TO JERK FORWARD WHEN I WAS 2 HOURS INTO A 3 1/2 HOUR DRIVE. THIS OCCURRED WHEN I CAME UPON HEAVY HIGHWAY TRAFFIC, AND HAD TO IDLE IN TRAFFIC. TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE WAS ABOUT 98 TO 100 DEGREES, AND THE CAR WAS NOT OVERHEATING (NO SMOKE/TEMP GAUGE WAS NORMAL). LATER ON INTO THE DRIVE, THE CAR BEGAN TO JERK FORWARD AND CUT OUT AT STOP LIGHTS. I HAD TO TURN THE CAR OFF AT THE STOP LIGHT THEN TURN IT BACK ON TO GET THE CAR TO DRIVE. LATER ON IN THE DAY, THE CAR GOT PROGRESSIVELY WORSE. IT STARTED TO MAKE A LABORING/WHINING SOUND AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE BEYOND A PARTICULAR SPEED OR RESPOND TO THE GAS PEDAL. EVENTUALLY, TURNING THE CAR OFF THEN ON DID NOT WORK. THE CAR WOULD DRIVE ABOUT 20 FEET THEN WOULD NOT ACCELERATE, THEN COAST TO A STOP. I HAD TO BE TOWED FROM PHILADELPHIA TO VIRGINIA BECAUSE THERE WERE NO NISSAN SHOPS, NOR AUTO SHOPS OPEN DURING THAT TIME OF A SATURDAY. SUNDAY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A BUSINESS DAY FOR MECHANICS EITHER. I LIVE IN VIRGINIA. *TR

BAD TRANSMISSION AND MY CATALYTIC CONVERTER WENT BAD AT 80,000. ON MY 2004 NISSAN MURANO TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN SLIPPING SINCE 70, 000. *TR

ON TWO OCCASIONS WITHIN TWO WEEKS THE CAR WOULD NOT RESPOND TO THE ACCELERATOR. THE ENGINE WOULD REV UP, BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. THEN WITHOUT WARNING, THE CAR WILL GO "INTO GEAR" AND MOVE. AFTER TWO WEEKS THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN. CAR WOULD LOSE DRIVE TRAIN POWER, BUT ALL OTHER FUNCTIONS, RADIO, AC, STEERING WOULD STILL WORK. THE CAR SIMPLY WOULD NOT GO WHEN THE ACCELERATOR WAS PRESSED. THEN THE TRANSMISSION WOULD WORK ALL OF A SUDDEN AND THEN QUIT ALL OF A SUDDEN. *JB

ISSUE WITH 2004 SL MURANO. AT 68K MILES, FELT A SHUDDER AND VIBRATION IN STEERING WHEEL, WITHOUT WARNING. TOOK IT TO MECHANIC WHERE CAR DIED WHILE GOING IN REVERSE. TOOK IT TO TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST WHO COULD NOT DIAGNOSE ISSUE. TOWED CAR TO NISSAN DEALERSHIP. ANOTHER "DIAGNOSIS" PERFORMED AND CONFIRMED TRANSMISSION WAS ISSUE. NO SPECIFIC REASON GIVE. NEW TRANSMISSION ORDERED, BUT TURNED OUT TO BE DEFECTIVE. CAR WOULD NOT GO IN REVERSE. NISSAN CONFIRMED THAT THEY KNEW ABOUT THIS ISSUE. REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION SENT AND INSTALLED. RUDE SERVICE FROM DEALERSHIP, NO HELP FROM NISSAN CUSTOMER "SPECIALIST." NEW TRANSMISSION COST WAS $6000 (PARTS AND LABOR). HAD NO OPTION BUT TO PUT NEW TRANSMISSION, BECAUSE NISSAN DOES NOT REBUILD OLD TRANSMISSIONS. *JB

VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE, MAXIMUM SPEED = 20 MPH. STOPPED SHIFTED TO LOW SAME RESULT. PARKED TURNED ENGINE OFF, RETURNED 20 MINUTES LATER. VEHICLE OK, BUT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON. NEXT DAY NISSAN SERVICE COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM, SAID IT WAS A "SOFT" CODE. *JB