Nissan Murano 2005 and earlier

92drexel

I've been lurking in the forum for a while. I recently bought a copper SL AWD with leather, cold package, and moonroof. Thanks for everyone's input.

The colors are fantastic (with the matching interior). The Bose sounds better than the Bose in my maxima since the subwoofer is not in the rear deck (its inside the center of the spare tire). Gas mileage is good (better than most SUVs). 20 city, 24 highway versus my maxima at 19, 26.

The xenons are tremendous. One thing though, why install a manual leveler for the xenon headlamps instead of an auto leveler?

One other thing about the SAT radio service, the dealer (I think) had literature from XM that discussed the availability of SAT service in the Murano. I'll ask about that the next time I'm there and let you all know.

Thanks for listening and I hope to share more info soon!

dklanecky

SAT Radio is not available and will not be available for some time to come (at least by using that SAT button on your headunit).

Check Fresh Alloy.com under the Murano section and you'll see an extensive discussion with lots of e-mail communication back and forth.

blckthree

Took a 2wd SE Murano for a test drive this weekend. Overall, not a bad car/suv. Not sure I am sold on the CVT tranny. Also don’t like the front wheel drive. It drove pretty well, acceleration was so – so. Ride was smooth. I had it on the list of vehicles I would like to buy, UNTIL I went across the street and drove an FX35. Now that is a GREAT vehicle. More power, rear drive, interior nicer, leather of higher quality, after that drive, the Murano is off the list. For $3-4000 more, I would opt for the FX35.

gust334

The xenons are tremendous. One thing though, why install a manual leveler for the xenon headlamps instead of an auto leveler?

Don't know. Perhaps an auto leveler can't handle the range of cargo loads or trailering that one might do in a Murano?

92drexel

I use to frequent freshalloy.com often, I will definately check this out. Thanks again.

gust: I dunno either. I'm not going to complain too much since the xenons are a definate improvement of the halogens on my old car. I know that Lexus uses an auto leveler on most (if not all) of their models. Again, just a small question on an otherwise great vehicle.

dirlink

When I test drove the car the salesman pointed out the feature and explained that if you were towing a heavy load it might pull up the front end of the vehicle. The manual adjustment allowed you to lower the headlights.

I actually like it better under my control.

gene67

I noticed that some of you have said you were going to use a broker to get the Murano below invoice. I am trying to make a deal on one now and would welcome any advice you can give on a buying source. while some of the dealers I have spoken to are nice, they are not that willing to go to invoice or below. Best so far is $750 over with a little "wiggle room" when I am ready to sign.
Thanks for all the feedback you folks are posting here. I really want that SL for my wife.

cookie01

Gene:
I too am buying an SL, I got a loan through my credit union and they gave me the number of a broker they use.
His price to me for an AWD SL was $25,500 with NO OPtion packages.

From what I can see on this board and in the papers this is possibly $800-$1200 under invoice.
I think as you add options the difference from invoice gets smaller.
If you belong to a credit union, give them a call, might be worth it.

Also note that I have to wait for him to find the vehicle I want (right color and interior, etc) So part of the bargain is just reading these posts, rather than driving my new car!

cookie01

Owners,
Did you only receive One key fob with your Murano?
My former car was an Impala and it came standard with two fobs. This is handy for a bunch of reasons, especially when two people regularly take turns driving the car.

I saw in an options brochure that you can order an extra Fob for something like $80... whew...
Sure would be nice if they just gave you two to begin with!
How many did recent owners get?

gust334

Mine was delivered with two fobs, two black keys, and one burgandy valet key that doesn't open the glovebox or center console.

I was told that if I wanted to add remote-start, then I would have to sacrifice any one of the keys.

berg32

I just ordered an AWD SL with Nav, cold package, splash guards, and "rhino pusher." Thanks to all at this site for your help. I paid $34,868 which I figure is $1,000 or less over invoice. Blue with cafe latte leather. I will pursue 3M Xpel to protect front paint, perhaps door molding too if attractive. Has anyone put a bike rack on the back? Nissan offers one on the roof but I don't want to climb. Is a bike rack on the rear a problem?

cookie01

There are many types of cool bike carriers that attach to trailer hitches. It's nice because it never touches the car.

I'm hoping to get one of those. I too don't think I'm tall enough to deal with bikes on the roof.

Check these out (as an example) www.etrailer.com/bike-rack.asp

cookie01

Thanks Gust (you are always so very helpful!)
When the broker calls to say he's found the car, I will remind him to *find* two fobs!

jxlxr

Is it really worth going to a broker to maybe save a few hundred dollars? I guess that if you are having a hard time getting your local dealer to budge on price there might be some justification. I would think that there must be some value to buying a car from a local dealer that you have found to be decent to work with.

I know in my case I spent a couple of hundred $ more than had I driven 200 miles round trip to a dealer who had more aggressive pricing but I found my local dealer to be easy to deal with on the sales side, maybe not the cheapest but straight forward and honest. They give me loaner cars any time I bring in the car, free yearly state inspections, car washes just about anytime you want, I guess as long as it isn't; everyday! and they are 3 miles from my house. That seems like it must be worth something. Also the fact that I had my car immediately.

This thought process would probably not be too popular at the Honda forum where people are one guy went to 20 dealers over hundreds of miles over several days to save maybe $50-100.

cookie01

The Murano is very hot in my market. Dealers can't keep them on the lot (except the ones with Cabernet interior... seems to have plenty of those...wonder why? heheheh)

If a dealer can sell the Murano I want for $30,000 (and they seem to be doing this just fine) Why would he sell me one for $25,500?

For the joy of not arguing with the sales manager over the price I get almost $5000 off MSRP, the car delivered to my door! and all the paperwork done way ahead of time.

I'm sure not all brokers are the same. And I have to admit that I've not gone to my local dealer and said "I can buy this car from a broker for $$$, will you match that?" because I'm fairly certain they will not.

As for repairs, the sales staff is different from the guys that repair your car. Nissan pays the shop for the repair no matter where you purchased the vehicle.

My Impala was leased from a dealer about 15 miles from my house, and inconvient from my work. I ALWAYS had the car serviced at a dealer near my work and the shop was GREAT, perfect, professional. If you are treated poorly at a dealer repair shop, it's probably because they're not "nice" folks, not because you didn't buy the car there.

If a broker can get you a great price (up front with NO HAGGLE) AND a car delivered to your door, AND easy-going folks to deal with... what's the downside?

cookie01

I write the above post this morning, and this afternoon the broker calls and says "I made a mistake"

Oh god...

He can get the Murano for invoice. Well hell, I can do that myself...

So I was wrong. Or just misled. Sucks.
I'm back to square one because I can't finance this car for the invoice price.
dang.

lanpat

Here at last are photos of my Murano interior that I had re-done.
http://photos.yahoo.com/lanpat_97214
The cabernet is overpowering so since there were cloth seats, my salesman suggested changing out with the leather color of my choice!
Hope this link works...

berg32

I posted earlier about ordering a SL AWD w/Nav today. Of possible interest, I started shopping nearly a yr ago, looking for 1) comfortable back seat, rear vents, dual zone - ie good for trips to look at colleges and haul stuff to college 2) safe in all weather 3) easy/fun to drive for 3 drivers with short legs 4) economical 5) sunroof, NAV, no fake wood. No one wanted traditional station wagon, so it came down to Highlander, used RX, and Murano among Crossovers, new Accord or Maxima among sedans (but having a wagon-type vehicle in the family made sense, allows us to have small town car as second vehicle). But Highlander with features has fake wood, RX has too big turning circle and are too plentiful around here with too high used prices, neither has great back seat. Murano caught my imagination early, except for shiny grill, but hope front rhino-pusher bar and license plate will tone it down. Happy shopping to all.

al63017

Had mine 2 weeks now. Great, great, great. Doing the experiment with Prem and Reg. Ran fine on Reg. but checking mileage with Prem and it so far is about 3 mpg better. So with 20 cents between reg or prem do I stay with prem for 20 cents more per gallon. Need one of you math wizards to tell me. I can't think that hard today. Figured with 300 mile trip that 40 cents more per gallon was not worth it but for 10000 miles or 15000 probably is if difference is only 20 cents. It was 40 cents earlier this month between the two. I can do the math for a one time comparison but when prices start changing more than 20 cents between prem and reg or less than 20 cents it would be neat to have a spread sheet that you just plugged in the numbers and boom it told you the ROI for gas at different prices for different miles driven and when the payoff kicked in.

neohk

Took delivery of my SL w/all toys a couple of days ago. 400 miles later and I am still quite pleased with it. Got a quick question for those of you in the know, I find that while adjusting the dimmer, the dash lights remain a good bit brighter than the rest (radio cluster, HVAC, etc)... is this adjustable? By the time I get the dash dim enough...everything else has faded off.

Also am considering buying the shop manual/CD... for those of you who have bought it...any comments?

OBTW, got a chance to try out the VDC/TCS. The vehicle remains very 'catchable' with it disabled....and when VDC does kick in, it is quite determined to keep you out of trouble...meaning it will bring you to a halt as needed. That being said, it doesn't seem to fret the moment there is a hint of under/over steer and will hold off a little while (maybe a second) before stepping in. The TCS is much like Audi's EDL and where I live, where snow removal is a BAD word, it helps.

Thanks
Ken

gust334

I've always bought the shop manual for every vehicle I've owned, a habit I picked up from my Dad. They got more expensive over the years, but the last one was only $90.

I've used GM, Ford, Toyota, and Chrysler manuals before, several for each make, and they were always clear and understandable and worth the investment. This is my first Nissan manual. I don't know about Nissan service manuals in general, but the Murano one is pitiful.

On CD it was over $200 and a hard copy is three volumes at over $300. The first CD I received arrived cracked, and I had to call twice to get a replacement sent out.

The text is hyperlinked PDF, but is very poorly translated into English. I suspect they might have used Google's translator instead of a person. Or perhaps it went through intermediate languages (Japanese-Italian-COBOL-Hebrew-Swahili-English). Or maybe they had Yoda do the translation. You get the idea.

The pictures are crude but marginally sufficient. On my CD, some of the pictures show up as black boxes and Adobe Acrobat complains the page is corrupted, and I've tried it on WinXP, Win98, MacOS8, and Solaris 2.8 so I don't think it is a computer problem. I'm compiling a list of affected pages.

gust334

Same here. Mine doesn't have NAV, and I can adjust the center LCD info panel brightness separately from the rest of the dash. However, I have the same problem that when I turn down the gauges to a comfortable level, the remainder of the lighting is virtually off.

neohk

Thanks for the info gust334. I might hold off til the next version of the manual...
Ken

dklanecky

I've been going through the same decision process (mid-grade vs. premium) on my 2000 Maxima.

Send me an e-mail and I'll give you the excel spreadsheet I've been using.

dklanecky1@cs.com

workinclassdog

My credit union is offering me an ext warranty on my Murano to 7 yrs/100K miles for 1090$

Any experiences with this company and their handling of claims?

The website for them is at:

http://www.inds.com/consumers/products.html

al63017

Consumer reports implies that extended warranty is a bad idea---as problems usually occur during warranty period of new vehicle that are of major significance. If you plan on keeping it you may be glad. You sure have to be careful. Some of these companies get bought up go out of business and then you have no extended warranty. I would probably just buy the one through Nissan if I had to have it.

workinclassdog

...just found out they are aka "Warranty Direct"

92drexel

I'm probably going to go with Warranty Gold's 7 year 150,000 mile plan since I do a lot of driving. That goes for around $1100. I haven't researched them yet but I will before I buy.

I bought an extended warranty from warrantybynet for my previous car and they promptly paid for some service work without a hitch. I would go with them again, but I need 150,000 mile coverage since I drive so much.

92drexel

I just refilled with fuel and see that the trip computer is pretty close to my calculated MPG (I bring this up because the maxima forum is full of people who say that their trip computers over-estimate the fuel economy by 2+ mpg).

My computer indicated 20.6 mpg and I calculated 20.4 (on my first tank-full). Not too bad.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

dweiser

Picked mine up 2/1/03, glacier white w/cafe latte interior. All goodies except Navigation. Very happy with vehicle, love sitting up high. Make any excuse to get in and drive. Still on first tank of dealer supplied gas. Only getting 18 m.p.g. but only taking short trips to town in mountains of western NC, am sure it will improve.
Highly recommend this vehicle. Drove a Lincoln Aviator, the Murano beat it in every regard. Was interested in the VW Touareg and the Porsche Cayenne but VW has quality problems and I wouldn't buy anything French or German these days just to stick it to them for their 'tude towards the US!

stever

Renault's ownership in Nissan is 44.4% :-)

Steve, Host

al63017

Then I am going to Autozone and replace everyone of those French parts in my Murano.

al63017

Did not know you could do this but I bought a lifetime of ownership road hazard warranty from local GoodYear dealer for 24.99 per tire on the tires that came with my Murano. This covers balancing, rotations every 6000 miles and pro rated hazards that destroy a tire. I should recover my 100.00 in about 2 balances and rotations. These are the original tires that the vehicle came with, did not replace them. You might ask some local GoodYear dealers mine did not hesitate said they do that all the time obviously even if you did not buy the tires from them. WalMart said they would do the same thing but not sure if I want them rotating and balancing my Aluminum wheels.

gust334

Recap: my SL AWD had a very cheap plastic-sounding popping or knocking sound when the rear of the vehicle was going over medium bumps. We tried removing jack & tools, cargo cover, spare, subwoofer, tray, etc to no effect. Dealer had previously searched for about 8 hours without finding it.

My dealer took the vehicle for 3 days this week and checked all the interior trim, panels, cables, wiring harness, etc. They also checked the rear suspension thoroughly.

Under warranty, my dealer replaced both rear shock assemblies (shock, bound cover, both bushings, nuts, brackets, and tube). The plastic popping/knocking sound is now completely gone!

I don't know which one(s) of the parts was the actual cause, nor did the dealer, but it has to be at least one of these:

56210-CA025 ABSORBER KIT-SH
55269-CA000 NUT
56113-CA000 WASHER-SPECIAL
56217-CA000 BUSH-REAR SHOCK
55323-CA000 TUBE-DISTANCE,S
55322-CA000 BRACKET ASSY,SH
08918-3081A NUT FLANGE, HEX
56218-CA000 BUSH-REAR SHOCK
55248-CA000 COVER-BOUND BUM

These parts together comprise the rear shock sub-assembly.

The difference is quite apparent. The vehicle is now very quiet going over bumps and RR crossings, with just the regular rumble of tires and suspension.

Unrelated to the popping sound, they also replaced the audio head under warranty because the CD was skipping badly. After three days in a late-model Pathfinder loaner, it was extraordinarily nice to be back in the Murano.

achadha

Just got back from the Nissan dealership in VA. Got a Sheer Silver AWD SL with leather package,prem package,sunroof,tow package. Had a 2002 Pathfinder SE I traded in for it. Basically they paid off my Pathfinder I had about 22500 left on the car. I got the dealer to get me an extended warranty and 4 years of oil changes for free. I did not put anything down and am paying 550 a month I recently purchased an 03 Max SE from the same dealer and got the pathfinder lst year from them as well so they all knew me. I think that is how I got the good deal. It was called the Smart Package deal. I wasn't even looking to get a car but the Murano caught my eye. So much room inside and excellent back seats as opposed to the Pathfinder. The Pathfinder even with the 3.5V6 was sluggish. The Murano takes off loving it...

motormann

Al, using your 3 mpg differential between premium and unleaded gas use, the premium enjoys a slight advantage. If you look at the Murano over 400 miles, it would require 23 gallons of unleaded at 17 mpg or 20 gallons of premium at 20 mpg. If we assume that unleaded is $1.60 per gallon and premium is $1.80 per gallon ($0.20 more than unleaded), then use of the premium is 80 cents cheaper ($36.00 for the premium vs. $36.80 for the unleaded) over 400 miles. In the real world, its probably a wash.

I remember seeing an article in Motor Trend or Car and Driver where they took five vehicles that recommended premium fuel and compared this performance (both road performance and mileage) to use with regular unleaded, and the outcome was (in most cases) that there was no economic advantage to using the cheaper fuel. Your experience seems to confirm this.

I have and continue to use premium fuel in my Murano...I want the maximum performance I paid for!

al63017

Thanks Mike--I am coming to the same conclusion. There is about a wash with the 3 mpg and I am glad that it at least is something better. Looks like I will do the same thing. At first I thought I would revert back to Reg. but after a little more looking and driving it appears to be worth the slightly more cost for all the potential performance. Thanks for taking the time to work on this for me and confirm my thoughts. Hope the Murano is treating you as well as mine is me. Is that a sentence??? Probably not.

roadrunner70

thanks to everyone who responded to my prior message about obtaining the invoice price. i am now well informed, and ready to buy. however, one point: what has anyone done about the glaring lack of body side molding. to me, this is an oversight that needs to be corrected asap. i noticed today that an acura mdx had side molding, perhaps dealer installed since i have never seen one with it before, but it looked fine and would do the trick. both nissan, gm and chrysler sell molding (primed for paint) which might work. our 2002 toyota highlander came from the factory with ample side molding which has most definitely protected the sides of the vehicle. thanks.

bgeguy

Just recently (1 week) took purchase of a Glacier Pearl SL AWD with Cabarnet Leather. I haven't seen this combo exterior/interior elsewhere, so it really struck me as a unique, good looking combo. The cab interior offsets the glacier pearl pretty well. Been stopped in the parking lot 8 times over the last three days about the car and cab leather interior. Very pleased so far with the SUV. The only slight disappointment is with the City MPG. Currently, getting only ~16-17 mpg with conservative driving (waiting for the break-in period to drive pretty aggressively). Has anyone been getting close to the 20 mpg City numbers quoted by Nissan?

Also, thanks to all the posts about the SAT radio. Waiting for when it is available.

stever

Give your mileage time - it may take several thousand miles for the engine to break in and your mpg to go up. Winter conditions don't help much either.

My Nissan mpg kept improving even after I passed 20.000 miles.

Enjoy the ride!

Steve, Host

sean48

I haven't checked in for awhile, so I thought I'd drop by with these comments. I've had my Murano SE for a little over one month now, and I love it even more (if that's possible) than I did the day I picked it up.

Over the past several days, I took it on its first extended trip...to Toronto (from the Southern Tier of New York) to check out the Canadian International Auto Show. The Murano is a great road car...quiet, roomy, powerful and superb handling. The gas mileage isn't where I'd like it to be yet (about 20.5 overall for the trip), but with the very cold weather and low total mileage, I'm hoping this will improve (thanks for the comments above).

The navigation system is "spot on." Eventhough I knew where I was going, I programmed the system to get me there and back. On the way into Toronto, I took an exit one exit before the one designated by the navigation system. On the fly, the system recalculated my route and directed me street by street through Toronto to my destination.

The Murano also received a lot of admiring looks on the road which was kind of fun.

By the way, at the Canadian Auto Show, I really didn't see anything that I preferred to the Murano (okay, let's face it, I am committed to the Murano, so this isn't an unbiased assessment). The one "great car" of the show, in my opinion, however, was the Infiniti FX45. This is such a phenomenally designed and finished automobile. It really isn't an SUV (regardless of what Infiniti says in their ads). It's really a hot sport sedan with a larger than average trunk (or a smaller than average SUV cargo area). The VW Toureag is a really nice looking vehicle as well.

The Murano had a number of interested folks pushing, prodding and poking around it. By comparison, no one (well maybe a few "older" folks :-) and pre-teens) was trying to sit behind the wheel of the Highlanders, Pilots and MDXs on display.

Anyhow, I'm really pleased with the Murano, and it's good to hear that others are as well.

dweiser

My Murano CD player/changer skips on a Tom Waits CD I burned on my PC but it plays fine in the house. Anyone else noticing any skipping of CDs? I saw the post about fixing the noise problem that also mentioned a skipping CD player.
Thanks, Don

dklanecky

I finally pulled the trigger on the Murano this afternoon and ordered:

SE AWD, Sheer Silver/Charcoal Leather
Popular Pkg
Cold Pkg
Dynamic Control Pkg
Navigation
Towing Pkg
Floor Mats
Splash Guards

MSRP $38,592
Invoice $34,624
Price $35,813 +TTL
3.4% over invoice
7.2% off MSRP

Delivery projected within 60 Days

Easy deal, using the quote I had from CarMax ($35k) as a starting point. Thanks to everybody out there who's been posting their experiences.

Is it May 1st Yet?

gust334

Don, I first noted the CD player skipping on CDs I had burned myself. Later, I discovered about half of the commercial CDs I tried skipped. The point at which it skipped was random, even when the vehicle was parked, so it was unlikely to be scratches or other disc damage.

When it was just the CDs I burned, I checked the owner's manual and it said that the unit was not warranted to work with CDR. I have had this problem before, where a CDR works on five or six players but won't play on another one. Usually that player is old technology, and sometimes a different brand/color of CDR will work there.

But when the CD player can't play commercially pressed CDs, there is something obviously wrong. My dealer agreed and ordered a new unit, and replaced it under warranty.

So, the symptom to look for is random skipping or silence on commercial CDs, regardless of vehicle warm/cold and disc warm/cold. If you have that, tell your dealer; the Nissan troubleshooting procedure recommends replacing the unit. (e.g. no user- or dealer-serviceable parts inside it).

achadha

Just got back through the snow storm in NJ,PA,MD,VA...Bought my murano on thursday night took it to Atlantic City From the Northern Virginia area...While driving to Atlantic City we got so many looks it was unbelievable..People were breaking their necks checking our Murano out. The AWD worked very good on the way back home today still took us 8 hours to get home what is a normal 3:30 hour trip..The pickup is so good..I also have an 03 Maxima...

roadrunner70

i thought the only interior color with the pearl white was the cafelatte??

bpraxis

I have the same question regarding the pearl white and available interior colors? In the marketing literature the only available color is the cafe latte in cloth or leather.

  Has anyone have information to the contrary?

  Thanks

dirlink

Checked the nissausa.com site/design section:

only allows caffe latte cloth interior selection

dweiser

Thanks gust334, will put a commercial CD in slot #2 and see how it behaves.

bgeguy

Originally, I also thought that only caffe latte came with the glacier pearl. However, when I was browsing the Baltimore area Nissan inventory, several came up with the glacier pearl w/cabernet interior. So I called the dealer and verified the combination. Then I had it transferred to Carmax in Baltimore.

Interestingly, I also came across several Bordeauxs with Caffe Latte interiors (which also is not listed in Nissan's literature as an available combination) during my browsing. So, it appears that Nissan's literature is not correct. I'd suggest looking at the Nissan inventories to see if other "officially non-available but actually available" combinations are out there if you want a combination not "officially listed".

It appears Nissan has some cleaning up to do with their brochures, IMO. Hope this helps.