Worth risking Murano purchase. Frequency of problems

joplrw10

I have been doing a lot of research into cars for an upcoming purchase. The car I keep finding that comes up and gets raving reviews both from the people who own the car as well as professional reviews is the Nissan Murano.

My concern is that there is a huge discussion about the CVT reliability/upkeep and the potential for the cracked transfer case.

I have been looking for a decent SUV for the snow that is under $10k, and I can find Muranos in my price range, but have a hard time jumping into that with the potential for such a large item to go wrong.

Do people who have these cars have these issues? Recommend the car?

dwightex

may want to spend a little bit more than $10K

hondo54733

joplrw10 said:

Do people who have these cars have these issues? Recommend the car?

I had a 2003 Murano, and last December, we finally traded it in after putting about 157K on the odometer. My previous vehicle was a Mercedes ML-320 SUV. The last repair I had on the Mercedes was a $4500 bill, and after picking up the vehicle from the dealer, I realized that any dealership that had marble walls in the men's room - nicer than any room in MY home - was probably charging a premium for service. That, and the one-second delay before the engine responded to the throttle, convinced me it was time to consider alternatives.

The Nissan lived up to the hype. I got good gas mileage, the engine provided adequate "fun", and the vehicle handled really well and hauled stuff when I needed it to. It was also good in light off-road and in bad weather. We were required to buy a new CVT around 110K, which was a $5K hit, but our plan was to drive the Murano as long as it made sense, and then trade it, so we were willing to spring for the cost. It should be noted that at least in our area, the CVT could not be "repaired", but only replaced in full. So it goes.

I can't speak to the later models, but can say that when I purchase the Murano, I was hoping for a highly reliable mode of transportation, and I would say it clearly lived up that reputation. The seats - even without being "zero gravity", were very supportive and comfortable on long trips. The ride on Michelin Cross-Terrain SUV tires was probably >better< than the ML-320. The V6 engine was bullet-proof - it just kept going, and going.

Would I buy one again? Absolutely. I acquiesced to my wife's desire for a minivan, so this time around, we went for a Honda Odyssey because we now have a family and dog. The minivan just made more sense for where we are right now.

I think Nissan has a great vehicle in the Murano, and would recommend it's purchase without hesitation. It appears to only have gotten better over time.

stever

I dunno, my '99 Quest got to 200k before the repairs became too frequent. Overall I had two repairs of ~$1,500 each in '08 around 130k and about $800 last year before I sold it (without fixing the AC that sprung a leak - that was the last straw).

Having to get a a new CVT around 110K fails the reliability definition in my book. I'd be a bit leery of buying an older used Murano.

The word is that newer Nissan CVTs have gotten a lot better though.

Enjoy the Odyssey, my brother is on his second and his wife runs them into the ground.

texases

According to CR the older (2005-2007) had 'much worse than average' for 'engine, minor', 'drive system', 'suspension', and 'exhaust', and were 'worse than average' (2005-2006) and 'average' (2007) overall. So I wouldn't be too crazy about those years. Transmission (major and minor) have been OK most all years. Have you bought a CR car buyers' guide?