Nissan Murano Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • eweisseweiss Member Posts: 11
    Hi all. I have an 04 SL that I'm very pleased with. Just two minor issues. 1) I've noticed that when I have the A/C on, the dashboard pops a little bit. Is that just because it's expanding/contracting w/ the change in temp? 2) My driver's seat seems to pop a little bit when I first accelerate and get pushed back into it (not flooring it, either). Anyone else experienced this? It feels almost like there's cardboard or something in the seat that's creased. Overall, though, no major problems w/ the car at all.
  • rickerricker Member Posts: 1
    13000 miles on the ODO and grinding noises started to appear. Vehicle taken to local Nissan dealer and service says transmission needs replaced. This vehicle has had tender loving care and disappointed with quality of this new CVT. Has anyone else had tranny problems?
  • dmmakoskidmmakoski Member Posts: 72
    Have service dept look at:

    Service Bulletin Num : 03095
    Date of Bulletin: OCT 15, 2003
     
    Component: SEATS
    Summary: DRIVER'S SEAT ROCKING/SQUEAKING
  • rknj2004rknj2004 Member Posts: 3
    Hello All,

    Was heavily considering a Murano SL but going through this message board seems like Murano has lot of issues with the alternator and rattles specially in 2003, can you folks comment if these still exist in the 2004 model.
    I was heavy on highlander but then found the murano to be a better alternative for a few extra grand.
    I guess stick with toyota for reliability - is that the verdict.
  • dklaneckydklanecky Member Posts: 559
    Looks to me that 1400 messages on the "Highlander problem" board is a few more than the 418 here?

    Regardless, enjoy your Highlander!
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    The Highlander problems board has been around a couple of years longer than this one, fwiw.

    Steve, Host
  • danvidarstledanvidarstle Member Posts: 10
    My 03 SL AWD Murano was struck by a small rock on the windshield while I was driving on the highway. The SUV in front of me kicked up the small rock with one of its rear tires. The rock left a small round crack in the window. Its less an inch in diameter and its located about 6 inches from the bottom of the windshield. Its a little left of the middle of the windshield.

    Do i have to get the whole windshield replaced?
    And is the damage covered by my warranty or my car insurance???
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Lots of insurance companies will pay for someone to repair the crack with clear glue, with no deductible. I've had several chips done with good success - none of mine were as big as an inch however and none were in my main field of view. Definitely worth a try.

    You may want to put some tape over the crack to keep it dry until someone can look at it.

    Steve, Host
  • danvidarstledanvidarstle Member Posts: 10
    Do I have to contact my insurance company before I go to the dealership to get my car repaired?

    I also have a question about my service intervals

    I replaced my oil and changed the filter at 2500 miles. I did this because I ran over a nail on the road and the dealer gave me a free oil and filter change at the dealership. I have about 3600 miles on the odometer. SHould I bring my vehicle for its regular checkup or can I wait a bit longer?
  • dijdij Member Posts: 9
    Contact your insurance company to find out what your options are for repairing or replacing your windshield. Anything anyone else says is pure speculation...
  • danvidarstledanvidarstle Member Posts: 10
    Went to my dealership to see what could be done about my windshield. They said they will replace it for $1400. My friend recommended that I go to an autoshop that he went to when he experienced the same problem I had a few weeks ago. THey repaired his Honda Pilot windshield for $60.00.

    If i get my windshield repaired here, will I void my warranty or should I just get it replaced or should I talk to my dealer about just repairing my windshield instead opf replacing it.

    My dealer is an a****** and I know he just wants to replace the windshield instead of repairing it so he can get more money out of it.
  • dijdij Member Posts: 9
    1. Contact your insurance company and find out what it does and does not cover.

    2. Go to a glass shop. The glass shop will be able to tell you whether they can repair your windshield or whether it needs to be replaced. Many insurance companies pay the entire cost of repairing a windshield. I had my Xterra windshield repaired a couple of times and the repairs were hard to find. It took just a few minutes.

    3. No warranty covers damage to a windshield from rocks, etc. I'm not sure what warranty you're concerned about voiding...
  • zoo_bzoo_b Member Posts: 18
    Just want to say be careful about contacting your insurance company. Once they know about such incident, they have grounds to jack up your insurance rates for the upcoming year. This is because they believe your risk level is higher now they have actual details of your vehicle being damaged, despite in a very minor way.
  • dijdij Member Posts: 9
    I had windshield work done on my Xterra twice and my rates did not go up. Windshield damage is not caused by negligence...

    They'd much rather pay a few bucks to repair a windshield than to have to replace one.
  • gerapaugerapau Member Posts: 211
    ... may not jack up your rates when you have windshields repaired but be careful. Many companies actually give reductions after a few years of claim free driving. While your rates may not go up you may not qualify for a reduction because of the windshield claim.
  • albeeeealbeeee Member Posts: 3
    My wife broke down on a city street in West Hartford, CT with our 3 year old daughter. After the tow last week, we got the official run-around about what happened/cause/when it would be ready... then the "a-word" alternator, 12000 miles.. don't need to be Columbo here after reading all of the failures, hope it makes it to the end of lease...
  • dijdij Member Posts: 9
    In Louisiana, car insurance rates only go UP, claims-free or no.
  • omaha2omaha2 Member Posts: 1
    My 2004 Murano SL also leaks along the back of my sunroof when I take it thru fairly hi-pressure touchless car washes. to verify I wasn't dreaming I've taken it thru 3-4 times with the same leaks in the same area, not in front by the deflector.
  • homeounerhomeouner Member Posts: 145
    My MO has a clicking or poping (just one) noise if the gas is suddenly applied from a stop sign. The pop is in the front, in the wheel or trans. area. Hall Nissan says that they hear it too but have not pin pointed the source. I asked the service writer to investigate it (as if they don't know) and be ready to fix it the next oil change. I think when the engine torques under acceleration its not being supported enough and hits or slips into some thing solid around the support cradel. In june I took the MO to IL. for a class reunion and family meeting. Several people had new cars and most very late model cars.
  • feb03muranofeb03murano Member Posts: 1
    Our murano is 1 1/2 years old and we love it... except that it does have this helicopter sound.... You are right to guess that it may be connected to your wheel revolutions... We had ours checked out today (after several months of procrastination).. it seems that our car needs a new alignment, and a couple of tires need to be replaced... check your tires... one of our back tires has a wavy shape to it. When we took it to our area Nissan dealership, the service manager (after he was told about the noise) informed us that it wasn't a warranty issue... yuck... however, he did go immediately to the back of the car and inform us, that Nissan suggest alignments every 15,000 miles.. and that could be our problem... Coincidence? hmmmmm
    I think that this may be a systematic problem, that they don't want to get out... These tires are suppose to have a 36,000 mile warranty, but he doubts we'll benefit from it.. hope that helps you get your helicopter noise question- answered correctly. also, if you have a moonroof, nissan sells the little wind deflector, which will help with the other noise that results from your moonroof being opened.
    Thanks....
  • danvidarstledanvidarstle Member Posts: 10
    Just wondering if i have to specify what kind of maintenance i want done to to the vehicle.......

    for example the murano does not need to get the same maintenance done to it when compared to a titan. the prem. maint. sched are almost identical in what they need to do except for 1 or two things.

    do they just perform the things needed to keep my murano in great cond.???

    how much money do i save if i choose sched. 1 maintenance over the premium one?
  • danvidarstledanvidarstle Member Posts: 10
    when my rear windows are down while driving..a helicopter like sound can be heard..is this normal???

    and when the rear windows are down.. they rattle whenever i hit a bump..is this a cause for concern?
  • harryj1harryj1 Member Posts: 2
    The transmission downshifts when I coming to a stop gradually slowing the car down. Occasionally the car seems to surge slightly just before I come to a complete stop. It feels like the transmission suddenly disengages causing the car to surge forward. It sometimes catches me off guard and I need to apply harder on the brakes. Is this normal for this transmission ? Is anyone experiencing this problem?
  • homeounerhomeouner Member Posts: 145
    My MO trans acts the same W/ the surge at apx. 25 MPH on the slow down. I do not like it, several other posters have remarked about it being in their MO's. I have had auto trans since 1955 (power glide) in apx. 45 cars, domestic and import, 2-3-& 4 speed, usually on slowing down a down shift nudge occurs on some of them, but never a surge.
  • ek01ek01 Member Posts: 37
    I have a 2003 SE. There is a small but annoying noise emanating from the aluminium covering around the stereo and HVAC controls. When I push down on the aluminium with my fingers the sound goes away which tells me that the aluminium has not been properly glued down. Anyone else have this problem and did you have a fix. Thank you in advance.
  • b_topb_top Member Posts: 4
    Hi I have an 04 Murano SL AWD with 4,000 miles on it and I started to notice that the clock was gaining appox 5 minutes every three weeks I cannot figure out why when it is digital. I took it back to the dealer and they said that I needed a new information center because it was part of the clock now. I am told that they received a service bulletin pertaining to the Information center in the car, has anybody experienced the same problem and is there a web page that I can see all the service bulletins that has been released for the Murano.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Normal and more and more common in many cars:

    tidester "Volvo XC90 SUV" Jan 4, 2003 1:19am

    Steve, Host
  • roadrunner70roadrunner70 Member Posts: 241
    HAS ANYONE HAD THE TSB PERFORMED ON THE DRIVER'S SEAT, AND THEN FOUND THE NEW ONE WAS ALSO GETTING LOOSE?? IF SO, SPEAK UP. THE DEALER IS REFUSING TO REPLACE THE SECOND ONE WHICH IS MUCH WORSE THAN THE FIRST ONE, SAYING THEY ALREADY PERFORMED THE TSB. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THIS IS A DEALER ISSUE OR A NISSAN DIRECTIVE. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP. PELASE EXCUSE THE CAPS, I NEED TO USE THEM TO SEE THE SCREEN CLEARLY FOR THESE MESSAGES.
  • eweisseweiss Member Posts: 11
    I have an 04 MO SL w/ just under 4k miles on it. Has anyone heard their dashboard creak or make strange noises when the A/C is on? Or at any other time? I also seem to get a creak from my driver's side window when it's down or just been raised. Anyone else have this happen to them?
  • dklaneckydklanecky Member Posts: 559
    It's one year yesterday since I took delivery of my 03 SE AWD with all the options including NAV, Towing and XM SAT. Here are my impressions after 23,800 miles.

    Highs:

    This is without a doubt the best Road Trip vehicle I've ever ridden in. The combination of the higher seating position, the sportier SE handling, the CVT (with it's infamous "S" position), nice, powerful 3.5 liter engine, the XM radio, the towing capability, and the NAV unit make it just about unbeatable, in it's price range.

    Gas mileage has averaged 19.34 MPG as calculated manually at every fill-up with the mileage computer calculating a tad high at 20.15 MPG, about .80 MPG off in total. My best mileage per tank fill up was 24.4 and my worst was 12.9. I switched to Mobile One at 10,000 miles and use a K&N air filter as well.

    I changed the oil and filter at every 5,000 miles, rotate the tires at 15,000 and my total maintenance costs were 162.12 for the year.

    My largest fill up was 20.971 gallons. My average fill was 17.09 gallons. My most expensive fill up was 20.515 gallons of Premium at $2.249 per gallon or $45.93. I bought gas 40 times during the 12 months, 19 times 93 octane, 15 times 89 octane, and 6 times 87 octane. Gas mileage and overall engine performance seem to be the best with the 93 octane, so I'm sticking with it going forward.

    I think that the overall design of the Murano's exterior body is outstanding, particularly when it comes to washing, waxing, and detailing in general. There are so many nice clean body panels and tight seams that I can literally quick detail the entire exterior of vehicle in less than 15 minutes (not counting all that glass).

    The overall look of the Murano is still very attractive from almost any angle I still catch other drivers sneaking a peek almost every day while I'm on the road and sitting in traffic. I also still enjoy the look of the Murano from almost any angle, which to me is a sign of the overall great design.

    The Xenon headlights are outstanding and with the adjustable height, can light up the night like nothing else I've ever driven. The memory seats are really nice with me being 6' and my wife being 5'2"

    Lows:

    I've got a rattle coming from what sounds like the driver's side B pillar that I cannot for the life of me locate and stop. This is the only one I have in my particular Murano. (Knocking on wood.)

    This thing can really suck up the gas when it's driven in the cold weather for short trips and doesn't have a chance to warm up sufficiently. I've seen an indicated 10 mpg in the winter until it warms up and then it moves up nicely as thing warm up. It doesn't seem to be the engine that's slow to warm up either, I think it's the CVT. I wonder if some kind of transmission heater would improve this cold weather mileage?

    Gas mileage above 78-80 MPH drops off very quickly as the MO isn't as aerodynamic as its looks might make you think.

    The main NAV unit (player) died on me and was replaced under warranty (part price ~$2,000). Makes me wonder about the reliability of the unit at 150,000 miles and beyond and whether I'd pay to have it fixed if (when) it fails.

    I think Nissan really cheaped out on the TPMS that doesn't indicate which tire is low, only that one of the four is.

    Overall, this is the best-designed and engineered vehicle I've ever owned or driven. It's not perfect, but it's awfully close to being perfect for my uses.
  • dmmakoskidmmakoski Member Posts: 72
    Nice review.

    Sums up my feelings also including the B pillar, what I like to call popping noise.
  • dklaneckydklanecky Member Posts: 559
    What steps have you tried to date (if any) to solve the "B" pillar rattle or popping?

    Mine is really quiet overall except for that one, annoying noise which I can't find, no matter what I try.

    I'm about ready to take apart the driver's side interior trim and see if I can insulate everything that's metal to plastic or plastic to plastic.

    I have this fear however, that by doing this I may actually make things worse...........
  • dmmakoskidmmakoski Member Posts: 72
    So far had the dealer look at it once. They secured the duct work that goes up the pillar.
    I didn't think that would do anything since the sound seems like it's coming from the upper part of the pillar.

    Now the sound is also coming from the passengers side. I am going to 'try' and make it my dealers again this Friday to have a tech ride with me to ID the sound.

    I have read elsewhere that a person had to remove the whole seatbelt adjuster to fix.
  • albeeeealbeeee Member Posts: 3
    significant disappointment in quality...
    just had a replacemnt installed late June 2004,now another one...
  • cirisan3cirisan3 Member Posts: 1
    I recently picked up a screw in my right front tire, and curbed the car as quickly as possible. I changed the tire and put on the spare. I immediately took it to a tire shop for repair, only to find that the sidewall was damaged. I asked the guy to sell me a replacement, and guess what? He had nothing available. It took three days to find one. ONE. He also told me that with 25k on these Goodyear Eagles, I had about 4k left on them. I asked him to get me a set, and found out that they were back ordered by 3 months.No one can get them. Not even major retailers like Sears, much to their suprise the cocky sobs.
    Sears did tell me that Dunlop makes one for $265 per, with no mileage rating. Now you would think that a thoughtful company like Nissan would be more thoughtful than that, but they won't even answer my e-mail. Jerks. So I want some suggestions from you guys out there who like to pick on people who inadvertantly lock themselves out of their Muranos. (I've done it while opening my gate, incidently). But this is serious. Besides, I've never gotten good mileage out of Goodyears. They are junk as far as I'm concerned. But to not have replacement tires available, or options that are affordable is simply unforgivable.
  • shop4shop4 Member Posts: 17
    While I cannot respond to your issue with the tires (I have 15,000 miles on my 12 month old Murano), I can direct you to a Nissan Technical Service Bulletin # NTB03033. This comes right from Nissan--If you confirm that the vehicle shows the following symptom(s): doors unlock/ lock intermittently, and/ or front power windows roll down intermittently, and/ or alarm sounds intermittently, When: during wet weather, or after a car wash, or-=closing the drivers door, Or-driving over rough roads, or: locking and unlocking doors by any means (manually/ by main switch/ key/ or remote). Actions: Follow about numbered service bulletin.
    I wish you all the best, a dealer just acknowledged the problem, and has ordered the parts. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
  • superdavidsuperdavid Member Posts: 24
    Cirisan3,

    Try www.justtires.com, they have the Goodyear Eagle tires for about $132 per, plus balancing.
    Tirerack.com also have them for $105 per, but they are on back order.
    Search thru the net, maybe you can find some more dealers having these Goodyear tires.

    Good luck.
  • rjardinerjardine Member Posts: 18
    To see the TSB on the drivers door locking and what I believe to be all other TSBs that Nissan has released for the Murano, check out www.nissanhelp.com
  • homeounerhomeouner Member Posts: 145
    My two cents worth: I began to read Murano post in Jan. 04 when we were shopping for a '04 car. I have a MO since 3-1-04. Several months ago I read that Renault pulled Nissan' bacon out of the fire apx. 3 yr. ago and there is MO looking
    renault in France. Having been around Renaults since 1959 i think its no wonder that some MO have these Quirky goings on. AKA the exhaust system front muffler, its like, wow we have this great looking vechile And guess what, they say its got to have an exhaust system going all the way to the rear bumper. We will just run it under the body and connect it to the rear muffler, who will notice it hanging down there. No other cars have it that low. We will be different!!
  • texiantexian Member Posts: 7
    I've had my '03 Murano since April of last year. I just passed 25,000 miles. Fuel economy has been an issue since delivery - 12-14 in town and 19-20 on the road. An odd thing happened when we took it to Colorado; once we were at altitude the mileage improved dramatically -over 25 until we returned to Texas. Nissan says it's within their parameters and will do nothing. The dealership has supposedly checked it out every time the oil was changed.

    Over the last month I have had the alternator and the rear end replaced. The rear end started making noises when turning after I picked it up from the alternator repair. I was told the vehicle was locking in AWD on its own. I was also told this would fix the MPG problem. I had it back a week and so far no change.

    I love the car but am frustrated with the dealership and Nissan's attitude toward problem resolution. 12MPG is unacceptable. I drove a friends Murano for several days and averaged 19 in town so I don't think it's my driving. Anyone else having fuel economy or problems with the rear end with the AWD models?
  • homeounerhomeouner Member Posts: 145
    Hello posters; In looking under my MO, I noticed that the center lines of the drive axe ls are not in a straight line, that is the C/L of the trans out put shafts are about 1 1/2" higher than the C/L of the wheel bearing C/L. This causes the C/V joints to be working needlessly when running straight down the road. All other FWD autos including my '68 Cadillac Eldorado that I have looked at have these joints in a straight line W/ the joints working during turning & the front end bouncing up & down when going down the road. This condition will greatly shorten the life of the C/V joint and the boot.
  • djocksdjocks Member Posts: 124
    Our alternator looks like it just went. Car is dead.

    We have 25000 miles on it, will it be covered unfer the warranty? And did nissan cover the tow job for the rest of you?

    Thanks for the help.

    dj
  • texiantexian Member Posts: 7
    Yes to both. They may balk at towing it but I made them tow it and give me a rental.
  • djocksdjocks Member Posts: 124
    Texian,

    Thanks! It is my wife's car and she loves it, but frusrtated today!

    dj
  • nitromaxnitromax Member Posts: 640
    Hello posters; In looking under my MO, I noticed that the center lines of the drive axe ls are not in a straight line, that is the C/L of the trans out put shafts are about 1 1/2" higher than the C/L of the wheel bearing C/L. This causes the C/V joints to be working needlessly when running straight down the road. All other FWD autos including my '68 Cadillac Eldorado that I have looked at have these joints in a straight line W/ the joints working during turning & the front end bouncing up & down when going down the road. This condition will greatly shorten the life of the C/V joint and the boot.

    All driveshafts are offset between the tranny and the differential. It's to prevent harmonic vibrations (I believe)...not exactly sure on that, but I AM sure that they are designed offest for a reason.
    All cars...even your Caddy had offsets.(your 68 Caddy was FWD?) It may have not been as noticeable but it was there. Many cars have the offsets going to the side becasue they don't have the vertical space offered due to the lower ground clearance. (That could be the reason you never noticed it on the Caddy...if you got under it while it was on a lift you would probably see it)
  • balithaibalithai Member Posts: 14
    I have a 2003 Murano SL AWD w/16K miles which I generally love. However, I’ve got a problem that the dealer cant duplicate and it is getting worse and increasingly dangerous – intermittently, when I am at a stop or a slow roll and press on the accelerator, the accelerator goes down way past the normal point, there is no increase in RPMs and then suddenly the car lunges forward (not a little, but a lot, enough to cause me to almost plow into the back of the cars ahead of me).

    90% of the time when this has happened, it is when I first encounter slow traffic or a stop after driving approx. 300 miles of highway. The other 10% of the time it will just happen in city driving. When it starts doing this, it continues until I stop driving the car for at least a few hours. The problem first showed up at around 8K miles.

    The problem is becoming more frequent and more severe each time – the most recent time I nearly caused two major accidents before I was able to get the car off the road. And I can’t just sit by the side of the road for a few hours each time! I’ve not had the luck to have it happen during service hours, and the two times I’ve left the car w/a dealer, they’ve not been able to duplicate it.

    Anyone have any ideas or had anything similar? A co-worker suggested that it might either be the CVT controller or the accelerator linkage. I am not real proficient w/car mechanics but am looking for anything I can on this one! Thanks!
  • homeounerhomeouner Member Posts: 145
    I,ve been under my '68 ELDO W/ FWD dozens of time & its about as level as can be.Mercury sables are in a straight line. Rear drive cars have no boots to contend with. For the MO to have no offset the trans output shafts would have to be lowered an inch or so causing clearance issues elseware.
  • nitromaxnitromax Member Posts: 640
    I,ve been under my '68 ELDO W/ FWD dozens of time & its about as level as can be.Mercury sables are in a straight line. Rear drive cars have no boots to contend with. For the MO to have no offset the trans output shafts would have to be lowered an inch or so causing clearance issues elseware.

    Perhaps some light reading will help.
    :-)

     http://www.classictruckshop.com/driveline_page2.asp

    http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/5437/

    I'm not saying you're wrong and I'm not saying that the Murano doesn't have issues with it's driveshafts. All I'm saying is that an offset NOT going to harm the tranny/differential and is preferred (in the articles)
    The important thing is that the the two output shafts are parallel with each other.

    Now I DID notice something in that second article about the angle being no greater than 15 degrees. Perhaps the angle on the Murano does go greater than 15 degrees when going over bumps....if that is the case, then you may be on to something, but having them not on center with each other is nothing to be convcerned about.

    There may be better information out there for you to peruse, but I don't have the time to fish right now, sorry.
  • homeounerhomeouner Member Posts: 145
    Thanks for the articles. My point was the flatter the angle of the joint the less work the joint has to do. I do not see harm to the differential/ trans. The boots can be worked more than necessary, cracks develope, letting in dirt. In normal straight line running, 99% of the time minimun angle is 8-10 degrees. Too much i think, and a lot more than some other half shafts on other cars.
  • muranoguymuranoguy Member Posts: 2
    Hi all. I own a 2004 SL AWD. It has 2k miles on it. I love the car, but am not happy with the mileage. I'm averaging between 14 and 15 mpg around town for both stop and go and highway driving combined. I'm using premium gas. On a long trip, I was able to get 24 mpg and was happy with that. Does anyone have any suggestions for improved mileage, e.g. synthetic oil, add-on products, etc? Maybe I should wait for a hybrid version.
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