2003 Nissan Murano: jerking or lurching

Filed Nov 25, 2018 · Engine, Fuel system · 3 miles · CA

My 2003 murano se/sl aawhen I first start the engine it makes a sound like it has no oil or engine is choking but its starts but if engine is idling for 5 mins or so its shut off but I can start it again but after when im driving engine just dies off amd wont start again for about 5 mins. That problems has been going on constantly when im on the road with my children or by myself last week I was driving my son to school and I was waiting to turn left and once I was turning my murano died off in the middle of the road luckily the on coming traffic had a red light so I had a chance to push it of the intersection, one other time I was picking up dinner amd engine just died off on me while I was making a right turn and gear couldnt be released of drive and key wouldn't turn either some how while I was jerking the key I was able to shift to park and key was released that time I was lucky another vehicle stopped next to me and turn their emergency hazard light because my car seemed like the vehicle wasnt responding at all not even jump starting worked and after 20 25 mims it just started againg . Ive already fixed the faulty code but it still does it and now the cam and crank shaft codes appeared

Filed Nov 11, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 110,000 miles · KY

I purchased this car from a dealer as a used vehicle in september 2013. After several months I began to notice a very serious transmission problem. All of the sudden when driving the car does not respond to the gas pedal and then all of the sudden the vehicle will lurch forward. This has been scary and unsafe when driving in high traffic areas and I have run the risk of rear ending another vehicle. Other times it has been an extreme safety hazard when entering traffic that is traveling at a higher speed and you have to speed up to merge. If your car does not move when you press on the gas pedal others can crash into you. I have read that other nissan muranos that are the same year as mine have experienced the same safety issues and nissan has received a significant number of complaints with regard to CVT and front transfer case (cracks/fractures) issues but that nissan has not had a recall to correct this serious problem. I have a three year old grand daughter that I have in my car with me on a daily basis and I am afraid to drive the car! I also purchased this car after another serious accident that totaled my other vehicle and now I have a car that has major safety issues that I am extremely concerned about!!

Filed Jun 25, 2014 · Engine · 123,000 miles · TN

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan murano. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle jerked and the engine stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, there was a clanking noise coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician diagnose that the transfer case and the crank cam sensor were defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000.

Filed Nov 20, 2013 · Transmission · 80,100 miles · CO

My wife and I were traveling 55 miles an hour when the transmission stopped working in our 2003 nissan murano, jerking the car (and us), and leaving the vehicle paralyzed in night traffic in the fast lane. Several cars nearly hit us until we could safely steer the car to the shoulder. We were obviously scared to death and hurt from the abrupt stop. The vehicle would then only carry us about 1 mile an hour along the shoulder until we could get to safety. This vehicle only has 80,100 miles on the odometer (over a 10 year period.) it is very well cared for and maintained. We took it to the nissan dealer (woodmen nissan of colorado springs) for repair, and are now told it needs a new transmission. They will charge us $3,600 plus tax for a rebuilt transmission. Nissan motor company, ltd is aware that it put defective transmissions in this model year, because it later extended its power train warranty (after consumer complaints) for this model to 120,000 miles or 10 years, whichever came first. Again, my vehicle has only 80,000 and just went over the 10 year mark. This product is unacceptable and nearly cost me and my wife our lives. Nissan's mistake is also now potentially costing us thousands of dollars to fix. I want nissan to take care of this defect by replacing the transmission in our car. I have contacted it's customer care center and am now waiting for a response. It is solely nissan's fault., and it's responsibility to repair. I have informed millions as a news anchor across the country over the past 18 years ,and I now work as a free-lance journalist with two national news networks, I will share nissan's response to my request with every living person in my sphere of influence through every avenue of broadcast and social media I possibly can. We will see if a company that put it's customers in defective, dangerous vehicles will do the right thing.

Filed Nov 10, 2013 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 155,000 miles · GA

I was in stop/go traffic during rush hour. When I pressed the gas pedal to accelerate from a stop, nothing happened. I pumped the gas pedal to the floor 3 or 4 times and suddenly the car lurched forward and then started moving. The next time I came to a stop, I had to repeat the pumping of the gas pedal to move again. I did this several times and each time the car would lurch forward. When I could safely pull over, I turned off the engine and waited a couple of minutes. When I restarted the engine and pressed the gas pedal, everything was normal. I can go several months with everything being fine and then all of a sudden it will happen again. I haven't taken it to a dealer because there is nothing to indicate when it will happen and since everything is fine after the engine is turned off and then started again, how do I recreate the issue for a mechanic? This has the potential to be very dangerous because I never know when it's going to happen and the lurching forward has almost caused me to hit the vehicle in front of me on several occasions. I have seen numerous complaints about this problem on various blogs and on this website. In the qualifier above it asks if there has been a crash, fire or fatality. Please tell me why one of these horrific things has to happen before there is a recall on a very dangerous issue with a vehicle? A car not accelerating in traffic and then suddenly lurching forward should not be the owner's responsibility or cost to repair. It should be the responsibility and cost of the manufacturer to make sure they are selling a safe vehicle.

Filed Jul 19, 2012 · Transmission · 135,000 miles · NV

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan murano. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to accelerate from stops. The vehicle rapidly jerked forward when it finally began to accelerate. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 135,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Apr 19, 2012 · Acceleration · 170,000 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan murano. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle then jerked, hesitated, and stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who ran a diagnostic test and informed the contact that the speed sensor failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and stated that there were no recalls associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was 170,000.

Filed Dec 8, 2011 · Fuel system, Transmission · 90,000 miles · CA

My nissan murano 2003 has had this problem 3 months after I bought it. I was on a hill in san francisco and came to a stop sign. All of the sudden the car would not move forward when I stepped on the accelerator; instead it started rolling backward. It was very scary. I turned off the car and restarted and the car responded fine. I thought it was just a fluke. Then 5 months later, I was in a stop and of traffic on i80 on my way to lake tahoe. The car refuse to move when I stepped on the accelerator again. I started pressing harder and it lurched forward. It did that over and over again in the stop and go traffic. I finally pulled over and cut off the engine and started back up; the car responded fine thereafter. However, it kept repeating the same problem; each time I will resolve it by restarting the car. Luckily, it was under warranty so it was replaced at no cost to me. The car performed without further problem until 2006. The problem reared its ugly head. I took it back in and they said it was a bad battery. So we had that changed, but the problem came back. The mechanic reset the car computer and the problem went away. Again, it didn't really cost me much other than the battery. Then in 2009, the car again started doing the lurching thing in stop and go traffic. It's always in the same situation. I knew I was out of warranty by then and it would cost me an arm and a leg so I just dealt with it by restarting the car each time and pray the traffic will move faster soon. It's now 2011 and the problem remains. After reading all the complaints from past nissan murano owners, I really think nissan owes us some money. It should've been a recall since most of us paid $35k+ for this car. My car now has 145k miles. I am in the market for a new car. I like the CVT. Maybe will try a subaru instead.

Filed Oct 13, 2011 · Transmission · 115,000 miles · CA

After driving a while in stop & go traffic the vehicle hesitates and doesn't accelerate when you depress the gas pedal. Then after a few seconds the engine revs up and the vehicle lurches forward and sometimes stalls in traffic. Once the vehicle stalls, it takes a long time before you can restart the engine. This situation happens almost every time I'm in heavy traffic, which is especially dangerous on the freeways and when making left turns at intersections. I've worked with my local nissan dealership but they haven't come up with a solution, and it's becoming very expensive for me to have them research the problem and not find a fix.

Filed Sep 21, 2011 · Engine, Transmission · 85,000 miles · TX

After extended idle, the vehicle becomes unresponsive to fuel feed. When the gas pedal is depressed there is a hesitation (2-5 seconds) and then suddenly the vehicle will lurch forward. The problem temporarily goes away when the car is shut off for a few minutes.

Filed Jun 30, 2011 · Engine · 65,000 miles · CA

Nissan murano 2003. 3 major problems. 1- sudden loss of power after driving and stopping (for example trying to make left turn of a traffic light.) car does not response and move very slowly. (serious life threatening ) problem exist since has 65,000 fixed at 72000 miles and recurred after 5000 miles. (when car turned off and on it will work fine for few minutes). When the car has around 62000 I took it to original dealer and for the loss of power problem and the service manager claimed that the car has no oil. But the sensor of the oil never showed low on oil 2- car stops all the sudden for no reason. Then when try to turn on again it works fine for few weeks then problem repeat again. 3- car jerks so bad few times at speed 35 - 45 miles an hour and then check engine shows. After few days jerks again and the engine light goes off. I believe the first 2 problem are too dangerous and might be a life threatening .

Filed Feb 6, 2011 · Transmission · NY

I have a 2003 nissan murano. I have 115k miles and for the 5 months, I've had the same problem all others have reported, press the gas and the car doesn't move for a few seconds then jerks forward. Could be very dangerous when in traffic and trying to change lanes. In fact, I only discovered this problem when I was in stop and go traffic lately. I took it to goodyear company, they charged me $69 to diagnose the problem and told me it's the transmission. Something needs to be done since I am 100% sure nissan knows about this problem but is ignoring it. Thank you.