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2003 Nissan Murano transmission complaints

Page 4 of 10: complaints 71 to 100 of 265, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2003 Nissan Murano transmission problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Jun 4, 2011 · Transmission · 94,500 miles · OH

I just purchased a nissan murano yesterday and after just 10 minutes or so of driving I noticed that the acceleration is not exactly in sync with my pressure on the pedal. The previous owner also complained of this to the nissan dealer he bought it from. The dealer said it was the air intake and replaced it at no charge. Shortly after my initial drive it did not accelerate even when the gas pedal was to the floor. Today I entered a busy intersection to make a left hand turn and after the on coming traffic I pressed on the accelerator but no response rpms were study below 1000 like it was still idling. After several futile attempts pressing on the gas pedal I put the car in park then back to drive hit the gas but again no acceleration. At this time I am in the middle of the intersection under the red light. There is another car behind me that is stuck in the intersection as well which makes a hard left to get around and barely avoids an accident. Now with cars all around me I become almost frantic and I am a 52 year old man with plenty of driving experience and rarely panic. I decided to shut off the car and restart it (yes in the middle of a busy intersection under a red light blocking traffic I turn off the car and restart it). It took off immediately. Tonight I read a nissan forum with many other nissan murano owners describing similar incidents. This is a very very serious flaw in the engineering under no circumstance should an automobile not accelerate when the pedal is pressed without some precursor event to warn the operator. This is a very serious problem and there should be a recall. I will contact my local nissan dealer to have it looked at and issue a complaint.

Filed May 27, 2011 · Transmission · 130,000 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan murano. The contact was driving 30 MPH when the vehicle exhibited a loud, dragging metal noise from the front end. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who performed a diagnostic that located the failure at the transmission transfer case. The manufacturer was contacted but advised that they would not assist with the repair because of the vehicle age and mileage. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 130,000.

Filed May 15, 2011 · Transmission · 117,000 miles · TN

I own a 2003 nissan murano. Last august it began losing power while driving. It is like the car is being thrown into 1st gear. This has happened 12-18 times over the last 4 months. The crazy thing about these incidents is that no warning lights show up on the dash nor does the car give you any codes indicating that anything went wrong. Two months ago I took it to rick hill nissan dealership and told them what was happening. He had the car a week and drove it 66 miles and couldn't get the car to duplicate what was happening to me. Unfortunately, they wont work on the car unless is has a code showing up telling them what is wrong. This past week, I almost ran over my family as I was waiting on them to come out of a store. I proceeded to drive up to the store to pick them up when the car surged and the engine started racing. I had to slam on the brakes and throw the car in park to get it to stop. The engine and RPM's were still racing and 4,000 rpms. No codes were thrown and no lights on the dash again. 20 minutes later as we were coming home, the car lost power as if the transmission slipped into first gear and we creeped all the home at 5 MPH, with me having the pedal to the floor. This time there were codes, but when the car was turned off it would not restart. I had it towed to the dealership and they told me it was the ipdm. 825 dollars for the fix. 51 miles later the car slips again and acts like it is thrown into first gear. No lights, no codes. After reading many complaints on the CVT transmission in the 2003 murano I have no doubt this is the problem. This defect has put my family in many dangerous situations in the past year. Nissan increased the warranty for this transmission to 120,000 miles. This is not good enough. I took mine in with 118,500 but they said nothing was wrong,because they had no codes showing a problem. Now with 128,000 I am screwed. This needs to be a class action law suit or a recall on the CVT transmission.

Filed May 9, 2011 · Transmission · 120,000 miles · NJ

February 2010 I was driving my 2003 murano down the highway and all of a sudden as I was pushing the gas pedal and it wasn't responding properly began to hesitate but I was able to drive it to the nissan dealer for repair and I was told it was a sensor malfunction so it was replaced (at my expense $1100). Then in april 2010 driving down the street I heard a thump and as I pushed the gas and then the car began to drag and hesitate. I made it safely to a bank parking lot where I called a tow truck to tow it to the nissan dealer again. This time they say it was some sensor that dealt with the throttle and a case. Again at my expense ($3200). So in 2 months I spent $4500 and at that time I was told I should be ok. Well it is now april 2011 and I have the same problem again and this time it stopped while I was driving home from work. Now I had it towed to my house which iss were it sits because I was told sine I went more than 12k miles it is out of warranty. So I now have a car that is useless unless I spend another $4500 to fix it. Unexceptable!!!!!!! I am lucky I was not injured but this needs to be looked at soon or someone can be seriously injured.

Filed Apr 14, 2011 · Transmission · 125,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan murano. The contact was driving 10 MPH when the vehicle stalled without warning and was towed to the dealer. The dealer advised that the transmission assembly had malfunctioned and the transmission was replaced. The failure recurred five years later and the contact called the manufacturer regarding the transmission assembly. The manufacturer advised that they were unable to provide any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 125,000.

Filed Apr 14, 2011 · Transmission · 126,700 miles · NH

Vehicle would not respond to accelerator while in gear while attempting to accelerate from stop. Engine would not rev, but was running. Vehicle towed to dealer. Dealer advised CVT transmission component called valve body had an internal failure and TCM would need reprogramming. Vehicle has 126700 miles, purchased new. Cvt warranty was extended by nissan from original 5 years 60000 to 10 years 120000. This vehicle's mileage is beyond this extended warranty period. However, major component failure of CVT is recognized by nissan by virtue of extension of original warranty. The extension is inadequate and nissan should be required to extend for longer time and mileage. Mechanics have advised that valve body failures in transmissions are very rare.

Filed Mar 30, 2011 · Transmission · 112,000 miles · IA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan murano. The contact was driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle seized without warning. There was an unknown fluid leaking from the vents and smoke emitting from the transfer case. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic shop where the contact was advised that the transfer case was defective and would need replacing. The contact stated she authorized the mechanic to replace the defective transfer case. The manufacturer was contacted and a complaint was filed but no further assistance was offered. The failure and current mileage was 112,000.

Filed Mar 21, 2011 · Transmission · 122,225 miles · GA

When you come to a complete stop and then press the accelerator down the car does not move initially. If you hold the accelerator down after a few seconds the car will start to move. This has happened 3 times in the last 6 months after driving the car for about 20-30 mins. In stop and go traffic. The next day everything works like it should. I have taken it to a nissan dealer and at first they could not even find a problem since they could not duplicate what I described. The second time I took it back they managed to get a service code related to the valve body on the transmission. Nissan has a service bulletin issued related to this situation, which instructs the valve body to be replaced at a cost of $1700. Since you never know when this delayed acceleration will occur it is very dangerous to enter or cross traffic when it occurs.

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.

Filed Jan 27, 2011 · Transmission · IA

2003 nissan murano. Consumer states defective and unsafe transmission. Consumer requests replacement at no cost to him *tgw the consumer stated he was assured he would have no problems with the replacement transmission. However, within 21 months, the transmission failed. The consumer was told the warranty had expired on the replacement transmission.

Filed Jan 23, 2011 · Transmission · 120,000 miles · MD

Nissan muarano 2003. When hot and stop and go, acceleration can lag by 10 to 30 seconds after stepping on accelerator pedal. Very dangerous. Seems to be a pressure sensor in the transmission and they want $3000 to $5000 to fix.

Filed Nov 27, 2010 · Transmission · 77,790 miles · MD

A well maintained nissan murano of 7 years started making loud thumping noises after less than 78k miles. Our mechanic suspected transmission related issues, which occur frequently on murano and advised to take the vehicle to the nissan dealership. Nissan mechanics pinpointed a faulty transfer case to be the cause of the noise. Furthermore nissan indicated that it would be too dangerous to drive the vehicle due to the fact that if the transfer case failed completely during driving, it would cause the vehicle to come to an immediate halt, which if driving on the highway could cause a serious hazard. Since the transfer case failure was imminent, it had to be replaced at a cost of $2650. Further investigation on the internet indicates that transfer case failure in murano is common, however nissan has failed to address the issue and the potential hazards it may cause.

Filed Nov 7, 2010 · Transmission · 114,000 miles · WA

I have a 2003 nissan murano. At approximately 81,000 miles I noticed a burning oil smell after driving. I had the car checked and the transfer case was out of oil. The service dept. Resealed the transfer case under extended warranty. At about 96,000 miles I had the vehicle checked out before end of warranty and again the transfer case leaked out the oil and I had service on transfer case. The seals had to be redone, also under extended warranty. I have the car in now for routine service with transmission fluid flush and fill and because I am getting a strange ticking noise when accelerating. Notified that CVT fluid leaking onto outside of transfer case. Needs transmission seal redone. Over $2000. I am getting the seal redone under transmission 120,000 warranty from nissan. Dealership says I should get the transfer case seals redone but they are not covered under the transmission warranty and I cannot afford the close to $2000 extra this would cost. Seems that the seals should last more than 8,000 miles as they seemed too after buying the vehicle new and not replacing them until after 50,000 miles. After reading many complaints about a pressure valve and other transmission issues I believe the transmission should be replaced as I am very concerned that just replacing the transmission forward seal(?) will not correct the leaking problems with the transmission transfer case and that the transmission will "go out" after the factory warranty. I believe that there is a problem with the transfer case/transmission in this year/model of vehicle and that nissan knows this. There should be a recall.

Filed Nov 2, 2010 · Fuel system, Transmission · 110,000 miles · NC

While driving my 2003 nissan murano awd sl I suddenly loose acceleration, the engine will not rev and the RPM indicator is 0, the engine is still running, there are no warning light indicators. After several minutes the accelerator will re-engage and the car will accelerate again. This has happened 5 times in the last 2 weeks, took the car to the dealer and they could not find anything wrong, no codes issued. I have replaced in the past 3 years the transmission in the last 7 months the fuel pump, the catalytic converter, the o2 sensors have all been replaced. The dealer indicated that this not a problem they have been aware of and have no idea what it could be...sound like they are not being exactly forthcoming on this issue.

Filed Oct 20, 2010 · Transmission · 108,000 miles · MN

2003 murano - when in stop and go traffic car will not accelerate for 5-10 seconds when pressing the gas pedal. Dealership had my car for 2 days and first said it was the transmission but then nissan would not approve it to be replaced even under warranty. Then told me it was the TCM that needed to be replaced for $1000.00. This is a very dangerous situation and nissan needs to step up to the plate and replace these faulty dangerous parts free of charge to the customer! Instead of diagnosing improper things and charging the customer thousands of dollars for non-fixes.

Filed Oct 1, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · TX

2003 nissan murano. Consumer states engine abruptly shut off and the vehicle lost all power. *tgw the consumer was able to gradually steer the vehicle to the emergency lane. After numerous attempts, he was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and a diagnostic test revealed fuel pump failure. The consumer stated this was not the first time the engine abruptly shut off. The first incident happened in july 2007. But, the vehicle was restarted and was taken to the dealer, but they were unable to find a problem. Prior to the first two incidents, the engine stalled on may 10, 2010. After numerous attempts, the consumer was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they determined the crank sensor was faulty. The consumer stated there have been other repairs such as: alternator failure, the passenger door locks routinely malfunctioned during extreme heat, the driver's power seat malfunctioned, the motor mounts were cracked, the axles were loose, and the intake hose failed.

Filed Sep 29, 2010 · Transmission · 160,000 miles · MS

2003 nissan murano hesitates in traffic an all of a sudden accelerates wildly in traffic...

Filed Sep 10, 2010 · Transmission · 200 miles · MO

2003 nissan murano - since the first day it has hesitated and jerked when accelerating from a full stop. This is likely related to the known transmission problem.

Filed Sep 9, 2010 · Fuel system, Transmission · 83,794 miles · NC

This statement is in addition of numuras safety recalls. July 2008 on interstate 22 myrtle beach my 2003 murano stalled out with son and daughter. July 2009 it stalled out in whiteville nc. It stalled again. On both occasions nissan replaced a blown a blown fuse. Nothing else. August 2010 traffic the murano stalled at 65 MPH in heavy traffic nearly causing a ten car pile up. We were lucky. Towed murano,to nissan of myrtle beach, fuel pump was replaced. On all the recalls mailed to us refer:these safety recalls could cause fire or crashes. My wife is afraid of our death trap of our 2003 murano. The fuel pump is not a recall,but if you look up complaints on fuel pumps and blown fuses you see I am not the only one my car is a death trap. I want a investigation done.

Filed Aug 25, 2010 · Transmission · IL

2003 nissan murano sl: 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. 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.

Filed Aug 22, 2010 · Transmission · GA

After stopping at intersection I pressed the gas and car rolled into intersection. Within a few seconds car took off like a bat out of ???. This was quite scary as a truck was approaching. This car has done this several times and lately this has become an everyday occurrence. This is quite dangerous because you are clueless to when it will happen. I thought the previous recall concerning the air intake was a solution. It is more than obvious that it is not. This is too dangerous to be ignored. I invite you to drive my car for a day and then maybe you will have something done about this. I noticed there are several more complaints filed but I do not see any resolution. Nissan needs to recall these cars and fix this problem. Extending the warranty is not a solution if the dealer is not willing to fix the car. Please get this fixed before there is loss of life.

Filed Aug 20, 2010 · Transmission · 117,600 miles · NM

Bought a 2003 nissan murano new and have had a recurring problem with the transmission that the dealer refuses to repair under warranty. Basically the car will not accelerate from a stop and then suddenly surges forward. The problem is intermittent and seems to mostly occur when the transmission is hot. Sometimes it surges while driving at a steady speed. I have taken the vehicle to the dealer 4 times over a period of several years to have the problem repaired, but they have either said there is nothing wrong or that it needed a new air filter, but the problem has never been fixed and it continues to get worse. Nissan sent an extended warranty to owners of these vehicles that states it covers transmission problems up to 120,000 miles, however the dealer won't honor it and wants a $2,000 deposit to order the parts before it will schedule the repair.I contacted nissan consumer affairs and they said the repair is covered, and I told the dealer this, but the dealer said nissan won't reimburse him so he won't make the repairs unless I pay, and pay up front, no less. I can't afford this and my vehicle is rapidly approaching the 120,000 warranty cut off and I have the feeling they are just stalling until the warranty runs out. The vehicle is dangerous to drive but I have no choice and I don't know whom to turn to.

Filed Aug 16, 2010 · Transmission · 95,000 miles · VA

When pushing the accelerator the car does not respond then lunges forward. Several times I have pushed the accelerator 3-5 times with no response then it will lurch forward. The engine continues to run. The problem is intermittent, when taken to the dealer they could not recreate the problem. It happens more frequently in stop and go traffic.

Filed Aug 11, 2010 · Transmission · 85,000 miles · CA

Transmission shudders and slow acceleration from a stop. Vehicle slowed on freeway from over 65 MPH to under 40 MPH and unable to go any faster. Dealer says it was due to the computer needing to be reset and now says it is due to a faulty transfer case. I am not confident the issue will be resolved without replacement of both the transmission and transfer case with a new design.

Filed Aug 4, 2010 · Transmission · 92,000 miles · MA

Car looses power numerous times in stop and go traffic, almost caused me an accident while trying to turn left with an oncoming car. Took it to nissan, they said it's because oil level was low. After oil change service, problem still exists. Looks like it is a transmission failure but nissan denies it.

Filed Aug 1, 2010 · Transmission · 65,000 miles · CO

I drive a 2003 nissan murano. I had exited off the interstate right to a red stoplight. The light turned green and I pushed on the accelerator to only drift into the intersection. I floored the pedal and the vehicle finally jerked into motion after my light had turned red again and traffic was waiting on me. Perhaps it was a computer problem? Restart a computer and things clear up. That's what I did with the murano. The problem seemed to have corrected itself. I was wrong. The next time it happened I was leaving a drive-thru and once again was slowly coasting through a busy intersection until the murano jerked into action. In all of these situations I have been lucky enough that the other drivers were observant and didn't hit me. I have now noticed this problem occurs at any type of stop and go traffic situation. This problem seems to come and go. It won't happen for days or weeks. Then it'll do the slow and jerk every day at every stop even if I do turn it off and restart. I don't live near a dealership, so I took it to the local dependable shop. Not one of their mechanics could reproduce the condition. I thought it was possibly an acceleration issue. My murano is a high-mileage vehicle. My friend had mentioned having the transmission in his high-mileage car rebuilt and how it felt like it was new again. While researching on the internet, I didn't find information on a re-build kit, but I did find many forums from other murano owners with the same "slow and jerk" problem that I have been experiencing. Right now, I'm pretty much waiting for my transmission to fail. I have inquired about the price of removing and replacing the transmission: $4500 was a conservative estimate.

Filed Jul 19, 2010 · Transmission · 57,000 miles · NJ

Transfer case seals have failed for the second time after having been replaced by the dealer in the fall of 2008. Nissan north america refuses to acknowledge an issue with leaking transfer cases in muranos. They have put in place an extended warranty for CVT transmission failures, however, did not include transfer case problems.

Filed Jul 14, 2010 · Transmission · 75,000 miles · WI

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan murano. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle suddenly stalled without warning. The engine continued running and there was an abnormal increase in engine rpms. The contact stated the vehicle would not accelerate past 20 MPH. The contact was able to shut the engine off and when restarting, the vehicle resumed normal operation. Later, while merging onto a busy highway at an unknown speed, the failure recurred. The contact stated the failure would occur intermittently without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice yet the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure each time. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000 and the current mileage was approximately 80,000.

Filed Jul 12, 2010 · Transmission · 40,000 miles · MA

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 nissan murano. The contact stated that when attempting to accelerate in very hot temperatures, the vehicle would sporadically hesitate. The dealer performed a diagnostic test but was unable to produce any failure codes. The dealer stated the failure was due to bad gasoline. The failure persisted and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer who repaired the radiator and throttle body. The dealer also stated that the failure could potentially have been caused by the transmission and was unable to confirm that the repairs would correct the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 202,000.

Filed Jul 8, 2010 · Fuel system, Transmission · 118,000 miles · CA

Car: 2003 nissan murano sl awd summary: catastrophic loss of power / stalling during driving details: there are multiple issues - all reported to nissan - which promptly declined to do anything to address them since the car was out of warranty. However it's clear that several other 2003 nissan murano owners are reporting the "catastrophic" stall problem - a simple google search bears this out. To me it seems that nissan is washing its hands off the problem. Here are some symptoms: 1) when driving on the freeway a couple of days ago, the car catastrophically lost power for several seconds - only to somewhat recover thereafter. At the time of recovery manylights on the dashboard lit up including "check engine" "awd lock / slip" etc. This incident happened three times in a row - and I called nissan for help. 2) I live in san francisco. When waiting at a stop sign to cross uphill, the car simply does not respond when I press on the gas pedal and starts rolling downhill instead. 3) similarly in stop and go situations - the car simply does not respond to the gas pedal - and then when it finally does lurches forward in a dangerous, out-of-control fashion increasing the chances of rear-ending the car ahead.

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