I was driving on rt 80 and my 2003 nissan murano, the "check engine light" went on, and shortly thereafter my car started losing power. As I accelerated, the car would not regain speed and started bucking. I had to slow down, pull over and turn off the engine. I restarted it a few mins later and the power returned. I took the car to nissan to investigate and ended up needing a new transmission. The car is less than 4 years old (I purchased it new in august 2004) and has 68,000 miles on it. I filed a claim with nissan and they informed me there was nothing they could do. I had to replace it at my cost. In searching the internet, I have discovered hundreds of similar cases to mine as well as other complaints to the federal safety agency. This seems to be a chronic issue with the make and model car I own and I think nissan needs to be investigated as im guessing there needs to be some sort of recall for this. If it was worse, I could have caused a very serious accident on a major highway.
2003 Nissan Murano transmission complaints
Page 8 of 10: complaints 191 to 220 of 265, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2003 murano has faulty transfer case, leaks fluid and has burning oil smell.
Faulty transfer case.
I have a nissan murano. Ever since I purchased the car it is used, I have nothing but trouble with it. The place I got it from replaced the transmission and the new one is slipping everytime I drive it.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 nissan murano. The contact stated that while driving at different speeds he experienced hesitation which as a consequence hinders acceleration. He took the vehicle to the dealer on numerous occasions in which technicians repeatedly advised him that because they could not duplicate the problem they could not provide a remedy. Eventually, a dealership stated that he needed to replace the valve body in the transmission at an expense of $1800.00 because his vehicle exceeded its warranty. He has not had the vehicle repaired. He contacted the manufacturer and was not provided with any assistance. The failure mileage was 53,000 and the current mileage was 73,000.
Transmission failure with 2004 nissan murano. The car would not accelerate at a stop and stalled. Long delay and finally slowly picked up again. Also making loud noises that appeared to come from the front.
My 2003 nissan murano sl awd had a transfer case completely fail after the dealer failed to identify the problem. They claimed it was tire noise.
I brought my nissan into the dealer the beginning of april 2008 because the "service engine soon" light was on...and I was told my car's computer needed to "re-learn" something. That cost me $100. Then, about two weeks later, I was on the interstate, my engine started making a straining noise, and I began to lose power. Of course, my "service engine soon" light popped on. No matter how hard I pressed the gas pedal, my car would not speed up... And the RPM seemed to be stuck on 4,000. My speed steadily decreased, and I had to finally stop my car in the breakdown lane. I left it sit for about 15 minutes, restarted it, and it miraculously fixed itself. I made it off the interstate, but it eventually started acting up again. I pulled into a parking lot and let it sit for about 2 hours. That was long enough for it to fix itself again and make it to the nissan dealer. It didn't give me any trouble on the way to the dealer, so I was completely shocked when they told me that I needed a new transmission!!! That absolutely never even occurred to me that something that major could be wrong! My murano has just over 70,000 miles on it.... Unbelievable! It ended up sitting at the dealer for more than a week because they had to order the transmission. The total cost would've been $5,700, but my extended warranty covered it. That's a big relief, but now I've lost faith in my murano. I've had minor problems before, and it even completely died on me and had to be towed (I guess I need to lookup that problem and report it too)... But I just thought "these things happen no matter how new a car is." it is comforting to know that so many other people have had the same problem... Thanks to this website. Nissan really needs to do something. This is a huge mistake on their part, and to keep bragging about how awesome their nissan transmissions are... Is very wrong. Nissan needs to stand behind their product.
I owned a 2003 nissan murano for less than 11 months before I was forced to trade it in. During the first 7 months of ownership I had nothing but a great experience with this vehicle. Within the 8th - 11th months however I began experiencing problems with my vehicle. I took it to the dealer and was informed that my vehicle's transmission was burning up and slipping. I took it to another nissan dealer and allowed them to do a diagnosis. I was told that the transmission only had a short amount of life left and that it would cost $5,000+ to have it shipped to japan and replaced. They told me that the fluid installed in the transmission was atf and not the $25/quart CVT fluid. I believed this and have been telling this story for years. I learned today that this was nonsense. I bought the car from a reputable dealer and only had the car serviced by nissan. Where would the fluid get into my ride in that case? I bought a warranty on the recommendation of the dealers representative who informed me that I would want coverage for the transmission in hopes of avoiding the $5,000.00 tag for replacement. He was a prophet because I ended up needing a new transmission less than 11 months later, but my warranty refused to cover the cost citing the failure to service the transmission at 60k though it was serviced at 61k. I traded this vehicle in with less than 70k on the odometer. In a year when I should have no car payment, I must accept another 4 years of car payments. What a shame, what a waste. How much I miss my ride, but what would it have been worth to me to keep it without knowing the same thing wouldn't continue?!?!!?!? Please help me and those others out there who need relief from this nightmare. I want to recoup my money that was stolen from me by nissan and for the upsidedown deficit I was thrust into by having to prematurely trade in my vehicle.
2003 nissan murano with 3.5l engine and CVT transmission. Vehicle hesitates, then suddenly surges forward in slow traffic after being driven on highway. Very dangerous problem with vehicle. Frequency: problem occurring about every day lately. Dealer will not mention this problem yet.
When in heavy stop and go traffic the car fails to accelerate after about 5 seconds it jerks so you basically drive with one foot on the brakes and the other on the gas very dangerous especially when making a left hand turn this happens about 3-5 time daily.
I have a 2003 nissan murano. It's been a great car since I purchased it new. I have recently heard a whining noise. The dealership and another source tell me I need a new transmission for about $5000. The car has 68k miles. The dealership told me it will just die one of these days. My fear is where will I be or what will I be doing when that happens. Nissan just says, "too bad" its out of warranty.
Purchased used nissan murano in november 2007 with 61k miles. While driving vehicle at 55 MPH the car suddenly shift to a lower gear. Would not accelerate at a safe rate and the transmission never shift to higher gear. Gear indicator light went out as well.
I have a 2003 nissan murano with 76k miles. During stop and go traffic anywhere between 0 and 30 MPH, I step on the gas pedal and the car does not move for a few seconds then suddenly it lurches forward. This is happening intermittently over the past three month. I am very scared to push the throttle because in a few secs, it just suddenly lurches forward and could cause a accident in front of me. I am not the only one, as there seems to be many people with this problem. I think this should be a recall from nissan. Please don't let this become an accident with injuries before action is taken. Thank you.
I have a 2003 nissan murano with 94k miles. During stop and go traffic, I step on the gas pedal and the car does not move for a few seconds then suddenly the car jerks forward. This happens intermittently over the past month. Its when I drive it to work its about 38 miles and I get off the ramp at the turn signal and I want to accelerate and don't go am very scared to push the throttle because in a few secs,it just kicks and could cause a accident in front of me. I don't let my wife use this car no more ,I feel my children and my wife could get in accident that's why am writing this complaint. I found all this complaints in the web. Http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f133968/20 )am not the only one. Thank you. I think this is a recall
Nissan murano 2003 - fails to accelerate when gas pedal is pushed.
Car while in stop and go traffic and also from a stop will hesitate and the engine and transmission will engage a few seconds later while the car lurches forward. This problem has been occurring for over a year with no resolution presented. I have been in too many close calls while trying to make turns in traffic and it is a nightmare to drive in stop and go traffic. A fix or resolution to this problem would be greatly appreciated.
I recently submitted a complaint. I read over the other complaints after submission and realized that 90% of the complaints submitted are same or similar to my problem. I was in fact told two different reasons for my car issues from two dealers in two different states. I am afraid that nissan does not know what the problem is or is not relaying it to their tech's. My car is loosing power during take off and thrusting forward. This mostly occurs in stop and go traffic. To remedy, I have to pull over and turn off the car. Are we not addressing this issue because it costs nissan to much to fix all the vehicles in need or is your agency turning a blind eye until an actual accident or death occurs. This problem will occur on the hwy, local street, anywhere. It does not discriminate and costs much to fix. The biggest problem is that I am under the assumption that if they "fix" it may still be broken due them not knowing the problem. I have been told it was the following: throttle body, valve body, and transmission.
Have yet to attempt to fix the problem, due to information relating to this specific problem. 2003 nissan murano which over the past year has experience significant delays in acceleration when in stop/go traffic.
While sitting at stop lights or in traffic, the vehicle fails to move for 20-30 seconds, then lurches forward at a high rate of speed. This has been occurring since I reached 70k miles and according to all other 2003 nissan owners on numerous websites, they are experiencing the same issues. Does someone have to be seriously injured or killed for someone to take notice? Nissan refuses to recognize the issue. This vehicle should be recalled right away!
I have a 2003 nissan murano with 70k miles. During stop and go traffic, I step on the gas pedal and the car does not move for a few seconds then suddenly the car jerks forward. This happens intermittently over the past month. I took it to the dealer and they charged $105 to diagnose it and said I need to replace the "valve body" for almost $1700. Doing a search on internet shows a lot of other 2003 murano owners having the exact same problem. In fact, there are 2 other complaints of the same problem on here, one dated 2005, but currently there is no formal investigation. I would like this issue to be investigated and recalled, as this is a big safety concern for all 2003 nissan murano owners and it's not right for the dealers to make hefty profit on their mistake.
This car has a serious safety flaw in that it hesitates from an idling stop. When you press on the gas while sitting with the engine idling the car will just sit there and then lurch forward suddenly. I first had this problem with the vehicle in 2005 or thereabouts, took it to the dealer (wilde nissan waukesha wi) who contended they could find nothing wrong with the car. This was/is a very intermittent problem which comes and goes without warning, you never know when it will happen. I subsequently took the vehicle back to the dealer several times and got the same story. Eventually the dealership changed hands and the new owner (boucher nissan waukesha wi, same address and location as original dealership) was diligent about researching and finding the problem. It was diagnosed as a "valve body problem" by the boucher folks. Nissan refused to honor repair claims and costs which were estimated to be around $1500 because the vehicle was "out of warranty" at the time boucher identified the defective condition. I firmly believe that nissan should have honored repair costs as this is a serious safety flaw in this vehicle which could result in a crash or serious injury if not death of driver. Nissan has taken a very negligent and non caring consumer response position on this matter. The federal safety agency should take nissan to task to repair this serious safety defect in this vehicle before someone is seriously injured or killed because of the defective condition.
I have experienced several time when my readmission would slip and not engage on my 2003 nissan murano. Now while driving down the highway with my carpool from work with me, a small beep from under the dash goes off and my transmission goes completely out. Now I find out that nissan has had this problem for several years and has done nothing to recall or fix this problem. I was going to buy another murano but now I am looking at a $5,000.00 bill just to get it running. I am very upset with nissan as this car should not have lost a transmission so fast.
We began experiencing transmission problems approximately 1 year ago. The first indication of trouble was the inability of keeping a set speed while vehicle was set in cruise control. We could hear the transmission struggling to get to the set speed and could see the RPM shoot up at the same time. The other common problem occurs while veh is at a complete stop and then the accelerator is pressed in order to proceed (I.e. Through an intersection), the veh will not move for several seconds while continuing to press the accel pedal. Then, very abruptly the veh will shoot into the intersection at a high rate of speed. *** this seems to be a continuing but intermittent problem. It occurs without warning-sometimes at high speeds on a freeway, often at low speeds in stop and go traffic. Recently, while on a very busy and dangerous roadway in lexington,ky during rush hour, I experienced the inability to reach the speed limit of 55 MPH. While attempting to reach the speed, the tachometer (RPM) would increase to near warning (red zone) levels. I felt as a driver that I was completely helpless and in possible danger from the heavy traffic and my distraction. The town we live in has a high number of 4-way stop intersections. We have 2 school-aged children and do a lot of in-town driving. If there is a hesitation by me as a driver due to a mechanical problem, the other 3 drivers may not realize that I have established an intent to move into the 4-way intersection. In the past, a driver of one of the other 3 cars has entered the int and I have had to make an emergency type stop to avoid a collision. Our nissan dealership (glenn nissan-lexington,ky) examined our vehicle on 5/6/2008. They have advised us that our CVT transmission needs to be replaced. Estimated cost $5,030.00. The codes given are "dtc po868, p1778. Mileage 97148. We did purchase the extended warranty, and are past the 72 month point (although still under the 100k mileage point).
Nissan murano has a design flaw with its transfer case. It cracks in half on cars with low mileage. If it happens on a highway, car stops in the middle of the highway with potential massive fatal accidents. My car broke at 44k and nissan refused to replace the part as it was a month after the warranty expired. I found out on www.nissanmurano.org forum that many, many cars has this problem which is evidently an engineering design issue, but nissan refuses to acknowledge the problem. One car broke down in canada in the middle of nowhere with a small baby in the car in winter time. It a miracle that baby survived .
While driving down the road, it would not go forward, the engine would rev but the car wouldn't move. On 3-31-08 it was towed to a reputable transmission shop. They ran a diagnosis and said the transmission control module (TCM) was faulty and that they couldn't fix it. On 4-1-08 the car was towed to jack ingram nissan in montgomery, al. I described all of the symptoms to the service rep and left it. On 4-2-08 they called and said the trans and TCM were fine but that one of the motor mounts was broken. I asked them if this would create the problems I was having and I was told yes, so I told them to replace the mount. A few hours later they called back and said the other mount was cracked and needed to be replaced so I told them to replace that one also. The total bill was $686 and we picked the car up the next morning, 4-3-08, my daughter returned to fl on 4-7. On 4-10, while returning to alabama from florida the car did the exact same thing. My daughter tried to make a turn and the car wouldn't move. She coasted into a parking lot and called me. Luckily she was in andalusia, al so I called massey automotive and they towed the vehicle to their shop. The next day, 4-11, a rep from massey called and said the TCM and trans were both bad and needed to be replaced. Also, they mentioned when they entered the VIN into the nissan database (?) it showed where the trans had already been replaced twice at dealerships in ga. They also said they felt the faulty TCM caused the previous two trans to go bad. Luckily, the trans was still under warranty from the dealer in ga so it's being replaced at no cost to us. However, the TCM must be replaced and that's going to cost me approx. $900. Why didn't jack ingram tell us about the previous trans problems? I've tried to call them twice and the service manager has yet to return my calls. Additionally, I've had two individuals look at the old mounts and they said they couldn't see where they needed to be replaced.
For the last 10,000 miles, I would step on the gas after being in stop and go traffic and nothing would happen for a few seconds. Then, it would suddenly go. I found out that if you restart the car, you have instant power again. This problem would happen infrequently, but always when I had been driving the car for a while or while I was in stopped traffic for 10-15 minutes. Apparently the problem is not the CVT. It is a pressure sensor located either on the CVT or inside the CVT. I called nissan consumer affairs to complain, but I got nowhere. My guess is that anyone with a 2003 murano (and possibly later models) could experience this problem.
Feb 13 2008 - took my 2003 nissan murano in for recall. Also asked them to check the transmission oil, since the cap says to be checked only by dealer and I've been having the problem of hesitation, while trying to accelerate from a stop. Alternator. The other recall on some sort of protector, was re-scheduled, they had to order parts. He advised that the transmission oil was okay, but will probably need to do an oil change. Feb 27 2008 - parts arrived, dropped off car to do the recall on protector and fix sun visor. Later in the day, I was advised that not all the parts for the recall came in. And the part for the sun visor was a different part. Rescheduled for mar 12, 2008. I also asked about changing the transmission fluid, he quoted me approx. $150.00. Agreed to schedule an appointment next time I was in. Mar 1, 2008 - first trip of the day, from a stop at intersection, accelerated to get onto main highway, we go approx 5 feet and the car slips out of gear and unable to go any further. Press the gas pedal and no rev. Called for a tow, and took my murano to nissan service. I was advised that no technician available until monday. Mar 3, 2008 - monday noon, called nissan to check on my vehicle. Advised that they were trying to get in touch with nissan on the mainland for advice on how to fix. The transmission might need to be replaced. They will let me know tomorrow. Mar 4, 2008 - tuesday noon, called to check on my vehicle. They have yet to get in touch with nissan on the mainland. They will have more information for me tomorrow. Mar 6, 2008 - the nissan service supervisor called to advise that my transaxle needs to be replaced for approx. $4485. 00 transaxle, $850.00 labor. No explanation on what nissan on the mainland had suggested. He said he would get in touch with them and let me know tomorrow.
Transmission failure started when the car would experience a loss in power in heavy traffic then will suddenly lunge forward. We lost the transmission last week, the murano couldn't even make it up to the driveway. We need to turn off the engine then turn it back on again in order to have the transmission working. The car is currently at the dealers waiting for a new transmission estimated at $4800. ~lb
Transmission stalls at intersections, barely moves car almost hit in intersection. 63,000 mile transmission has failed.
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