2003 Nissan Murano: complete transmission failure

Filed Jul 4, 2015 · 112,000 miles · MD

Just bought car 2 months prior to incident. Started having trouble accelerating after a stop light. Foot was down to the ground and car wouldnt move. Called nissan and they told me there was a recall on the CVT transmission so the warranty was extended to 10 years or 120,000 miles. Since my car is a 2003 the recall was expired. This is a dangerous safety matter, how can this expire! It needs to be fixed but nissan was no help! Seems that I need a new transmission but can't even get the car to go more than 10mph now and it is stuck at dealer! I am still trying to save money for the transmission three months later and dealing with having to pay over $400 monthly including insurance for a car I am not even using!

Filed Jan 4, 2014 · Transmission · 102,000 miles · CO

We were driving home (my daughter was driving) about 45mph, and the car made a whinning noise then the rpms were going up and down, then when she pushed on the gas the car did not accelerate. Got the car home and my husband said he would look at it. Every time we start the vehicle makes a horrible whinning noise. We were going to have it towed to get it checked out and in the matter of a few days a squirrel had gotten under the hood and ate the main wire casing. So we had it towed to woodmen nissan in colorado springs since we couldn't do anything until that was fixed because the car had no wiring. That was 9-21-2013. We got a call from woodmen niss that the part was on back order and would be awhile, well 12-21-2013 we finally get a call that the car is done and we could come get it. While we are waiting for a car, I googled transmission problems with 2003 niss muranos and found the ext the warranty to 10yrs or 120k, well we are under the mileage but 1 1/2 months over time. We purchased from our brother in law who was the original owner. He and well as us, took very good care of the vehicle it was well maintained. Niss said there is nothing they can do since it is over the 10 yrs. I looked back at the records and the vehicle was taken in on several occasions for leaking transmission... I too believe nissan should be responsible for a new transmission as it was a bad transmission and they knew it was bad. They are not willing to do anything.

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 7, 2013 · Transmission · 84,985 miles · MA

Loud banging noise, louder as I increase speed, new transmission 3/2013.

Filed Apr 23, 2013 · Acceleration, Transmission · 142,410 miles · CA · crash

I was driving down a hill road, I decided to turn back, I performed a legal u turn and when I tried to reverse the accelerator would not perform its duty. I was going downhill and hit the dirt curb and almost went off the cliff if I had not pressed the emergency brakes. This is not the only incident. As I go on the freeway I am not able to accelerate from time to time because the step motor cannot perform its duty in making sure gears switch at a proper time. I went to a transmission expert and was told it was the step motor which affects the transmission. This part is in charge in making sure gears switch properly. I went online and I have seen that many people have issues with this same problem. I called a nissan dealership and was told that since I had passed the 120k mileage mark they could no longer service my transmission within the warranty limits. This means I will have to pay out of pocket $2,140.00 for a new transmission not including labor.

Filed Mar 23, 2013 · Transmission · 199,412 miles · CA · crash

I am pulling into the freeway in daly city and the vehicle will not engage transmission. I cruised going 10mph for a mile before I had to pull over on the freeway. I turned the vehicle off and sat there thinking on how to get home. After 10-15 minutes, I decided to drive the vehicle off the freeway. I parked the vehicle in the street and noticed the vehicle had power. I drove it to my technician that evening. Owner of the shop said it was very common and lucky that I did not have my family in the vehicle. The vehicle never revved even though I was stepping on the gas pedal. I have a 13 month old daughter and would not like to think what could of happened if I was stuck in an intersection on a busy street. These cars should be recalled since there are plenty of these cases online. I would like my money back on the transfer case I had to replace and now the new transmission I will have to buy.

Filed Feb 14, 2013 · Acceleration, Transmission · 34,000 miles · CT

Initially,this car would stop in the middle of intersection and on the highway due to a faulty alternator. I almost got in an accident . The car would loss power and then take off and finally the car would stop on a busy highway. I almost got killed 3 times due the car stalling out on me. The transmission died on me 3 times. The first two times, I had only 20-30,000 miles. ( I purchased the car brand new). The very last time they replaced the transmission (costing me $6, 000) I had about 160,000 miles. Even after having nissan replace the transmission 3 times, the car still stalls or shuts off while in motion. About a year ago, I had new cat converters installed, a new manifold and exhaust installed. It ran for about 6 months and now it is still stalling out and stopping (while in motion) me. This is very dangerous. Now nissan thinks the crank shaft positioning is the cause of the problem but refuse to do it for free because the VIN# to my car is not listed with the rest of the 2003 murano's (recall list). This I think is ridiculous. It seems to me that nissan has alot problems with their older murano's with regards to stalling, stopping suddenly while in motion. They seem to care less if the owners life is at risk. I have been dealing with these issues, since I first purchased the car. It is a piece of junk and it is an extreme hazard to drive on the highway.

Filed Dec 14, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 105,000 miles · IN

While driving the transmission in the car spontaneously downshifted. As a result of the transmission failure, the engine has had a rod failure. Nissan will not fix the car.

Filed Jun 23, 2012 · Electrical, Transmission · 162,000 miles · IL

Vechicle abrubtly loss power in drive train while accelerating through busy cross section. Vechicle progressed no more than 10 miles while pulling off the road. Once the engine was turned off, vechicle would ignition did not have power, albeit all other power (windows, lights, etc..) was ok. Dealer says ABS control unit and transmission failure.

Filed Mar 25, 2012 · Acceleration, Engine · 98,500 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 4 times in the last 8 months after driving the car for about 20 mins. I have called nissan dealership in warner robins, ga but no assistance because the warranty ran out...I just purchased this vehicle jan 2011, they had to put in a brand new transmission a week after I purchased it but I was told months later the warranty ran out so I would have to pay for diagnostic check and this particular murano was not under the recall for CVT. I find that hard to believe because all the posts I've read regarding this exact same problem received some form of mail regarding a recall of some sort. Today 3/25/12 my car hesitates to start.

Filed Oct 27, 2011 · Engine, Transmission · 50,000 miles · CT

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 nissan murano. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving 50 MPH. The vehicle would not restart and was towed to an authorized dealer, where it was repaired under the recall associated with the federal safety agency campaign id number 03v455000 (engine and engine cooling). The failure began to recur a few months later. The vehicle was taken back to an authorized dealer and the transmission was repaired. The failure continued. The vehicle was since been back to the dealer on numerous occasions, but they were unable to remedy the failure. The transmission was replaced, but the failure continued. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

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.