Problems with 2004 Nissan Murano POWER TRAIN

While driving on freeway car would not respond to throttle. after shutting down engine and restarting car ran normally. second event occured in heavy traffic with no response to throttle. took car to the dealer in burien washington for full check out and they could find no problem with car. everything was normal and no fault codes. third event occured last night while driving in heavy traffic on freeway. this event was more severe. car decelerated rapidly (almost like the brakes had been slammed on but it was definitely something in the transmission or transfer case) and the engine rpm also increased rapidly. car was difficult to control, nearly causing an accident. i was able to get car to side of freeway. i turned off the engine and restarted car. car ran normally. in reading other reports on the internet this is a known problem with the 2003 and 2004 murano transmissions and or transfer cases. it is very dangerous. the dealers cannot find the problem and it can happen at any time. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan murano. while attempting to accelerate from a stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle failed to accelerate. in addition, the vehicle jerked before moving forward. the failure recurred on numerous occasions. the vehicle was taken to a dealer who was unable to diagnose or repair the vehicle. the contact was aware of nhtsa campaign number: 09v169000 (engine and engine cooling). the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown.

I purchased my suv new in 2004 i have followed all required dealer maintenance. last year the suv began to seek to stall or ignore the accelerator. if i pressed the gas to the floor the suv would not move, then suddenly it would take off. it seems to have this issue randomly and even seems to stall as i make left turns across traffic lanes. today was scary, i need my vehicle to get to work, but i'm afraid to drive it. there are hundreds of consumer issues on line all with the same issue. nissan extended warranties for this issue but never notified most of us. like toyota will there have to be fatalities in order for your agency to force a recall and hold them accountable? clearly nissan knew the cvt transmissions were faulty, are faulty. i don,t expect a response but something needs to be done. protect us. *tr

Basically once you have driven this car for awhile or stuck in traffic the car does not go at first when you press the gas. it just sits there for about a minute or so then it takes off. it is a serious safety concern because the car stalls causing others to be forced to slam into you if you are in front of them. *tr

I was stopped at traffic light, when light turned green i began to accelerate. i began to smell burning thru air vents and then at about 40 mph the car would not respond to my acceleration of gas pedal. i had lost all power and control of vehicle. the car behind me had to swerve suddenly to avoid me and it almost caused a serious wreck with my 4 children inside. i had battery checked and alternator checked and was told alternator was bad. well i replaced alternator and wouldn't you know it 2 weeks later, the same incident occurred, i was going about 35-40 mph and it just quit again. and again my 4 kids were inside as i was driving them to school! i've called to inquire about the recall for this issue and am told mine doesn't qualify. i've seen so many people with this issue. why isn't it being addressed. will it take having my 4 kids inside involved in an awful wreck? we need someone to help with this before something bad has to happen!! *tr

Driving to ct car dies in mid momentum and almost causes a serious accident. fought to get over into the breakdown lane almost getting hit by a sixteen wheeler. after a $150 dollar tow the car starts up and i drove it to the dealer the next day. i was told that it was a cam position and cam shaft sensor. total cost $650. take car home two days later the surges started and the car starts sputtering again. currently the car is at the dealer and i am being told that it might be a transmission issue on a car that does not have 60k on it. this is ridiculous how can nissan allow these issues with the cvt go on with doing a recall. i mean i almost lost my life does it take someone to die before something happens. *tr

As noted w all this complaints about this cvt ,nissan should have recalled this. just paid almost 5 g for remanufactured transmission. it seems to me a lot of people got ripped off from this car, i hope your agency can help from our losses and fear for this defective transmission. *tr

Delayed in acceleration. faulty cvt transmission. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan murano. the contact stated that the vehicle would not properly respond to acceleration attempts. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed that there was a failure with the transmission. the manufacturer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 134,000 and the current mileage was 134,300.

5/10/12: stopped in traffic on i-75 south in tn. had driven approx 5 hours. traffic proceeded to normal speed. stepped on gas pedal, car would not accelerate. then immediately sped off. dealer was finally able to diagnose the issue on 5/6/2013 (now outside of warranty). the issue was first recognized by nissan nov 2006 (ntb05-084a). nissan corp has chosen to not recall the vehicles. they also will not assist with the repair ($2050). was also told that the repair may not fix the issue. some people have fixed this issue only to end up having the transmission replaced ($5000+). the issue is only apparent in warmer weather (and not daily). *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan murano. the contact stated that the vehicle would lose acceleration power sporadically. the vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure. the dealer replaced the transmission fluid numerous times but the failure was not corrected. the failure would recur mostly when driving downhill and most recently, the vehicle would stall sporadically. the vehicle was towed to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed, which located the failure as the transmission slipping and low pressure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileage was 197,467. updated 07/02/13*lj updated 7/31/13 *cn

Transfer case failed the first time around 75,000 miles when i was driving. suddenly slowed down and hear loud bang noise. noise continue as i coast the vehicle to a stop. loud bang noise, and the vehicle would shake. got it replace $3000. one year later at around 96,000 on 3/26/2012. it happen again. same exact symptoms. never buying a nissan ever again. there is a service bulletin about it, so they are aware of the problem but yet they aren't doing anything about it. the extended cvt warranty does not cover the transfer case. even though the transfer case is connected to the cvt. *js

I have a 2004 nissan murano with only 63000 miles. i encountered a lack or decrease of power while driving at constant speed of 55mph. the engine was still on but the engine won't respond if i press on the pedal. and i had to slowly maneuver the vehicle to the shoulder while decelerating. fortunately i had a chance to park the vehicle to the side of the road. i turned of the car and waited a minute and the car started back again but i notice a humming sound coming from the transmission especially when you let go of the gas pedal while driving. and i would say a 10 to 15% decrease of engine power when you try to accelerate compared before this incident happened. i hope this situation be fixed by nissan before somebody gets hurt. thank you for your time to listen to our concern. god bless. *tr

When started a loud whine is heard and increases with engine speed. upon initially accelerating after starting the vehicle will slow down to a crawl and not speed up even with pedal to the floor. suddenly it will accelerate without warning while the whine changes in pitch. then when you stop at a light it will not accelerate when the light turns green nearly causing people to run into the back of me. i almost didn't make it thought the light before it turned red. if you do get it going it will lose power without warning. this is an extremely dangerous situation to drive in. this behavior started after having the fluid changed at the dealership. i had the vehicle towed in and was told by the dealer that the belt was bad and the transmission needed to be replaced at a cost of $4268.55. it is obvious by nissan doubling the factory warranty on these cvt's that they knew of a defect but chose not to issue a recall. it makes no sense to have to replace an entire transmission because of a part failure inside. this is a very poor design if it can not be repaired. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan murano. the contact stated that while attempting a right turn at 5 mph, there was a loud explosion and the transfer case failed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was confirmed that the transfer case had failed. the failure and the current mileage was 76,144.

Complete transfer case failure with no warning whatsoever. mechanic advised damage may be due to operating the awd feature on dry pavement which did not and has not occurred. nissan has extended the warranty on the cvt transmission to 10 years/120,000 miles but it's not clear whether this includes the transfer case. adding to this doubt, when i google this problem it seems hundreds of murano owners have been having the exact same dilemma with their vehicles of similar age/mileage. i contacted nissan north america this morning but their computers were down and they were unable to help me at that time. even so, the transfer case should not fail so catastrophically on a vehicle of this age/mileage that has been regularly maintained and driven gently. obviously this is a fairly major component to just fail without warning. i'm just wondering how many people will need to report this before nissan will recognize and resolve this serious safety problem. *tr

My 2004 nissan murano has been leaking transmission fluid due to a leak in the transfer housing case and is putting out an error code p0868. it now speeds up - slows down - rev's up over 5,000 rpms while not having any power to pull. i have spoken to nissan reps at 3 different dealerships and told them i smell smoke/burning oil coming from the engine. none of them would acknowledge anything. i recently took it to the 4th dealership and decided to spend the $75 to have it inspected and they agreed that it was leaking and has no pressure and told me that it was a design flaw but they couldn't do anything about it. the service manager took me over and showed me a brand new 2011 that had the same issue and they were putting in a new transmission due to the same issue. unfortunately my warranty has now run out and they want over $7000 to replace the transmission - but they won't fix the leak unless i replace the transmission as they say they don't want me to come back upset. well i'm upset because i've read over 100+ post with the same exact problem and i just know this thing is gonna lock up or speed up right in the middle of traffic and it should be nissan's responsibility to admit this is a major problem with the design of the '03 and '04 transmission/transfer case and step up and fix the issue. *tr

Vehicle will not accelerate when pushing gas pedal. this has happened multiple times but it occurs randomly. this is a dangerous, well-reported and well-known problem about which multitudes of nissan owners have complained and blogged. apparently, nissan corrected the problem in 2005. they will back up the transmission up to 10 years/120,000 miles but only if it fails completely. otherwise, as in my case, they will not pay for repairing transmission parts, although the cost is in the thousands of dollars. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan murano. the contact stated that while having routine maintenance performed on the vehicle, she was notified that the transfer case gasket was leaking and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 95,000 and the current mileage was 122,000.

I have a 2004 nissan murano. i did only a little bit of research before i bought it because i really liked the way they looked and drove. shortly after the purchase, i began to read about the poor quality of the cvt transmission. i bought the car with 100,000 kms on it so i was quite worried as i don't think many people can afford a new transmission at several thousands of dollars, especially me. not long after that, nissan came out with an extended warranty on the cvt's because pretty much every murano owner has a problem with it sooner or later. needless to say, im at 160,000 kms on it right now and sure enough, im having big problems now. a huge knocking noise is coming from the transmission that kind of sounds like a helicopter taking off. every once in a while for some time now, when i've been at a stop light, i can literally put the gas pedal down to the floor and there will be no response for about 5 seconds, then the car will jolt forward. my murano is at the nissan dealership right now and they're telling me the problem is coming from the front differential and that they won't cover it under the new warranty. the differential is inside of the transmission and therefore part of it, yet they won't cover it. so right now im pretty much at the point where i need to get rid of this thing asap and get something else. if nissan refuses to step up to the plate with this worldwide problem, unfortunately im going to have to turn my back on nissan from here on out which is really too bad, because this is the 3rd nissan i've had with only minor issues until now. the magnitude of this problem is more than enough for me to never buy a nissan again. somebody needs to do something about this. i wish i would have known that nissan teamed up with fischer price to build the murano. i never would have bought one! *kb

Transfer case fail. *tr

My vehicle does not respond to depression of the gas pedal. it does this spontaneously, which is dangerous when making a left hand turn through an intersection with oncoming traffic. i took my car to a restaurant last night and when we left to come home the vehicle would not travel at speeds over 10mph. we had to turn the vehicle off and back on at all stop signs/lights in order for it to go at all after making a stop. immediately drove the vehicle straight home, after research found out that many people have the exact same problems with their early year nissan muranos. nissan needs to do a major recall and own up to their mistake before someone's life is taken as a result of their faulty mechanics. my car has approximately 155k miles on it. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan murano. the contact stated that while driving 75 mph, the accelerator failed to respond to acceleration attempts. the contact also mentioned that the vehicle erroneously decelerated while the accelerator pedal was being depressed. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where the mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 110,000. the current mileage was 200,000.

I had brought my car for regular scheduled service when i was informed about transmission transfer case seal requiring repair. it is one of the most common and expensive problems regarding this car however nissan refuses to issue a recall on this defect. *tr

Nissan murano 2004 transfer case and rear differential failure. need to replace both at a cost of $6,200. *tr

Nissan murano transfer case oil seal leak the third time within few months. *tr

Our 2004 nissan murano broke down about 4 weeks ago on the freeway. there were loud grinding noises, and would not accelerate over 40 mph. it was towed to the nearest nissan dealer, and is still there over three weeks later. the dealer says it is the transmission, and that a new transmission has been ordered, but is on back order. we have contacted the nissan dealer where we bought the vehicle, and they so far have not taken any responsibility. it is supposed to be covered by warranty, but have been reading about all the other nissan murano owners with the same transmission problem. our nissan has 64,000 plus miles on it. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan murano. while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle exhibited an abnormal cracking noise from the front end. the contact then noticed smoke coming from under the hood. the cpntact pulled over and shut the engine off. the contact then noticed the transfer case was fractured and the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where the contact was told that the transfer case was fractured and leaking fluids. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 146,00 and the current mileage is 147,000. updated 03/22/11*lj updated 11/16/11

On thanksgiving our 2004 nissan murano started making a banging noise. it continued to get louder and within about five minutes the car was completely immobilized. the car smelled of transmission fluid. we called nissan and they informed us that the transmission is covered under a 120,000 mile warranty, which is what we thought it was without anyone looking at it yet. we had it towed to apple nissan in york. the service manager then looked at the vehicle and informed us that it is the transfer case not the transmission and that it is not covered under the warranty and that the cost to repair it would be $4000.00. the vehicle is still at apple nissan with the broken transfer case because we cannot afford to replace it. *tr

Traveling on the interstate and in the process of passing a car in passing gear the power of the car stopped. we slowed down and afterthat everytime we would give it gas it would power down again. we took it to a nissan dealer service center, they said it was an electronic throtle. they replaced that then in less than 30 days it did the exact same thing, took it back to nissan they said it was the transmission, they replaced the valve covers, then in february on the way to texas it did it again only this time it was much worse, it would power down and you could creeep to the edge on the highway. very dangerous in that the power stops as you are driving in high traffic areas at the speed of 60-65. we left it at a nissan dealership in grapevine texas, they had it for a month and guaranteed that they found the problem, they said it was a flow valve. on the way back from texas, (13 hour) drive it did the exact same thing and we had to have it towed to sante fe, nm. we have spent $3,000 at this point. now i have contacted corporate nissan, they have told us to go get the car they cannot find anything wrong. however nissan knows that the transmissions are bad on these cars for they have extended the transmission warranty to 120,000. they refuse to replace the transmission saying that the computer will not justify the problem. do we have to wait until we are in a car wreck because of this problem for anyone to do anythng? somone needs to make nissan take responsibility for this! i have had my murano in the shop for over 50 days total. we are told that now nissan is sending a tech, that was last week, he still has not arrived. we are wanting to warn people who won nissan to be aware.

Murano stopped during traffic while child and wife in car - determined was transfer case causing loud banging. *tr

My 2004 nissan murano transmission/transfer case/differential is shot. there was this loud whistling sound a sudden jerk and then a rattling sound which i found out from the nissan dealership the transmission needs to be replaced. upon leaving the dealership i went to accelerate and there was a delayed response and then the vehicle just took off. it appears that above 1000 rpm the transmission kicks into gear otherwise the truck will not move faster than 2 mph. this is extremely dangerous because it happens without warning. the makers of nissan has been notified by hundreds of consumers that own the nissan murano 2003-2009. yet nissan will do nothing, but blame the consumer for lack of service on the vehicle. will someone have to die before there is a recall??!! *tr

While driving my 2004 murano at 65mph the car all of sudden lost complete power, i was lucky to be able to get it over to the side of the freeway. the cars power train would not engage. i had the car towed to the dealership and they informed me the car had a recall that they would fix as well. this model seems to have many issues and nissan should extend a larger warranty to cover them or buy back the vehicles. *tr

I was driving my murano and came to a stoplight when upon acceleration nothing happened. i have taken the car to the dealer several times about this and they have failed to fix the problem. it can be very dangerous if a car is approaching from behind and the car will not accelerate. *js

I have a 2004 nissan murano that has been exhibiting acceleration problems for about 2 years. when i press on the gas pedal the rpms increase but the car does not move, then after two to five seconds the car picks up speed rapidly. this problem is most noticeable in hot weather and when i am in stop-and-go traffic. yesterday while driving i heard a loud clunk, the car decelerated quickly and resisted accelerating...i had to drive home at 15 mph and had the car towed to a garage this morning. *tr

The differential/cvt transfer case is defective. which requires you to have to replace the awd system at a cost of $4-6000. it also cause the car to have steering problems as well. this issue also causes the vehicle to burn a significant amount of fuel which require premium gas.i have read numerous complaints on the web about the same problems other people are having. this causes unnecessary financial hardship as most people are still paying a car loan on this vehicle. *tr

1. design flaw 2. defective transfer case. this is the third time it has occurred in a two year period. 3. the first two times, nissan replaced the defective part. i am still waiting for them to tell me what they will do as nissan contends this is part is not included in their cvt transmission 120000 mile warranty, even though the part hooks into the transmission. this part transfers power from the transmission to the all wheel drive components. the vehicle is a 2004 murano.

Failure to navigate a hill. *tr

Transfer case in murano '04- we recently had a new transfer case put in our murano as it was deemed out of warranty. it is evident that exact problem has happened to many owners regarding the same part in murano's nationwide. while nissan north america has issued extended warranties to all their cvt driven vehicles, they have come short in covering this component which is a mechanical part to cvt transmission. the cost for our repair was over $3000. needless to say this causes a major safety concern since the vehicle tends to stall and can become inoperable at any speed. updated ivoq 05/26/10

In about feb 2010 something went wrong with our 04 nissan murano. we took the murano to nissan of roseville, ca, and they told us in addition to the actual reason we were there, that our transmission needed to be replaced. we explained that we didn't feel anything different while driving. mike (service guy) told us the 2004 murano has a huge problem with transmissions failing, and nissan has since redeveloped the cvt trans, and should be replaced. and the warranty is expiring at 80,000 miles, and would not be covered any longer. we were reluctant, but after speaking further with mike, and now feeling scared that my wife will be stuck somewhere with a broken trans, we did reluctantly let nissan do the repairs. out of fear of future failure. shortly after, nissan extended the trans warranty to 120,000, or 10 years. now, the murano has just under 137k, and the transmission broke while my wife was on the freeway, and only by my wife's quick thinking, did she avoid a collision with another car. the whole car shuts down, even if you press the gas down to the floor. nothing happens. she was able to restart the car, and slowly (5mph) move over to the shoulder of the freeway. i hope you understand how scary this scenario was. so now we call nissan consumer affairs, gave them the details of the car (yr make model vin miles) over the phone. nissan asked that i tow the car to the dealer, so i did the next day (friday 28th). i received a call monday morning (31st), and pat from nissan consumer affairs told me there was nothing they could do since it was out of warranty. we did not want the trans replaced at 65,000 miles, but the dealership used scare tactics, and assured us that the new transmissions will not be a problem. my wife was almost in a crash on the freeway, because of this very common issue. i believe nissan should recall these transmission due to the safety hazard. *tr

2004 nissan murano awd leaks fluid from transfer case and/or cvt transmission assembly resulting in eventual failure of the transfer case and/or transmission. *tr

Under normal driving conditions my 2004 nissan murano becomes unresponsive to the throttle in stop and go conditions. the vehicle then suddenly surges as the accelerator is depressed further causing the driver to quickly slam on the brakes to avoid collisions. this creates unexpected dangerous conditions. *tr

I am owing a 2004 nissan murano with 100125 miles on it. 2 days back while driving on a freeway, the suv suddenly lost it's acceleration power and now when ever i try to apply the acceleration after stand still, the car does not move for 5 seconds and then suddenly moves forward. this is a serious hazard as it could lead to accidents on highways and i consider myself to be lucky that i was able to pull over. i have read lot of forums where many nissan murano customers are having the same issue. i contacted the nissan dealer and they are saying this is not an issue with nissan's transmission. i would definitely consider this a nissan issue as many customers are having the exact issue. requesting your help in resolving this issue. thanks, manoj *tr

Slip vdc off light came on all the time of and on.. engine light couple of times i have being to service to nissan .. and always come up with different story. now the car wont even start today will two it again tomorrow! *tr

Originally filed under 10284376 . the replaced transfer case has now went out again. nissan is stating they will not warranty the transfer case unless i install and upgraded switch that is located on the console. this seems to be a design defect and a way for nissan to correct the problem at the consumers expense. the company needs to be responsible for their products. *tr

When pushing down on the accelerator, the car does not accelerate smoothly and at some points doesn't accelerate at all and looses power. it occurs in frequently. i had to replace the valve body that cost $1800k. *tr

2004 nissan murano with just 70,000 dies after putting the car into drive or reverse. the car worked fine then when i got back in it to go home it started fine and then when you put it into gear it kills the engine. took it to the dealer and they got no codes and there are no warning lights. they are saying that the transmission has to be replaced for $5500. *tr

I own a well maintained 2004 nissan murano sl awd. the transfer case spontaneously broke without any warning. once the event occurred, i immediately lost the ability to accelerate on a very busy stretch of road. the are also, almost immediately, went from about 40mph to 15mph while i was trying to accelerate. there was traffic behind me moving at 40mph, and this unintentional deceleration occurred without any brake light warning to the driver behind me. this could have caused a fatal collision. thankfully it did not, and i was able to put my hazard lights on and roll to a stop on the shoulder lane. i had the car brought to the nearest dealership for prompt repair. i paid $3500 for a new transfer case to be placed. the day i drove the vehicle home, i noticed an oil burning smell, which was later found to be a transfer case leak. this was a leak from the new transfer case. my car is currently being re-repaired as we speak. this is almost 2 weeks now that i have been without my car. i have noticed that this is an ongoing problem with the nissan murano particularly in the 2003-04 year vehicles. my vehicle is out of the 5 year/ 60000 mile drivetrain warranty, and therefore i had to bear the financial burden of this apparently defective component. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 nissan murano. while driving the vehicle in heavy traffic at a low speeds ranging from 10 mph and engaging the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to increase in speed. the rpm's were high and all of the gauges moved up; however, the vehicle would not move forward. within minutes, the vehicle suddenly accelerated at a rapid speed. the failure almost caused the driver to crash into another vehicle. this defect only occurred while driving at low speeds or in an idle position. the dealer performed a diagnostic test and was unable to determine what caused the failure to occur. the dealer diagnosed the failure a second time and was unable to make any repairs. on the third attempt to diagnose the failure, the dealer asked the contact to drive into heavy traffic and they were still unable to duplicate the failure. the vehicle is currently at the dealer. the contact stated that the failure is related to a manufacturers defect. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage is 140,000.

2004 nissan murano, came to a halt in traffic started bucking, took to the dealer, transfer case is cracked $4,300 repair. my private mechanic told me nissan issued a service bulletin on 2003 - 2004 models regarding transfer case cracking, replacement with 2005 parts and new electrical switch. i contacted nissan corporate they said they would get back to me a week later they only offered the response "we can't help you financially at this time" after viewing posts online this is a common problem in 2003 and 2004 models. thank goodness my husband was not on the interstate when the murano decided to die. he could have been killed. earlier the car had an oil leak i took it to several mechanics until it was fixed. this car has only 72,000 miles on it, a transfer case should not crack. *tr