10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
101,277 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2004 Nissan Murano engine problems

engine problem

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2004 Nissan Murano Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #32

Jun 202020

Murano 6-cyl

  • 10 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Im drive this sometime accelerate by himself nobody hit gas pedal accelerate 3000 RPM by himself.

- Ocala, FL, USA

problem #31

Feb 052019

Murano

  • 300,000 miles
Stalls: This vehicle was recalled for stalls and the problem never went away, (not sure if the repairs was really done). The stalls are becoming worse!!!! problem: When the vehicle is driven for more than 15 minutes and it comes to a complete stop, (at traffic light, in city or anywhere) the vehicle sporadicly stall when the accelerator is pressed. If the road has a slight incline the stall is more eminent, so that the vehicle won't move even when the accelerator is pressed to the floor. The only two things that remedy the situation is: A) place the vehicle in reverse [very dangerous->city driving], B) turn the engine off then restart the vehicle [also very dangerous]. this problem has been ongoing since 2007 but it is getting worse.

- Locust Grove, GA, USA

problem #30

Jun 292018

Murano

  • miles
My 2004 Nissan Murano stalls when driving and sitting still. When driving my car responds as if it is not recognizing me pushing the gas and then after a few seconds it jumps to get going. Likes its catching up to the speed amount I pressed when pushing the gas. When I am sitting still my car does not move in it stalls in any direction (moving forward or backward) for a few seconds then jerks when its ready. This mostly occurs when driving on city streets, highways, turning or stationary. Whenever the car is started. The NHTSA campaign id number is 09V169000 this report explains my issues with my car exactly.

- Rantoul, IL, USA

problem #29

Apr 012017

Murano

  • 120,650 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. Without warning, the vehicle surged to 40 mph and almost crashed into the preceding vehicle. The contact had to remove his foot from the accelerator pedal to slow down the vehicle. The failure only occurred when coming to a complete stop. The contact also stated that there was a strong burning odor emitted from the vents. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that a transmission death code came up, which indicated that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,650.

- New Bedford, MA, USA

problem #28

Jan 222016

Murano

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Murano. When the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle hesitated to respond. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000. The VIN was not available.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #27

May 232016

Murano

  • 145,000 miles
My vehicle was in motion on the highway going about 50mph, when suddenly traffic came to a halt, when I pushed on the accelerator, there seem to be loss power and acceleration which is very dangerous, I had my 3 kids and grandchild in the vehicle with me. As I pushed the accelerator to the floor nothing happened the car wouldn't move, good thing a semi-truck wasn't behind me, we all would have been dead. This is scared me and my family. After waiting about 2 or more minutes the car junked and lunged at a high speed I could have ran into the back of another vehicle. This is beginning to happen more frequent now maybe 3-4 days or more out the week. Stalling and loss of power (no response) while in traffic; is in deed a big factor to have this matter looked into. I've seen numerous complaints regarding the same incident my family and I experienced. There should be a recall regarding this matter. In addition, to that the actuators on both passenger doors (front and back) doesn't work, it has to be locked manually. Also, the hatch lock doesn't lock the handle gets stuck.

- Willowbrook, IL, USA

problem #26

Aug 202012

Murano

  • 100,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 15 mph, the vehicle started to loose power and when the accelerator pedal was depressed, it did not respond. The steering ability became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was powered off and restarted and the vehicle resumed to normal. In addition, all the warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was informed that the vehicle was repaired under a manufacturers recall related to the failure in 2005. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure occurred eighteen times. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

- El Paso, TN, USA

problem #25

Mar 012016

Murano

  • miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that while pulling off from a stop, the vehicle accelerated independently. The vehicle failed to decelerate and crashed into the driver side of another vehicle. A police report was filed. The contact sustained minor whiplash that did not require medical attention. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic where the front end of the vehicle was repaired. Also, the front and rear camshaft sensors and alternator were replaced. The failure persisted after the repairs were performed. The contact also mentioned that, on numerous occasions, the vehicle stalled and restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the failure was unable to be determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

- East Providence, RI, USA

problem #24

Feb 042016

Murano 6-cyl

  • 170,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that while driving at 20 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate and the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle would hesitate to stop with a noise and emitted a lot of white smoke through the exhaust pipe. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 09V169000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000. Updated 04/20/16 updated 05/31/18

- Queens Village, NY, USA

problem #23

Oct 132015

Murano

  • 141,000 miles
My 2004 Murano had a lot of stalling and stopping, problems with accelerating the car. It stop on multiple occasions. Fluid leaking, from engine and fuel tank, and steering column. Power steering is rigid, and locks, and car stops when turning.the windows went up and down uncontrollable. Power control panel, did not function. Nissan insisted that vehicle is old. I think the car is possessed. All of theses things occurred while I was in motion driving the car on highway, the roads, stationery, and especially turning, and trying to accelerate the car, and it would then completely turn off, Nissan refuses to acknowledge any thing is wrong. They stated what do you expect after buying a car this old. I just want to make sure my car is safe by your standards not theirs. After receiving my car from Nissan it was even worse, I brought the same issues to them after paying $5200 of what they said were repairs. Thanks

- Dorchester, MA, USA

problem #22

Jun 102015

Murano

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Murano. While driving 5 mph in the parking garage, the vehicle accelerated uncontrollably when the accelerator pedal was tapped. The contract attempted to apply the brakes, but it had little effect. The vehicle crashed into a wall. The driver and passenger side air bags deployed. The contact and his wife sustained fractured ribs and spine injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.

- New York , NY, USA

problem #21

May 012015

Murano

  • 121,400 miles
The steering became extremely hard all of a sudden during driving. And ever since the problem persisted, it was very difficult (almost impossible) to make a big turn, on either side. This happened during parking, when the car was speeding up or slowing down (10 to 30 mph) and also on highway (up to 65 mph). Fortunately no accident happened but it is believed the car is not drivable under such condition.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #20

Mar 282015

Murano 6-cyl

  • 86,800 miles
Just got this Murano. The other day went to go take off from a light. And the Murano wouldn't go anywhere. Finally limped to side of the road, turned the car off, turned car on, was fine for a day or two. After driving to grocery store, left parking lot. Stopped at light. Went to take off and wouldn't even rev up, I had a baby and a small child in my car, car behind me had to go up on sidewalk in order to avoid hitting me. This is now have has become a safety issue when it happens I have to floor it for about 15 seconds before it engages the throttle. Have read that it can be everything from a bad ground, cvt failure, transfer case failure, or the ipdm or ECM is fried. Mechanic can't narrow it down to what the problem is. Nissan want to charge me over $100 just to diagnose if they can. And from what I've read they won't even do much better than suggest changing out the transmission for a cost of $6,000. Why am I changing transmission on a car that has less than a hundred thousand miles" I am really disappointed, my family has owned Datsun/Nissan forever. My dad still has his 76 280 Z. my mom still has her 79 280 Z 2+2. my mom also has her 95 Nissan hardbody, which has been through hell and never once has had a problem. I have been a fan of Nissan forever because of the reliability and ease in which you can fix them. I am severely disappointed with Nissan for not covering the problems or recalling all the problems with the Murano. My family myself and my friends have now officially decided to boycott Nissan, they have now lost life-long customers. On a side note. Electronic throttles or fly by wire, is the dumbest thing in the world. If you have a burnt out bulb no throttle, chance of accident greater than 90%. faulty stereo, no throttle chance of accident greater than 90%. am I the only one whom sees a bad pattern here"

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #19

Feb 132015

Murano 6-cyl

  • 169,000 miles
I purchased vehicle 2/9/2015 since than I have taken to get 2 total vehicle inspections. Both inspections I have been given two different estimated problems. When at a complete stop and trying to take off vehicle will not go, after about 15 to 20 seconds it will take off at a rapid speed which scares me to the point where I am glad it doesn't happen on expressway I know me and my 8 yr old would be injured. I have been told it could be the transmission and/or the trans case both I have looked up and omg more complaints than any vehicle I have ever owned. Second issue is, when turning a corner left or right it hesitates like it doesn't want to go, I have been told its the trans case. If Nissan knows there are issues with the cvt why haven't they done a recall, especially before someone dies with the delayed hesitation. I just spent $6,000 on the vehicle because I was told go foreign you won't be unhappy, and here I am being told I need to spent another $6,000 to repair an issue that's has so many complaints.

- Lansing, IL, USA

problem #18

Aug 142013

Murano 6-cyl

  • 104,678 miles
When driving my Nissan Murano especially on hot days/in stop & go traffic, the vehicle fails to respond to the depression of the accelerator. When it happens (4X/week), the vehicle will be at a complete stop & not begin to accelerate after depressing the accelerator until around 3K rpms. The problem is resolved by cycling the vehicle off then on, given that the driving conditions don't remain in the form which appeared to initiate the incident. In a few instance the vehicle was left running, with the A/C on while I made a quick run into a convienence store. After backing out of the parking space without a problem, the vehicle exhibited it's slight hesitation while in drive, but then lurched forward at ~3K rpms, and acquired the desired speed and manuevers. After waiting at the light just outside of the parking lot, the vehicle would not respond to the depression of the accelerator in the form of movement. That is, the engine would rev to as much as 5K rpms, but not move more the.5-1mph. The usual cycling of the engine off & then on, would not resolve the problem. The next destination was nearby (1mi.) & downhill, so I was able to coast, in neutral, to that location whilst being honked at & nearly rear-ended by oncoming traffic. After the vehicle had sat at that location for ~3hrs, there were no other problems of the like. Vehicle also looses acceleration while on highway.

- Minnetonka, MN, USA

problem #17

Jul 012014

Murano

  • 123,000 miles
While on a stop light the vehicle took a very long time to accelerate at least after 10 seconds. This car is owned by my wife, thank god she wasn't on the highway with my kids. I took it do my mechanic and he said this is an ongoing issue with these cvt transmissions on these Muranos' mostly between 2003-2005. This should be a must recall as this can be a very drastic safety issue and flaw design on these transmissions. In order to repair this problem my family is looking between $2400 to $3000 on repairs. I am not worry about the cost of the repair, most likely I will have to buy a new car but this is a safety concern as there are a lot of Murano owners experiencing the same issue, and I hope that we don't have any fatalities due to this issue because it can occur on any Murano between 2003-2005 as low as 75,000 miles.

- Providence, RI, USA

problem #16

Jul 112013

Murano 6-cyl

  • 99,375 miles
When vehicle is driven a bit the transmission has no power on startup at light. You have to pump the accelerator several times before regaining power. After this is happened the transmission looses power at all different speeds. This is truly unsafe and I am afraid to drive it on a freeway.

- Goodyear, AZ, USA

problem #15

Jun 252014

Murano 6-cyl

  • 160,000 miles
Well, I was driving I75 when my car did not respond when I press my accelerator pedal right in the middle of the high way. I was scared, sometimes in a busy streets would do the same thing. I would press and floor it and after a second will start real fast. This situations were happening very often. Took it to Nissan and they say that I need a new transmission. I just bought the car 2 months prior to this. Is not acceptable that this kind of problem would happen. I called headquarters Nissan and they simply say. Nothing they can do about it. I paid $3900 dollars for repairs and Nissan refuses to recognize the problem with the cvt transmissions. Read all the reports. I am very upset.

- Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

problem #14

Jun 082014

Murano

  • 150,000 miles
Rattling noise occurred couple months ago then heard winding noise during slow speeds. Yesterday, there was loud clanking noise at 25mph and the car stopped.

- Daly City, CA, USA

problem #13

Sep 042013

Murano 6-cyl

  • 135,000 miles
I purchased a used 2004 Nissan Murano in August 2013 as is, and unaware of any issues with the vehicle. I Transport disabled people in my vehicle, as part of my job. About 2 weeks after purchasing the car I was making a left hand turn in an intersection on a yellow flashing arrow with oncoming traffic doing speeds of 50 mph, when suddenly as I pushed down on the gas pedal, I had no power and the car would not move. In a panic I pushed the gas pedal to the floor and nothing, but then suddenly the car lunged forward and took off at a high rate of speed. This was terrifying and I had 2 disabled people in my car at the time. I was so scared.! the car seemed to drive fine after that for a couple more weeks, and then suddenly with no warning after turning out of a driveway in front of traffic doing about 35mph, the vehicle once again did the same thing. I took it to a Nissan dealer and told them what had happened and they said without a code showing they couldn't do anything. This is a very dangerous issue, that could lead to people being seriously injured or killed, and yet there is no recall for this problem. This is very sporadic when it happens, and you don't get any warning it's going to happen! I am now making a payment on a car, that I am scared to drive, and more so Transport disabled people in, so I have elected to park the vehicle and drive my Kia. This is not right, or fair. And after reading posts online about this issue, it is a very we'll documented problem with these cars, and yet nothing is being done about it. What does it take to get a recall on these vehicles, before innocent people are killed"?"

- Durango, CO, USA

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