I have a problem with my 2003 Murano Transmission

[Muranomae]

I'm looking for 2003 Murano owners that have had problems with their transmission under one hundred thousand miles.

[Jake Long]

Could you tell more about problem.

[Muranomae]

Hi Jake,

I had it towed to the Nissan service repair department. I was told it needs to be replaced. Its hard to beleive because it only has 73,600 miles on it.I asked the tow driver if this has been a trend with this year and model a he said several had shut off cold and had to be towed. I will get details tomorrow from Nissan. I am so disapointed I like my Murano a lot.

Muranomae

[hrclarke]

Hi there I think I may have the same problem with my murano. It seems to lose power when driving on the highways and it only occurs when it's really hot outside. It's almost like it's stuck in 4th gear and won't go any higher. It'll all of a sudden just lose power and if you pull over and shut it off for a 1/2 hr or so then it's fine again. We took it to the dealership and they ran a diagnostic and said that there was nothing wrong with it. Any suggestions? Is your problem similar??Thanks

[Muranomae]

Hello,



What happens when I get to about 35 to 45 miles an hour it seems to struggle and not shift to the next gear.The mechanic I spoke with mention of some sensor that may cause it to slow. He said if it was my transmission it would make noise and shake. I haven't experienced that only the slow feel. Are you in Maryland? I feel Nissan needs to research this closer. They are saying sense I'm over my 60 thousand miles I have to pay for this myself. I wrote the Attorney Generals office to complain. That's why I was trying to find more 03 Muranos with this problem. I am aware of two others with Transmission problems. I'll let you no what the service department says today.

Muranomae

[accord2010]

I am having the same problem, i just got my car back from the dealer and he is saying that it needs a new transmission and i am looking at a bill of around $5400.00, this is ridiculous,,, what can I do, i am looking for help in her

[omgb]

No problem with my transmission yet at 68K however, AI have little faith in automotive engineering so, I bought an extended warranty when I got the car. The CV transmission seemed cool but unproven. It's beginning to look as if my concerns were justified.

[manufan]

I don't know if you have the problem solved yet, but my Murano's transmission went out @40k miles. The problem happened when I took off from a stop, it was really sluggish & bucking. The dealership got error messages that didn't apply & they had to fight w/ Corp to get them to replace the transmission. Corp finally relented & the new transmission fixed the problem. Mine was still under warranty thank god.

[jc240zx]

i have a 2003 as well, my check engine light is on and after 45minutes to an hour its seems slugish , sometimes it wont even go over 35oo rpm, but when i pull over and turn the car off for 5 minutes or less it seems to drive fine. I hate to think that my transmission is bad because the dealer is estimating 6400. any replies would be appreciated.

[hrclarke]

Hi there, We sent our Murano out to several different companies to fix it and no one seemed to know what was wrong with it. No one seems to know anything about the differential transmission!!This has been going on for months now, so we just ended up giving it back to the dealer we'd bought it from. It started acting this way about 2 weeks after we bought it. So they took it back and we got a Nissan XTrail. So far so good!!

[Muranomae]

Hello,



I had to get rid of my Murano or fix it for 4900. I was not pleased how Nissan delt with the whole situation.

[comeaution]

we have the same problem with our Murano. Also sometime it jerks. After coasting in traffic, when you step on the gas again it will jerk violently like it just slipped out of gear for a second. I have brought this in to Nissan many times. They replaced the transmission at 25k miles but that did fix the problem. They also replaced some sort of sensor but it still happens. Also the thing you describe happens. So far, only when my wife has driven it. I am thinking of selling it as there are a few owners with these problems and no one has any solutions.

[GM991]

FYITHERE IS A FED. LAW CALLED THE EMPLYED WARRENTY (I THINK) THAT STATES ANY TRANSMISSION SHALL LAST THE LIFE OF THE CAR (100K) and the fed's don't care if its out of factory warrenty

My dad took GMC to court twice and beat them for a new transmission about 4-5 years ago. Once at 40k (out of warrenty) and again at 65k.

Make sure you get a second oppinion from a place like ammaco or something to bring with you to court.

sue there *** they will lose!!!

At least take them to small claims court it only cost $50 and I think you can get up to like $3k depending on what state you live in.

Good luck.

[Jetty]

My 2003 Murano has 71500 miles. Unfortunately, the Transmission has shut down due to internal problems, and it's out of warranty. I don't know what to do.

[Muranomae]

Hi Jetty,

Did you have problems with your Murano shutting off when you started it?I had that problem form the very beginning, I complained about it the service dept could never find anything wrong. I'm not sure if this was related to the transmission problem.

Muranomae

[JGartner]

I just bought a 2003 Murano in Pheniox. I bought i used from a private owner. I've had it for 3 months and i noticed it would be a little shaky. My first thought was that i needed new tires. So i went and got new tires all around. The problem was still there though. I had taken my vehicle to a million different mechanics and they all looked at me like i was crazy. They told me nothing was wrong with my vehicle. Finally i took it into the dealership and they had three people look at my vehicle and tell me the same thing. An hour later when i went to go pick it up they told me a i needed a new transmission. No explination, nothing. I have just under 70,000 miles on it and all of a sudden i need a new transmission? My last vehicle had 400,000 on it and it never crapped out!!

[Muranomae]

Hi JGartner,

I'm sorry to here about your Murano. I do believe the 2003 year was a lemon for this make. Nissan need to follow their complaint records they would see a bad trend going on with the Murano transmission.

Muranomae

[michiganmurano]

Hey Muranomae, I think we have the same problem you are describing. After the car warms up, the power in the 35-50mph range is low. It seems like the car is in a gear that is too high for the speed. The result is also that the engine sounds throaty and you must punch the accelorator to get more than 1500-2000rpm. Is this what you are experiencing?

We also get a mechanical noise when the car starts, 1st accelorates and is tunred off. It sound like a servo-motor adjusting about 5 times "weeee, weeee, weee, weeee, weee" The dealer says its an autmatic engine mount adjusting but when we test drove a new Murano the same sound occured but only 1 time "weee" implying to me that the engine mount on my car is having trouble gettting to the adjustment it wants. My wife suspects this might be the power robbing culprit.

Anything new since August?

michiganmutano

[nissans13240sx]

Hi Jetty,

Did you have problems with your Murano shutting off when you started it?I had that problem form the very beginning, I complained about it the service dept could never find anything wrong. I'm not sure if this was related to the transmission problem.

Muranomae

I have seen this several times. I work at a Nissan dealership. If the battery is replaced the ECM looses its memory. The fix is an Idle Air Volume Learn.

Hey Muranomae, I think we have the same problem you are describing. After the car warms up, the power in the 35-50mph range is low. It seems like the car is in a gear that is too high for the speed. The result is also that the engine sounds throaty and you must punch the accelorator to get more than 1500-2000rpm. Is this what you are experiencing?

We also get a mechanical noise when the car starts, 1st accelorates and is tunred off. It sound like a servo-motor adjusting about 5 times "weeee, weeee, weee, weeee, weee" The dealer says its an autmatic engine mount adjusting but when we test drove a new Murano the same sound occured but only 1 time "weee" implying to me that the engine mount on my car is having trouble gettting to the adjustment it wants. My wife suspects this might be the power robbing culprit.

Anything new since August?

michiganmutano

If that noise is at start up only, it is very possible it is the ABS actuator. They are somewhat noisy. Nissan has not comeout with a fix for this yet.

[ukebandit]

contact NTSB ask for tech bulletin #10020820,ref;NTBO50084a,its a service bulletin regarding 2003-2005 murano with problems with the cvt valve boby assemblies,evidently nissan knows about these valve body CVT assemblies,,if you have a DTC PO868 stored in the TCM,with no MIL on,you will need to have the valve body r&r for dirt or dust,metal, etc. NTSB will provide with the sequence of repair,they are one of the few gov,t agencies that respond professioanlly and free!!! good luck

[michiganmurano]

UKEBANDIT,

Can you check your info on the below response you provided? NTSB does not have service bulletins; they are the Transportation Safety Board and focus on accidents.

The NHTSA has service bulletins for defects and recalls, but the number you gave does not match their format. A scan of "2003 Murano" tech bulletins does not provide any similar sheets.

As a review, the issue I was concerned about is a behavior of too high a gear when running around 35-50 mph causing a throaty engine / exhaust sound along with poor response. Everything performs great until the engine warms up (~ 5 minutes) and the choke? kicks out causing the RPM to drop. Is this the symptom you were responding to when referring to the CVT valve body assembly?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

Michiganmurano

[JGartner]

Hey I’m not really sure about the NTSB website or the NHTSA but if you go to this link http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/c...h.cfm you can search any make or model of vehicle and any defects, recalls or complaints about certain parts or issues associated with the vehicle. There is lots of information and complaints on the 2003 Nissan Muranos.

Also I’ve been having a ton of issues with the dealership trying to get my vehicle fixed. One service person I spoke to told me I should ask about a Good Will Form. The dealership can fill out this form and send it directly to Nissan. The form gives a little bit of background to your situation and Nissan may be willing to help you fix your vehicle.

Also the person I spoke with told me that I would be able to get a refurbished transmission installed for a little less than a brand new one. He quoted me $3000 instead of $7000 for a new one. Originally the dealership I have been going to informed me that Nissan had not come out with a manual for the 2003 CVT transmissions so they couldn’t help me repair it I would just have to buy a brand new one.

It seems that Nissan really doesn’t want to help solve this problem and everyone has a different story. I hope this bit of information helps a little.

[ukebandit]

sorry,here,s what i have its a Nissan service bulletin #10020920 0n top of the sheet in handwriting. cllasification AT05-009a reference NTB05-084a date Nov 20,2007. it was one of 3 i received,i,concerning exterior lamp fogging,2 drivers seat noise and/or rocks back and forth,3 2003 to 2007 (z50)concering cvt valve body assemblies it states that this procedure is to be used by qualified techs,maybe i received from nissan from NTB??. i will attempt to do a recent search of what gov.t agency i have been using they mostly concern recalls and procedures for repairs,i have used that site since 1993,also IATN.com. is a great site for trouble finding part of its free but if you want their archives and other support site you can become a sponsoring member,i think its about 30.00$ for 3 months.you can also post your problems and you will get a worldwide response from Nissan and other techs,again i,m sorry if thats the wrong agency,but i have been out of town for a bit,but i,ll try to find the correct site,good lucky...nick

[northhoustonser]

so i take it that muranos are unreliable and give a lot of problems???

[michiganmurano]

From a reliability standpoint my 2003 Murano has been excellent. The issue we are concerned about (mostly since we know it is a new transmission technology), is a difference in sound / behavior that started a few months ago. The engine sounds like the car should be in a lower gear at 30 - 50 mph. Similar to a manual car that is in 4th grear when going too slow for 4th gear to be effective.

[northhoustonser]

Do the transmissions give a lot of problems? or is it just a 2003 defect??

[Cloudzeil]

I bought my Murano brand new back in 2003 then after a year i had to brought it back to change a new transmission, at that time i just only have 5,000Kms on the car, and lucky it were under warranty. I am waiting for a new Nissan GTR but don't know the quality of the 1st generation, i think i better wait for a 2nd or 3rd generation. Sorry for my bad English.

[mandmthome]

Hi all, I hope the issues on the CVT have been ironed out as I just bought an '09. A couple things concern me though..... Some of your complaints sound consistant with a plugged fuel filter & no one mentioned ever having their trans serviced!! Not sure on Nissan, but Audi requires it at the 35K service. I work for Audi & up until mid '05, our trannies were garbage.

[Timmbo]

mandmthome, we would all love to see some photos of your new Murano, if you get a chance, post them in the Murano picture thread.

[mandmthome]

Hey Timmbo, That would be the wifes car actually but I will give it a shot over the weekend. So far though she loves it. We traded in her G35 for it. We also looked at the Journey, nice car, very smooth & quiet, just too small. Russ