I have been searching the net trying to find an answer to the issue I am having with my Murano, but as of yet I am not having much luck.

I own an 05 SE Murano, currently has 87k miles on it, and for the most part it is running great - if you do not count the rattling noise it is making when I accelerate. I am going to try to be as specific as possible when describing the problem and the things that we have already checked out on it.

We bought it used from a dealership in October ('13) and starting having this problem in November ('13) and have taken it to several mechanics who can hear "something" but are not sure it is a rattle, or they hear nothing at all. The Murano rattles upon acceleration, but the rattle does not happen all the time. When it does happen, it seems to be around 20mph and between 1500 - 2000 rpm. The noise level is also different, sometimes it is a softer rattle that is on the quieter side, while other times it is more harsh and rather loud.
So far, in an effort to recreate this noise for mechanics and other engine-savvy people we have tried accelerating when the car is in park and the does not make the noise. We have tried using the emergency brake in conjunction with the normal brake, putting the car in gear and then accelerating - it does not make the noise then either. The only time we have been able to get the rattle is when the car is actually moving while accelerating from a stop. Of course, each time I have had a mechanic in the car, it does not rattle. Just today I took it out onto some back roads in an effort to record the noise on my phone and found out that I can get the rattle noise to happen more consistently when the Murano is in first gear (I placed it in 1st manually).
I have had the heat shields checked and were told they are fine. I have tried changing to a higher octane fuel and the rattle is still there. The oil and other fluids were also checked and I was told they are at good levels and that the oil had a good color to it.

I have been racking my brain and making myself go blind doing internet searches to help and the only advice I have seen is to check the heat shields, and change the octane of my gas. I could really use some help/advice as this is driving me crazy. I love my car, if it weren't for this rattle, it would be running great.

Thanks in advance!

PersephoneJade, Here's my story..................................
Look, my wife and I purchased a 03 Murano in October of last year (used). In January of this year (2014), I noticed
the same "rattling" noise you've spoken of. Well, February came and the noise was consistent. One auto repair shop told me that it was probably water in my gas tank. March came and the noise would come and go. Then, it seemed to get progressively worse, louder towards the end of March. The past 3 weeks my Murano has begun to "misfire" (especially when I come to a stoplight or stop sign) and hesitate/pause/lurch whenever I accelaerate. The "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" LIGHT HAS BEEN COMING ON AND GOING OFF for the past 3 weeks. During this period the rattling came back. Not too bad-but it was there. A few days ago the "rattling"-without notice-just stopped. Now, here it is April 28th and I am being told that I have 2 bad catalytic converters. Ok now, I need your opinion and your advice on a few things. Since March 13th, 2014 I have been to 4 different auto shops- Nissan Dealership, Gene's, Dances and Rons Muffler Shop. Nissan did a diagnostic check and didnt come up with a catalytic converter code. Gene's did a diagnostic and came up with 2 catalytic converter codes. Dances believes it's a bad catalytic converter based on the exhaust fumes, the hesitation & lurching, and temperature of my engine when they checked it. Ron's Muffler thinks that I do not need a catalytic converter based upon the RPM's my Murano is giving. Says that the lurching, hesitating and seemingly weak engine acceleration is something else going on with my Murano. Aarrrgh! What do you think I should do? Who'd you trust?

This can be tricky. Be sure that you are dealing with true auto professionals. I was given the "run around" by three auto repair shops in my Central Virginia area. It seems as though 90% of the time if you have a bad catalytic converter.....it is going to be the REAR CAT (bank 1, driver side) that is bad. It is very rare for a FRONT CAT to be bad. As for me, I have 2 bad catalytic converters on my 2003 Murano-FRONT and REAR-so I am in a very special group. Magnaflow Direct Fit Rear Catalytic Converter. Buy your own parts. It cost me about $380. Labor? Shop around. Check to see if there are any rusted bolts attached to, in or around your bad CAT. If there are,that could cause your co$t to sky rocket if an auto repair shop has to tap, cut or do any extra work in labor.

I need to make a correction on my original post, I misquoted the miles, it has only 81k miles instead of 87k - I am not sure how much that matters in this case but I thought I'd correct it anyway.

I have taken the Murano to 5 different places to have the engine looked at and I'll tell you my experiences with them and it might help you out some. We still have not figured out how to get the rattle to stop, but we are onto a possible solution. The first place we went was Perfection Tire on the recommendation from a family friend. They heard the noise, checked the oil and other fluids and the heat shields. The shields checked out fine, they told us that the oil was really low and that could be the cause and said we should change the oil. So we set out to change the oil and in the process noticed that the ac/alt belt was damn near shot - and that the tension bolt for the power steering belt was broken off (which had us complaining to the dealership we bought it from which is a story unto itself). After changing the oil (we added full synthetic), replacing the cracked belt and the bolt the rattle was still there so we took it to a local mechanic on the advice of the guy we talked to at Perfection. They said they drove it and heard the noise and said it sounded exhaust related. To be honest, I am not sure they drove it because I never saw the car actually leave the shop, unless they were stealthy about it.
I took it to a muffler shop and they put it on the lift, checked everything, and then started it while it was on the lift and got the car to rattle. They said that they heard the noise, it was not exhaust related as everything checks out fine as far as the exhaust was concerned. They said it sounded internal. While at the muffler shop I ran into a guy that works for Commercial Tire and he said to take it to them and see what they can do. At this point I was willing to try anything so I took it out there and got some answers and at least good possibilities to check on. The mechanic at Commercial said it sounded like a detonation noise and that it was taking in too much fuel (which could explain our crappy mpg). He told me to take it to the local Nissan dealership or a place that can hook it up to a computer that can read Nissan codes and have it checked out.
I do not trust the local Nissan dealership AT ALL (another long story) so I called several places asking if they had the tools and computers required to work on Nissans and found an import repair shop that could look at it. Took the Murano to them and they drove it, heard the noise, hooked it up to their computer, and did all sorts of things with it and came back with a pre-detonation "diagnosis". There were no codes that popped up (no check engine light either) and told us to change from the mid-grade fuel we were using to a non-ethanol supreme to see if that helped and to take it out on a road trip to clean the carbon build up out of the engine. I had 3/4 of a tank of mid-grade to burn up so I added Lucas fuel treatment to help clean out the carbon, and took it out on the road to clean it out. The rattle subsided some, but it did not go away. We just refueled the car with the recommended fuel and the rattle has actually come back as bad as it used to be.
I finally broke down and called the Nissan dealership and told them what was going on and they suggested changing the fuel and cleaning out the carbon first as well - before going in for major repairs that may or may not fix the problem. I also asked him about retarding the engine timing if it was pre-detonation and he said that there are sensors that are supposed to automatically do that and if the car is not throwing any codes then he does not believe there is anything wrong with the sensors.
Our next plan is to burn this tank of gas, add some more and use SeaFoam through the intake to burn even more of the carbon out. After we do that, we are then going to change the spark plugs and gaskets. We are hoping that this will stop the rattle issue we are having as electronically, everything supposedly checks out.

I am not sure if this helps with your problem at all, but if your check engine light is coming on, I would say that it is throwing a code that something is wrong. Does this mean it is your CAT(s), I don't know. It could be related to your whole electronic system in that you would have something shorting out, something has come loose, or that some sensors are failing. It could also be similar to my problem and that it is detonating too soon, or not enough. I don't know how many miles are on your Murano, but you could try changing your plugs (which would also require a gasket change) - if they haven't been changed recently - and see if that helps any. You could also try changing the fuel, if you do not use a high octane fuel, and cleaning out the carbon build up. I wish I was more engine savvy to help you out better.

I took my car out onto to some back roads to take a video of the noise so people can hear what I am talking about. Have a listen and see if it resembles what you are experiencing yourself. http://youtu.be/nl_e0-DZuBE

Hey there! I am so happy to see your thread because I am too having this same issue with my 05 Murano AWD. Seems like our issues are very similar. My Murano has been doing the same thing for the last 6 months and we bought the car about a year ago. We found out that the previous owner did not take care of the car at all! No maintenance or oil changes. We have had two different mechanics tell us it's the timing chain but I know that is not a common issue and a timing chain shouldn't have to be changed. If I find any answers for my thread I will definitely let you know

Recently we SeaFoamed the Murano and that seems to have helped with the rattle a lot. We put some in the gas tank and ran the tank down, after we refilled the tank we ran SeaFoam through the intake directly. It caused a massive amount of white smoke and I was in a panic thinking that we had just killed the car, but after we finished the treatment the rattle was all but gone. We believe that what little rattle noise we have left could be related to the spark plugs. We haven't changed them out yet as doing it through a mechanic will cost approx $500 and our mechanically inclined friend has been too busy to be a shade-tree mechanic for us (lol).
We hope that once we are able to change the plugs that the rattle will be completely gone and that the gas mileage will improve. I am keeping my fingers crossed on that one. Good luck with your engine noise and give the SeaFoam a try, especially if the previous owner did not take care of it - it is probably dirty inside with build-up.

Hello!

I've been looking for someone with the same problem! I have a 2004 Nissan Murano with 155k miles. I bought it late in 2011 at about 135k miles. I started getting that same noise after six months of purchase and my mechanic said it was an issue with the timing chain. After replacing the timing chain, it went away. However, a couple of months later, THE NOISE CAME BACK! I've taken the car to the muffler shop and the mechanic stated that the muffler is good, catalytic is good, heat shield is good but that it could be an issue with the timing chain. I'm not going to spend money again on the timing chain. I haven't tried changing the fuel or running seafoam but that will be my next option.

We thought it could be our timing chain as well, but every mechanic that we spoke to said it wasn't the chain, which I was relieved about because those are expensive to take care of - but it is still in the back of my mind. I don't know if you have changed the spark plugs or not, but I would suggest doing that as well since they should be changed about the 100k mile mark (if they weren't changed before you bought it).
There is a step-by-step guide on a different forum for using SeaFoam through the intake, you can probably find it through Google using "SeaFoam", "Murano", and "intake" for the search, or "how to SeaFoam a Murano". I also posted about the rattle on a different forum and got a lot of good ideas on what to look for from them, along with video guides and the like. They are quick to respond to questions and I think my post on there ended up being like 4 pages long, Google can help you find Eric the Car Guy (all one word) and "engine rattle in 05 Murano". Good luck and I hope that the SeaFoam treatment helps you out.

I have a 2007 Murano and am at 96,000. I've taken excellent care of the vehicle (bought used at 49,000), and when I started to hear this sound (probably within the last 3,000 miles...can't remember), I freaked out at the thought of what it would cost. It always occurs under 2000 rpm...but sometimes doesnt happen at all! I was really worried it could be something like the timing chain. FYI, this is the sound - not my car, though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAYQYCnhRWg

Thankfully, I bought the Carmax extended warranty and the chain is covered! I will be taking it into a Nissan dealership this weekend and should know one way or the other in a few days. Stay tuned.

OK, I am noise free...here I what I posted on the NissanMurano.org forum:

I am back form the dealer with my car, noise free...but it isn't that simple.

One thing I neglected to mention before, is that the thing which really prompted me to take my car into Carmax was the Service Engine indicator came on. The rattling sound had been going on for some time - I had almost gotten used to it - but the Service Engine indicator was what I brought the car in for.

When I brought the car to Carmax, they took care of the Service Engine issue (I'll get to that in a sec) and had them check the noise. That was when the timing chain diagnosis came down.

Coincidentally, once I picked the car up from Carmax there was no clicking/rattling. NOT A SOUND. For one full week there was NO RATTLING AT ALL. Hmmm...

Today I dropped the car off at the Nissan dealership. They did everything they could to hear the noise. The service manager said they "put a stethoscope up to it" (I am guessing that's hyperbole) and couldn't hear anything which would indicate the chain was going bad. She DID say that it is very possible that when Carmax took care of the Service Engine code, which was for an IDLE AIR RELEARN, that took care of the problem.

Well, that's all I've got! I am sorry that there isn't a specific issue I can laser in on, but at this point I am just going to go by what the dealership says, and the incredible coincidence of the sound disappearing immediately after the idle air relearn service.

I am glad to hear that you got your noise taken care of. My problem is that there have been no engine lights or codes that have come up for me. The noise went away after we used SeaFoam through the intake, but it has started coming back and is more sporadic. Our next thing to do is to change the spark plugs and gasket. We'll see what happens after that.

My 05 Murano has the same rattling noise on acceleration. Typically happens during acceleration. Ordered the Bg44k and will give it a shot.

I have seen this exact problem on the 3.5 Maxima-rear converter internally deterioration causes internals to rattle-it drop to exit of converter unit-still works absorbing/releasing oxygen thus no MIL-drop the y pipe/tube pipe-you will see cat guts loose causing rattle/knocking-
GwinnettPerformance.com

Hi,

I too hear same rattle noise form my nissan rogue2013 here is the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyPCLC6_qD8

I took it to the dealer he was not sure and asked me to come on a work day, but i have no confidence on them.
Could some one help me with this.

Beck ground

I went to a beach drive and drove in sea water , after that i went to a car wash, immediately after the car wash, this noise started.

Kiran B.

Is there anyone could help me?
I just found that my Murano 2005 with 95k begins to make noise whenever I accelerate forward or sometimes backward.
It is getting worse when the mileage is going up. I check the transfer case & transmission fluid and I just fund out there are some small black particles in the transmission fluid. There are so small and not numerous.
Do you think I could get rid of that noise with changing the transmission fluid.
Here is the link you could hear the noise. Second 00:00:05.
https://youtu.be/ZGl_tLyIpVA

I've been experiencing the same clicking noise when I accelerate and rough idling. My "Service Engine Soon" light came on and when I took it to the mechanic, the diagnostic came back with a bad Variable Timing Solenoid valve. It's an expensive fix but I was told it would solve my knocking and rough idle issues. Also, they stressed the importance of regular oil changes. I have 118K miles on my Murano and I am the original owner. Other than a new set of brakes and regular maintenance...and a new power window regulator...my major repairs have been few and far in between.

I posted a long time ago about using SeaFoam on the car and all that stuff, and while the SeaFoam did work for a short time, the noise came back and we have not been able to figure out where it is coming from. We changed the spark plugs, and while the manual says that they should be changed at 100k miles, our Murano is just shy of 88k miles and the plugs were pretty much shot (regular oil changes and maintenance) so I would suggest looking into that for people who are still having noise issues.
The engine light, or any light for that matter, have no come on so there is nothing that will trigger a reading for a diagnostic. Now, after so long, we are down to a timing chain being slightly loose and hitting something, or one of the THREE catalytic converters (I cannot believe there are three of them). There is no visible oil leak, the compartments for the plugs were clean, the engine is clean, so we are pretty much at a loss of what to do.
It is sooo frustrating having this issue but not being able to find out where the noise is coming from. I would hate to think that the noise is supposed to be there. The manual said that there may be a rattle in the engine going up hills if there is a large pull on the engine while accelerating up it, but the noises we have occurring do not happen on a hill. Still looking for a solution so if I happen to come across one, I will post it here.

The problem is cvt transmission. Look up cvt rattling and you will see but yea. I own a 06 nissan murano and looked into to it and nissan apologized for it and will cover up to a certain milage. I'm over it and not looking forward to paying over 3 grand at a dealership but the main this it to get a $135.00 software update on it.

Searching for information as well... I have an 05 Xterra with the 4.0 V6 and a manual transmission.

Bought it used with 71K miles, started to hear similar noise around 80K miles; bought from original owner so no warranty, runs fantastic otherwise.

Like everyone else here, it sounds like valve clatter under acceleration, more so in 1st through 3rd gear.

A few Nissan dealers have tried to sell me on the timing chain idea too but, there is not any noise coming from the front of the motor. The sound is like a pinging or knocking at the back of the motor and only under load/acceleration.

Never thought it could be detonation issues but, its possible. These are high compression engines which require the engine-management to adjust the ignition timing to avoid the problem.

I will have my (original) plugs changed, and see about any other sensors that may effect the ignition timing too, then post an update.

Wife's 2006 Murano has the rattling noise at low speeds, which goes away once you hit maybe 20mph. Car has about 120k miles. We haven't done seafoam or sparkplugs, did anyone have luck getting rid of noise with new sparkplugs? If nit, I fear it is something with the CVT, and I'm sure it's not cheap.

I had the same issue - rattling noise on acceleration until I got to 1,500 - 2,000 revs. My mechanic tried three times to source the problem without success. Finally I noticed the oil light lingering when I turned the ignition. I checked the oil and was surprised to see the dip stick was dry. I have no leaks on the garage floor and it's not buring oil yet it still took 4 litres! I don't hink it could have been filled properly on the last oil change. Since then I have had no problems with the rattle (10 weeks).

We have changed the oil in our Murano on schedule and the knock is still there. We have pretty much gone through the "cheap" stuff and are now looking at the expensive stuff - the transmission, the cats and the timing chains. We are still looking into things as we can afford the mechanics so I will keep updating as much as I can. I am glad to hear though that some of you have managed to resolve your problem. We are getting an appointment to have someone look at the axles and related parts as we have noticed the noise happening more when turning corners. This could be a coincidence, but at this point we are looking into everything.

Good luck, and keep me posted if there are any other solutions.

Update:

Took the Murano to a mechanic to have the axel looked at. He did not find anything wrong with them, but when we got the car back the noise was gone. It has been about a month and a half since the appointment and the noise has not returned. For those still having problems, it is something to consider.

The noise comes back, I will update the post again.

My wifes 2006 Murano has developed the same rattling sound as most have described here. Rattles on acceleration, around corners and is more noticeable when feathering the throttle under load. I added a litre of engine oil and that seem to for a few weeks but alas it has returned. I have seen where the timing chain tensioner shoe can slide out of position (see youtube video) creating this noise and suspect this may be the problem.

Rattling on acceleration is almost ALWAYS the use of low octane fuel. Owner's manual recommends 91 octane minimum. Pre-detonation or 'ping' is the rattle you hear and it can destroy an engine. If not corrected, a hole can be blown through the top of the piston or pistons. Not good. I switched to 91 and the noise stopped. You'll need a tankful to notice a difference, not just a few gallons. It's a little higher price, but cheaper than a new engine.

The noise is back for us again, not nearly as bad as it used to be, but there. We have been running premium fuel in it for over a year so if it were a detonation problem that should have remedied it. There have been no codes or anything that could steer us in any direction so we have been going in blind to have things looked at - all that is left now is the expensive stuff. This is getting quite irritating because we have owned several Nissan vehicles, currently 3 in the driveway, and this is the first one to give us any problems beyond normal wear and tear.

Any luck with that rattle? My wife and i just bought an '05 murano from a local dealer, and within a month, i am having the exact same issue. i just had a car that threw a rod on me (even thou i took great care of it with regular maint) and i use this vehicle for my commute to work. i cannot have this turn into a long term problem, or have it cause the vehicle to fail. i have been running supreme gas and did the seafoam in the tank. oil was changed at dealer (verified). i did just find that my passenger CV joint boot is damaged, so i will be replacing the axle next week, possibly both just for the sake of it. this seems to be a regular issue with these vehicles, but yet i have not been able to find any real cause or remedy for it. any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Wish I could say that I have some encouraging news, but I don't yet. I have done a lot of research online and it seems to be pointing towards the timing chain, either the guide or the tensioner. Apparently last year there was a class action suit filed that accused Nissan of manufacturing some of its most models with defective timing chain tensioning systems. While the info I have found doesn't list the Murano as one of the vehicles in the claim, it does mention the VQ35 engine which has been in the Murano since '03.
One of the points in the suit is that "Numerous parts in these tensioning systems are defective, including the primary timing chain tensioner, primary timing chain guide, secondary timing chain tensioners and secondary timing chain tensioner shoes". I also found this: " The lawsuit alleges Nissan knew or should have known since 2004 the timing chain tensioning systems were prone to early failure but concealed that fact from consumers. The plaintiffs claim Nissan tried to conceal the allegedly defective timing chains by sending technical service bulletins to dealers describing problems with the timing chain systems. Nissan owners who complained about their timing chains were offered "goodwill" adjustments to help with the cost of repairs. However, owners who didn't complain had no idea about problems with the timing chains. The lawsuit further accuses Nissan of failing to provide a permanent fix for the defective timing chain tensioning systems so the warranty period on the vehicles would expire before owners knew of the problems. This left owners with shelling out the money for repairs and replacement parts."

So basically, unless they expand the suit to include the Murano, there is little-to-no recourse for getting the repairs paid for by Nissan (if the issue is actually with the timing chain system). Good news is, I found through my friend Google (lol) that someone got a tensioner for their Quest (same engine) and was able to replace it on their own in about 3 hours. I will link to that post at the bottom as he mentions where to find good instructions on how to access/replace the tensioner.
I was really hoping I had better news to share, but... yay engine troubles. :/ When we have the money and opportunity to attempt this repair I will post again to let readers know how it went and whether or not it worked. *fingers crossed*

Quest repair link: http://x.nissanhelp.com/forums/quest/16 ... quest.html

Lawsuit links: http://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2015/ ... suit.shtml and http://www.nissanproblems.com/trends/timing-chain/

I found that usually when my Murano starts making this noise the oil levels are low.

You all might have a slow oil leak , maybe from the oil heater.

When the oil level is low the timing chain will make a rattling noise and sometimes codes will pop up .

I have an 09 Murano SL. A couple months back, my engine light came on and the code was for the front O2 sensor. My car hesitates to accelerate from a stopped position or almost stopped position and then takes off! There's also a rattle on acceleration sometimes but not all the time and quickly goes away if I give it more gas and does not come back while vehicle is driving. Could these two be related and is this both symptomatic of the code/O2 sensor? Is it a fairly easy fix. Other than, no issues with the car. It does have high miles (189,000) and has always been maintained as far as I know.