KnownCarProblems2004 Nissan Murano Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 678 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Nissan Murano, most often about the transmission (21% of complaints, typically around 86,000 miles). It is 4th of 24 Murano model years by number of complaints and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2004 Nissan Murano problems
Transmission
143 complaints · 21%Half of these problems showed up before 86,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, transfer case (4-wheel drive), driveline.
The problem occurs on a hot day in stop and go traffic where once you come to a stop, when pushing the gas pedal down it takes a good 10-30 seconds before you get any response from the transmission, and when you finally do, it's very very slow as if the car is stuck in 4th gear trying to accelerate. While driving…
I was driving my 2004 Nissan Murano down a busy street with no shoulder and I had a complete transmission failure. Luckily, I was not hit by any cars. The car had to be towed. The only fix is to replace the entire transmission. Total cost: over $6000.00 I do not have $6000.00 to repair the vehicle. The band in the CVT…
Visibility and wipers
133 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 60,000 miles. Parts named most often: windshield wiper/washer, defroster/defogger/hvac system.
The passenger side sun visor in our 04 Nissan Murano began to be hard to move up or down about 4 months ago. Eventually, something inside the visor just gave up, and the visor started falling down under it's own weight. It will not stay up. The driver side visor is beginning to be hard to move now, and if it follows…
I have a 2004 Nissan Murano se. The driver's side sun visor will not stay up and is a driving hazard as it keeps falling in my face if I hit a bump or brake. Nissan quoted me $400 to fix the problem and I can't afford it. I did a search online and found this is a known issue with this same vehicle years 2004 and up. I…
Electrical
110 complaints · 16%Half of these problems showed up before 40,000 miles. Parts named most often: alternator/generator/regulator, 12v/24v/48v battery, wiring, ignition.
Alternator tensioner bracket failed (snapped) prematurely due to metal fatigue in the part causing loud rattle to come from vehicle. Tensioner assembly (bracket and belt) had to be replaced at a cost of $352. Vehicle was barely out of warranty.
My family and I were driving our vehicle and were at a light. Our vehicle shook very hard when I applied the gas. Car would not go more than 5 miles and hour. We were on our way to the highway when it happened. Took the car home. Had it towed to dealership. They discovered that the transmission fluid had leaked out of…
Seats
94 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 84,000 miles. Parts named most often: front assembly.
2004 Nissan Murano driver's seat is broken from frame. Seat tilts to the rear- left and rocks up and down when sitting or putting weight on seat. Electrical functions of the seat (up/down and back and forth) are working. Concerned with safety issue not having the seat properly secured. Seems too much movement…
While pulling away from a light my seat made a snapping sound. After that the seat is very loose and wobbles when moved with your hand. As I make turns the seat rocks side to side.
Engine
82 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 87,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine, cooling system, exhaust system.
I was driving the vehicle in residential area, it sounded like metal was grinding the vehicle filled with smoke, and .completely shut off. I had to have vehicle towed to the dealer as it was unable to function. As soon as the mechanic turned on the car he stated it was the transfer case. From my research the transfer…
Belt tensioner pulley assembly gets rusted and breaks over time causing the serpentine belt to break during driving possibly breaking power steering pump belt in the process. Steering will freeze or become extremely difficult causing steering failure and an accident.
Doors and locks
48 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 65,000 miles. Parts named most often: doors, hatchback/liftgate.
2004 Nissan Murano sl doorlocks have stopped responding. It started with the passenger door and then, a couple weeks later the driver's side rear door. We have young children, and the possibility of a door being either locked or unlocked at the wrong time is a dangerous one.
The door lock actuator does not work when the button is pushed from the inside. The lever must be moved manually. This poses a safety issue due to the fact that in an emergency the door stays locked disallowing a quick exit .
Fuel system
35 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 90,000 miles. Parts named most often: storage, fuel injection system.
Failure of drivers side door lock actuator and gas cap door lock actuator on a 2004 Nissan Murano. The failure of my gas cap door actuator made it impossible to refuel the vehicle which could have left me stranded. The failure of my driver door lock actuator caused me to believe my door was locked when in fact it was…
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that the check engine light was illuminated and the vehicle was taken to the dealer where they replaced the fuel cap since the filler was rusted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The current mileage was 138,000 and the failure mileage was…
Speed control
35 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 107,500 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal.
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…
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…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2004 Nissan Murano recalls
Engine: engine and engine cooling
Risk: Engine may stall increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace/repair the appropriate components free of charge. The recall began on september 24, 2009. Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Full defect summary
Nissan is recalling 362,891 my 2003-2007 murano vehicles. The intake air ducts, which are connected to the intermediate resonator in the air intake system of the engine, may separate from the resonator with engine movement. This separation occurs due to the premature aging of the material used in the intake air ducts which causes excessive shrinking.
Seat belts: rear/other
Risk: If the webbing is completely separated, it can increase the risk of injury to an occupant in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install protectors over the webbing of the rear seat belts. The recall began on march 20, 2006. Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Full defect summary
On some sport utility vehicles, in certain high speed frontal crashes, the webbing of a rear outboard seat belt may contact the rear seat back hinge where it can be cut by the sharp edge of the metal portion of the hinge.
Fuel system: tank assembly
Risk: A punctured tank could increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will install protectors in front of the tank free of charge. The recall began on march 20, 2006. Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Full defect summary
On certain sport utility vehicles, due to the location of the forward edge of the fuel tank, in the event that a vehicle front tire runs over a small, sharp object in the road, catches it and propels it towards the rear of the vehicle, it may strike and puncture the fuel tank.
Electrical: alternator/generator/regulator
Risk: If this happens, the charger warning and brake warning lamps will immediately come on and the battery will begin to discharge. After a short time, the engine will go into a "fall safe" condition which will limit vehicle speed. The engine will stop running which could result in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the alternator with a new version which has been modified to prevent movement of the coil. The recall began on august 1, 2005. Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Full defect summary
On certain sport utility vehicles, there is a possibility that a wire breaking inside the alternator could stop the battery from charging.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Driver seat anchor failure
Summary
This investigation concerns structural failure of the anchor/bracket on the left rear side of the driver's seat.the concern is that such failures may alter the driver's seated position so as to reduce effectiveness of the occupant protection system or potentially compromise vehicle control.failure of the subject anchor bracket results from metal fatigue and causes rearward tilting of the driver's seat.these failures usually occur during driver ingress but may also occur while the vehicle is being operated.the safety related concerns during actual vehicle use were not validated by this investigation.while the number of complaints of this problem is relatively high, only three very minor, undo
Fuel tank punctures from road debris
Summary
Odi opened a preliminary evaluation based on four vehicle owner questionnaires (voq's) indicating that the fuel tanks werepunctured by road debris under normal, non off-road driving conditions.as of november 30, 2005, the complaint total increased to 12.nissan supplied odi with 31 complaints of fuel tank punctures, including 26 not previously known to odi from the voq records. In a letter dated january 9, 2006, nissan north america, inc. Notified odi of its plan to recall approximately 209,000 model year 2003 - 2006 nissan murano vehicles built from april 24, 2002 (start of production of my 2003) through november 24, 2005 (including a portion of my 2006 vehicles) to correct a deficiency in f
Alternator failure / engine stalling
Summary
Odi received 14 reports of alleged engine stalling due to alternator failure on my 2003-2004 murano (subject) vehicles.all of the complaints reported that the vehicle could not be restarted after the stall occurred.based on these complaints, odi opened pe04-077 and later upgraded to ea05-006 for the subject vehicles.during ea05-006, additional failure data were identified as noted in the failure report summary above.on july 12, 2005, nissan notified NHTSA of a safety defect on my 2003-2005 murano vehicles produced from april 8, 2002 and september 24, 2004 (recall 05v-319).the notification stated that an open circuit in the alternator can occur due to wire fatigue caused by movement of the ro
Alternator failure/ engine stalling
Summary
Odi opened pe04-077 based on 14 reports of alleged engine stalling due to alternator failure.all of the complaints reported that the vehicle could not be restarted after the stall occurred.during pe04-077, additional failure data was identified as noted in the failure report summary above . During the investigation, nissan identified that there had been alternator warranty replacements due to an open circuit in the rotor coil caused by wire fatigue. Odi?s analysis shows failure rates that are of concern to odi and indicates that the alleged defect is continuing to occur in the subject vehicles.odi's analysis also shows that nearly all of the alternator warranty claims submitted resulted in e
Questions about the 2004 Nissan Murano
- What are the most common problems with the 2004 Nissan Murano?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (143 complaints, typically around 86,000 miles); visibility and wipers (133 complaints, typically around 60,000 miles); electrical (110 complaints, typically around 40,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2004 Nissan Murano have?
- 4 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from May 19, 2009 (engine). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2004 a bad year for the Nissan Murano?
- It is 4th of 24 Murano model years by number of complaints, with 678 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.