2.0

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
77,936 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2003 Nissan Murano:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #97

Apr 142009

Murano

  • 88,316 miles
My 2003 Nissan Murano AWD had 88,300 miles on it, and began vibrating while I was on a 4-lane road. As I tried to pull it off into a parking lot on the left, it came out of gear, and stopped in the center of a busy intersection. It would not go back into gear, and would not rev, but it was idling. The check engine light never came on. It was a dangerous situation, and I called 911, because I was afraid that my stalled car would cause an accident. Then 2 men offered to help push the car into the parking lot. They did, but they put themselves in harm's way in the still busy intersection. Two Nissan dealerships diagnosed the car as needing a new transmission, and I have had to replace it at a cost of $6000.

- Signal Mountain, TN, USA

problem #96

Apr 082009

Murano

  • 116,000 miles
Needed to replace a transmission part called the "value body" in a 2003 Nissan Murano. The repair was recommended by the Nissan dealer and will cost $1795 total parts & labor. Apparently the dealer has replaced many transmission parts called the value body in the past here in san antonio, Texas.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #95

Mar 062009

Murano

  • 88,000 miles
Driving on the freeway and began to take the exit. Stopped at the light to turn left and the car had no power. The gas pedal was to the floor and nothing happened. I turned the car off, sat a few minutes, started the car up and crept into the intersection, trying to cross the highway, made it to the side of the road, turned the car off again, sat about 5 minutes and then again started it up. It traveled maybe a half a block, stopped, turned the key off, sat in the highway (very dangerous) and preceded to travel another block to my destination. Parked the car and called a tow truck to get it back home and to the Nissan dealer. He has just called and said it is the transmission at a cost of $4500 dollars. I can't believe it, the car has only 87000 miles one it. After reading many discussion groups on the internet I find that alot of owners of the 2003 Murano have had the same problem. We called Nissan and they will not do anything for us. We need to ban together and get some action. I don't know how a company can get away with this. Too many incidents to ignore.

- La Crosse, WI, USA

problem #94

Feb 112009

Murano

  • 110,000 miles
I have owned 2003 Nissan Murano for 5 years and have 110,000 miles on it..it has now some transmission problems....when starting from a stop, the transmission hesitates and then lurches forward. This is dangerous as if at a stop light, you step on gas and nothing happens....then suddenly the car lurches forward violently.. this is happening more frequently, and is becoming very scary.

- Mart, TX, USA

problem #93

Feb 012009

Murano

  • 66,500 miles
I own a 2003 Nissan Murano. I currently has 67,000 miles. Over the last month I have had major issues with acceleration, the vehicle loses power or doesn't respond at all when pressing the gas pedal. After a 1-3 second pause the transmission finally engages sporadically and "clunks" very hard. I have been told by the dealer that the transmission needs to be replaced. The Nissan dealer has informed me that there is no repair of this cvt transmission. This problem is occurring every time that I drive the vehicle and is very dangerous. This issue has happened several times in busy traffic and has caused several near collisions. I am very disappointed. I have never had to replace a transmission under 100,000 miles.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #92

Nov 272008

Murano

  • 111,000 miles
In stop-N-go traffic, no initial acceleration when pedal pressed to floor. Then car would suddenly jump forward. Caused multiple instances of nearly crashing into cars in front of me or not making it through intersections. Brought to dealer multiple times and nothing was done. Finally, no acceleration at all and car now won't move forward. Was told entire transmission needs replacing for $6500...... at only 100,000 miles! a transmission should last longer than that and it should have been fixed when I first started complaining and seeing symptoms.

- Thornton, CO, USA

problem #91

Feb 132009

Murano

  • 88,000 miles
After being in stop and go traffic, my 2003 Nissan Murano SE 2wd does not accelerate properly. Once the gas pedal is pressed, the car barely starts to move, but the tachometer continues to increase. At about 3000 RPM, or roughly 1-2 seconds under normal acceleration from a complete stop, the Murano then lurches forward. This is very dangerous and happens when the car has experienced long periods of stop and go traffic or being idle. I took it to Nissan and they claimed to have fixed the problem by changing the throttle body chamber. The Murano did not have any more problems until about 4 months after the repair. Since then, it has been acting up as traffic conditions warrant. I can "reset" or stop the lurching from occurring by turning off the ignition and then turning it back on. The problem is, I'm usually in traffic when I do this, and the problem resumes about 5-10 minutes later. If I get away from the traffic, stop and let the car sit for a bit, then turn the engine back on and drive in normal traffic, then the problem does not occur.

- Modesto, CA, USA

problem #90

Feb 042009

Murano

  • 76,000 miles
I have a Nissan 2003 Murano, when in a stopped position, the car will fail to accelerate until a few seconds later, which can cause a safety hazard when in traffic. I am not the only owner of this type of vehicle that has this issue, there are many of us. I had it check and told I needed to have the cvt replaced.

- Pleasant Prairie, WI, USA

problem #89

Dec 202008

Murano

  • 52,000 miles
Transmission failure at 52,000 miles. 2003 Nissan Murano.

- Kalamazoo, MI, USA

problem #88

Dec 292008

Murano

  • 61,000 miles
At 61000 miles my Murano right after I bought it started to have a problem with acceleration at stop-N-go traffic. Also it has a burning rubber smell. The replacement of the transmission is very expensive. Plus the car only has 61,000 miles.

- Provo, UT, USA

problem #87

Jul 162008

Murano

  • 108,300 miles
1.I was stuck in rush hour traffic 2. it occurs when I'm in stop and go traffic 3. deal said I needed a new transmission I feel the cvt transmission was exp. Model I have read other Murano owner (same problem).

- Ownings Mills, MD, USA

problem #86

Oct 022008

Murano

  • 106,325 miles
Transmission issue. Car will not move more than 2-3 miles per hour for ~100 feet, then "jumps" into gear. Occurs with engine warm. Very dangerous at traffic lights and stop signs.

- Dothan, AL, USA

problem #85

Dec 152008

Murano

  • 80,000 miles
Nissan Murano 2003, when stopping in traffic or trying to change lanes the car does not respond. This happens every day. Took to the Nissan dealer it has to do with transmission problems. This has been happening for the past few moths now. Apparently the 2003 Murano is experiencing this problem. Please help. The coute was over $5,000. Also the radio they installs in this cars have a problem with the cd changer. For some reason the right side fails to sound. They explain its a problem with all this radios. Also called clarion, the manufacturer an also said the same thing.

- Guaynabo, PR, USA

problem #84

Nov 252008

Murano

  • 135,000 miles
The cvt transmission in my 2003 Nissan Murano has failed (135,000 miles) and the dealer (norris Nissan of ellicott city, md) says the repair will cost over $6,000. I have read on the edmonds car chat site that there are thousands of similar complaints. This is potentially a very dangerous situation as well as an expensive one.

- Ellicott City, MD, USA

problem #83

Nov 162008

Murano

  • 95,000 miles
Nissan Murano 2003 AWD, hesitate in traffic, after engine gets hot, car does not want go forward at red lights, almost got rear ended because car would not move, took to the dealer, said they could not find anything wrong with car.

- East Point, KY, USA

problem #82

Oct 012008

Murano

  • 66,000 miles
We drive a 2003 Nissan Murano AWD. After stop and go traffic, the vehicle will "stall" in traffic (rpms drop to idle, and the car stops moving) when the accelerator pedal is pressed. Within 2-5 seconds the engine will rev up (presumable as far as it goes, but we take our foot off the pedal by then), and the vehicle will lurch forward and drive normally until we stop again. By the nature of city driving this often happens in intersections and other like dangerous places. I've asked my wife not to drive it in traffic anymore as I think this is dangerous. This happens repeatedly now at 66K miles. We've taken this to two dealers who have recommended everything from replacing the valve body to replacing the entire transmission.

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #81

Nov 102008

Murano

  • 109,000 miles
The transmission has been problematic from day one. I have kept up regular service at it has now completely failed. It is a 2003 Nissan Murano with 109K miles on it.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #80

Nov 052008

Murano

  • 150,000 miles
I purchased a 2003 Nissan Murano with 23,000 miles on it in March of 2004. After the purchased I took it to a dealer for the 100 point inspection and was told everything was fine. By the end of that year for the first time my car failed to accelerate. I thought nothing of it since it only happened once and went and got the spark plugs changed. Next by the summer of 2005 it happened again. I explained to the dealer and they said you need your fuel injectors cleaned. I got them cleaned and it went away again but every once and a while it would slow down during acceleration. I made it to 2006 and all of a sudden the check engine light came on. The dealer said I need to change my catalytic converter bank 1. he showed me which one and replace it. A week later the same thing happened again(check engine light). I was told the wrong converter was replaced. I purchased the other one and everything is good for a while. Then the slow acceleration got even worse. The dealer couldn't find anything wrong. Needless to say I'm now out of warranty. I then took it to another mechanic that wasn't a dealer and he showed me a technical bulletin about slow acceleration. I brought it to Nissan's attention and they said it could be a possibility. The told me I need to replaced the valve body. I bought it and they put it on with even worse results. Now they said I need a transmission. I asked how come they didn't check this out if it was a known problems. They said we need the look for the problem. They know about the bulletin but since its not a recall they don't have to check for it. Why isn't this problems a recall if its known. Are they waiting for your car to come off warranty to check. Now I have to look for a transmission but I'll probably have the same problem eventually. Please stop this corruption.

- Gwynn Oak, MD, USA

problem #79

Nov 072008

Murano

  • 80,000 miles
2003 Nissan Murano 80,000 miles transmission failure. Repair bill of $4,000.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #78

Aug 292008

Murano

  • 65,312 miles
Was driving on the highway at 75mph (normal speed for interstate travel in Montana) when our Murano started run at 4000 RPM abnormally. It ran at this rate for awhile then it felt like the transmission was loosing power and I had to take it off cruise control because it couldn't keep up and maintain constant speed. Vehicle start to jump in speed and then loose power and continued to do this until I pulled the vehicle off the highway. When I had stopped I tried accelerating to get back onto the highway with no success. I had the accelerator pedal to the floor and had no power. I turned the vehicle off/on and had slight acceleration enough to pull back onto the highway but almost got hit because transmission wouldn't accelerate properly and fast enough. Took Murano back to dealer to check out engine/transmission and they said after conducting diagnostic it needed a new transmission. I said the vehicle only has around 65,000 miles I've never heard of a 5 year old car needing a new transmission. What's worse they said is the transmission has to be ordered directly from Nissan and cost $4200! total cost for the repair would be $5600!!! this is no small repair problem! a 2003 vehicle with only 65K miles on it should not need a new transmission!!! Nissan should be held accountable for such a manufacturers defect that had the potential to kill my family on that highway if all power had been lost suddenly cruising at 75mph in traffic!!!!!

- Bozeman, MT, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »