The fatigue crack occurred at the transfer case. As an engineer, I suspect that the continuous variable transmission (cvt) problems in the Murano caused the failure at the transfer case. More than likely, the manufacturer did not do proper fatigue testing or "turned an eye" at the problem. I believe that they are aware of the problems, as they have taken steps to extend the warranty in the cvt, yet refuse to recall other components directly associated with the cvt. This seems to be a very common issue among many Nissan owners as I have read. Anyhow, a failure in the transfer case is a extremely dangerous situation. The transmission could lock up and cause an accident that may result in injuries or deaths.

- Tucker, GA, USA

Car developed load rumbling in the front end. Progressively getting louder. Car then began to sure and or loose power at random intervals.. as so many others have stated cvt failing. Learned about this problem after the fact. Was amazed to see how many people had filed complaints without any response or help from Nissan. No recall no help getting car credit, as it is valueless in trade at dealer. Fortunate that mine seemed to last longer than most. Cost 4 to 6 thousand to fix... more than car is worth at this point. Left with no way getting rid of it or getting new vehicle. Car that I thought would have good trade in value absolutely no one wants to touch. Been offered 1000 max for it at several different dealers. Shocked that a company size of Nissan would not work with there customers... at least offering reasonable compensation for current value of vehicle. Im sure Nissan will never be considered in my car buying decisions again. Problem has potential to be deadly for everyone in vehicle as the car looses power or surges without warning. I am sure they will be sued shortly when an entire family looses there life because Nissan refuses to acknowledge the problem.

- North Kingstown, RI, USA

I started hearing a rattle when under acceleration and could never find the culprit. It started jingling like change in someone pocket so I looked again and notice a piece of the idler pulley bracket going in circles around the adjustment screw. I looked up online only to yet another under designed part by Nissan. This part failing can cause serious damage and even wrecks if not fixed immediately.

- Irmo, SC, USA

My car just stopped working in the middle of the traffic and would not go forward or backward. I got it towed to good year - my car had catastrophic transmission failure. Was diagnosed at Goodyear and they called Nissan to see about the parts and found out that it was covered by manufacture warranty - so I had it towed on a flat bed truck to Nissan in denver. Goodyear had drained the fluids to take it apart during diagnosis and sent the parts and the car on the tow truck to the go Nissan shop. They found a number of other problems with the car at the Nissan shop which they said were not covered - such as- cam shaft sensors, drive belts, head gasket. I agreed to pay for those items and to get my transmission replaced for free under the warranty. They said it would take three to five days to get the transmission from the factory. I get a call today from go Nissan on June 19th about a week after they agreed to fix it and they now say that there seems to have been some purple fluid in the transmission and now they wont replace it or cover it in any way. That makes no sense to me because it was delivered there with no fluid in the transmission at all. They said, ya, well.. we saw some purple substance in the cup with the parts that were delivered and we will not cover it because of that contamination... im at my witts end here, they want $4000 for the transmission and another $2,500 for the rest of the work. I don't know what to do. I feel like they took advantage of me and are now trying to get out of the warranty. Thanks for your help.

- Lafayette, CO, USA

The vehicle does not go when you press the gas. It stalls extremely bad. It hasn't caused me a wreck --yet but it is going to happen. I have 2 young boys(age 6 &4) and I am scared for them to be in the car with me. I can not pull out in front of anyone because it takes so long for the acceleration to pick up. I like the looks of my Murano and I bought it saying"it is a Nissan so it will last" but I am starting to doubt that seriously!! this is my 2nd Nissan vehicle and if this part cant be recalled then it will be my last and I will spread the word. This cvt problem is a safety issue for so many owners yet Nissan refuses to do anything. I am very disappointed and hate to sell my Murano but that looks like what I will have to do and take a huge loss on it also because of the cvt needing replaced. Makes the car not worth the nada or blue book at all.!!!!

- Muscle Shoals , AL, USA

At a speed of 40 mph the transmission started to make a terrible ticking noise and vibrated through the cabin of the vehicle. I have ruled out the possibility of C.V. joints as I ran the vehicle while being safely supported on a lift. The noise is echoing out of the cvt housing, all fluid levels are up.

- Medford, NJ, USA

My transmission and engine began behaving erratically. The engine did not respond to the gas pedal immediately and seemed to work very hard to move the vehicle. The erratic behavior was then accompanied by what sounded like a plane landing then a loud bang. The behavior of the transmission caused the transfer case to fracture. (this was confirmed by my mechanic and again by the Nissan dealer service department). Nissan has recognized the transmission problems in a number of its models including the 2005 Murano. As a result, Nissan vehicles ranging in years from 2003-2010 equipped with a continuously variable transmission (cvt) have received a 10-year /120,000 mile cvt limited warranty extension. Unfortunately this extension'' only covers the transmission itself and not the parts around it. I am stuck paying the $3,400 to replace the transfer case or be forced to sell the car. Nissan is leaving the original cvt in my Murano and I will undoubtedly be in the shop paying out of pocket for another breakage that could be avoided by a recall. I raised this issue with Nissan corporate affairs and was promptly told that the transfer case was not covered under the extended cvt warranty and they will not be assisting financially. They did however offer me a $150 voucher off of the invoiced price of new Nissan vehicle. This response is laughable and very insulting. I am very interested in becoming involved in any legal actions that will hasten a recall so that others will not be burdened by this manufacturers defect and financially fleeced by Nissan corporation amidst an economic recession. According to my research on this problem with Nissan and the Murano in particular, I am not the first person to have and pay for this repair and I will most certainly not be the last.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Murano. While driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle exhibited an abnormal knocking from under the hood. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the transfer case would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 52,000. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 04/15/11 updated 1/13/2012

- White River Junction, VT, USA

Car would not drive when in drive and now the transfer case is out

- Shawnee, KS, USA

Rear differential on Nissan Murano with 87K miles just blew up as we were driving on the highway. The car had been to a body shop for a new bumper, oil change, and new tires within the last month, and none of these experts noticed any issues with leaking fluid etc. The Nissan service center told us the fluid was completely gone (way before it ever should have been an issue). This vehicle does not have a hitch and has only been used for urban/highway use. When the differential blew up, it destroyed both rear axles, which could have caused us to have an accident. Best case scenario, it only costs us $4000 to fix.

- Graham, NC, USA

I have a 2005 Nissan Murano with approximately 73,000 miles on it. Approximately 6000 miles ago, I had to replace the transfer case which cost $3600 to replace. Nissan did not cover it while the dealership repair manager did say it was defective and not my fault. In fact, my car repair person has said it is 1/5th the size of a transfer case of a Jeep Cherokee, a car the same size of my Murano. Therefore, it is a design defect. The cvt now is needing repair. And, possibly the transfer case will be needing replacement as well. Not a well built car, in my opinion.

- Leawood, KS, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Murano. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate from a traffic stop, the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed the power train control module would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 84,000.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

We went out and started the car on Wednesday night of last week and a very loud vibrating sound could be heard from the engine compartment. Due to the tight quarters in the engine compartment and very cold temperatures, I was not able to investigate very much. It was obvious the noise occurred only under loads. Nissan investigated the following day and informed us the idler pulley bracket had a crack and as a result it tore into the belts. Nissan stated it needed to be fixed because it is extremely dangerous to drive with the bracket being cracked. Both the bracket and belts needed replacement asap ($400). The car has an existing powertrain and bumper to bumper warranty, neither of which covered this. In addition, Nissan said this happens once and awhile so I looked the issue up online and found many complaints. In addition, it appears this fail results more often in cars that had the alternator recall repaired and in doing that repair, this bracket is either damaged or torqued too tightly back in place. Had this piece completely broken while driving, we could have had a serious accident. Nissan should replace these brackets considering they claim it "does occur", it "can't be driven safely" with it being cracked. There is no reason a bracket like this should fail, especially after only 4 years and 36,000 miles.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

43 degrees, 5 pm, 1561 miles, 2005 Nissan Murano sl I start vehicle, back up, pull out of driveway, car will not accelerate. Max speed obtainable 20 mph, very, very slow to get any speed. Engine will rev to 2500 RPM, when floored, no acceleration, return home. Service engine soon light on slip off light on vehicle dynamic control light on park vehicle and and try restarting several times, car starts ok, above three lights come on each time. Do not try to drive again that day. Sat. Evening, no dealer open. Try again Sunday, 55 degrees, starts ok and only ses light comes on, drives, ok call jeff smith Nissan warner robins ga on Monday. Says bring car in. Dealer states car is in "limp mode". they keep a week. Findings: Dtc code U1000 can comm circuit, C1132 ABS check ABS-ok techline ref #755136 apply tsb ntb06-009 dated Feb 8, 2006 seems ok, now. I shudder to think what would have happened if if I had been pulling out in traffic.

- Byron, GA, USA

I have a 2005 Nissan Murano which is two wheel drive with the ctv transmission. We were coming back from vacation from Colorado when the problem started. Several times during the trip when we were coming down a hill with the cruise control on the car would try to maintain the selected speed however if the hill was a little to big it would turn off the cruise control it self. We were just South of san antonio the last time that it had turned off the the cruise. The problem was when it turned off the cruise it also disabled the transmission. It was rather scary as we were driving in rush hour traffic when it did it. We were coming down a hill when the cruise turned it self off and in the process the car started to slow down and we were in the middle lane. All we could do was turn on the right turn signal and hope no one would hit us. Once we had gotten to the shoulder and stopped I had realized the engine was still running but the transmission wouldn't respond. I had put it in park and back into drive but the car wouldn't respond. I figured if I shut the engine off and restarted it that maybe it would reset whatever was wrong. I restarted the engine and the whole dash lit up. One by one the lights had gone out except the "service the engine soon" light. However the transmission worked and has worked since. By the time we had gotten home and gotten an appointment to take it in to a Nissan dealer the light had gone out. We had taken it to the charlie clark Nissan in harlingen Texas and they had it for two days and never had a problem with it. The reason they didn't have a problem is that we have no hills as we live in the valley and there are no hills here. They said that they had checked everything that could cause the problem and everything was to specification. So nothing was adjusted, or replaced so as far as I'm concerned the problem is still there and the next time we get into the hill country it will probably act up again.

- Harlingen, TX, USA