Transfer Case problems of the 2003 Nissan Murano - part 1

Transmission , transfer case, it wouldn't shift gears. It didn't go over 40 30 mph I accelerated and won't do more then 30, 40 mph and the vehicle shut down on me.

I purchased this car from a dealer as a used vehicle in September 2013. After several months I began to notice a very serious transmission problem. All of the sudden when driving the car does not respond to the gas pedal and then all of the sudden the vehicle will lurch forward. This has been scary and unsafe when driving in high traffic areas and I have run the risk of rear ending another vehicle. Other times it has been an extreme safety hazard when entering traffic that is traveling at a higher speed and you have to speed up to merge. If your car does not move when you press on the gas pedal others can crash into you. I have read that other Nissan Muranos that are the same year as mine have experienced the same safety issues and Nissan has received a significant number of complaints with regard to cvt and front transfer case (cracks/fractures) issues but that Nissan has not had a recall to correct this serious problem. I have a three year old grand daughter that I have in my car with me on a daily basis and I am afraid to drive the car! I also purchased this car after another serious accident that totaled my other vehicle and now I have a car that has major safety issues that I am extremely concerned about!!.

I am pulling into the freeway in daly city and the vehicle will not engage transmission. I cruised going 10mph for a mile before I had to pull over on the freeway. I turned the vehicle off and sat there thinking on how to get home. After 10-15 minutes, I decided to drive the vehicle off the freeway. I parked the vehicle in the street and noticed the vehicle had power. I drove it to my technition that evening. Owner of the shop said it was very common and lucky that I did not have my family in the vehicle. The vehicle never reved even though I was stepping on the gas pedal. I have a 13 month old daughter and would not like to think what could of happend if I was stuck in an intersection on a busy street. These cars should be recalled since there are plenty of these cases online. I would like my money back on the transfer case I had to replace and now the new transmission I will have to buy.

My wife was driving down our road when the transfer case on her 2003 Nissan Murano locked up and locked the back wheels spinning her into the ditch and sign post. She wasn't hurt. I did alot of research on the problem, and it turns out that Nissan knows there was defective tranny and transfer cases on the 03, and 04 Muranos. They even issued t. S. B. S to the dealers about the defect. My question is, why they aren't being held accountable to fix the problem? why no recall? isn't your job to make the auto makers make a safe product and when they don't, call them on their faults. I know that there are alot of Nissan owners like myself that are getting nowhere with Nissan. Our domestic auto makers have to live with recalls, why not Nissan?.

I have a 2003 Nissan Murano se. I was driving out of my house and while still in my neighborhood, the car came to a screeching halt (loud noise). I waited a couple of minutes and tried pressing the accelerator again and the car refused to move but made another very loud sound. I have 2 small children that were fortunately not in the vehicle with me. Also fortunate was that I had not turned into a high speed main road that was just coming up. I called aaa and had the car towed to the Nissan dealer, who diagnosed it as a transfer case problem and quoted $3300 for replacement of the part. Upon researching this issue, my husband and I discovered that this is a standard problem in the earlier Nissan Murano models - hundreds and hundreds of people have complained about this online and it happens at roughly the same mileage in the life of the vehicle. It is clearly a manufacturing defect and should have been a recall on Nissan's part as it is a major safety issue. We contacted Nissan customer service and after waiting 10 days, we were basically told they were not going to do anything about it given how old the vehicle was and that they don't acknowledge that this is a manufacturing defect, even after I explained the results of my research. I told them that even if they choose not to believe that others have had the same problem, a transfer case should not give way between 80-90,000 miles - it is simply not acceptable. I am extremely irritated at how Nissan handled this problem and am concerned about the safety of others who may end up in the same situation but not be fortunate enough to escape bodily harm. This should be a recall.

The vehicles drive train failed and was towed to lia Nissan in enfield CT. Was told that the cvt transmission had failed and was covered under the 10 yr /120,000 mile extended warranty. They also said that the transfer case was damaged but is not covered by the warranty. The transfer case is part of the cvt and should be covered. I had to purchase the part for 2,100 to repair the vehicle. They may charge for the part to offset the cost of the cvt which costs around 5,000. Nissan has a major problem with their drive train and should be covered or recalled.

Leaking transmission transfer case. This is a serious safety issue as the tc can fail at any time. At highway speeds this is a serious safety issue. Nissan na has given extended warranty on cvt transmission, but the tc is most likely to fail due to leaks and is not covered under the extended cvt warranty Nissan just came out with. Many many posts on internet based on this issue. Nna will not correct this design defect, even though it is part of the transmission. Nna will not honor the transmission extended warranty on the cvt transmission, as they say the tc is not part of the transmission. Replacement cost for tc is $3500-$4000 and if it's leaking it will fail. Serious safety issue if vehicle is moving, causing potentially bodily injury in a crash, or bodily injury while on side of highway. I contacted Nissan north America and they would not address this obvious engineering defect. Nissan should be made to be responsible for this defect. The tc part is not designed to survive the life of the vehicle and thousands of people have had this part fail. Please help.

Cvt transmission fails to accelerate after driving at low speeds. . . Ie like thru a parking area or while in heavy stop and go traffic. Than while pulling out in traffic will not not respond to the gas pedal while pressing down than it will suddenly surge and rapidly accelerate. I can not safely send my wife or daughter out in this car. Had it back to the dealer many times the transfer case for the awd was replaced some time back when it cracked. But the cvt acted up occasionally long before that. !! this is a serious safety issue and should be a recall to repair these transmissions.

In the first quarter of 2010 Nissan extended the warranty to cover the failed cvt transmission. The dealer replaced it at no cost to me (Nissan covered the parts and labor). On Friday December 2, 2011 while the service department in fairfax, virginia was replacing the lower oil pan gasket, and lower oil cooler housing, they noticed the transfer case was starting to fail/crack. Informed me that within the next 6 to 12 months this would need to be replaced and this is an 18 hour job. Cost estimate is $2,350. They should have informed me of the known transfer case problem last year at a minimum to save the labor cost. At a maximum Nissan should recall this known problem and pay for the parts and labor.

The transfer case blew up, broken teeth, while traveling on the highway. Cost of repair was $3500. Not covered under warranty or recall, despite this being a known issue with Nissan Muranos.

Vehicle had new brakes - disks and pads added in early may 2011. July 29 2011 driving 20 + mph the vehicle started to sound like it had a flat tire. Immediately took vehicle to the shop, glancing at the car, mechanic said may be a tire rod, but wanted to look at it more in depth. He stated that the noise was coming from something loose or cracked in the transfer case. He advised me that at some point transfer case will bust and all 4 wheels will lock up. He quoted me at least $2500 for repair. The location of the transfer case makes it very difficult to repair or service. Why will Nissan not stand behind this product. There is no rust on the vehicle, but with 150,000 miles on it now, is it worth the money to repair? I have already replace the intake manfold which cracked in November. What will be the next part to break - the engine itself? love my Murano, but the company should back their product. My Murano has been driven short distances a few times since because I do not want to be on the highway when my "4 tires lock up".

There are two incidences. The first one was the transfer case which cost $3500 and the shop didn't know what could have caused it he said that they just go which I don't believe there has to be a reason. And now about two months and 2k miles later the rear differential exploded. The car is currently in the shop and at a different shop so hopefully they can find out what went wrong. I did a little research and was told that the rear diff shouldn't have a problem till at least 150,000 miles. Also the service manual doesn't say anything about service or maintain of the transfer case or the rear diff. Both should be covered up until 100,000 miles. And on god knows how much it will cost to fix this new problem. I will never buy another Nissan.

The contact owns a 2003 Nissan Murano. The contact was driving 30 mph when the vehicle exhibited a loud, dragging metal noise from the front end. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who performed a diagnostic that located the failure at the transmission transfer case. The manufacturer was contacted but advised that they would not assist with the repair because of the vehicle age and mileage. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 130,000.

Was driving on a highway and heard thumping sounds from the engine. Slowed down towards the side and the noise started increasing. It sounded like someone hitting the engine with a sledge hammer. I parked the car on the side of the highway and looked under the hood and under the car. I saw something leaking. I got my car towed to the nearest dealer and they told me that it was my transfer case. Cost to fix was close to $5,000. I contacted Nissan for help and they informed me that they couldn't do anything. I asked if this problem was common and they replied no. I had the car fixed at my own expense and 14 months later the problem occurred again. Warranty was for 12 months or 12,000 miles which ever came first. I was over by 2 months but mileage was under. They quoted me additional $3,000 to fix. I can not believe that this car has not been recalled for this problem. The car is still at the mechanics because I am still in shock of being forced to pay $8,000 for the same problem and within a little over a year.

The contact owns a 2003 Nissan Murano. The contact was driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle seized without warning. There was an unknown fluid leaking from the vents and smoke emitting from the transfer case. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic shop where the contact was advised that the transfer case was defective and would need replacing. The contact stated she authorized the mechanic to replace the defective transfer case. The manufacturer was contacted and a complaint was filed but no further assistance was offered. The failure and current mileage was 112,000.

I have a 2003 Nissan Murano. At approximately 81,000 miles I noticed a burning oil smell after driving. I had the car checked and the transfer case was out of oil. The service dept. Resealed the transfer case under extended warranty. At about 96,000 miles I had the vehicle checked out before end of warranty and again the transfer case leaked out the oil and I had service on transfer case. The seals had to be redone, also under extended warranty. I have the car in now for routine service with transmission fluid flush and fill and because I am getting a strange ticking noise when accelerating. Notified that cvt fluid leaking onto outside of transfer case. Needs transmission seal redone. Over $2000. I am getting the seal redone under transmission 120,000 warranty from Nissan. Dealership says I should get the transfer case seals redone but they are not covered under the transmission warranty and I cannot afford the close to $2000 extra this would cost. Seems that the seals should last more than 8,000 miles as they seemed too after buying the vehicle new and not replacing them until after 50,000 miles. After reading many complaints about a pressure valve and other transmission issues I believe the transmission should be replaced as I am very concerned that just replacing the transmission forward seal(?) will not correct the leaking problems with the transmission transfer case and that the transmission will "go out" after the factory warranty. I believe that there is a problem with the transfer case/transmission in this year/model of vehicle and that Nissan knows this. There should be a recall.

A well maintained Nissan Murano of 7 years started making loud thumping noises after less than 78k miles. Our mechanic suspected transmission related issues, which occur frequently on Murano and advised to take the vehicle to the Nissan dealership. Nissan mechanics pinpointed a faulty transfer case to be the cause of the noise. Furthermore Nissan indicated that it would be too dangerous to drive the vehicle due to the fact that if the transfer case failed completely during driving, it would cause the vehicle to come to an immediate halt, which if driving on the highway could cause a serious hazard. Since the transfer case failure was imminent, it had to be replaced at a cost of $2650. Further investigation on the internet indicates that transfer case failure in Murano is common, however Nissan has failed to address the issue and the potential hazards it may cause.

Car made horrible grinding noise; stopped working. Towed to pok Nissan and under extended warranty they replaced transfer case and rear differential. Now here it is barely one year later and just over 12000 miles and the transfer case is leaking again. Was told by an independent mechanic what the problem was and that Nissan should make good. Having reviewed several complaints filed with NHTSA of same problems I found it unbelievable that nissa fails to consider this as a recall or accept responsibility.

My 2003 awd Nissan Murano has a cracked transfer case. The dealer says that it is quite common with all Murano's but there has not been a recall. The dealer says that it will cost approximately $4000 to replace the transfer case.

On Tuesday may 11th my 2003 Nissan Murano began to make a loud grinding noise which has been attributed to a crack in the transfer case. The Murano has 113,000 miles. This was not caused by an accident and happened without any rigorous use of the vehicle. My concern is the commonality of this failure and no action on the part of Nissan. This is a major issue and can cause serious harm to the consumer. In doing research cost is expected to be over $3000.

Transfer case seals have failed for the second time after having been replaced by the dealer in the fall of 2008. Nissan north America refuses to acknowledge an issue with leaking transfer cases in Muranos. They have put in place an extended warranty for cvt transmission failures, however, did not include transfer case problems.

Nissan Murano 2003 transmission or transfer case. Leaking, jerks on stop and go incident. Went to Nissan dealer and stated that transfercase seal needs replacement . I showed them extended warranty letter from Nissan company on all cvt transmission and dealer says that it doesn't cover transfercase seal repair and that I need to pay 1,300 dollars for this. I just can't figure out why?.

The contact owns a 2003 Nissan Murano. While driving at a speed 35 mph, there was an unusual foul odor emitting from the air compartments as well as an abnormal noise from underneath the vehicle. Suddenly, there was a loud pop and the engine began smoking. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was informed that the cvt transfer case was busted, which was replaced at that time. The failure mileage was 51,000 and the current mileage was 84,000.

I have a 2003 Nissan Murano at 65,000 miles the cvt transmission case cracked in half. The car was inoperable and left me stranded. After thousands of dollars in replacing the cvt transmission the transfer case has cracked again at 120,000 miles. I have contacted Nissan USA and they have persuaded me to pay for diagnostic work (although a large visible crack in the transfer case is quite obvious) and then proceeded to deny all reimbursements. This is a serious issue with hundreds on complaints online, an official Nissan TSB, yet no recall from Nissan or NHTSA.

The contact owns a 2003 Nissan Murano. The contact noticed transmission fluid leaking from the transfer case. He had not noticed any issues, such as difficulty shifting. The dealer stated that the transfer case inner seal needed to be replaced. He spoke with the manufacturer who started a case and stated that they would get back to him with the resolution. The current mileage was approximately 49,700 and failure mileage was approximately 49,000. Updated 11/12/08 updated 11/13/08.

The contact owns a 2003 Nissan Murano. The contact took her vehicle in for an oil change and was informed that the seals failed and caused oil to leak. An authorized dealer repaired the vehicle and stated that the transfer case failed. The contact would have to pay $3,100 for the repair. The vehicle has not been repaired. She called the manufacturer, but has not received a response. The failure mileage was 81,000 and current mileage was 92,000. Updated 07/14/09. The inner seals were leaking. Updated 07/15/09.

Purchased this vehicle with 20,000 miles on it, kept well maintained, drove 90% highway miles mostly commuting to care for elderly person. Front struts leaked and failed without warning at approx 60,000 miles, then had loss of power, transmission/driveshaft began "howling noise" and we could smell faint oil smell, took to dealer were told it was the transmission valve body which they fixed under warranty, that they could detect no oil smell or source for same, and that cvt howl was just the normal sounds of that type of transmission. We specifically asked whether there are any known problems or failures with drivetrain assemble components, because we heard of many other strut failures by Murano owners after our struts failed prematurely. We were told there were no reports of any trouble, not to worry about it. The howl never went away, and the oil smell came and went. Sept. 4, we pulled out of our driveway drove about 50 yards down the street and hear a horrible thumping noise, like a flat drive, we stopped immediately and checked, no flat tire. We started the car again and drove a few feet, same noise. We parked the car and had it towed to dealer. We are told the transfer case "grenaded" that we must have been driving it hard (we were going about 10 mph), that it would be $4000 to repair! the tech asked if we had been hearing any unusual noises before the failure, we told him we had, and we had reported it to the dealer when it was under warranty, but they refused to help with the repair costs. I checked on the internet and spent 6 hours reading thousands of similar transfer case failure stories on Muranos with all levels of mileage on them, many had been told, like we were, that warning signs were nothing when their vehicles were still under warranty. The dealer also tried to charge us $2800. 00 for the part, which we found for $1518. 00 from another Nissan dealer. This is a known problem, has caused vehicles to stop in traffic and should be a recall defect. Thank you.

Nissan Murano 2003 awd automobile has a faulty transfer case. The mileage is 95,000. Nothing led to failure. The parts are not yet repaired because the estimate is very high $3000. The maintenance on the vehicle is very good.

My 2003 Nissan Murano sl awd had a transfer case completely fail after the dealer failed to identify the problem. They claimed it was tire noise.

Transmission shudders and slow acceleration from a stop. Vehicle slowed on freeway from over 65 mph to under 40 mph and unable to go any faster. Dealer says it was due to the computer needing to be reset and now says it is due to a faulty transfer case. I am not confident the issue will be resolved without replacement of both the transmission and transfer case with a new design.

Faulty transfer case.

Nissan Murano has a design flaw with its transfer case. It cracks in half on cars with low mileage. If it happens on a highway, car stops in the middle of the highway with potential massive fatal accidents. My car broke at 44k and Nissan refused to replace the part as it was a month after the warranty expired. . Read more...

2003 Murano has faulty transfer case, leaks fluid and has burning oil smell.

I have owned my Nissan Murano 2003 for about two years and a few months ago it started to hesitate while I was in stop and go traffic. I learned that by turning the car off for a few seconds the problem would go away. Then last week, my transmission started to make a strange noise and when I went to get my car fixed. . . My mechanic said that the cvt needed to be replaced and that Nissan is the only one that can fix it. The cvt is destroyed after 110k miles and with it's demise it took our and destroyed the transfer case totaling $7200 to fix. While looking at the consumer reports for this vehicle. . . It looks as if I am not alone in this situation and that Nissan has turned their backs on this initial product by not acknowledging the design flaws and chronic problems with this new cvt technology. I am currently waiting for Nissan to step up to the plate and make this right but if history and the correspondence with other Murano owners. . . I am not going to be satisfied with Nissan's stance. I would like to help initiate a class action against Nissan for both the cost to fix this known problem and the frustration this vehicle has given me.

2 weeks after the 60,000 service (at 63,500 k)I had my catalytic converter replaced. At that time, the dealer said I needed the transfer case seal replaced ($800). That was not the real problem, the bearings were defective- I need a new transfer case (rebuild $900). But no parts are available so need to buy new transfer case from Nissan ($2500). Definitely a 2003 Murano manufacture defect.