Power steering leak

[Eric L.]

Originally Posted by 06muranoowner

We had to replace our power steering pressure line and our murano only has 50k miles on it. We found out this problem has been happening all over the US with other Murano's all less then 72k miles. We had it fixed and reported it to the claims department hoping for a refund because it is a faulty part not due to neglect or wear and tear. They came back telling us they weren't going to help us with any reimbursement because the car is no longer under warranty nor did we purchase the extended warranty when we bought the car and they looked at our service history with Nissan. All in all loads of crap and excuses!! they can't fault us for where the previous owner had the car serviced nor where we take our car for servicing and fact is the issues is a faulty part that SHOULDN'T have a problem under 100k miles! Plus we are second owners of a Nissan and they cared less. I guess Nissan would rather have the bad press then fix a faulty part for a repeated customer. We wont be buying another Nissan again.

All true, but the only way to get a recall done is to file a complaint at NHTSA and prove to them that enough accidents involving Muranos were caused by steering problems that they pose a safety risk. I am not sure how a leaking hose, which is actually a potential danger, can be proven to have caused accidents and injury. A lot of folks here tried in vain to get the cracked seat frames declared as recall worthy by NHTSA but in the end, they did an investigation and declared it to be a minor issue even though we know the seat frames inevitably break.

[angietornado]

have so many fixes with the murano, i regret buying it.... it seems like evrybody has the same problems.... they should make this a recall... theres obviosly something wrong with the pressure hose.... and everything else!

[mikesmurano]

I just replaced the High pressure line in my 2007 Murano and two days later I have another leak again. Purchased the MO used in October, the vehicle seemed great. If i would have been able to track down this problem during my research i would have found another SUV.

[bytor]

The power steering hose in my Mo failed at about 60k. I took it to a shop that makes hydraulic hoses, and they fixed it for $60. We're at 130 k miles now, and although everything else on the car has broken, the hose is still fine .

[jetdriver]

I just had my 2003 hi-pressure power steering hose replaced at the Dealer also. Luckily I also had a 15% discount from being a Costco Executive club member.
Still cost me over $500.

[markd]

sorry to bring this one back from the dead, but our 07 just started making a horrendous amount of noise, and I noticed a slight 'skip' in the steering when rotating the wheel to full lock on either side. After checking everything out, I found that the power steering fluid level was very very low. What's disheartening is that over the past year I've had a ton of service done on the vehicle, both at a Nissan dealership and a reputable mechanic (local Firestone Service Center).

At 84k on it right now, in the last year I've done:

Lower Control Arms
Both front hubs/wheel bearings
Tie Rod Ends
Rotors/Pads
Oil Pan Gasket
...and lots of just standard maintenance (oil changes, radiator flush, etc)

I'm into this beast for over $3k now between parts and labor, and now I'm faced with at the very least a leaky high pressure power steering hose, but due to the noise it was making, I'm crossing my fingers that I didn't ruin the pump and/or rack. This is my wife's vehicle, and the only vehicle I don't work on myself.

Never have I ever been so disappointed with a vehicle in my life. I've owned a handful of Nissan's before, and came from an Infiniti QX-4 before the Murano. The Infiniti (ie. Pathfinder) was victim of the notorious front left inner fender splitting open like a sardine can, which apparently is a very common problem among those vehicles.

...and now I have this maintenance monster of a Murano.

At 84k with todays technology and quality standards, no vehicle should have as many rattles, squeaks, clunks, and mechanical failures as this lemon has had. ...and what makes it more difficult to stomach is the fact that all of my problems are in fact very common problems with this vehicle.

Shame on Nissan. I'm going to fix this, and within the next year, punt this terrible car off to a dealership and let someone else deal with its premature problems.

[Eric L.]

Originally Posted by markd

sorry to bring this one back from the dead, but our 07 just started making a horrendous amount of noise, and I noticed a slight 'skip' in the steering when rotating the wheel to full lock on either side. After checking everything out, I found that the power steering fluid level was very very low. What's disheartening is that over the past year I've had a ton of service done on the vehicle, both at a Nissan dealership and a reputable mechanic (local Firestone Service Center).

At 84k on it right now, in the last year I've done:

Lower Control Arms
Both front hubs/wheel bearings
Tie Rod Ends
Rotors/Pads
Oil Pan Gasket
...and lots of just standard maintenance (oil changes, radiator flush, etc)

I'm into this beast for over $3k now between parts and labor, and now I'm faced with at the very least a leaky high pressure power steering hose, but due to the noise it was making, I'm crossing my fingers that I didn't ruin the pump and/or rack. This is my wife's vehicle, and the only vehicle I don't work on myself.

Never have I ever been so disappointed with a vehicle in my life. I've owned a handful of Nissan's before, and came from an Infiniti QX-4 before the Murano. The Infiniti (ie. Pathfinder) was victim of the notorious front left inner fender splitting open like a sardine can, which apparently is a very common problem among those vehicles.

...and now I have this maintenance monster of a Murano.

At 84k with todays technology and quality standards, no vehicle should have as many rattles, squeaks, clunks, and mechanical failures as this lemon has had. ...and what makes it more difficult to stomach is the fact that all of my problems are in fact very common problems with this vehicle.

Shame on Nissan. I'm going to fix this, and within the next year, punt this terrible car off to a dealership and let someone else deal with its premature problems.

All of your maintenance items are, well, maintenance items... i.e. items that are expected to experience wear and require replacement during the lifetime of a vehicle. Sure the power steering leak is probably something other cars do not experience with only 84k on the clock, but the leaky high pressure hose is a known common issue with the vehicle even as far back as 2007 when your vehicle was new. As a result, I'm not sure I would call your vehicle a "lemon" which implies an inordinate number of mechanical failures, of which your vehicle has not experienced.

[markd]

Originally Posted by Eric L.

All of your maintenance items are, well, maintenance items... i.e. items that are expected to experience wear and require replacement during the lifetime of a vehicle. Sure the power steering leak is probably something other cars do not experience with only 84k on the clock, but the leaky high pressure hose is a known common issue with the vehicle even as far back as 2007 when your vehicle was new. As a result, I'm not sure I would call your vehicle a "lemon" which implies an inordinate number of mechanical failures, of which your vehicle has not experienced.

I do agree, perhaps "lemon" is not the right word, but a history of premature failure of parts is not a bad descriptor here. I had a Mazda Protege which I just sold after 7 years of owning it, and bought it with 25k and sold it with 180k. Never had any power steering hose failures, all ball joints on the control arms and tie rod ends were still pretty tight, and the car held an alignment pin straight.

Even the 97 QX-4, my 00 Dakota and my 03 Wrangler easily hit 80+k without even thinking about ball joints, control arms, hubs/bearings, and p/s hoses. The creaks and squeaks are a bit unnerving as well. All in all, the Murano seems to me like all they did was adapt an Altima chassis to this sheet metal. There doesn't seem to be too much care taken in beefing up the brakes, and running gear to handle the added weight and higher CoG. Brakes and front suspension parts are notorious on this vehicle for not lasting anywhere near as long as one would expect of a newer vehicle.

I will admit though, that it's a relatively comfortable car with decent driving dynamics, and is well appointed for the money. The CVT is a disaster, but that extends well beyond just the Murano in the Nissan/Infiniti realm.

You're right though, this vehicle is hardly a lemon, but the maintenance required to keep it in good mechanical condition is a bit more than I would have expected.

[xigjwkjkljf323]

our left control arm is bad, and the two front wheel hubs are gone. we already fixed the broken seat, power steering line, right control arm, leaking seals. we dont know if we are going to fix this car or not.

is there anything i can expect to break down if i decide to fix those last three things myself? (2 wheel hubs and driver's LCA)

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by xigjwkjkljf323

our left control arm is bad, and the two front wheel hubs are gone. we already fixed the broken seat, power steering line, right control arm, leaking seals. we dont know if we are going to fix this car or not.

is there anything i can expect to break down if i decide to fix those last three things myself? (2 wheel hubs and driver's LCA)

With those items done, I think you will have covered the most common failure items discussed here. The hubs shouldn't be too bad...once you do the first one, the second will go much more quickly.