2009 Murano Occasional dead battery

[BillArf]

Originally Posted by Halwg

Go to Sam's or Costco and spend $70 for a new battery and be done with it. I can't understand all the whining over a battery. I routinely replace my battery every 2 - 3 years so I don't have these problems. Car batteries are as cheap as cell phone batteries (and they do wear out folks!), so why all consternation about replacing a battery?

Halwg ... Absolutely nonsensical to tell a new vehicle owner (5 months ownership of a new 2011 Murano SL) to go buy a battery @ Costco... Then you pile on him and imply he is whining. Halwg, I suggest you go back and read all your recent / past posts you have been making on this forum and rethink / realize that your posts are for the most parts (99.9%) negative / useless / crapola! Why post if you have nothing positive / productive to add to a topic. NO, you can't use the sense of humor card to explain away your posts.

To the Murano owner.... Take your Murano to the dealership and let them replace the battery or whatever is necessary. You are under warranty. You may have a problematic battery but chances are great that you or your Wife inadvertently left the Murano in a state whereby the battery became depleted. Do know that the Murano is not known to have issues in regard to battery depletion. Yes, batteries die prematurely with any vehicle and users leave ignition on, etc. but no known issues with battery depletion for say unknown reasons.

.

[nitely]

[/B]

To the Murano owner.... Take your Murano to the dealership and let them replace the battery or whatever is necessary. You are under warranty. You may have a problematic battery but chances are great that you or your Wife inadvertently left the Murano in a state whereby the battery became depleted. Do know that the Murano is not known to have issues in regard to battery depletion. Yes, batteries die prematurely with any vehicle and users leave ignition on, etc. but no known issues with battery depletion for say unknown reasons.

.[/quote]

They maybe be hit by the pro rated charge at this point. Why pay for that and get the same kind of battery? Try costco or any other place if dealer is gonna be charging for battery replacement.

[BillArf]

nitely .......

The vehicle owner should have the vehicle checked at the dealership. Aside from the dead battery the vehicle may now need some relearning (throttle, etc) as has been discussed here in other topic areas..

I'd think that the battery would be fully covered under warranty since the vehicle is only 5 months old. Agreed though... if the dealer says the owner will have to pay for a battery then yes, buy a superior battery at Sears, etc..

[hokey777]

Give the dealer a chance to fix it (FOR FREE ONLY). It's possible you just got a bad battery, or one that developed a short inside.

[gitee]

Originally Posted by BillArf

Halwg ... Absolutely nonsensical to tell a new vehicle owner (5 months ownership of a new 2011 Murano SL) to go buy a battery @ Costco... Then you pile on him and imply he is whining. Halwg, I suggest you go back and read all your recent / past posts you have been making on this forum and rethink / realize that your posts are for the most parts (99.9%) negative / useless / crapola! Why post if you have nothing positive / productive to add to a topic. NO, you can't use the sense of humor card to explain away your posts.

.

[Suter]

Well, the problem for me is not what battery I put in or $70 spent in Costco for a much better battery. I just don't have time during the week to deal with the dealer. And on Saturdays my local dealer does "oil changes" only (wft?)...

No matter the warranty on Nissan's battery I've put in a new one from Costco yesterday evening. The car is alive again but still doesn't start. I tried all the unlock procedures I've found here but still no go. The new battery survived the night.

I called the dealer this morning and towing seems to be the only option, but the closest they can look at it is Monday. And the towing will be on me.

The warranty says that Nissan covers towing in case there is failure to the warranted part. I'm not sure how the batteries are treated in this regard. the dealer said if I don't have the extended warranty I pay for towing :/

[Pilgrim]

If it won't start, how is it behaving?

Does it turn over?

Does not not even turn over?

If it does not turn over, do you get a click from the solenoid when you try to engage the starter?

Does it turn over and attempt to start, but will not run when the starter is released?

"Won't start" doesn't provide much info.

[Suter]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

If it won't start, how is it behaving?
Does it turn over?
Does not not even turn over?
If it does not turn over, do you get a click from the solenoid when you try to engage the starter?
Does it turn over and attempt to start, but will not run when the starter is released?
"Won't start" doesn't provide much info.

There was a very quiet trickling for about 2 seconds from the engine when I was trying to start it, but I wouldn't call it clicking like a bad starter clicking. It was coming somewhere from behind driver's side front wheel, under the air filter.

I finally got the car towed to a different dealer in the morning. I just called them and the service manager told me it's a bad break switch. They have to order it and it should be ready on Tuesday.

I'm not sure how bad break switch could drain the battery, but we'll find out on Tuesday.

The new RDX looks pretty nice...

[red kiosk]

The switch on the brake pedal is one of many switches that the car checks in the shut-down sequence. When you shut the car off, it's really still draining the battery for something like 5-7 minutes. Maybe that's what draining the battery OR a bad brake switch is not showing that you have depressed the brake pedal for a proper start. Let us know exactly what the problem is. Take care!

Jim

[Pilgrim]

Brake switches can be tricky. On some, if the switch does NOT close, the circuit remains active and therefore can drain the battery. I can't speak to the circuit setup on the Murano, but on the 280ZX series a "plunger" or extended tab on the brake switch must be depressed to turn off. There's a plastic insert in the brake pedal which must be in place to depress that plunger when the brake pedal is released and returns to its parked position. If the insert falls out, the plunger is not depressed when the brake pedal is released, the brake lights remain on, and the battery will drain in a few hours.

That kind of thing is not intuitive but it does happen in some cars. I could see how a related thing could take place in other, newer cars.

Originally Posted by Suter

There was a very quiet trickling for about 2 seconds from the engine when I was trying to start it, but I wouldn't call it clicking like a bad starter clicking. It was coming somewhere from behind driver's side front wheel, under the air filter.

That sounds to me like a solenoid trying to activate the starter but failing to do so. Usually the cause of that is a low battery.

[Suter]

Thanks guys for the explanations about break switch.

The break lights were not on on the night before the car died.

I'll keep you posted.

[Suter]

Got a call from the service this morning that the car is fixed and ready.

The break switch theory turned out to be wrong. They said they actually didn't know what happened to the car and replaced the starter. We'll see how long it will last.

[richardl321]

We've had the intermittent issue with the battery for the last 4-5 months and after replacing it with a higher CCA type battery have not had a problem.

I replaced the original Battery at 84,630 miles. I think most of our issue was that we used to reside in a warm climate area and now in the Denver area and the wife's drive to/from work is a ton shorter and we drive it less. Anyways, just wanted to chime in and let you guys know it happens but I guess we were fortunate and seem to have gotten a ton more mileage out of our OEM battery than some who have posted.

This is our 2nd Murano (2004/2009) and wife loves hers. Our 6th Nissan (well 5 + 1 Inifinity) and we've been really pleased with all of them.

[KJSmitty]

I'm really not sure whats up with the battery issues in the Mo's. I'm an old Nissan tech from a while back, worked at a dealer for 8 years etc. I don't claim to know the current systems yet am still pretty knowledgable with vehicles. I've checked our 09 Mo and for the life of me don't know why it loves batteries the way it does. Ours is an 09 LE with 60+K miles and we are on our 4th battery.. Nissan found nothing wrong with the first two other than they said the battery was bad. Same with the last two over the counter batteries purchased and installed by me.
I definitely wouldn't rule out a charging system issue yet I'm more inclined to think its just todays mediocre batteries. I don't buy the best yet rather just ensure they have a free replacement warranty of 2-3 years etc. That way I'm actually only paying for a battery every 4 years....

[red kiosk]

What's your daily driving length? If it's short, multiple trips, that's your problem. Battery doesn't have the time to charge up fully after each start and lengthly shutdown procedure. I purchased one of those BatteryMinder chargers and just plug it in overnight once a week. My first battery (early 09 LE) lasted only a year and a half, the replacement with the weekly BatteryMinder procedure is still going strong. Hope this helps and take care!

Jim