Super Senior Member

Registered: Jan 2004
Location:
Posts: 529

From Nissan North America . . .

2003 – 2005 Murano Alternator Voluntary Safety Recall Campaign

Background

Nissan will be conducting a voluntary safety recall campaign on selected 2003-2005 model year Murano vehicles for a potential wire failure within the alternator.

Affected Vehicles

Distributor Model Model Year Approximate Build

Date Range Approximate

Number of Vehicles
NNA Murano 2005 April 8, 2002 (SOP) – September 24, 2004 125,500
NCI Murano 2005 April 8, 2002 (SOP) – September 24, 2004 15,300
Total 140,800


Affected Markets

This voluntary safety recall campaign only affects vehicles sold in the U.S. and Canada.

Reason for Action

An open circuit in the alternator can occur due to wire fatigue caused by movement of the rotor coil during rapid changes in engine speed in vehicles equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

When an open circuit occurs in the alternator, the charge warning and brake warning lamps come on. If a driver does not seek repair of the vehicle immediately as instructed in the Owners Manual and continues to drive the vehicle in this condition, the vehicle will operate normally for about one hour. After this time period, the battery voltage will drop to a level that causes the engine control module to go into a fail safe mode. During fail safe mode, which lasts about ten minutes, vehicle speed will be reduced due to the throttle plate being held in a fixed position. After this time period, the engine will stop running. The fail safe mode provides a second obvious warning to the driver that there is a problem and that the driver should pull off the road as soon as possible and stop driving the vehicle. The actual speed of the vehicle will depend upon the speed of the vehicle when it went into the fail safe mode, the operation of the throttle pedal by the driver and the slope of the road. In some cases, vehicle speed during the fail safe mode may not be adequate to allow a driver to move safely to the side of the road or to exit a highway.

To date there have been no injuries related to this situation.

Nissan Action

Nissan will send owner notification letters beginning in August 2005 informing customers to bring their vehicle to a Nissan dealer for inspection. If necessary, the alternator will be replaced with a new version which has been modified to prevent movement of the coil.

Key Questions

Are other Nissan/Infiniti vehicles affected? No

Has NHTSA and Transport Canada been notified? Yes, DIR submitted

When will customers be contacted? August 2005

Have there been any injuries related to this issue? No

Does this affect vehicles in dealer inventory? Yes


Added by Eric L.: It's official. I've confirmed this as well with my contact at NHTSA. Nissan filed an official 573 recall notification July 12, 2005. Thanks to all Murano owners who contributed to NHTSA's recall investigation.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Super Senior Member

Registered: Jul 2003
Location: Chitown
Posts: 790

Outstanding!!!

__________________
Dave
'06 Altima SE-R
'03 Murano Black SL AWD (Sold)
'01 S10 ZQ8 (For Sale)
'93 4Runner SR5

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Stealth Mod

Registered: Dec 2002
Location: Toronto, Eh!
Posts: 4655

Whoo Hoooooo!!!! Now that's a STICKY!!!

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Stealth Mod

Registered: Dec 2002
Location: Toronto, Eh!
Posts: 4655

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jim C
Does this affect vehicles in dealer inventory? Yes

---

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Super Senior Member

Registered: Mar 2004
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 757

I wanted to thank everyone who reported the Alternator failures to the NHTSA . Obviously the consumers (us) had a very strong impact on forcing Nissan to face up to the problem. To all the Guys and Gals on this forum and the FA forum who reported the failures :

pcs15394 has attached this image:

__________________
Sean
I Miss my :04 Midnight Blue SL , Tinted Front Windows, Chrome SL Wheels, Rear Bumper protector, SS Aries Step Bars, and Push Bar.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Stealth Mod

Registered: Dec 2002
Location: Toronto, Eh!
Posts: 4655

A special thanks to Eric and zofsuvs for their relentless attention to this...

I've never had the fault, but it's good to know there's a chance I never will, if it's replaced/repaired under the recall.

Job well done!!!!!



And thanks to Jim C. for breaking the news!!!! You know we would all hug you, but then we'd have to talk about sports immediately after and go drink beer.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Apr 2003
Location: Olathe, KS
Posts: 773

That's good news, its always been in the back of my mind when it was going to happen.
Especially since I'm approaching 36k miles & purchased my MO back in March 03!

But what is the difference between an NNA Murano & a NCI Murano?

__________________
10 Infiniti QX56 4WD
03 Murano SL AWD SS - FOR SALE
08 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited
01 Spyder GT Saronno Red
05 Subaru Impreza RS Sport AWD #1 son
02 Nissan Sentra #2 son
79 Olds Cutlass original owner & 1st car w/ 74k miles
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/810560/1

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Super Senior Member

Registered: Jan 2004
Location:
Posts: 529

NNA = Nissan North America - generally the U.S., including territories
NCI = Nissan Canada, Inc. - Canada and its territories.

Differences between the vehicles are minor (e.g., metric speedo/odo).

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Jun 2005
Location:
Posts: 4

How do we find out if our replacements are the new and improved alternator?

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Member

Registered: Jul 2005
Location: Los Angeles area
Posts: 81

Got a link to official press release or something on a Nissan site? I'm guessing that unless I bring proof with me, my dealer is going to deny that there is a recall...right up until they mail out the notices.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Stealth Mod

Registered: Dec 2002
Location: Toronto, Eh!
Posts: 4655

I would expect that the only proof that would be acceptable initially, would be the letter. That should be enough to keep them busy, and then they'll take care of the others that haven't received theirs.

Must be a bit of a nightmare dealing with the expected onrush, so they might meter out the letters so the dealers don't all of a sudden have tons of people lined up. (and no stock.)

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 3907

And some thought it wouldn't happen..... hats off to Nissan for doing the right thing... finally.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Champaign, IL
Posts: 7660

*clap clap clap clap*

At last!!!

__________________
2003 Midnight Blue SE AWD w/VDC
Colgan Bra, Mobil One, JWT POP charger
PAC aux input adapter, hardwired Escort Passport x50, KUDA mount for MP3 player, Porterfield R4S brake pads (now Akebono ProACT), ATE Superblue
Yokohama Geolandar HTS 265/60/18 (much improved over stock Goodyears)
Lots of squeaks and rattles.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Aug 2004
Location: San Jose, Ca
Posts: 4566

Finally! Now we can have the alternator taken care of and go on long trips without worry....

Wonder if Nissan will refund the cost of repair to those who had to pay out of warrnty?

__________________
2004 SL AWD - Super Black - Leather Package (Café latte) - Tow Package - Floor Mats - Splash Guards - Cargo Area Protector - Rear Bumper Protector - Front Window Tint - Dawn Color Matched Body Side Molding – Day Time Running Lights - PAC-NIS1 Aux Audio input - Pressure Pro TPMS and Anti Theft Sensor Locks - 7" Xenarc VGA Touchscreen - Compaq EVO e-PC 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 Carputer with 120GB HD, DSATX PSU / Shutdown Controller, Road Runner Front End, iGuidance 3.0 Navigation, DVD player, Internet access, XM satellite radio, Deluo GPS receiver, Linksys WiFi Antenna, TERK XM antenna - Tweeter 22uF CAP mod - Magnetbra - Custom Backup Camera - Aries Polished Stainless Steel Sidestep (nerf) Bars - Euro-Tech Nudge Bar - Homemade Lower Grill Cover - Auxiliary Projection Fog Lamps - Aluminum Fuel Tank Shields - Wade Window Deflectors - Nissan Sunroof Deflector - Scosche UBRH Bluetooth Hands-Free Car Kit

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Mar 2004
Location: Seattle Area
Posts: 1970

I'll join everyone in saying thanks to everyone that reported the problem and to everyone that kept nagging everyone to report the problem. My mom was right, nagging DOES pay off eventually!

I'm very thankful that this came out BEFORE I had any problems. I'll have to check and see if mine needs it. If not, gives me peace of mind. If so, I'm heading out to my GOOD dealer to do the work, even though he's 100 miles away!

Of course, I'm heading out camping again this weekend, so hopefully it won't fail on me at that time...

__________________
~ Corin

----------------------------------------
2005 MO SL AWD, Platinum w/ Charcoal Cloth, Sunroof Pkg, Tow Pkg, XM Sat, StonGard, Stainless "Z" Grill, air horns, ipod magic box, Garmin c320, Carseat
2008 Zap Xebra Electric Car (with many upgrades)
1998 Chevy Prism LSI (hey, it works)
And many more @ www.MyOtherCar.com

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged