I have a 2015 Murano Platinum that I purchased in November of 2015, now six and a half years ago. It has just 46,000 miles on it. If I’m honest, I’ve loved it. My son is a general auto technician and he’s helped me take very good care of my car. It didn’t need a whole lot more than oil changes and whatnot until last fall, when I was told it needed rear shocks and new tires. Not a surprise. A month or two ago I noticed it would occasionally do a weird hesitation thing where I would hit the gas and the engine would go, but the car would not, and it would just continue to coast. If I let completely off the gas and pressed the pedal again then everything was fine. I mentioned this to my son and he suggested I take it to an actual Nissan dealer and get a CVT transmission flush. I live in a rural area and the nearest Nissan dealer is 45 mins away, but it was the only way to be sure it was done right and actually flushed and not just drained and refilled. Before I could get a service appointment though, the car started to do a weird shuddering and clunking thing (which could be felt through the floor), but only at low speed and light or no acceleration, like when driving down a neighborhood street. Around town and on the highway it’s fine.
I finally got a service appointment last week and made the trek to my local dealer. I explained the issues and asked them to do a transmission diagnostic and a flush. A couple hours later they called and said they wouldn’t do a flush because it wouldn’t fix the problem, and the diagnostic showed that I needed a new transmission (“CVT assembly, exhaust gaskets, dipstick o-ring” and “module reprogramming”j at a cost of $4928. What???
I was informed that the warranty had expired (5 years or 60,000 miles)a that was that. After a small tirade, I was given the phone number for Nissan Consumer Affairs and I opened a case with them. 2 days later I was told all of the CVT warranty extensions didn’t apply to the Murano, and when I complained that surely the transmission should last more than 46,000 miles shouldn’t it (???) I was told that I was “fixated on the mileage” (uh … yes. Yes I am.) and ignoring the 6 and a half years part (sorry, I’ve been stuck working remote/from home for the last 2 years due to COVID). I asked if Nissan was really saying that their CVT transmissions really shouldn’t be expected to last more than 46,000 miles because if so, how could I ever be expected to purchase another Nissan, and the conversation shifted to there being the possibility of a “goodwill” credit (where Nissan would pay for half perhaps), but I didn’t qualify for that because Nissan had not seen my car for regular maintenance, and with no service history they didn’t know how well the car had been serviced/maintained and therefore they were unwilling to extend any sort of credit. I told them I could supply all of the maintenance receipts (my son did oil changes and cabin filter replacements and whatever else at the shop(s) he worked at, never DIY changes in the driveway or anything … though I would think I should have the right to do so if I wished) and I was told that wasn’t good enough and Nissan would have to have the service records themselves. That was that then, and she wished me a good day.
Soooo now what?? Blue book on the car is $20K. Do I trade it in, do some research, and get something else (not another Nissan!) or do I begrudging drop $5K on a new CVT? Will a new one better designed or will they have to replace the crappy one with another new but still crappy one (which I think will only have a 1 year warranty — unless someone thinks it should have a 5 year/60,000 mi again).
I finally got a service appointment last week and made the trek to my local dealer. I explained the issues and asked them to do a transmission diagnostic and a flush. A couple hours later they called and said they wouldn’t do a flush because it wouldn’t fix the problem, and the diagnostic showed that I needed a new transmission (“CVT assembly, exhaust gaskets, dipstick o-ring” and “module reprogramming”j at a cost of $4928. What???
I was informed that the warranty had expired (5 years or 60,000 miles)a that was that. After a small tirade, I was given the phone number for Nissan Consumer Affairs and I opened a case with them. 2 days later I was told all of the CVT warranty extensions didn’t apply to the Murano, and when I complained that surely the transmission should last more than 46,000 miles shouldn’t it (???) I was told that I was “fixated on the mileage” (uh … yes. Yes I am.) and ignoring the 6 and a half years part (sorry, I’ve been stuck working remote/from home for the last 2 years due to COVID). I asked if Nissan was really saying that their CVT transmissions really shouldn’t be expected to last more than 46,000 miles because if so, how could I ever be expected to purchase another Nissan, and the conversation shifted to there being the possibility of a “goodwill” credit (where Nissan would pay for half perhaps), but I didn’t qualify for that because Nissan had not seen my car for regular maintenance, and with no service history they didn’t know how well the car had been serviced/maintained and therefore they were unwilling to extend any sort of credit. I told them I could supply all of the maintenance receipts (my son did oil changes and cabin filter replacements and whatever else at the shop(s) he worked at, never DIY changes in the driveway or anything … though I would think I should have the right to do so if I wished) and I was told that wasn’t good enough and Nissan would have to have the service records themselves. That was that then, and she wished me a good day.
Soooo now what?? Blue book on the car is $20K. Do I trade it in, do some research, and get something else (not another Nissan!) or do I begrudging drop $5K on a new CVT? Will a new one better designed or will they have to replace the crappy one with another new but still crappy one (which I think will only have a 1 year warranty — unless someone thinks it should have a 5 year/60,000 mi again).
