Yep, just happened to me this morning. I was adjusting the air pressure and a valve cap rolled under to the very center and hardest position to reach. Gremlins...
Can we talk about how the Murano is trash to work on under the hood?
Hi everyone!
Been on here for a short while now and its just dawned on me how difficult it really is to work under the hood of the murano. I have had to do a couple jobs so far and can't help but feel like I would never buy a Nissan again because of it.
I realize many brands and models don't take space into account, however, Nissan and this murano in particular have got to be the most poorly designed piece of trash I have ever had to work on. Don't get me wrong, its not bad quality but the thought process that must have went into where to locate parts under the hood is the worst I have ever seen. I actually hate it! 😆
I wouldn't mind if the engineer that designed the engine bay, choked on a bologna sandwich and no-one was around to give him/her the heimlich!
Thanks for letting me vent!
Been on here for a short while now and its just dawned on me how difficult it really is to work under the hood of the murano. I have had to do a couple jobs so far and can't help but feel like I would never buy a Nissan again because of it.
I realize many brands and models don't take space into account, however, Nissan and this murano in particular have got to be the most poorly designed piece of trash I have ever had to work on. Don't get me wrong, its not bad quality but the thought process that must have went into where to locate parts under the hood is the worst I have ever seen. I actually hate it! 😆
I wouldn't mind if the engineer that designed the engine bay, choked on a bologna sandwich and no-one was around to give him/her the heimlich!
Thanks for letting me vent!
41 - 54 of 54 Posts
I don't recall exactly what it was, but on my 1st Gen I had accidentally dropped a speciality bolt somewhere around the rear of the engine (driver's side), forward (i.e. grille-side) of the throttle body and I used intense lighting and various inspection mirrors and I just couldn't seem to locate it. Finally, I found it tucked "way under" something in a pocket of grime, and I had to fashion something special to retrieve it. Wasted about 30 minutes. It must have bounced upward and sideways in order to get into that pocket. I was looking in all the wrong but reasonable places.I seem to spend a lot of time looking for a part that I dropped... It never ceases to amaze me how quickly something can seem to disappear...
One time (1st Gen), the black coolant reservior cap slipped and fell between the fender and the plastic container, and I had to remove nearly everything in that space in order to get it back. From that moment on, I used a piece of foam pipe wrap to wedge into that space so the cap could never fall in there again.
Yeah, "things" seem to find the most inconspicuous, hard-to-reach areas to fall into or behind. When I drop something small while in the garage, it usually rolls dead-center under the car so that I can't reach it without using a broom or getting down and dirty.
Yep again. When I replaced my battery a couple of months ago the right side battery hold-down post made a swoosh type noise when I removed the nut and as it slid down out of site clanking onto the bottom plastic cover. I thought it would be easy to find, but nope... It managed to find the most inconspicuous spot to hunker down into. I spent nearly half an hour removing push-pins holding that plastic shield on and reaching to feel for the post until I finally located the darn thing. It should have been held captively like the left side, but Nissan didn't provide that for some reason...
I had the same thing happen once. After that, I used a piece of duct tape on the difficult (left) side right where it meets the tray to make sure that threaded hook-rod couldn't drop down again. The one piece of tape worked for more than 10 years. I think I finally took it off after removing the battery tray to address a ground wire issue I had back in 2020. But it's possible I left the tape on.
I’ve done a lot on my 2006 over the last 12 years and share your frustration.Hi everyone!
Been on here for a short while now and its just dawned on me how difficult it really is to work under the hood of the murano. I have had to do a couple jobs so far and can't help but feel like I would never buy a Nissan again because of it.
I realize many brands and models don't take space into account, however, Nissan and this murano in particular have got to be the most poorly designed piece of trash I have ever had to work on. Don't get me wrong, its not bad quality but the thought process that must have went into where to locate parts under the hood is the worst I have ever seen. I actually hate it! 😆
I wouldn't mind if the engineer that designed the engine bay, choked on a bologna sandwich and no-one was around to give him/her the heimlich!
Thanks for letting me vent!
However, the best way to make more space in the engine bay would be to put a little 4 cylinder engine in there instead. And I know I wouldn’t want that!!
If you look at the engine and accessory layout inside a Ford Taurus, which is a transverse V-6, it is easy peasy compared to the repair access on a Murano. We own both (a 2006 Murano, and a 2003 Ford Taurus wagon). It's not just a matter of making things difficult for a DIY-er, either. Even if I take the Murano to my mechanic, I have to pay more because HE has to take more hours getting the stupid thing apart to make a repair. A trivial thing like the alternator, radiator, valve cover gaskets, or OH MY GOD... spark plugs or PCV valve. To have to pull the whole intake off to do any top-end minor parts repairs? That is outrageous. Heck, it's a pain in the rear just to change the headlight bulbs. Seriously? Headlight bulbs?
Vehicles are designed for assembly purposes more than servicing. I recall working on V8 Chevys and Buicks scraping knuckles removing plugs and heating hoses routed behind motors. Had to replace a emissions sensor on a Maxima that called for removing the intake manifold as per the manual. Thankfully a YouTube video showed a easier and faster way with a little help from Snapon tools.Yes its just sad. I wish they manufactured a vehicle with the DIYer in mind. It would def be a niche market at first but I think it would take off eventually. I understand parts last longer before needing changed these days and this says a lot. Take this murano for example if they would have just made the engine bay larger, it would have solved a ton of issues with clearances. Even the battery braket is so overengineered that it looks like an afterthought. As a matter of fact, everything in the engine bay looks like an after thought. I realize they design the vehicle around the engine but I counted 12 bolts to get just the battery and bracket out. 2 of which required getting under the vehicle to remove and even then it was tough to get a wrench in there. I think I just need a hobby build car, but do it differently. Build it to be a daily driver and not just a weekend warrior lol.
Nissan's design that requires pulling the intake manifold to replace the bank of spark plugs next to the firewall always seemed to me a shining example of poor design. It's also a problem with V6 engines placed transversely.
My sister had a Pontiac Ferio that never had one of its sparkplugs replaced. It was right up against the firewall.
Either remove enough to be able to lift the engine out of the bay enough to access that one sparkplug. Or you could drill an access hole behind the passenger's seat thru the firewall and change the plug with a long extension.
Problem with that one was firewall integrity was compromised unless the hole was welded back up, kind of hard to do without stripping the interior to prevent a fire from welding sparks.
Either way, it was several hundred dollars to change that one plug.
Needless to say, never had it done, and she sold it to a guy with full knowledge that the car had one sparkplug that was factory original with 120K+ miles on it. It idled well but suffered from poor acceleration and she had to drive the LI Expressway daily to NYC.
'74 Chevy vans with the 400 CI engine needed the passenger's tire removed and two 1-1/2" holes drilled thru the steel inner fender liner to change the two rear sparkplugs. No other way to access them.
Have a good day.
Either remove enough to be able to lift the engine out of the bay enough to access that one sparkplug. Or you could drill an access hole behind the passenger's seat thru the firewall and change the plug with a long extension.
Problem with that one was firewall integrity was compromised unless the hole was welded back up, kind of hard to do without stripping the interior to prevent a fire from welding sparks.
Either way, it was several hundred dollars to change that one plug.
Needless to say, never had it done, and she sold it to a guy with full knowledge that the car had one sparkplug that was factory original with 120K+ miles on it. It idled well but suffered from poor acceleration and she had to drive the LI Expressway daily to NYC.
'74 Chevy vans with the 400 CI engine needed the passenger's tire removed and two 1-1/2" holes drilled thru the steel inner fender liner to change the two rear sparkplugs. No other way to access them.
Have a good day.
There was a rumor that changing plugs in the 70's Chevy Monza required jacking up the engine to reach the driver's side rear plug. Not true, as I owned a '77 Monza Spyder with the 305 V8 and it was not that hard to reach, although it required a swivel joint. I should note that my Monza didn't have power brakes, which might have complicated it a bit.
I ended up removing the battery because the lower hose clamp orientation and not having the special clamp tool. There was like 12 bolts to remove the battery and bracket. Two of which I had to fight under the car to barely get at.Why don't people ever place a piece of cardboard in front of the condenser to protect it from being scratched? It's such an easy thing to do to deter the fins from becoming damaged. The guy in the latest video contacts the condenser a number of times while removing things, and you can see how scraped up the front is. A better process, though. I like that he removed the latching mech prior to installing the new radiator, as opposed to Pryman's method of struggling with it as it got in the way all the time. I also liked that he removed the battery. While watching the first video, I was thinking I'd remove the battery to gain some elbow room.
If nothing else productive was accomplished here, atleast we all have an opportunity to vent. I feel better knowing I am not the only one who may have felt this way. Also, it was an opportunity to understand the reasons why the murano can be challenging to work on under the hood. I appreciate everyone's concerns and criticisms, even if they were to defend Nissan. Its always good to get a fresh perspective.
Murano was the only transverse engine vehicle I have ever owned. I agree, it was a pain in the butt to work on. My BMW inline-six 3-series are definitely easier to work on.Hi everyone!
Been on here for a short while now and its just dawned on me how difficult it really is to work under the hood of the murano. I have had to do a couple jobs so far and can't help but feel like I would never buy a Nissan again because of it.
I realize many brands and models don't take space into account, however, Nissan and this murano in particular have got to be the most poorly designed piece of trash I have ever had to work on. Don't get me wrong, its not bad quality but the thought process that must have went into where to locate parts under the hood is the worst I have ever seen. I actually hate it! 😆
I wouldn't mind if the engineer that designed the engine bay, choked on a bologna sandwich and no-one was around to give him/her the heimlich!
Thanks for letting me vent!
41 - 54 of 54 Posts
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