While my car was in the shop for alternator, I had them check the seat. They confirmed the issue and ordered seat rails and a part of the seat back they said was bent. They will call me when the parts are in...

 

Many issues

I have an 03 Murano SL AWD and have had an alarming number of problems that the dealer refuses to address or are able to reproduce (my eye!!) .

I wish I had seen this site before I dumped a ton of cash on this noisy, hard riding, gas guzzling (nowhere near the mileage reported on the window sticker), seat, door and window popping and clicking but cool looking crossover. I should of held out for the RX400. . . .

Now with preimum gas near $3 a gallon in Michigan, I'll be hard pressed to sell this without taking a beating.

I hope others see this site before it is too late for them.

Mia

 

Seat Update!!!!

Well after 5 (yes 5) visits to two differnt dealers they fixed it. They also trashed my door in the process but that is a different story.

The problem was a bar of some sort and the service advisor was unclear/unsure of the specifics and at this point I'm so happy, I don't care.

YEA!!!

Mia

 

I'm so happy, I don't care.

YEA!!!

Mia

Its amazing what a couple of months driving a MO can do. Glad you are happy now.

FYI you do NOT have to use Premium gas with the MO.... feel free to use 87 without any worry of damage to your engine.

 

Re: Re: Second Time

Good info on the popping noise. I've been hearing that since my rocking chair was fixed (with a new seat lifter assembly). It doesn't rock anymore but it creaks and pops on turns (esp right turns). I'll check out the plastic cover.

So, after complaining to the dealership about my "rocking seat" after getting my MO in July '04, and being told there was a TSB for '03s seats and not '04s I kinda gave up

Then I saw all of the TSBs here, and found one that addressed the Driver's seat of '04s, along with the Brake/Rotor TSB. I brought it in this summer to take care of both of those TSBs and the alternator recall.

Alternator? Check
Brakes/Rotors? Check

Drivers seat? check.. or so I thought...

The Rocking stopped, but all of a sudden, the seat is making this squeaking noise, like an old mattress as I shift or adjust in the seat, or even going over mild bumps. AND, the memory seat functions no longer functioned...

(My situation is challenging b/c I bought the car in NY where my family lives and where I am for the summer, but I live in Boston during the year)

I brought my MO in for an oilchange and mentioned the seat squeaking to the Dealer in MA... He told me that he'd rather not deal with other dealers dirty work... (Nice huh?)... but would if I insisted... I figured...since i"M goin to NY, I'd make an appointment... They took it in, and said they'd have to order a part for the seat track... They disabled the memory seat temporarily, and told me they'd have the part w/ in a week... I happened to be headed back to NY then, so no prob.

I dropped off my MO at 9AM, got a rental, courtesy of the extended warranty, and by 4:45, hadn't heard from them... showed up and lo and behold, they have to order another part, they addressed a "control unit" under the seat, but said it appeared to be another "control unit" under the dash, and they will order the part and hold it until I return to NY again.

Anyone know anything about this? Am I being unnecessarily aggravated and inconvenienced? In lay man terms, what might be the cause of what's happening?

In the big picture? I love my MO, I"m comfortable driving it, and have really gotten a sense of satisfaction in owning it.. However, the stupid things... the brakes/rotors (being told by one dealership that they're not covered, finding the TSB and then having them replaced under the TSB)... the Driver's Seat (finding the TSB etc...) the radio head unit (replaced 3x already)... I don't get it ! I've got 25K miles on it, and hope to keep it till at least 100K, I'd say longer, but given the track record, I don't know if keeping it past my warranty makes sense..

Any help/feedback would be greatly appreciated

-Bar

 

Re: Re: Re: Second Time

This is typical of Nissan dealership service departments. They tend to throw parts at the problem without more than a cursory diagnosis, and this can sometimes lead to them needing to order more parts if the original diagnosis was incorrect. You have a loaner car (my dealership just has a smelly shuttle van), so just let them replace whatever they like to get your seat working again.

So, after complaining to the dealership about my "rocking seat" after getting my MO in July '04, and being told there was a TSB for '03s seats and not '04s I kinda gave up

Then I saw all of the TSBs here, and found one that addressed the Driver's seat of '04s, along with the Brake/Rotor TSB. I brought it in this summer to take care of both of those TSBs and the alternator recall.

Alternator? Check
Brakes/Rotors? Check

Drivers seat? check.. or so I thought...

The Rocking stopped, but all of a sudden, the seat is making this squeaking noise, like an old mattress as I shift or adjust in the seat, or even going over mild bumps. AND, the memory seat functions no longer functioned...

(My situation is challenging b/c I bought the car in NY where my family lives and where I am for the summer, but I live in Boston during the year)

I brought my MO in for an oilchange and mentioned the seat squeaking to the Dealer in MA... He told me that he'd rather not deal with other dealers dirty work... (Nice huh?)... but would if I insisted... I figured...since i"M goin to NY, I'd make an appointment... They took it in, and said they'd have to order a part for the seat track... They disabled the memory seat temporarily, and told me they'd have the part w/ in a week... I happened to be headed back to NY then, so no prob.

I dropped off my MO at 9AM, got a rental, courtesy of the extended warranty, and by 4:45, hadn't heard from them... showed up and lo and behold, they have to order another part, they addressed a "control unit" under the seat, but said it appeared to be another "control unit" under the dash, and they will order the part and hold it until I return to NY again.

Anyone know anything about this? Am I being unnecessarily aggravated and inconvenienced? In lay man terms, what might be the cause of what's happening?

In the big picture? I love my MO, I"m comfortable driving it, and have really gotten a sense of satisfaction in owning it.. However, the stupid things... the brakes/rotors (being told by one dealership that they're not covered, finding the TSB and then having them replaced under the TSB)... the Driver's Seat (finding the TSB etc...) the radio head unit (replaced 3x already)... I don't get it ! I've got 25K miles on it, and hope to keep it till at least 100K, I'd say longer, but given the track record, I don't know if keeping it past my warranty makes sense..

Any help/feedback would be greatly appreciated

-Bar

 

TheBar2k - FYI watch the trim piece by the seat power switches.

When my dealer fixed the seat rocking with a "new" track assembly he broke the clips off of that trim bezel & it took 2 more trips to get that problem fixed.
One to id the problem that I told him about over the phone &
a 2nd trip of course to install the "new" piece he had to order.

But now the MO is fixed & out of warranty so from now on out its my nickle to get it fixed.

 

I took my car to two different dealers for the rocking chair issue. Both agreed there was a problem and ordered new parts. Neither one gave me a loaner or rental (my extended warranty is silver) so the one that actually got the business was the one that was able to take me to work and back on their shuttle! However, that one showed no TSBs for anything for my car either.

Fix was done last week and so far it is good. Hope it does not come back....

 

i took my car in last friday for the seat fix.
today, i noticed the rocking is much worst then before.
they even forgot to put back the over at the bottom of the seat.
now i have to go back again tomorrow. such a pain.

i love my mo, but these issues are driving me nuts.

 

do we have a poll on this website for number of visits to a dealer for rocking seat problems?

mine was "fixed" once. at least it felt more solid. but now, 5 months later it is sooooo looooose again

 

I alredy "fix" it once. It much worth then it was before. Dealer order the parts again and I need to go there for second "fix". Will see.......

 

My MO is currently in for the THIRD time for the seat track issue. I live in NY during the summer (where I bought it) and in Boston during the year. I brought it in in late Aug, to have the problem addressed with w/ a TSB that was posted earlier on this site. By Mid September the seat was in worse shape than before the Aug. "repair."

I went to a dealership up here in MA, and was told by the tech, "I'd prefer to not fix someone else's 'dirtywork'" I made an appointment for a repair in Oct, when I returned to NY for a weekend and they had a part ordered to install for when I came into town. After spending the day at the dealership, they said it wasn't the part they thought, and that there are two control modules, one in the seat and one under the dash, they would order the part and have it soon.

I wasn't able to get to NY until last week. I brought it in at 7Am on Friday. Yet again, the MO spent all day at the dealership, and by 3PM I was told it wasn't going to be ready. It is now Tuesday, and I haven't heard a word from Nissan. I"m in Boston again, borrowed my mom's car (the rental car that my warranty covers wasn't allowed to be driven out of state!?!) and will be returning to NY tomorrow for the holiday.

3 times for the problem, 2 of them being overnight stays. I am not quite sure what the problem really is, and am begining to lose patience. What is the problem? What really is going on? I've been inconvienced majorly and am not even sure what is wrong!? Surely there's more to it than they're letting on..

Well, if my MO isn't ready by tomorrow, I am going to return to Boston on Friday WITH the Rental and let Nissan NA deal w/ Enterprise as I my mother will be back in town and I won't be able to borrow her car again, and have to be back up here to work.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

 

UPDATE

My MO was returned the day b4 thanksgiving and guess what?

The seat is still not fixed...

Now its the "Memory Module" for the driver's seat memory. When pulling the key out, the seat slides back, like it should. But... when putting the key and turning the ignition, it doesn't move. when it should go back to the last recalled position. When pressing the 1 or 2 buttons, nothing happens to the seat, yet the lights blink. I turned the exit seat thing off b/c it got annoying having to reset my seat 10+ times a day..

The dealership said they'd call me when NNA (Cali) diagnoses what the prob is w/ the "mem module" and send the replacement part or whatever... Haven't heard.. have had the MO back for a week now... and nothing????

Not Cool!!!

(the dealership did comp my oil change though.. intereting change in customer service)

 

When the seat or any other component using the battery is worked on, they disconnect the battery. You may also notice your radio presets are erased.Did you try resetting your seat positions? Even after you do reset the position you'll have to drive a quarter mile or so for the setting to "take".I have had my drivers side seat worked on three times for the "rocking" and "clicking" issues.
--------------
2003 SL FWD
Super Black/Touring Package

 

Bar2k...what dealership in the Boston area are you dealing with? Frost? Clay? Kelly?

I'm having a problem with my drivers seat also, but it's not the typical rocking problem reported so often hear. I do NOT have the memory seats, but somehow getting out of the vehicle, my right foot bumped the left front corner of the seat and the plastic shield on the left hand side, with the controls, detaches from the seat. I've tried several times to put it back on, but it eventually comes back off. My real issue has become that the seat feels like it is no longer anchored to anything on the left side, especially in the read cornerd. Every time I get in now, the seat rocks side to side. And if I take a sharp left hand turn, the whole seat lifts on the left side. It feels very unsafe, even with a seatbelt. Has anyone else had this problem? I haven't seen any posts with a similar problem. It's going into the dealer next week and we'll see what happens.

 

When the seat or any other component using the battery is worked on, they disconnect the battery. You may also notice your radio presets are erased.Did you try resetting your seat positions? Even after you do reset the position you'll have to drive a quarter mile or so for the setting to "take".I have had my drivers side seat worked on three times for the "rocking" and "clicking" issues.

Def tried to reprogram the seat, didn't work... That was part of the reason for me insisting that something was wrong way back in August.

All of these seat issues have been dealt with by a dealership in New York, not the Boston area. In Boston I go to Frost, and have for the better part of 6 years. They've taken good care of me w/ my 99.5 pathfinder and 02 Maxima as well... When I realized the seat issues after moving back up here from the summer, I brought it in, and the service guy told me that while he would like to help me out, he didn't want to be stuck fixing someone else's "dirty work." After seeing all of what's gone on, and now 2 weeks later STILL NO CALL from NNA regarding a part (it's still "on order") I don't blame him. I highly recommend Frost Nissan and their advisor Ruben in particular is a real decent guy. Also when my MO was at Frost for something last year that involved disconnecting the battery, the techs, in fact, re-programmed my radio presets, saving me the hassle...apparently the wrote 'em down.

Now Star Nissan, in New York? I'm starting to question whats goin on there... They've done the work, but according to the paperwork, my Mid- October repair (rental from enterprise covered under warranty) and Thanksgiving time repair (covered rental) were written up on one receipt... Other than my rental receipt showing that Nissan paid for the car in Oct, I have nothing to show officially from Nissan that my MO was with them. Is this their way of minimizing how many Incidents I have documented, to avoid Lemon-Laws? I just find it odd that as far as the nissan worksheets are concerned, that october visit doesn't exist, only Aug for TSB, and Thanksgiving. Any thoughts? I'll keep you posted on when my "on order" parts arrive. Meanwhile I hit 27k miles yesterday... add 450 whenever that part comes for the trip to and from Boston to get back to Star Nissan for them to fix their own "dirty work."

 

WTF??? C'mon you've got to be kidding...

So, with a class being cancelled for yesterday, I drove to NY tuesday night so that I could have my MO at Star Nissan by 7AM... (not quite a morning person, to be honest) They tell me they'll have the car done ASAP after they install the control Module and will call me.

By 4:00pm, I haven't heard from them, so I call. They've installed the part, but THEY STILL CANNOT GET IT TO WORK!?!?!?

So, with me going away for 3 weeks, begining next Wednesday, I told them to keep my MO in NY, and give me a one way rental to Boston that I can return at Logan Airport before I leave. Well, Starr Nissan only does business with Enterprise, which is considered a "regional" rental company, and doesn't have one-way rentals. They claimed, "There's nothing we can do about it, we'l have your Murano ready in a bit and you can bring it back."

BRING IT BACK? HOW MANY MILES, HOURS, DOLLARS am I going to have to waste to get this ridiculous situation solved? WHle I tend to be a patient person, I LOST it yesterday, and I alled Nissan Consumer Affairs... Mind you because of the lack of phone call from the dealership, I didn't have much time to take care of things. Long story short, I've opened a file w/ Nissan's Consumer Affairs division, and was also told, "Your concerns will be addressed," while just moments later I was transferred to a recording told me, "There's nhothing we can do right now, our Consumer Affairs division is closed in your time zone." I called back to 1800-Nissan1, and instead of entering my file number, which repeatedly gave me that recording, I proceeded to go through the complicated automated system to start a ne file, and when I FINALLY got a live person, gaave her my file #, and added to the existing file.

I got to Star, and it would figure that the service manager was out the entire day. The tech who worked on my MO seemed gen uinely upset that he coudln't help, but that didnt' make me feel better... I told him that Nissan could fly me to Boston on Jet Blue for $50, and pay for my rental up in Boston for the week. He said he had no authorization for that. I really didn't expect him to ok it, but I really just wanted to leave my MO w/ them for 3 weeks.. HERE KEEP IT TILL YOU CAN FIX IT!! He claims there's no precedent for this issue w/ the drivers seat in Muranos, and NNA was stumped.

Ok.. Great.. stumped? Screw that.. get me a new one and tahts it. I'm not able to pursue the lemon law, b/c NYState puts aimit of 2 years of ownership or 18000 miles. Mine has 27800, albeit about 2500 due to driving back and forth for these attempts to repair the MO.

Mid August- in to Star to question TSB on Driver's seat and noises from the seat track - part ordered
Late August - in to Star install part ordered earlier in Aug.. fails, another part ordered
Mid October - in to Star to install another ordered part, failed again.. ordered another
Mid November - into Star to install yet another ordered part, failed, car not ready when told, kept from Friday till following wednesday, still no success, another part ordered
Mid December - "We dont' know why it won't work" failed again, told that they're trying to come up w/ a solution to the problem and to come back...

SO, what to do.. the stupid driver's seat... I don't even need the function,but at this point, as a matter of principle, I'd like this resolved, besides not wanting to be in violation of warranty terms now that they've been trying to work on the situation for amost 5 months here. I was so pi$$ed yesterday, at the waste of my time and unnecessary aggravation, especially with an exam looming for today.

I don't know what to do next, I'm not sure when I can get to NY again. It won't be before the middle of January. Any thoughts? Guidance? Feedback? I know I"ll sound nuts saying I lvoe the MO, but I do.. minus this stupidity... Get me a new one, a Demo, I'll be happy.. compensate me for all of the travel expenses, I'll be happy, but something.. this is ABSURD!

 

Re: WTF??? C'mon you've got to be kidding...

I don't know what to do next, I'm not sure when I can get to NY again. It won't be before the middle of January. Any thoughts? Guidance? Feedback? I know I"ll sound nuts saying I lvoe the MO, but I do.. minus this stupidity... Get me a new one, a Demo, I'll be happy.. compensate me for all of the travel expenses, I'll be happy, but something.. this is ABSURD!

Instead of all the aggrevations, cant you just take the murano with you that day and bring it back to the mechanic some other time?

 

Re: Re: WTF??? C'mon you've got to be kidding...

Instead of all the aggrevations, cant you just take the murano with you that day and bring it back to the mechanic some other time?

I agree. Its just a squeaking drivers seat, and you don't have to have the memory function (its not like it affects drivability). If I was the dealer, and I needed more than a day to repair it, and the customer was not willing to leave it for more than a day, I would just tell them to bring it back when they have more time.

Its one thing if they are unwilling to give you a rental for in town driving, but I would certainly not expect them to accomodate you with transport to another city, since its your choice to go to Boston.

I've been meaning to take my MO in for the lumbar support TSB, but since I'm leaving town soon, I decided to wait until I return.

As for your repair receipts, you should have gotten paperwork when you picked up your car each time, they require you to sign it before they give you the keys. Thats your paper trail.

 

Re: Re: Re: WTF??? C'mon you've got to be kidding...

I agree. Its just a squeaking drivers seat, and you don't have to have the memory function (its not like it affects drivability). If I was the dealer, and I needed more than a day to repair it, and the customer was not willing to leave it for more than a day, I would just tell them to bring it back when they have more time.

I agree fully... its that they tell me, "It'll be a few yours and your all set," and not calling until its too late to make arrangements thats frustrating. Also, telling me that if I"m not in w/ it w/ in a certain period of time, they have to send the part back to California. I really don't care about the squeak or even the memory function at this point... just disable it!! But... the references to being "in compliance" with my warranty, and the "guarantees" that I'll be on the road in "no time" that are really frustrating... not to mention the mass confusion and head scratching about what is causing the issue.. If they would acknolwedge, when scheduling an appointment, that they might need it for a few days, I'd be able to plan accordingly, but EACH time, they've said be here by 7am and you'll be on the road by the evening. In the future, I will just have to anticipate an extended visit, and plan to stay in NY for a couple of days so that they can just get to the root of this mysterious problem

As for your repair receipts, you should have gotten paperwork when you picked up your car each time, they require you to sign it before they give you the keys. Thats your paper trail.

This is speculation, but the October repair and November repair were written up as ONE visit, and when I questioned last night why it's taken four visits to take care of this, I was immediately cut short and told, THREE visits, its only the third time... They have released the car to me twice now.. October and Last night withOUT me receiving paperwork for the repair. My paper trail for it all, lies in all of the Enterprise Rental Agreements that document Nissan's payment for them... I DO have one for the October visit, and one for yesterday's as well.

While I know it seemed unreasonable for me to expect them to accomodate my travel to Boston, it is equally unreasonable for them to expect me to just come in when a part comes in, and within the narrow window of time that they have till they claim they need to return the part to California. If they could send the part to Boston? I would love to have it seen up here. I had no clue in August that this would be such an ongoing situation, or I would have brought it in up here to take care of it when I returned in Sept for school... Personally I find the service at Frost Nissan in MA to be far superior to that of Star in NY... Who knew this would've been such an ordeal???

Thanks for the help everyone... much appreciated...

-Bar

Just curious, have any of you heard of this issue? Am I really the ONLY MO owner with this problem??

 

It would seem the best route to take right now would be to somehow convince NNA to let you get all this repaired in Boston. The NY dealer seems incompetent, and taking it back to them will just lead to more frustration.

In particular, mention to NNA that you *did not* receive documentation for your dealer visits. This I think it actually an *illegal* practice by the dealership. They are required by law to generate documentation with each visit, regardless if its free (warranty) or paid for by the customer. At the very least, whenever I visit the dealer, they provide a service writeup (list of problems I report) and have me sign it before releasing the car to them. I take that copy with me when I pick up the car, but usually I don't need it for anything since they tell me to head on over to the "cashier's window" to sign for my car (whereupon I get the final service writeup telling me what they did). Its been this way with all the Nissan dealerships I've visited.

Best of luck.

 

Update from overseas

I called to check in w/ the family earlier today and while doing so got caught up to date on my MO's situation.

After the rather frustrating situation w/ the trip to NY just to be told they couldn't fix it, I ended up going back to NY on Sunday the 18th, and left the 'MO there... I flew up to Boston on JetBlue (not having any expectation of Nissan to cover such costs.. $58), but Frost Nissan in Newton, MA was very helpful in securing me a rental from Enterprise in MA, being that my car was being serviced by Nissan... I needed it for only 3 days as I left thurs the 22 for a series of work related travel. At least Frost Nissan was willing to help. My dad brought my MO in on the 19th, and by the 23rd it was repaired. They told him to come by and pick it up.

When he got there and asked for all of the information and documentation of the repairs they denied him. They refused to give him paperwork for the repairs. Subsequently, he refused to take back my MO. As far as he, and I for that matter, are concerned, without any documentation of the repairs/work, I've got nothing. So they've had my MO since 12/19... I"m due back on 1/12... Something's fishy.. I"m really not sure what the deal is w/ this paper trial or lack there of. Clearly my receipts/rental agreements from enterprise show that Nissan paid for the rentals, why are they witholding paperwork? Doesn't make sense.. but my patience is running out... If I wasn't so high on mileage, 27.5K since July '04, I"d really consider a trade at this point... but hell I don't even have it now so whatever.

Thanks again for your support and suggestions. I hope no-one has to deal w/ this kind of crappy situation.

Till next time

 

That is indeed a very strange action taken by the dealership. Keep in mind they dealership may assess a storage fee for keeping your car so long (esp since your dad had an opportunity to pick it up), further complicating matters.

 

That is indeed a very strange action taken by the dealership. Keep in mind they dealership may assess a storage fee for keeping your car so long (esp since your dad had an opportunity to pick it up), further complicating matters.

Did he? If there was no paperwork was the repair done? What is the proof? This is all very strange indeed......I just had alternator replaced and some strange noise from front suspension taken care of......no problems with paperwork. All was well documented.... I do not understand what is happening. What are we missing?

 

I just love Kris's quote... "If there was no paperwork was the repair done?" That is a great point.

No reputable service center is going to work on a vehicle without recording labor expended and material used. I am not sure if it is the law, but it definitely is a commonly accepted practice that documentation is provided whenever a vehicle is serviced. Which brings us back to Kris's quote. "If there was no paperwork was the repair done?"

-njjoe