[amber_jane]

Ok, I've searched as much as I could for posts on rattles, but most seem to be talking about window rattle and such... I have a fairly quiet rattle which is audible only at idle. It sounds like it's coming from the front of the car, and it's almost like an engine rattle. The car vibrates a little, but I'm not sure if it's because the engine is on or because the rattle is part of the problem.

I took the car in for the 7.5K service and the techs said that they heard it but don't know what it is and will have to take the car for a day or two to figure it out.

So, my question is - does anyone know what the rattle is? Is it normal workings of the engine? Is it because the AC is always on? (btw, I could hear it when I turned off the fan, so I don't think it's that). Could it be something innocuous or should I really get it looked at?

Frankly, I'm just worried that because I'm a woman, they'll poke around for two days, "invent" some problem, charge me an arm and a leg for it and it won't make a difference.

Any help you can provide is much appreciated!

Cheers,
-Amber Jane

 

[mgthe3]

hmmmm

maybe you can ask around at work for a knowlegable person on cars.....if I could hear it, I could tell easily if it were the engine or not.

 

[amber_jane]

I would, except that I'm staying home with my baby daughter and don't have much interaction with other adults.

My husband listened to it and he also said that it sounds like it's a mechanical rattle, coming from the front hood. Guess I'll see what the techs tell me on Wednesday... I bit the bullet and make an appointment - at least they'll take a stab at it.

Cheers,
-Amber Jane

 

[Eric L.]

At 7.5k, there isn't anything they can "invent" and charge you for that isn't covered under the 3yr/36k bumper to bumper warranty. I would have the dealer check it out and see what they find. It could be something as simple as a bad engine mount (they are electronically controlled I believe).

 

[bfdugger]

I'd definitely take it in and have it looked at. If nothing else, this will establish a paper trail with the dealer in case something more serious develops later.

The vibratation part would worry me. My Mo is so smooth I have to look at the tach to make sure its even running.

 

[ap13g1]

Engine rattle...

Hi Amber:

Was the problem ever found? Was it the engine mount?

I ask because it soounds like I have a similar problem...something ticking / clicking in the engine while the car is at idle. It's more prevelant inside the car than if the hood is open. The sound on mine is coming from something right up against the firewall of the car. I've suspected the engine mount, however, in my case the ticking reacts when I raise the engine's RPMs.

Anyway, please let us know if a solution was ever found.

Phil

 

[amber_jane]

Ok, so I took the car in to the shop, but I couldn't leave it with them because I needed it to run errands that day. I talked to the service manager and convinced him to let me "borrow" a mechanic for a few minutes to step outside with me and listen to the rattle. I was hoping he can tell me whether it's something that I really need to get looked at or if it's normal stuff. (like I said, I'm clueless...)

So, this guy comes outside with me, starts up the car, listens to it for a few seconds, glances at the mileage (8K) and says, "Oh, yeah, every Murano I've seen gets this noise around this mileage" What the f#*%??? What is that supposed to mean??? Does that mean it's normal? I'm standing there, looking at him like an idiot and he is just waiting for me to say something. Well, what am I supposed to say? So, I ask him, is it safe to drive? He shrugs and says, "We haven't heard of any problems yet." Yeah, buddy, that's really comforting to hear, especially since I have my six months daughter in the backseat wherever I go. :3:

Finally, he says that I need to bring it in, leave it with them for at least a day or so, they'll "dig" around and try to figure out what's causing the rattle. So, to make a long story short, they plan on using my beloved Murano for a guinea pig.

I'm taking it in Monday morning... I'll let you all know what the geniuses discover.

Cheers,
-Amber Jane

 

[SugarRushMurano]

Amber_jane...several ideas:

- where r u located?
I am sure a forum member will be glad to drop by to your place, park his Mo side by side with yours and have you (and your husband) to listen to the engine "ticking".
This may well be an inherently serious problem, and doing this comparison will benefit all forum members.

- is it because the oil maybe? Like it is circulating inside the engine or the oil pumps or something? This is my 2cents

Keep us posted.

 

[amber_jane]

SugarRushMurano ,

I'm in Needham, MA... If anyone wants to drop by and do a side-by-side comparison, I'm all for it!

I'm kind of mad at the mechanic for being so blasé about it, especially since he couldn't tell me if it's serious or not, but I have faith in that service station and their head mechanic. Hopefully, when I take it in on Monday, I'll get some answers.

Cheers,
-Amber Jane

 

[SugarRushMurano]

Any Mo can help Amber_jane...

She is in MA....(see above post).

 

[ap13g1]

Hi Amber:

I can tell you that my co-worker got her Moo two weeks after I did. She's got a little over 7K miles and I have about 6233 on mine. She doesn't have any kind of niose in her engine ...... it runs like a swiss watch.

Mine has an annoying ticking / clicking sound which is driving me up a wall because I can't determine what the cause is. The tech at my dealer told me the sound was normal as well. He wasn't specific about all Moo's getting this noise after x number of miles. However, I refuse to believe that the sound is normal.

Nissan's VQ engine's are re-noun for their reliability and have won numerous awards throughout the past couple of yeras. They use it extensively throughout thier line-up - Infinity G35, I35, FX, Altima, etc.

Anyway, please keep us posted on their findings. I'll do the same after I take mine in for the second time.

Phil

 

[amber_jane]

Well, I took the car to the service station Monday morning and they still have it (it's Tuesday afternoon). They still haven't figured out what the problem is. Actually, the service manager called me and asked if I can come by to the station and listen to the car with him to point out the noise. Grrrr! How am I supposed to do that if you have my car???

Stupid people! Then he calls me again and says that he thinks he knows what noise I'm talking about and he thinks it's the fuel pump, but the noise he describes doesn't sound like what I was hearing. I told him to ask the mechanic who listened to it on Wednesday and his response is, "Well, he's busy with other things." What the hell??? He's too busy to come listen to the car for a minute and point out the noise? When I saw him on Wednesday, I just turned on the car and he said that he hears the noise. So what's the problem?

I'm so annoyed right now, I can't even type straight... I'm going to call them now, again, and see if they've figured it out and I'm going to try to get there later this afternoon if my husband can make it home from work early enough because of course they close no later than 5:30pm. Grrrr! :3:

I'll let you all know how it ends... If it ends.

Cheers,
Amber Jane

 

[Eric L.]

It cannot be the fuel pump since the fuel pump is located in the back of the car under neath the back seat on top of the gas tank.

If the service manager told you it was the fuel pump and he was listening from under the hood, then your dealership needs to hire a new service manager - no nissan in ten years has had a fuel pump under the hood.

Giving the guy the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he meant the fuel injectors which do make an audible ticking noise (a slight noise is normal, a loud knocking noise is not).

 

[amber_jane]

Thanks, Eric L.!

I just got a call from the service manager, just as I was reading your message, in fact. He said, and I quote: "I heard the noise and it's in the fuel pump, so I'm overnighting a new fuel pump for the car." I asked him if the noise is coming from the back of the car then, his answer is that it seems to be coming from the fuel compartment and that the only thing in the fuel compartment is the fuel pump, so that's what they are going with.

Obviously I have no idea if he's just telling me this to shut me up and leave him in peace or if that's really where the problem is. The one good thing that came out of my bugging him every couple of hours is that he finally got the mechanic who heard the noise on Wednesday to come and listen to it and the guy confirmed that the noise the service manager heard is the same one, so at least that is squared away.

So, if all goes well, they'll fix it tomorrow and I'll have the car later in the day.

Cheers,
Amber Jane

 

[Eric L.]

Its possible you do have a bad fuel pump and thats causing the engine to stumble a bit due to inconsistent fuel delivery. Thats all I can think of that would explain how an engine rattle can be traced to the fuel pump all the way in back. The fuel compartment - hmmm....i suppose that could refer to the fuel tank assembly, or it could also relate to the intake assembly under the hood.

Something else that came to mind is that perhaps you have a bad fuel pressure regulator (which is under the hood) and its making noises that you can hear.

I still think your service manager sounds shady (but then I've never trusted nissan service managers ever since one refused to fix the alternator on my Maxima, which left me stranded the next day), but I wish you the best of luck with your repairs at the dealership. At least its under warranty.

 

[amber_jane]

Thanks, Eric!

I'll give the manager the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he's "talking stupid" to me because he thinks that I'm incapable of understanding the real explanation. I'm not offended, if that's what he's doing - I'm a woman and by my own admission, I know absolutely nothing about cars. I think I would have understood if he had explained it as clearly as you did, but I'm not going to hold it against him, as long as he fixes the problem.

I guess I'll know as soon as I get the car whether the problem has been fixed or not.

Cheers,
Amber Jane

 

[Eric L.]

No problem, thats what I am here for. I sure hope your dealer got it right, I know how inconvenient it is to lose the car for a few days.

When you get the car back, if it is not too much trouble, it would be great if you could post what they wrote on the repair order. The geek side of me is curious what the actual problem was!

Thanks, Eric!

I'll give the manager the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he's "talking stupid" to me because he thinks that I'm incapable of understanding the real explanation. I'm not offended, if that's what he's doing - I'm a woman and by my own admission, I know absolutely nothing about cars. I think I would have understood if he had explained it as clearly as you did, but I'm not going to hold it against him, as long as he fixes the problem.

I guess I'll know as soon as I get the car whether the problem has been fixed or not.

Cheers,
Amber Jane

 

[9495]

I think I would have understood if he had explained it as clearly as you did, but I'm not going to hold it against him, as long as he fixes the problem.

The real problem is that even if they do try to explain the real problem, in general auto mechanics don't usually know HOW to explain something well. Communication is not always their strong suit.

Eric, Jaak, Kris, and several others on this board, however, are VERY good at communicating these types of things, so they can essentially say the same thing as a mechanic but phrase it in a way that is understandable! Just think, if all the Nissan dealers had people like this working for them it would be SO EASY to go to the dealer for any little problem and be satisfied with the resulting fix or explanation.

 

[amber_jane]

Eric L. ,

if you are around, maybe you can clue me in on this new development... I just got a call from the service station about the car. They are trying to change the fuel pump and they called to tell me that they need to remove my child's carseat and the driver's seat to be able to proceed. Does that make sense???

I mean, I'm fine with them removing the carseat, I can always reinstall it, but I'm a little worried about them removing the driver's seat - what if they screw something up? Guess there's not much I can do about it now, I'm just wondering if what they are doing makes any sense.

Cheers,
Amber Jane

 

[Eric L.]

The rear seat definitely needs to be removed since the fuel tank and pump are beneath that. I do not know why they would need to remove the DRIVER's seat, unless your mechanic is a really big guy and needs the extra space to move around inside the car.