06 Murano rattle

 

If it's an AWD model, check the transfer case fluid level ASAP.

 

I will definitely check that out. I did find a heat shield loose with a broken bracket- so I fixed that and hopefully that will solve the problem. I will still look into the t/c fluid- needs to be done anyway. Thanks!

 

 

Yeah, the heat shield was my first thought, but the video of the sound sounded like something more than a rattle.

However, after seeing your photos, I think you may have found the cause of the noise.

 

Yeah, the heat shield was my first thought, but the video of the sound sounded like something more than a rattle.

However, after seeing your photos, I think you may have found the cause of the noise.

Unfortunately the heat shield was not the offender! lol
Any suggestions?

 

Maybe have somebody else stand outside the vehicle while you drive by. See if they can get a sense of where it's coming from. Front or back? Louder when standing on the left side or right side? I don't have any good guesses but if you had any idea that could narrow it down, it might help. Maybe have somebody take a video from outside while you drive by. Maybe we could get a better idea of the sound from outside rather than inside the cabin.

You can do this yourself if you don't have somebody to listen from the outside by finding a building you can drive next to relatively closely with your windows down. See if the noise seems louder in the cabin when you drive with your driver's window facing the building or the passenger window facing the building. Sometimes you can get a sense of how the sound bounces off the building if the sound is coming from the front of the car or the rear.

You sure it's not the remnant of the rusted/broken clamp that's rattling? Did you pull that off or leave it on there? There's probably another heat shield on the other exhaust pipes that could be rattling for the same reasons. If it were a heat shield you should be able to get it to rattle just revving the engine to different RPM while parked and if you can, you can have somebody look under there while you do it. You may have to rev it a lot or quite high to get the engine to vibrate at different frequencies to find the right resonance to make it happen. If it ONLY happens when the car is rolling, that would seem to point at something other than the heat shields.

 

It only happens when the car is in motion, and only when my foot is on the accelerator. I will try to have someone take a video from outside the car. That’s a good idea. Thank you! I removed the broken clamp and replaced it. I have checked all the other shields I can find and they are all good. I am obviously missing something though. It doesn’t seem to affect functionality but man it’s annoying lol

 

Does the rattle seem to correlate with the rotation of the wheels or the rotation of the engine (vehicle speed or engine speed)? Maybe put it in L (does 1st gen have 1 or L "gear"?) and see if the nature of the rattle is different or the same at the same speed you were driving in the video.

One other time I had a noise that would only happen when I was on the accelerator was my G35 when the front driveshaft u-joint was failing. It would make noise when accelerating but the noise would stop as soon as you unload the driveshaft by taking your foot off the gas. Wonder if you have something similar in a CV shaft or transfer case/drive shaft u-joint. I'm not familiar with how this car's transfer case and drive shaft are all hooked up so don't know if there are u joints or something that could make noise. I only learn how stuff works when mine breaks and then I have to learn it and nothing in my Murano drive train has broken yet. But noise ONLY while on the accelerator pedal sounds familiar to me from a different failure but on a different car. I didn't initially think along these lines after looking at the video because the noise didn't seem to correlate with wheel speed. It seemed to stay constant but I guess your speed was mostly constant in the video. Does the rattle start slow and change frequency as you accelerate?

 

The rattle only happens periodically- lately more often, only on acceleration and only up to about 50 kms/hr. Somedays it doesn’t do it at all, there is no method to the madness. I do have low gear, next time it does it i will try to put it in low and see if it continues. I’ll let you know. As soon as I take my foot off the gas it does stop. I do have a u-joint- I have to admit I had to look it up lol. The rattle gets louder as I accelerate faster but it stays the same (if that makes sense)
This all started after I hit an enormous pothole two years ago. It just continues to get worse and I’ve had to looked at and so far no one can find any reason for it. I’d like to figure it out before something dramatic happens. I’ve had bad luck with vehicles so far.

 

Tia86, there was another post about noisy transfer case diagnosed by a dealer and an independent mechanic and the poster says your noise sounds the same. Sounds likely that MuranoSL called it when he said noisy transfer case. Maybe not good news but the other poster with that noise said he removed his drive shaft and has been driving with it like that for 6k miles and 11 months with no problems so maybe you can just let it ride. Good luck and check back in if the situation changes. Always good to hear how these turn out whether good or bad. Here's that other post if you want to read it.

Removed my drive shaft so car is now FWD. Transfer case...

I had my 2010 Murano’s drive shaft removed a few months ago because the rear differential was making noise, and I don’t care about AWD. That took care of the rear diff noise. The transfer case had also been making noise, and still is. Shop wanted $3,000 to replace it with a used one, $4,000...

www.nissanmurano.org

And I guess because of some searches I did I got a Scotty Kilmer video recommended to me where he uses a different kind of auto stethoscope that I've never heard of. It has 6 channels and clip on transducers that let you clamp onto various parts and run the stethoscope back into your car so you can listen while you're driving. Would be really helpful to debug stuff like this where the car has to be moving to make a noise but you can't tell where it's coming from when you're sitting in the cabin. You can clamp the transducers onto a bunch of different parts and listen to each of them through headphones to see which one is making the suspicious noise. Pretty cool. I've used regular mechanics stethoscope for listening in the engine bay so I can see how this would really help locate a mystery noise.

Amazon.com

 

Thank you so much jbarnett250! This is awesome, thanks for looking out! Now I suppose I should figure out what happens if I just continue to ignore it or if I should look into removing the driveshaft. Because replacing the T/C isn’t at all in my game plan. Lol

 

To rule in/out the transfer case, do a drain and fill. It chunks of metal come out, that is your problem...

The transfer case pinon gear will continue to turn even with no driveshaft attached. If it's breaking up in there, you will still have an issue... It would probably be best to remove the transfer case gear components (if feasible...) if they're damaged, then the driveshaft removal may perform better...

 

To rule in/out the transfer case, do a drain and fill. It chunks of metal come out, that is your problem...

The transfer case pinon gear will continue to turn even with no driveshaft attached. If it's breaking up in there, you will still have an issue... It would probably be best to remove the transfer case gear components (if feasible...) if it's damaged, then the driveshaft removal may perform better...

Alright, at least I have a starting point. Thanks so much!!

 

I just bought a 2005 Murano for a second vehicle and mine is making the exact same noise as yours. Were you able to figure out what is causing it? I haven’t had a chance to look into it but I will next week.

 

Well, I had a loose heat shield- that wasn’t the cause, there could be another heat shield loose that I can’t find- but any that I’ve looked at are good. The t/c was drained and had no chunks or shavings of metal but it was sludgy but also was t the culprit. I think I’ve narrowed it down to the transmission or the driveshaft… neither of which I have tended to yet. I need to drain and flush the trans but I do t have the money to drop on that so I’m trying to find the best DIY solution- advice welcome lol and the driveshaft needs to be looked at and potentially tightened or replaced. It could still be the t/c but I don’t know. So long story short I have no idea. 😭 if you figure it out I would very much appreciate if you could let me know. I love my mo and I want her to keep goin.

 

Wow, that's really strange...

In a way it may be a good thing. Something mechanical that makes that bad of a sound would be more consistent I would think... And would be getter progressively worse fairly quickly...

Have you checked your engine and CVT mounts?

 

Wow, that's really strange...

In a way it may be a good thing. Something mechanical that makes that bad of a sound would be more consistent I would think... And would be getter progressively worse fairly quickly...

Have you checked your engine and CVT mounts?

It is really weird… anything that I (or anyone else) comes up with would be a consistent thing not a random thing. It definitely is progressively getting worse but over two years. And barely. It definitely doesn’t seem to effect functionality. I haven’t checked the mounts but I will put it on my to do list.

 

I'd circle back to the fact that the noise began after hitting a pot hole. The suspension is supposed to protect the drivetrain. If driving on rough roads resulted in transmision and transfer case damage then there would be a transmission shop on every corner in the Rust Belt. I think a more likely culprit would be the CV axle. Take the car in an empty parking lot and drive in circles going each way and see if the noise gets worse in one direction vs the other. Circling in a clockwise direction will load the left side of the car and counter-clockwise will load the right side of the car. Pay particular attention to the loaded side that hit that pot hole.

 

Thanks for the info......that’ll help me when I get further into it. In Maine we have state vehicle inspections and it might be something they will pick up on but I don’t know if it’s that noticeable or not. I have to get my Murano inspected......as soon as I can get it in.
Have you noticed if the problem has gotten worse?
Two things I do notice is when I accelerate quickly I don’t hear the rattle. Slowly accelerating I can hear it. And the other thing is when I’m on the freeway and using cruise control I can hear the rattling, mostly during accelerating uphill but I can also faintly hear it when driving on level ground.
I’ve worked on cars my whole life and I’m familiar with most things and my first instinct is that it sounds like loose/worn out crankshaft bearings. I’ll keep you updated on what I come up with 👍

 

Thanks for the info......that’ll help me when I get further into it. In Maine we have state vehicle inspections and it might be something they will pick up on but I don’t know if it’s that noticeable or not. I have to get my Murano inspected......as soon as I can get it in.
Have you noticed if the problem has gotten worse?
Two things I do notice is when I accelerate quickly I don’t hear the rattle. Slowly accelerating I can hear it. And the other thing is when I’m on the freeway and using cruise control I can hear the rattling, mostly during accelerating uphill but I can also faintly hear it when driving on level ground.
I’ve worked on cars my whole life and I’m familiar with most things and my first instinct is that it sounds like loose/worn out crankshaft bearings. I’ll keep you updated on what I come up with 👍

That would be amazing if you figure it out and let me know!! More so then wanting to fix it I just want to know what it is!! Lol I will fix it though!
I haven’t noticed the quick or slow accelerator push- I’ll keep my ear out for it. It’s very random and doesn’t happen daily. There seems to be no rhyme or reason. I don’t notice it over 60kms per hour at all… that doesn’t mean it’s not there but I can’t hear it- I’m also deaf in my left ear so that’s not helping. Haha
The problem has gotten worse over the last two years but not dramatically. Like a very slow progression. I will have to check my bearings, thanks for the tip and I look forward to your update!!

 

Hi.....I’m still doing some recon with this problem 😜
I have a few other things going on so it’s on the list of I’ll get to it when I can.....plus it’s been raining a ton. This car is still new to me so I’m still getting used to it, eh? 👍😉
I’ve noticed it burns oil (quite a bit actually.) It seems to be way too much for only having 144,000 miles (not sure what that is in kilometers,) but I’m going to change the pcv valve. The reason I mention that is because the noise is more prevalent after I’ve been driving it a couple hundred miles, which in turn is making me think that the longer I drive the less oil there is in the engine. Aside from what I said about the crankshaft bearings, what the noise really sounds like is that it’s low on oil. I ruled that out because I didn’t think it would go through THAT much oil that quickly but with a faulty pcv valve that’s a definite possibility.
I changed the oil the other day and the noise was barely there. I was hoping with the oil capacity at full it wouldn’t have done it all. I’m still investigating though......and until I narrow it down all this writing is basically me thinking and writing out loud!
On the freeway the noise is barely noticeable but it’s still there. But either way, my noise seems to be a few levels more severe than yours, from what you’ve said 🤔
I just drove it up to the Gaspe peninsula in Quebec last week.

 

I have considered the oil to be a problem too, as mine burns a bit of oil too but she does it even with a fresh oil change. I look forward to your updates!! Thanks for keeping me informed

 

I have considered the oil to be a problem too, as mine burns a bit of oil too but she does it even with a fresh oil change. I look forward to your updates!! Thanks for keeping me informed

 

How much oil is it burning?

The only way to describe it in meaningful terms is miles per quart of consumption. Keep records (keep a record book in the car) and carefully note mileage for oil and filter changes and the date and mileage any time you have to add oil when you're a quart low. Get specific info and you can discuss it more effectively. A quart every X days or Y months means nothing; it's miles per quart that matters.

I find that many people today have very different expectations than I do about oil usage. Any car that doesn't need a quart added between 5000 or 7500 mile oil changes is in excellent shape, but I have no heartburn with a car that burns a quart every 2000 miles.

Bottom line: until you're using about a quart every 1000 miles, you don't have an immediate problem. Also, if you are a spirited driver (which might be the case even in a mom and pop car like a Murano) you will use oil faster.

 

How much oil is it burning?

The only way to describe it in meaningful terms is miles per quart of consumption. Keep records (keep a record book in the car) and carefully note mileage for oil and filter changes and the date and mileage any time you have to add oil when you're a quart low. Get specific info and you can discuss it more effectively. A quart every X days or Y months means nothing; it's miles per quart that matters.

I find that many people today have very different expectations than I do about oil usage. Any car that doesn't need a quart added between 5000 or 7500 mile oil changes is in excellent shape, but I have no heartburn with a car that burns a quart every 2000 miles.

Bottom line: until you're using about a quart every 1000 miles, you don't have an immediate problem. Also, if you are a spirited driver (which might be the case even in a mom and pop car like a Murano) you will use oil faster.

I don’t have miles for you- I’m much to tired to play with the conversion. Lol
I go about 3000km before I need to add a litre. I change my oil and filter every about 6000kms because it’s so dirty. I drive a lot for work- aprox 400km per week.

 

3000 KM is a little over 1800 miles. Doesn't sound like an immediate problem, although it does show some wear.

 

What needs to be fixed to maintain the wear on the oil situation? 😁

 

Well... some thought from knowledgeable members of this Forum to confirm, exclude or add to my thoughts.

Check and maybe clean or replace your PCV valve. If this isn't working properly you'll get above normal crankcase pressure which can cause oil blow-by at the piston rings, thus excess oil consumption (you'd probably have oil leaks at engine seals and gaskets if the PCV valve is malfunctioning, maybe).

Use the heaviest weighted oil that is allowable, for the climate temperature range that you drive in, by the owners manual.
For example, I can use a heavier 5W40 oil than the usual 5W30, the viscosity being 10 points higher from 5W30 to 5W40, which might help with burning less oil and still being in specification for the motor of my car.

And/or add an oil stabilizer additive to the oil you choose to use. (Don't use the oil stabilizer as a replacement of the capacity of the engine oil, it is an additive, follow the oil stabilizer instructions to the letter).

The oil rings of the piston maybe seized by carbon build up, allowing oil to bypass the rings and excess oil consumption to result. Google this one.
Cheers

 

How many kilometers are on it?

Sometimes the rear cat can start to break up and the debris is inhaled into the engine leading to excessive engine wear and high oil consumption.

If the cat is failing, it my be the source of your rattle...

 

Is there any signs of the cat failing that I could notice? She has ~292000kms on her. I have hear this theory prior but I have no idea how to confirm or rule it out.

 

I must’ve sent those last messages as an email or something because they don’t show up in the community thread. Were you able to receive them.....one way or another?

 

I haven’t received anything since you said you needed to do more recon lol
Is there a way to private message on this forum? I don’t believe I received any email from you either but I’ll check and respond if I do!

 

Your problem sounds like it might be different from the OPs.

@Tia86 is the OP.
Please excuse my Forum manners, 'accidentally' reverted to the pedant in me.
Cheers

 

What?! No way! Dang it! I’ll write it all again tomorrow. But I found a video that has the noise and the majority of user comments (insert drum roll here....!!!) they said once they switched to higher octane gas the noise went away

 

Wait… sorry- I’m happy you haven’t rewritten them yet lol it’s been a long week of packing to move.
the last two were changing the pcv and the message with the video, I responded though. Weird. I guess when you said the screen looked different maybe it was different somehow.
I tried the higher octane gas trick- I heard of that too, it was one of the first things I tried. It didn’t work for me. I can copy/paste my responses if you can’t find them. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I tried someone’s thought here about trying to put the car in drive and have one foot on the brake and rev to 2500, and I replicated the noise on demand- which is crazy because it’s so sporadic when I’m actually driving but I’ve tried a few different times and it seems to do it on demand, while still. So that’s great maybe I can pinpoint the source of the noise or narrow down location perhaps

 

Here’s a screenshot of one of the messages I wrote

 

Nissan Murano Clicking Noise from Engine.

2006 Nissan Murano engine clicking noise ? any guess what could be wrong ?

m.youtube.com

 

I skimmed the thread and thought I would share a rattle I had at one time. I have an 07. Turned out to be the tailgate bracket was coming loose. In my case, one of the screws fell thru and the bracket was loose causing the hatch not fully secure. Take this for what it’s worth if you still haven’t found it. Just a suggestion.

 

Thanks for the info. I just changed the pcv valve and I also determined that yesterday I went through half a quart of oil in 80 miles. Yeah. Eight. Zero. 80.
Every once in awhile when I come to a stop and then accelerate I can see a plume of blue smoke behind me. It doesn’t happen every time and it’s only for a couple seconds. I really don’t think it’s worn piston rings......yet. What would be the effects of a faulty EGR valve? I’ll look it up

 

Wow. I actually had one car worse than that, but that's an epic level of oil consumption! In the case of the other car, it was a 66 Pontiac GTO 389 that had been run way too hard and the oil rings were overheated and trashed. It actually used a quart every 50 miles...so I had to travel with a case of oil in the trunk. Problem is that bad oil rings may not show up in a compression test unless the top rings are also failing. I used to be able to lay down a plume of thick blue smoke with that Pontiac by accelerating hard for 4-5 seconds, then letting up on the gas for 3-4 seconds, then punching it again. The blue smoke would roll out like crazy.

The blue smoke points directly to burning oil, and I echo the idea of a compression test.

This is not good news. You may be in for an engine rebuild or newer vehicle. You wondered in an earlier post if it might be bearings. That sounds like a possibility, but I would think that until the oil level dropped critically low, there should be enough oil pressure to prevent crank or rod bearings from running dry and making noise. Now I'm wondering if there are cracked or damaged pistons. Both a compression test and look inside the cylinders with a bore scope might be a good idea. Unfortunately the back cylinders are a pain to get to.