For those in Canada

Please complete the form on the link below as it will prompt Transport Canada to do an investigation with Nissan Canada.

https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur...P/fc2-cp2.aspx

(copy and paste the link in your browser if you cannot click on the link)

Nissan is aware of the problem and has extended the warranty on the CVT transmission up to 120,000km or 10 years but still refuses to include the transfer case!

 

More of the same - transfer case problem



I have submitted a report to the url suggested above.
I'm having the same issue as many of you folks. Very frustrating. I love this car and had a good brand image of Nissan until this happened. Transfer case is cracked and i'm getting a $5400 quote from the dealership to replace it. Another transmission expert who looked at it had determined that it was in the CVT where the loud clunking was coming from. As you all have recognized, the transfer case is not covered.

I have submitted a complaint to Nissan Canada about this issue, not really sure if they'll do anything about this. You'd think that with enough people pissed off about a defect like this they'd step up and cover the problem.

frustrated and hopeful!

rowan

 

TC Fluid Level

Is there any way to check the transfer case fluid level? I'm on a cross-country trip and smell hot gear lube every time I stop. I've had 2 cases fail at 20000 and 40000 miles, so I had the seals checked before I left home. One axle seal was replaced, but I think the CVT to TC seal is leaking this time. There is some oil dripping where the CVT and TC cases are bolted together.

 

2003 Nissan Murano transfer case woes

I am posting this poll link to every auto complaint site that I can.

http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/66-problems/7413-transfer-case-poll.html

I bought my Murano in 2010 for $15,000 and it had 85,000 km on it. On March 2, 2011, my 2003 Nissan Murano (mileage now 90,000km) started making a strange clicking noise under the hood. It sounded like there was a rock in the tire or a loose part under the front end. By March 3, 2001, the noise was upgraded to a loud banging, with the whole front end of the vehicle shaking. I took the Murano to my mechanic Touchette Auto in Ottawa on March 4, 2010 for a diagnostic and was later contacted March 7, 2010 and told that the noise was a transmission issue and that I had to take it to a transmission specialist. I started my search online for problems of this nature and was astounded to find that the CVT transmission issue is a huge problem in the 2003 Nissan Murano....so much so that I am surprised that a class action lawsuit has not been taken up with Nissan!
>
>> I contacted my warranty company and they advised me that the transmission issue would be covered by Nissan because of the Extended Warranty related to the CVT tranmission for up to 10 years/120,000 km. I was relieved to hear this and promptly took my Murano to receive attention at 417 Nissan, 1599 Star Top, Gloucester, Ontario (613)749-9417. On March 8, 2010, I received a call from John GOOD of 417 Nissan with my diagnostic results. I was told that the problem was NOT the transmission but gave me a list of problems as follows:
>
> -cracked transfer case
> -transmission seal (x2--apparently for each end of the transmission.)
> -catalytic converter
> -O2 sensor
> -switch control unit
-subframe
>>
The quote for this repair? $6333.00 plus diagnostic cost! Mr. GOOD said that none of this was covered by the extended warranty!! I went back to A-Protect Warranty Corporation and was advised that the Nissan quote was ridiculous and that all of those issues are related to the transmission. They said that they could direct me to another transmission mechanic who would repair the vehicle for much cheaper and that they would only cover $400.00 of the repairs.

> I know that I am not the first person to contact Nissan Canada regarding this issue. I am not being unreasonable when I say that Nissan is trying to pass the buck by claiming that the transfer case/seals are not covered by the Extended CVT Warranty. It has been the subject of many complaints and I know that Nissan has paid for the repairs when they have been pushed against the wall. The CVT Transmission has been a headache for Nissan and I can't believe that when customers ask for compensation, they are being turned away with a "sorry, we can't help you."

FYI--417 Nissan offered me $2000 for my Murano as is. Talk about a slap in the face!

> How can a part-the transfer case-and the seals on either end of the transmission---which are all directly related to this faulty CVT transmission not be considered part of the warranty coverage? If I tell you right now that I don\'t have $6333.00 to fix the vehicle and I drive it until the transmission blows up, will Nissan cover the damage then(under the Extended Warranty of course!)
>
> I have now spent the last 2 weeks being bounced back and forth, trying to have someone offer assistance in this matter. I have spent hours on the phone with Nissan customer service reps in Canada and the US and no one wants to help me. I have never been so frustrated with a company and I will not just walk away quietly, accepting the cop out of Nissan on standing by their product!! I am viewing over 500 complaints on Edmunds.com regarding Nissan's unwillingness to help their customers. That is only one website.....I can list many more!

My vehicle is being fixed right now....I have no choice but to pay the $6000...but I will continue to chase Nissan until I have some answers!
>

 

I am posting this poll link to every auto complaint site that I can.

http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/66-problems/7413-transfer-case-poll.html

I bought my Murano in 2010 for $15,000 and it had 85,000 km on it. On March 2, 2011, my 2003 Nissan Murano (mileage now 90,000km) started making a strange clicking noise under the hood. It sounded like there was a rock in the tire or a loose part under the front end. By March 3, 2001, the noise was upgraded to a loud banging, with the whole front end of the vehicle shaking. I took the Murano to my mechanic Touchette Auto in Ottawa on March 4, 2010 for a diagnostic and was later contacted March 7, 2010 and told that the noise was a transmission issue and that I had to take it to a transmission specialist. I started my search online for problems of this nature and was astounded to find that the CVT transmission issue is a huge problem in the 2003 Nissan Murano....so much so that I am surprised that a class action lawsuit has not been taken up with Nissan!
>
>> I contacted my warranty company and they advised me that the transmission issue would be covered by Nissan because of the Extended Warranty related to the CVT tranmission for up to 10 years/120,000 km. I was relieved to hear this and promptly took my Murano to receive attention at 417 Nissan, 1599 Star Top, Gloucester, Ontario (613)749-9417. On March 8, 2010, I received a call from John GOOD of 417 Nissan with my diagnostic results. I was told that the problem was NOT the transmission but gave me a list of problems as follows:
>
> -cracked transfer case
> -transmission seal (x2--apparently for each end of the transmission.)
> -catalytic converter
> -O2 sensor
> -switch control unit
-subframe
>>
The quote for this repair? $6333.00 plus diagnostic cost! Mr. GOOD said that none of this was covered by the extended warranty!! I went back to A-Protect Warranty Corporation and was advised that the Nissan quote was ridiculous and that all of those issues are related to the transmission. They said that they could direct me to another transmission mechanic who would repair the vehicle for much cheaper and that they would only cover $400.00 of the repairs.

> I know that I am not the first person to contact Nissan Canada regarding this issue. I am not being unreasonable when I say that Nissan is trying to pass the buck by claiming that the transfer case/seals are not covered by the Extended CVT Warranty. It has been the subject of many complaints and I know that Nissan has paid for the repairs when they have been pushed against the wall. The CVT Transmission has been a headache for Nissan and I can't believe that when customers ask for compensation, they are being turned away with a "sorry, we can't help you."

FYI--417 Nissan offered me $2000 for my Murano as is. Talk about a slap in the face!

> How can a part-the transfer case-and the seals on either end of the transmission---which are all directly related to this faulty CVT transmission not be considered part of the warranty coverage? If I tell you right now that I don\'t have $6333.00 to fix the vehicle and I drive it until the transmission blows up, will Nissan cover the damage then(under the Extended Warranty of course!)
>
> I have now spent the last 2 weeks being bounced back and forth, trying to have someone offer assistance in this matter. I have spent hours on the phone with Nissan customer service reps in Canada and the US and no one wants to help me. I have never been so frustrated with a company and I will not just walk away quietly, accepting the cop out of Nissan on standing by their product!! I am viewing over 500 complaints on Edmunds.com regarding Nissan's unwillingness to help their customers. That is only one website.....I can list many more!

My vehicle is being fixed right now....I have no choice but to pay the $6000...but I will continue to chase Nissan until I have some answers!
>

That story sounds like mine-- except i've had my car for longer.
Thanks for sharing. I'm choked Nissan isn't stepping up to deal with this.

You can post on their facebook wall and make some noise about your frustrations: https://www.facebook.com/Nissan
not sure if it would be heard by anyone however.

rowan

 

Interesting piece on the Murano problems with CVT/transfer cases!

Nissan Refuses to Recall Murano Despite Major CVT Problems

 

2010 Murano Transfer Case Seal leak

I have only 7500 miles on my 2010 and the seal is leaking. The dealer is going to replace seal and case. Once they do this will the problem be over? I have my fingers crossed.

 

Transfer case replacement

I have only 7500 miles on my 2010 and the seal is leaking. The dealer is going to replace seal and case. Once they do this will the problem be over? I have my fingers crossed.

Update: got my Murano back today. Dealer said it was a bad casting so they replaced the case and the seal. They said this was the second 2010 they have fixed with this problem. Fingers still crossed.

 

Okay after reading the posts I feel sort of lucky because my mileage is 178000+. This is really the first major thing to go wrong with my 2004 awd Murano (except I had to replace 1 catalytic converter). It sucks though that I had to take it to the dealer twice before they could figure out what was going on, even though I kept telling them something was wrong with the transmission or shifting mechanism. Also no external leakage on the ground, just an high pitched whine when first acclerating.

 

I am curious whether it is km or miles.

 

Wow now I'm getting really suspicious of my transfer case. I've had 2 and 4 wheel alignment done last month due to the front end shaking. And just like ONHOOTIE describes at the beginning, my MO has been quite noisy the past month and also sounded like there was a rock in the tire or a loose part under the front end. Now the whole front end of the vehicle shakes but that may also be due to a stocked caliper.

 

Is there anyone in this forum who has had success in fighting Nissan to pay for the transfer case issue? I have had my 2003 Murano fixed now...with a final bill of $6400 but I am not willing to drop the fight with Nissan yet. I have contacted Customer Service numerous times and sent 15+ emails to ask for anyone with decision-making powers to contact me...but it's been a month and no one has called. I just got an email today (from Customer Service) saying the transfer case will not be covered....but I told them I wanted to SPEAK to someone.....this service is CRAP! Anyway, back to my original question? Would love to be able to go to Nissan with proof that the 'squeaky wheel' gets the grease....that if I complain enough, they will pay. FYI...my previous complaint is explained on earlier posts.

 

Are you on FACEBOOK? I just created a page Complaints Against Nissan Canada!

Welcome to Facebook - Log In, Sign Up or Learn More

I was putting my complaints on the existing Nissan Facebook pages, but apparently Nissan didn't enjoy them too much, so they blocked me! My solution was to start a page of my own.....for all of us who have a beef with their Nissan vehicle or Nissan Customer Service!

 

Anyone know a good brand and type fluid for TC?

 

I have an 09 AWD murano. At 14,000 miles, we are having to replace head gaskets, and during the process they found that the transfer case needs to be replaced. All under warrenty and they are extending our warrenty on our engine to 100,000 miles or 7 years.

 

Transfer case problems

My transfer case problems happened at 65,000 miles. Of coarse the warentee was just a little bit over the milage. I was told the cost would be aprox. $3,400. The first thing I will do,is get it fixed, sell it, then buy a Toyota. It's sad because this is the third Nissan I have owned.

 

Does anyone have any information about how frequent a problem this is?
How bad does it have to get in order to launch a class action lawsuit about this?

This transfer case issue on my 2003 is a very difficult thing for my family to deal with right now. The cost of the repair is more than half of what the appraised value is. We still owe over 10k on the vehicle.
Very frustrating.

I would appreciate any help you would have about how to proceed.

I'm also talking to Nissan Canada and trying to escalate the complaint.

Any advice about how to do this?

 

Nissan left a lot of people in the same boat that you are in...especially Murano, Xterra and Pathfinder owners. I have not seen any resolution law suits or any indication that Nissan will remedy the CVT / Transfer case issue. One of the problems is that many people do not know about these issues and Nissan will not tell them about the problem. I nearly became a victim until our problems started and I visited this website! I knew it wasn't good when you have a "problems" section and it has the most posts and views!!

Good luck...I feel for you and your family.

 

Tc failed at 104k. Trading it in to lease a maxima. Only cuz I m upside down and it's the closest dealer. Kind if blows trading in a f'd up car.

 

Just fix it and your good to go!

 

2010 Murano with 14,000 miles

Heard a faint buzzing sound that could be mistaken for tire noise. Its a transfer case issue, it will be warranteed. 2010 Murano with 14,000 miles.

 

Just recently bought my 09 Murano LE with 48K miles on it....started seeing leaks in the driveway and took it to Nissan. It was the transfer case and they took care of it under Nissan's 100,000 mile drive train warranty. Never once did they try to tell me it wasn't covered. It came to about a $900 fee charged to Nissan. I don't understand why some dealerships are denying this. The service rep drew me a picture and showed me that Nissan had to machine out a half moon shaped piece on one side of the transfer case for some reason that came up after the case was forged...and the gasket that seals this area gets pinched or slides over allowing the fluid to leak out. Clearly a Nissan issue to me. When I bought the car I also bought the Premium Nissan extended 100K warranty. I've heard that there are too many issues with third party extended warranties.....Third party extended warranties have too many exclusionary rules and reasons why a part or labor cant' be covered because it was caused by a part that wasnt' covered, or it was low tide in Honolulu etc....these companies are in it for the money and they don't make money by paying for repairs....they make it by NOT paying for repairs. The Nissan extended warranty has three pages full of items covered....but some arent...like the little motor that raises and lowers the steering column when you turn on the ignition. That failed when I was at Nissan having the car serviced. They coverd that for me under "Goodwill" even though it was not a covered part under the extended warranty and saved me $400...and made me a satisfied return customer.

 

I smelled the burning smell at around 131K. Dealer and Nissan corporate repaired it without any problems. Was told that all seals were replaced; but they did not say if the case was cracked or replaced.

 

REALLY Fibercat? You had 131K miles on the car and Nissan fixed it on their nickle? That's enlightening. You should have gotten an invoice that indicated what they did....the service tech told me the flat rate manual shows 10 hours for this job and they bill Nissan around $900 which is less than you'd pay for the same work....I think that's a bit high for hours but there are some on this forum who do repairs and know the answer to that.

 

Transfer Case Failure

In February, my 2007 Murano with about 50,000 miles started making the loudest sound of metal against metal I've ever heard from a vehicle. The car could not be driven and had to be taken via flatbed to the dealer. Yup, transfer case failure. It was covered by warranty. This past weekend at about 58,000 miles my Murano started making some rattling noises while the vehicle was driving. The frequency of the rattling corresponded to the speed of the engine. The sound is coming from the CVT. Still covered by warranty. Diagnosis not yet complete, but it doesn't sound good.

 

2005 Murano SE AWD - 65,000 miles young and she's all blown up. Geeee, let me guess. Does it rhyme with "Transfer Case" ? Why yes. Two previous cars were Toyotas. Drove the wheels off them - hundreds of thousands of miles without a major failure. I'm getting quotes now of min $5k just for parts. This forum has blown me away. I'm reading posts of 2003 to 2007 models experiencing this issue. So Nissan has been knowingly and willfully continuing to sell defective merchandise for over four years? Instead of redesigning and fixing the issue, their data probably shows that a good percentage of the time, the flaw doesn't occur until just after the powertrain warranty has expired. So its not their problem anymore. Except that it is. I will NEVER purchase another Nissan product in my life. Scr3w me once, shame on you.

My mechanic has mentioned to me that there's a possibility that he can "snip" (disable) the rear transfer mechanism and effectively turn my AWD into a 2WD car to avoid the costly repair. Has anyone out there done this? He learned about it from an "inside mechanic" who works for Nissan. I'm trying to find out more about this as it seems like the best alternative for someone who plans to DUMP this POS as soon as I possibly can!!!

Also, I have not brought to dealer regarding this matter yet as I'm at year 6 and 65,000 miles seems like there's really no chance of getting them to repair on their dime. Does anyone know whether they grant exceptions and under what circumstances?

 

The exception would be if you showed proof of regular inspections of the transfer case for leaks and fluid condition. If you had the transfer case serviced at the dealership, that should rule out fluid leakage. Unfortunately despite the warnings here, many Murano owners drive around with slow leaks and do not know until the transfer cases bleed dry and fail. This is why it is so important to inspect the transfer case once in a while (I do it whenever I change my oil).

2005 Murano SE AWD - 65,000 miles young and she's all blown up. Geeee, let me guess. Does it rhyme with "Transfer Case" ? Why yes. Two previous cars were Toyotas. Drove the wheels off them - hundreds of thousands of miles without a major failure. I'm getting quotes now of min $5k just for parts. This forum has blown me away. I'm reading posts of 2003 to 2007 models experiencing this issue. So Nissan has been knowingly and willfully continuing to sell defective merchandise for over four years? Instead of redesigning and fixing the issue, their data probably shows that a good percentage of the time, it the flaw doesn't occur until just after the powertrain warranty has expired. So its not their problem anymore. Except that it is. I will NEVER purchase another Nissan product in my life. Scr3w me once, shame on you.

My mechanic has mentioned to me that there's a possibility that he can "snip" (disable) the rear transfer mechanism and effectively turn my AWD into a 2WD car to avoid the costly repair. Has anyone out there done this? He learned about it from an "inside mechanic" who works for Nissan. I'm trying to find out more about this as it seems like the best alternative for someone who plans to DUMP this POS as soon as I possibly can!!!

Also, I have not brought to dealer regarding this matter yet as I'm at year 6 and 65,000 miles seems like there's really no chance of getting them to repair on their dime. Does anyone know whether they grant exceptions and under what circumstances?

 

twopisquared-

Welcome to the forum! (I like your forum name.)

The transfer case has long be known as the Achilles Heel of the AWD MO. Nissan acknowledged the transfer case had issues back in 2005 when it changed the way the AWD system could be manually engaged.

Yes, it is possible to disable the AWD system to avoid costly repairs. A few other members have disconnected the electrical harness just forward of the rear differential. That takes the AWD clutch out of the loop. Apparently an AWD MO operates just fine as a FWD variant.

In your case removing the driveshaft might do the trick by taking all of the load off the TC. Selling it could pose a problem. There is not a huge market for FWD-only AWD MOs.

-njjoe

-njjoe

 

Took the 07 SL to my mechanic today since hub heard a growling noise. Apparenty something is seriously wrong - the transfer case fluid was tested and is low, burnt & gritty. Off to the dealership.

Waiting to hear back about coverage, but called Nissan Canada first who said that I have powertrain coverage til 100K - thankfully this happened NOW at 95K - fingers crossed that I don't get screwed!

Oh yeah - tomorrow we were planning to take her to Saskatchewan.

j

 

Yes. 10K miles.

 

OK my story. Bought a 2007 Murano AWD Sl new. At 6 months 9000 miles needed a new CVT. It was fixed under warranty. At 63,000 (3.5 year) transfer case was leaking. I paid to have it fixed because it was out of warranty. not 4000miles later it was broken and needed a $4000 repair. I balked 3 times and told them my next contact would be from my lawyer. I got a call 7 hours later saying they will do the repair for free under customer good will. I guess I was lucky. I like the car but it needs to be turned in once repaired while it still has significant resale value.