Philc-

Welcome to the forum.

It's a shame to hear about the transfer case, but the good news is that it happened while covered by the warranty.

Has the dealer given you an explanation as to the reason for the week's delay? Also, did he say why the transfer case failed?

-njjoe

 

Transfer Case Failure

Its been 6 working days due to the holidays and they still have the Murano. Maybe get it back today. They said they ordered a new assembly.

 

Both MO's I've had up to this point have had no issues. Here are the details:

MO #1 -- 2003 SL AWD (loaded & purchased new) had over 60,000 miles on it before i gave it up.

MO #2 -- 2004 SL AWD (loaded & purchased used) is slightly over 30,000 miles and has no issues.

I'm surprised to see how many people are having this issue. It will definitely make me keep an eye out.

 

Finally Got the Car Back

The Dealer had the car 8 working days not including holidays and weekends. They said they were waiting on the part. They replaced the KA01AA R&I TRANSFER ASSEMBLY. Its done and hopefully will hold up. The vehicle is a 3 yr lease with 14 months to go. Don't think I'll be buying it when the lease is up.
Brought the car in clean but they left it out on their lot so now its covered with dirt. You would think a new car dealer would want to return it as clean as when I brought it in. They said the case was not cracked and the internals went bad. Service manager has no knowledge if they improved the design or not.

 

Re: Finally Got the Car Back

They said the case was not cracked and the internals went bad.

Out of curiosity, are there any new oil spots on your driveway or garage floor?

-njjoe

 

Transfer Asembly Failure

My car is kept in my garage. I do my own maintanance because I like Mobil One and there are no oil spots in my garage.

 

transfer case faliure

We love driving our 03 SE Nissan Murano WHEN it is on the road. My wife had been the primary driver of this vehicle and she has a short highway commute to work.

At 129,000KM (80,000 miles) we had to replace the transmission $5K (with all of Nissans special CVT (expensive) fluids). 15 months later (24,000 KMs) we now have to replace the transfer case. We have been quoted about $3400 in parts and $1300 in labour to do this plus possibly a drive shaft.... $10,000 in repairs in 15 months (plus normal routine maint. - oil changes/brakes)

We did not experience any warning signs of this happening, and all my vehicles are meticulously maintained. Oil changes every 5K, winter tires on factory Nissan rims, it did not tow anything- just carried a bike rack...

After owning a Nissan Maxima (why did I sell that car) to an Xterra (nice, but not for highway driving) to my Murano - I will never buy a Nissan again. My Hondas were better, my Audi A4 is better and the Saab I owned with higher miles and what I thought was a money pit now looks good compared to this Murano.

Nissan Canada has been very difficult to work with and dealers play dumb. I have an open case with Nissan Canada and I am waiting for them to get back to me.

After surfing the net, I have found many others with the transmission and/or transfer case issues -- Nissan has made some serious design/engineering mistakes with this product and will not look after it.

I will be happy to get rid of this sorry excuse for a vehicle. (I still like the look and drive when it works but a vehicle is useless to me when it is at the garage all the time)

Any suggestions on help with Nissan Canada would be appreciated.

 

Transfer case and Diff went

I went through 2 transfer cases and one diff. all within 40k. the first tc went at about 6 grand.

 

TC Leak Update

Hi everyone,

Last January I had Desert Nissan Las Vegas check my tc/differential/cvt oil leak and said they did not see any leak. I went to them again yesterday and told them they better check again cause the leak is still there. So, after 2 hours of waiting they spotted an oil leak remotely away from the transmission--right under the oil filter--he said that this is sorta common failure and its under warranty and he will order the part for it. I told him that I am more concern about the leak by the transmission--transfer case. They said the mechanic did not see any. So as I tried to explain to him where to look he took me to my car and I pointed out to him where it is. At last he saw it and finally admitted there is a leak there somewhere--by the tc/differential area. Another hour later he just gave me my keys and said that he will order the part for the oil filter leak and the differential seal and should be there by next week. Not exactly sure which seal he is replacing but he mention diff seal. I hope that is the one connected to the transfer case. He also mentioned that he will give me a rental during the repair next week. Hope the seal replacement will do the job. Have not heard any weird noises yet but I dont know how much oil has leaked out of that differential/TC to have any internal damage. Crossing my finger. Still under warranty--just about getting there. 44K /8 months left on drivetrain warranty. I'm just happy that he finally saw the problem and admitted that there is a leak there--same area as my pix on previos post. I think one has to actually/physically point out the leak to the service sup or mechanic himself for them to acknowledge the problem. Wait and see next week what will happen. The sup did mention that they had to put dye so they can make sure where the leak is coming from. My worry is the TC--I read somehwhere that it is a sealed unit and there is no drain/filler bolt there. IF thats the case they cant put any dye there. Took a peek at the underside of my car as I got home and there was a lot of oil there by the diff/tc way more than before. I guesss when they had it leak out they just did not bother to wipe it clean.

 

Re: TC Leak Update

My worry is the TC--I read somehwhere that it is a sealed unit and there is no drain/filler bolt there. IF thats the case they cant put any dye there.

nitely-

Although your dealer's mechanic does appear to be inept at locating oil leaks, he may not have been lying when he indicated he put a dye in the transfer case. The unit is not sealed. There is a filler plug on the side of the unit.

-njjoe

 

Thats good to hear. having a drain and filler holes would ease in detecting if the leak is actually coming out from the transfer case or otherwise. Thanks. So is the tc easily visible when looking on the underside? for a sec I thought it was above the cvt or somewhere harder to reach. Thanks for the reply.

 

So is the tc easily visible when looking on the underside? for a sec I thought it was above the cvt or somewhere harder to reach.

Just follow the rear driveshaft forward. The front end is connected to the transfer case. You can't miss it.

-njjoe

 

Not sure if I have problem or being lied to

I have a 2004 Murano that I have had about months. About 3 weeks a go Service Engine Light came on. Thought maybe I just didn't put the cap on right, took it to the dealer who said that it is the tranfer case leaking. I have no oil on my drive way. They put some dye in in and saw a leak with a black light. Still no leaks on drive way. The tech said that the oil must be blowing back under the car. IS this possible or am I getting a BS story. I am not to mechanically inclined so this is new to me.

I also have a noise when I start out slow of the line. Kind of the sound when I didn shift right in my old standard, which I did not do well with. Anyways any help would be greatly appreciated. The quoted me 1200 to fix the transfer case.

 

thides-

Did the dealer tell you why the SES light was illuminated? If so, did he give you the fault code? The leak in the transfer cause would not trigger the SES light.

How many miles are on your MO?

-njjoe

 

thanks

the Service engine light is why I took it in. They came back with the codesP0021 and P1273. I will need to look them up.

 

Re: thanks

the Service engine light is why I took it in. They came back with the codesP0021 and P1273. I will need to look them up.

P0021 code states: "Intake Camshaft Position Timing-Over-Advanced(Bank 2)".

P1273: Hmm; can't find that number. I do see a P2173: "Throttle Actuator Control System- High Airflow Detected".

 

thanks again

ok what does the cam shaft thing mean. Once again I am learning everytime. thanks again

 

thides,
Your '04 may still be in warranty. 5 years or 50K miles. Should not pay anything for the tc problem. Got mine May of '04 and they are honoring the warranty. I'm actually dropping off the car tomorrow I hope the seal replacement would fix the issue.. crossing my fingers. Others have reported tc still problematic even after seal replacement. Must replace entire tc which is a bigger headache. Once they start removing big parts like that, seems like its never the same after..just my feeling. Good luck.
nitley

 

Seal Replacement update

Hey guys,

Just got my car after 3 days in the shop. Nissan did a transmission diagnosis repair. Part # 3311 - AD 300 Seal R. Part # 38342 - 06R01 E Seal oil - D. Replaced 2 seals and added 1.5 Quart CVT fluid. Reck NO Leak at this time.

This was the notation on the work order sheet. The supervisor mentioned that they run the car for 1 hour to check if there is actually any leak after seals was replaced--so far none they said. I checked the cvt fluid level before I left the lot to make sure it was to the max. All seems ok. Got home and went under the car and cleaned out some parts thats still a little dirty or oily but for the most part its dry now and cleaner. I wanna make sure that I have all the tranmission/ TC area dry and clean as possilbe and took photos to document what it looks like right after they have replaced the seals. This time if there is another leak it will be easier to notice. I will definitely be keeping an eye on this for the next 6 months. Hope this will do the job and no tc damage internally later on. (crossing fingers and toes.) Guy also mentioned that it was a 12 hour job. Thats why it took so long.

Altogether, I am pleased how this nissan supervisor handled my case. Ken Vontalge treated my warranty work like any other work they take in--which should be the case. There maybe some kind of (being nice to any customers) cause 2 chevy dealer in vegas valley just closed shop without notification to any of their employees a week ago. I know dealers are hurting with the economy and all and they are taking anything that they can to keep afloat.--And treating warranty work as gold for a change. Just my theory.

Side note --the rental I got was an '08 murano s with the keyless entry and start. Kinda funny having a keyless start you still have to stick in the remote. Does not really reduce the number of process you have to do to start the car. I dont like it. I think its just another reason for electrical troubles. Plus if the battery is dead then you are definetly not getting inside your car.

Will post a couple of pix.
nitely

 

Pix after tc/tranny seal replacement. dry and clean--better than the one on page 6 of this thread.

 

Is that a missing screw on the left by the exhaust joint?

 

CVT from left wheel well. Still dry and clean like before.

 

Here it goes,

Ok, after a few days of letting the car run. I checked the underside half hour ago and found a dot of oil near a bolt. I may have missed drying that spot but I highly doubt it. Now, just to make sure, I cleaned it again and wipe dry all that I can reach. In the next few days again, if the same spot gets shiny-wet I will be 100 % sure its still leaking. I'm afraid that its still leaking though.
Question will be, will they try to change the seal again or replace the entire thing? I also notice that one of the casing under there has some kind of hair line fissure/crack on lots of places--no leaks coming out from there though. There are random cracks every where. Its probably the TC not too sure but its either the TC, Differential or part of the Transmission casing. I'll post a pix.
nitely

 

here is a closer shot of the fissure. Now can anyone tell me if that is the Transfer case?

 

here is a closer shot of the fissure. Now can anyone tell me if that is the Transfer case?

nitely-

I may be wrong, but I believe those are casting marks and not fissures.

-njjoe