NHTSA Complaint #10349583 — 2007 NISSAN MURANO

2007 NISSAN MURANO AWD W/ 84K MILES. TOOK VEHICLE INTO NISSAN DEALER SERVICE DEPT. IN JULY FOR NOISES IN ENGINE AREA. DIAGNOSED AS BAD WHEEL BEARINGS ON 1 SIDE OF VEHICLE COST $600.00. RETURNED TO DEALER APPROX. 1 MONTH LATER, AGAIN HEARING NOISES COMING FROM ENGINE AREA. WAS AGAIN DIAGNOSED W/BAD WHEEL BEARINGS ON OTHER SIDE & WAS TOLD REPLACEMENT FROM 1 MONTH PRIOR WAS DEFECTIVE & NEEDED REPLACEMENT AGAIN. QUESTIONED DEALER SERVICE DEPT. DIAGNOSIS, INDICATING THAT I ALSO SMELLED EITHER OIL BURNING OR SOME KIND OF FLUID BURNING WHEN DRIVING. WITHOUT FURTHER EXAMINATION OF VEHICLE, SERVICE DEPT. RECOMMENDED A FLUID FLUSH, I INDICATED THAT THE FLUIDS HAD JUST BEEN FLUSHED 1 MONTH PRIOR, WAS TOLD NO OTHER PROBLEMS WERE INDICATED WHEN VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED EARLIER THAT DAY. SMELL OF OIL OR FLUID WAS DISMISSED BY SERVICE DEPT. RECEIVED A CALL LATER THAT DAY FROM SERVICE DEPT. INDICATING REPAIRS TO DEFECTIVE WHEEL BEARING & SECOND WHEEL BEARING COMPLETED, CAR READY FOR PICK UP $400 BILL. PICKED UP VEHICLE @ APPROX. 5:30 PM. AS I DROVE HOME THERE WAS A GOOD AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC & VEHICLE SPEED DID NOT EXCEED 30 MPH FOR MAJORITY OF TRIP. UPON CLEARING OF TRAFFIC & FURTHER ACCELERATION TO APPROX. 45 MPH, THERE WAS AN EXTREMELY LOUD BANG THAT CAME FROM WHAT SOUNDED LIKE THE ENGINE AREA OF MY VEHICLE, ACCOMPANIED BY A DRAGGING & GRINDING SOUND COMING FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY VEHICLE BRINGING MY VEHICLE TO A QUICK STOP. IT SOUNDED LIKE THE BOTTOM OF MY VEHICLE FELL OFF. I MANAGED TO PULL VEHICLE OVER TO SAFETY & NEXT DAY HAD VEHICLE TOWED BACK TO DEALER. I WAS THEN INFORMED BY DEALER THAT THE TRANSFER CASE ON MY VEHICLE HAD BROKEN, THAT THE VEHICLE WAS BEYOND THE WARRANTY & THE REPAIR COST IS $3,400. THIS MAY BE A PROBLEM IN THE AWD MODEL. THERE ARE MANY SIMILAR INCIDENTS POSTED ON THE INTERNET. THIS PART IS DEFECTIVE & NEEDS INVESTIGATION, HAD I BEEN ON A HIGHWAY WHEN THIS HAPPENED THE OUTCOME COULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC, PLEASE HELP! DON'T WAIT UNTIL A TRUE TRAGEDY OCCURS. *TR