NHTSA Complaint #10460558 — 2003 NISSAN MURANO

I HAVE A 2003 NISSAN MURANO SE. I WAS DRIVING OUT OF MY HOUSE AND WHILE STILL IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THE CAR CAME TO A SCREECHING HALT (LOUD NOISE). I WAITED A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND TRIED PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR AGAIN AND THE CAR REFUSED TO MOVE BUT MADE ANOTHER VERY LOUD SOUND. I HAVE 2 SMALL CHILDREN THAT WERE FORTUNATELY NOT IN THE VEHICLE WITH ME. ALSO FORTUNATE WAS THAT I HAD NOT TURNED INTO A HIGH SPEED MAIN ROAD THAT WAS JUST COMING UP. I CALLED AAA AND HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE NISSAN DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED IT AS A TRANSFER CASE PROBLEM AND QUOTED $3300 FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE PART. UPON RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE, MY HUSBAND AND I DISCOVERED THAT THIS IS A STANDARD PROBLEM IN THE EARLIER NISSAN MURANO MODELS - HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS ONLINE AND IT HAPPENS AT ROUGHLY THE SAME MILEAGE IN THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE. IT IS CLEARLY A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL ON NISSAN'S PART AS IT IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. WE CONTACTED NISSAN CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AFTER WAITING 10 DAYS, WE WERE BASICALLY TOLD THEY WERE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT GIVEN HOW OLD THE VEHICLE WAS AND THAT THEY DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT, EVEN AFTER I EXPLAINED THE RESULTS OF MY RESEARCH. I TOLD THEM THAT EVEN IF THEY CHOOSE NOT TO BELIEVE THAT OTHERS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, A TRANSFER CASE SHOULD NOT GIVE WAY BETWEEN 80-90,000 MILES - IT IS SIMPLY NOT ACCEPTABLE. I AM EXTREMELY IRRITATED AT HOW NISSAN HANDLED THIS PROBLEM AND AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF OTHERS WHO MAY END UP IN THE SAME SITUATION BUT NOT BE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO ESCAPE BODILY HARM. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL. *TR