NHTSA Complaint #10576494 — 2004 NISSAN MURANO

IN ABOUT FEB 2010 SOMETHING WENT WRONG WITH OUR 04 NISSAN MURANO. WE TOOK THE MURANO TO NISSAN OF ROSEVILLE, CA, AND THEY TOLD US IN ADDITION TO THE ACTUAL REASON WE WERE THERE, THAT OUR TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. WE EXPLAINED THAT WE DIDN'T FEEL ANYTHING DIFFERENT WHILE DRIVING. MIKE (SERVICE GUY) TOLD US THE 2004 MURANO HAS A HUGE PROBLEM WITH TRANSMISSIONS FAILING, AND NISSAN HAS SINCE REDEVELOPED THE CVT TRANS, AND SHOULD BE REPLACED. AND THE WARRANTY IS EXPIRING AT 80,000 MILES, AND WOULD NOT BE COVERED ANY LONGER. WE WERE RELUCTANT, BUT AFTER SPEAKING FURTHER WITH MIKE, AND NOW FEELING SCARED THAT MY WIFE WILL BE STUCK SOMEWHERE WITH A BROKEN TRANS, WE DID RELUCTANTLY LET NISSAN DO THE REPAIRS. OUT OF FEAR OF FUTURE FAILURE. SHORTLY AFTER, NISSAN EXTENDED THE TRANS WARRANTY TO 120,000, OR 10 YEARS. NOW, THE MURANO HAS JUST UNDER 137K, AND THE TRANSMISSION BROKE WHILE MY WIFE WAS ON THE FREEWAY, AND ONLY BY MY WIFE'S QUICK THINKING, DID SHE AVOID A COLLISION WITH ANOTHER CAR. THE WHOLE CAR SHUTS DOWN, EVEN IF YOU PRESS THE GAS DOWN TO THE FLOOR. NOTHING HAPPENS. SHE WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR, AND SLOWLY (5MPH) MOVE OVER TO THE SHOULDER OF THE FREEWAY. I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND HOW SCARY THIS SCENARIO WAS. SO NOW WE CALL NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS, GAVE THEM THE DETAILS OF THE CAR (YR MAKE MODEL VIN MILES) OVER THE PHONE. NISSAN ASKED THAT I TOW THE CAR TO THE DEALER, SO I DID THE NEXT DAY (FRIDAY 28TH). I RECEIVED A CALL MONDAY MORNING (31ST), AND PAT FROM NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS TOLD ME THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO SINCE IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. WE DID NOT WANT THE TRANS REPLACED AT 65,000 MILES, BUT THE DEALERSHIP USED SCARE TACTICS, AND ASSURED US THAT THE NEW TRANSMISSIONS WILL NOT BE A PROBLEM. MY WIFE WAS ALMOST IN A CRASH ON THE FREEWAY, BECAUSE OF THIS VERY COMMON ISSUE. I BELIEVE NISSAN SHOULD RECALL THESE TRANSMISSION DUE TO THE SAFETY HAZARD. *TR