NHTSA Complaint #11438147 — 2019 NISSAN MURANO

In September of 2019, I leased a new 2019 Nissan Murano Platinum from Missoula Nissan in Missoula, Montana. Not long after purchasing the new auto, I noticed that when driving down a hill, the cruise control released and the vehicle sped up as though free-wheeling. The engine brake (compression) did not activate nor did the transmission shift down. The hills I am referring to are gentle down-hills on straight-aways. They are not steep or windy. There is absolutely no danger in driving a speed limit of 70 mph on a two-lane highway going downhill as are many highways in Montana or doing the speed limit of 80 mph downhill on Interstate 15 through the State of Utah. What is dangerous and unsafe, however, is the speed of the vehicle increasing by 10 to 15 + mph within a short distance because the cruise control fails At that point it is necessary to ride the brakes, manually shift down or risk a speeding ticket or a serious accident. In the many vehicles we have owned, the cruise control operated to keep the vehicle at or near the set speed even while going downhill. When I posted the issue on CarGurus website nine other people complained of the same problems with new Nissans. This is truly dangerous to an unsuspecting driver. Because I winter in Arizona, I took the vehicle to Jim Click Nissan in Tucson and explained the problem. After a road test the shop foreman agreed the cruise control was acting as I had described and didn’t feel it was right. However, Nissan headquarters advised that the cruise control was supposed to operate that way. Once I returned to Helena, Montana, last spring, I took the car to Kenny Simpson Nissan. That service department also agreed that the cruise control was not operating correctly but again Nissan argued that it was supposed to operate that way. So two dealers reproduced and confirmed the problem but the manufacturer takes the position that it is supposed to operate in this extremely unsafe manner.