NHTSA Complaint #11511746 — 2011 NISSAN MURANO

This is a follow up to my first submission to include the pictures of the defective subframe we had to replace and the cost for the replacement for a new OEM subframe on this 2011 Nissan Murano SUV. As indicated in my first submission on 1/25/2023 for this car, two repair facilities (Nissan or Fort Lauderdale, Fla and Autobahn of Fort Lauderdale, Fla) inspected and wrote quotes to replace the defective rear subframe. Several mechanics we personally talked to told us this will be a safety problem if the rear subframe was not replaced soon - "just don't drive on the highway until replaced". After the Nissan and our local repair shop indicated this, we got the repair on 3/13/2023 at our local garage. My safety concern is that this is a low mileage car for its age (< 87K) that was garaged and bought new by us. It was maintained very well and all repair mechanics noted this as well. We also heard that rear subframe issues are increasingly become more common with Nissan vehicles with cars produced in years similar to ours. Subframes, which are major suspension and safety components, should not be this deteriorated at this point in their car's life. I have included pictures of the old subframe replaced on 3/13/2023 as well as the cost for the repair of our vehicle. Please look in detail at these digital pics and one can see the erosion of the metal is significant and we are very fortunate to not have had an accident. I don't believe the old subframe is still around for inspection as we did not know the NHTSA needed them until now, but I am sure one could interview this repair shop and get plenty of information on these car's subframes from this era of car manufacture. Plus the pictures are very telling of the problems associated with these cars. The only warning we had when driving was a thumping noise in the left rear section of the car. I did write to Nissan North America (Case # 48133943), but like with the NHTSA no response to date from either group.