Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Nissan Murano owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The rear k frame rusted out ,all of a sudden the vehicle started swaying out of control on gravel or wet roads, no rust on the vehicle except the rear k frame, I parked the vehicle because it's unsafe to drive , I understand that this is a problem that effects more than just mine and I hope it's recalled or something is done about it, thank you for looking into it
Exiting a highway and taking ramp to enter an avenue, driver lost control of the car turning right at intersection. Front left tire hit the curve side and car rolled over 2 full rolls. Driver and passenger had seat bells on. Car body took strong hits on both sides, posts between side windowsroof, windshield frame, hood. Seat bells never locked down during roll over and none of the airbags deployed. Driver and passenger had head, knees and back injuries. It would be expected the seat bells to lock down and at least the side airbags to deployed. Pictures available at your request.
I ran off the left side of a mountain road hitting a large tree with the driver's door, then continued down the hill another ~20 feet slamming into a boulder. When I hit the tree, the driver's door window broke as well as the driver's side rear door. The door was jammed shut. The Nissan was equipped with front side impact airbags and both front and rear head protection airbags. None were deployed. When I hit the boulder, the front passenger airbag deployed, but the driver's front airbag failed to deploy. The pre-tensioner on the driver's seatbelt did not latch resulting in me hitting my upper chest and lower jaw on the steering wheel since the airbag did not deploy. The fuel cut-off device also failed to activate and shut off the engine. After almost a minute, I turned off the engine with the key. I had been knocked unconscious for several seconds. …
I contacted Nissan on 12/20/17 after I drove my 2004 Nissan Murano (purchased 8/18) and I heard a loud clunk as my son and I were on a college tour. I drove the car to my mechanic and when I showed him the problem, he wondered how I was able to drive the car when the back wheels were "toed" inward. He put it on the lift and told me that the sub frame was disintegrated. The car only has 124,000 miles on it. I contacted Nissan and they had me take the car to a Nissan dealership to have them diagnose it. It was as my mechanic had said, the rear sub frame was completely disintegrated by rust, un-drivable. The front sub frame is totally fine, no rust. I have done some research on my own and from one website I have found approximately 10 others that have had the same thing happen to their cars; some the same year and same mileage. I do not think this is a strange coincidence. …
My rear cradle subframe crossmember bolts are rusted and have snaped while driving down the highway at 60mph I was lucky enough that I heard it pop and pulled over, the metal used on the rear cradle was poorly made and is a high danger risk if I would have pulled over it would have caused a really bad accident for myself and others this issue needs addressed have spoken with other who own this same vehicle and they all are having the set issue with the rear cradle subframe crossmember they are rusting out some doesn't have knowledge of this and are driving this needs to be addressed asap. This vehicle was in motion on a highway
The rear chassis severely rusted through causing the rear lower control arm to break off causing the wheel to severely sit at an off-angle. Rendering the car inoperable and cannot be driven for fear of tires flying off. Purchased at $6000 w/84,000 mile car now has only 113,000 miles.the car body and the interior is in excellent condition. Son rarely used the car while at college as he lived on campus. Now he has no car as the car is dangerous and inoperable. Seen a large number of rusted complaints online regarding Nissan and it needs to be recalled and fixed. He had the car only 3 yrs.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Nissan Murano. While driving 25-30 MPH in inclement weather, the vehicle became uncontrollable without warning. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the rear subframe was extremely corroded. The contact stated that the upper control arm subframe was detached due to corrosion. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 83,292.
There are three ways to lock and unlock the doors; using the remote, using the key and using the interior locks. The remote does not lock nor unlock the driver's nor the front passenger doors. The key, which can only be used in the driver's door lock, will lock and unlock all doors except the front passenger side door. The interior locking mechanism located on the drivers door will not unlock nor lock the front driver's nor the passenger side doors. At this time the only way to unlock the driver's and the front passenger side doors is to reach over and use the interior handle. Once the front doors are unlocked the only way to lock them is to manually move the locking switch to the locked position. This problem seems to have affected hundreds if not thousands of Nissan Murano's the inability to lock and unlock the front doors is critical to the safety of the vehicle's occupants. …
I put the back tailgate up in my 2004 Nissan Murano to put my granddaughters' belongings in to take them home. I walked to the back seat area to put something in the back seat, when I heard a huge whooshing sound and suddenly the entire door slammed down. Luckily I wasn't near it or I could have been killed. The door is very heavy and it slammed down with quite a force. There was a strong smell of a vaporized nature in the car. Now the door is very difficult to open and requires both hands to do so. Evidently one of the hydraulic struts went out. This poses a significant danger to anyone nearby. I have called the dealer and am taking it in today. They were very non-committal about it being something they would repair without cost. They did say it was a very rare occurrence. I am very concerned about this incident and want to report it. …
I have a 2004 Nissan Murano se. At approximately 50,000 miles, the drivers' side sun visor had some sort of internal mechanical failure which makes it fall down in front of my face while driving. My extended warranty company refuses to fix it, claiming it is a "trim" item, and the dealership claims it is no longer their problem as the car isn't under warranty. However, it seems to me that this is a safety item, since every time it falls down, it obscures my view of the roadway. When I searched online, I found many other Nissan Murano owners on online forums complaining of the same issue with their 2003 through 2006 muranos with relatively low mileage failures of this particular part.
Body complaints in other Murano years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2004 Nissan Murano?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the body & structure of the 2004 Nissan Murano, 4% of the model year's 678 complaints. The component named most often is body (14 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Nissan Murano body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2004 Nissan Murano, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2004 Nissan Murano body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 60,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.