Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (fuel pump, injectors, fuel tank, hybrid and EV propulsion).
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).
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. …
On busy fast california freeway when traffic slowed, so did I, then I went to speed up to keep up with traffic and my car would not move. I was pressing accelerator and my car literally was not moving! My check service engine light came on (no warning, just now) I was so scared! I put my hazards on, and I had to drive a few miles going 25 MPH, and making my way across lanes to get off the freeway to safety. Once off freeway I pulled over and turned car off. When assistance arrived my Nissan Murano started fine and appeared OK. I drove to hotel and as I was in the middle of a busy intersection making a left turn, I pressed the accelerator and my car did not move! It then stalled and by now the light turned red and I was sitting in the middle of the intersection! I started my car and it zoomed pretty quick. Problem is, I cannot drive a car I cannot trust. …
The vehicle stops accelerating for no reason all the cars dash lights light up the speedometer and other gauges go down to zero and the vehicle will go forward at idle speed while in drive the power steering gets extremely stiff and this happens on the freeway! I had my great nieces in the car we were going 73 when the vehicle decided to basically act like it stalled but was still running we almost got hit by a semi we were sitting ducks on a freeway during rush hour. My hazards wouldn't even work. I had to shift the car off turn it back OK and when I did it accelerated really fast on its own and I couldn't steer it was construction area we came inches from hitting a concrete barrier. …
Stalls: this vehicle was recalled for stalls and the problem never went away,(not sure if the repairs was really done). The stalls are becoming worse!!!! Problem: when the vehicle is driven for more than 15 minutes and it comes to a complete stop, (at traffic light, in city or anywhere) the vehicle sporadicly stall when the accelerator is pressed. If the road has a slight incline the stall is more eminent, so that the vehicle won't move even when the accelerator is pressed to the floor. The only two things that remedy the situation is: a) place the vehicle in reverse [very dangerous->city driving], b) turn the engine off then restart the vehicle [also very dangerous]. This problem has been ongoing since 2007 but it is getting worse.
I was driving at about 30 MPH on a city street and all the dash lights came on including the brake light, car would not accelerate and steering wheel locked like it had no power steering. Pulled over, parked, turned off car, waited a minute. Turned car back on and all dash lights were off again. Drove for a mile to see if it would happen again and it did not. What the hell, @Nissan? I had my children in the car. That's not safe for a car to just turn off like that.
The car will stutter at random even if filled with a full tank. Smell of burning and check engine light comes on. Car starts to violently shake. This is horrible as I drive with my toddler. I have been now reading this is common and I'm lucky I have not had an accent by my car stalling
Gas mileage as stated on vehicle window sticker grossly exaggerated when compared to actual mileage. Car also had 243 miles on odometer at delivery. When questioned about this the dealer stated that the car was a swapped vehicle that came from a dealer in massachusetts. I was never informed of the amount of mileage on the car until I looked at the odometer upon pick up. There are over 240 miles on this car that are most crucial in the break in of an engine. I do not know how this car was driven during those miles and suspect that it May have not been driven with the care that I would have. I have placed several complaints regarding fuel mileage with both Nissan USA and biener Nissan. To date I have not gotten any resolution to this problem. I also had to replace both rear tires of this vehicle at approximately 500 miles. …
The first time that this issue happened I was driving down a mountain with lots of curves when the car lost power. I would press on the gas pedal but the car would not respond as I started to head into a curve all the lights in my center console came on and the car shut itself off. I quickly proceeded to put the car in neutral with one hand and with the other on the steering wheel driving the vehicle as I was going around a sharp curve. I was able to start it up again but this was in my opinion very dangerous. I took it to the Nissan dealership and they could not figure out what the issue. Some months later I was driving around town and my Murano would not move even though I was pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor I pulled over to inspect the engine compartment to see if I could fined the problem. Finally after about 45 min. It regained the ability to move again. …
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. …
My 2004 Nissan Murano AWD se front driver seat broke . I took it out and paid to have a guy weld it . Others have told me that it is a common Murano problem . Some suggested that it is already a Nissan recall issue but I can't get any info to prove it . It still flops around . Also the front wheel bearing went at 75K miles but that's another problem . The doors lock automatically if you slam the door sometimes . Imagine jumping out of the car to put mail in the box and when you come back it's locked ? Dealer said he fixed it ... He didn't . The tail gate back door latch sticks . Also the metal rim of the gasoline filler neck got rusty and pitted . Consequently the gas cap didn't seal properly and the check engine light came on . The dealer wanted 800 dollars to change the filler neck . I sanded it and fixed it for nothing .
Related recalls
Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly
On certain sport utility vehicles, due to the location of the forward edge of the fuel tank, in the event that a vehicle front tire runs over a small, sharp object in the road, catches it and propels it towards the rear of the vehicle, it May strike and puncture the fuel tank.
Remedy: Dealers will install protectors in front of the tank free of charge. The recall began on March 20, 2006. Owners May contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
NHTSA investigations
Fuel tank punctures from road debris
Odi opened a preliminary evaluation based on four vehicle owner questionnaires (voq's) indicating that the fuel tanks werepunctured by road debris under normal, non off-road driving conditions.as of November 30, 2005, the complaint total increased to 12.Nissan supplied odi with 31 complaints of fuel tank punctures, including 26 not previously known to odi from the voq records.
Fuel System complaints in other Murano years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 2004 Nissan Murano?
NHTSA has 35 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 2004 Nissan Murano, 5% of the model year's 678 complaints. The component named most often is storage › tank assembly (6 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Nissan Murano fuel system problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 06V-003 (tank assembly, Jan 10, 2006). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2004 Nissan Murano fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 90,000 miles, and 17% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 1 injury to fuel & propulsion system 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.