Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (door latches, locks, hood and tailgate latches).
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 have a 2004 Nissan Murano. I took my car to the shop today because the doors are not locking or unlocking. My hatch only works some of the time as well. I found out that the actuactor is out on all the doors. This is crazy are out on a car that only has 79K miles on it and is 11 years old. The cost will be about 2K to get fixed. This is a safety issue, I have three small kids. Having to them stand outside while I climb inside to manually unlock the doors is unssafe. If I leave the car unlocked at night when we are out, that leaves us vulnerable for someone entering the car and hiding in it until we return. Once we get in we manually lock the doors but if there is an accident and we needed to quickly exit or emergency responds need to quickly get us out of the car, it is not possible. It is going to cost 2K to get this fixed. …
My door lock for my passenger front side does not unlock. I have no idea why but I have to manually unlock this now. I have researched this online and spoke with my local Nissan dealerships. This is a safety issue and should be repaired by a recall. Please advise.
The rear hatch of my 2004 Nissan Murano se has a hydraulic lift that causes the rear hatch to move to a fully opened position without any human assistance (beyond pulling on the external rear hatch lever to initiate the process). On Sunday, September 12, 2004, the rear hatch hydraulics failed on 5 separate occasions to lift the hatch open by more than a few inches. When I manually lifted the hatch to an open position, the top center edge of the hatch caught on the rear center edge of the roof, causing body damage. More importantly, now the hatch will does not open fully with any consistency, either automatically or manually due to the body damage. When the damaged rear hatch top edge catches on the rear center edge of the roof, anybody trying to exit the vehicle through the rear will have difficulty squeezing through the opening. …
Within a few days all four door lock stopped locking or unlocking automatically using the remote or the door switch. The only way to lock or unlock the doors was manually. I took it into the dealership for diagnosis and they said that all four actuators went out and needed to be replaced at a cost of $1600. They said they replace fuel lock actuators almost weekly and door lock actuators very frequently but usually not all four a the same time. I found it really hard to believe that four independent components would go out all within the same week. I placed a posting on a forum and was amazed at the response of the same problem. It is a definiate safety and security issue when you in the car because you have no idea if all doors are locked until you look at everyone of them and then you aren't really sure. …
All of the door locks do not work. I have had my Murano in the shop 3 times and they cannot figure out the problem. I have now spent close to $1000 and the problem is still not fixed! They first replaced a switch in the driver's side door. That did not fix the problem. They then replaced the BCM, the locks worked for about a week and now they are not functioning again. This is a safety hazard because I am a single woman and should be able to lock and unlock my doors as needed. How many people have to file a complaint for the same issue before Nissan does something about it??? It is absolutely ridiculous that I should have to spend almost $1000 and still not have functioning door locks!!! …
2004 Nissan Murano front door locked when consumer opened it. Customer stated that the door stayed locked when she opened the door and remained locked upon exiting the vehicle. The consumer stated on a 95 degree day, she had her 5 month old infant in the vehicle when her. Her infant started to cry so she pulled into a parking lot to calm her down while exiting the vehicle to re-enter on her son's side the vehicle doors locked and would not open. The consumer stated that she called 911 and the fire department opened the vehicle but the infant was crying hysterically for 20 minutes and luckily the consumer had the A/C blowing. The consumer stated would like the manufacturer to be made aware of the dangerous situation and to be reimbursed for the fixing the life threatening defect. The dealer stated A/C belt was fraying.
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 .
My wife and I went out to go to an appointment when the remote access key didn't work. We tried to use our key and that failed to work as well. Basically, we were locked out of our car with no way to gain access to our vehicle. Two hours later I came out and the driver side door was open. Remember, two hours ago we were locked out and now only the driver side door is unlocked without me doing anything to it. So I test the door with the manual key to see if it all works and by some miracle it does. But once again, the remote key doesn't work. The wife took it apart and re-assembled it and then it worked. This feels like it will become a huge problem and I've read reports of the same category of Nissan Murano failures and am afraid of an emergency where the door needs to be opened and it can't be in a reliable time frame.
Door locks, rear hatch lock and gas cap lock will not lock or unlock on a regular basis. I have spoke to many others having the same failure with the solenoids in the lock mechanism not functioning reliably. This is a huge safety factor, not having the security of a locked door, allowing anyone access at will. I can't believe Nissan continues to deny there is a safety problem with these locks with so many having identical problems. It's only a matter of time before someone will lose their life or be injured from this lack of security from the door locks malfunctioning. I file this compliant to let the NHTSA know of the problem and share this with Nissan to hopefully convince them to take this more seriously and recall the cars to make the safe and secure.
Yesterday after work, I opened the hatch to the back of my vehicle to remove jumper cables. When I went to close the hatch door, it would not stay closed. I looked closer at the mechanism that locks the door in the closed position, and it was not moving back into the proper position. I thought initially it was due to the cold weather, but even after it was given time to heat up it continued to stay in the open position. I made due by duct taping the hatch closed to make it home. I looked online and saw that thousands of other Murano owners have had issues with their lock actuators on doors, hatches and even the gas cover actuator. It is extremely concerning to me due to the obvious safety hazards that accompany this malfunction.
Door Lock & Latch complaints in other Murano years
Frequently asked questions
How common are door lock & latch problems on the 2004 Nissan Murano?
NHTSA has 48 complaints about the locks & latches of the 2004 Nissan Murano, 7% of the model year's 678 complaints. The component named most often is doors › latch (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Nissan Murano door lock & latch problems?
No. NHTSA lists no locks & latches 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 door lock & latch problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 65,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
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.