Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Nissan Murano owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
This complaint relates to a closed recall for the 2005 Nissan Murano NHTSA campaign id number: 05v3190. Two months with the vehicle and I had transmission problems, where the vehicle lost power and drive-ability, bringing my passengers and myself to a harms way. I contracted aamco to replace the transmission, one month later, Nissan USA had to provide another transmission to replace the one changed one month before. Last Monday, July 06, 2015, while driving on the new jersey garden state parkway, the vehicle presented serious trouble, when the emergency brake, AWD and ABS warning lights came on, as the vehicle lost speed, transmission disengaged, putting my wife, myself and other vehicles around us in serious risk of accident. I managed to pull the vehicle to the shoulder and later to a near by friend`s house in the galloway area. …
I was driving my car and the engine acted like it was going to stall and wouldn't respond by giving it gas. Then it just lurched forward abrubtly and began to run normally. Then after about 2 more blocks while we're going 45 MPH it completely stalled out in the middle lane of a 3 lane road. This caused the car behind me to almost rearend us but the cars behind them actually did get into a crash trying to stop from hitting them. Thankfully a police car was a few cars back and was able to put their lights on and push my car out of traffic because we couldn't even get out of the car with cars whizzing past us on both sides. Thank god or we could've been involved in a multiple car crash and one of us could have gotten hurt. This happened on 07/13/18. I paid about $600 to replace the alternator and fix something in the cooling system. …
I was driving down the city road and it just felt like the car shut off and no longer got gas almost like an alternator would do I could put it in park and there would still be power you could hear the engine again I would put it back in drive or even tried a low gear no gears was making my car move but it would make sound in parkthe battery light and brake light then came on and my car died shortly after completely already workwhile studying your recalls I noticed the make and model of my car had certain recalls with the alternator of faulty wire in it when I try to report this they told me it was the wrong batch but it's funny my car is doing the same thing do to my car doing this you can no longer move your vehicle so it is dangerous it stops you right in the middle of the road you cannot gas it to go your website mentions a failsafe mode that it May have fell into
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Nissan Murano. While driving at approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle restarted after several attempts. The failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic stated that the left and right cam shaft position sensors and the engine crank shaft position sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was made aware of NHTSA campaign number: 03V455000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 128,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Nissan Murano. While driving approximately 8 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of power. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the intake manifold was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle experienced a similar failure in the past year and it was diagnosed that the intake manifold needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000. Updated 04/06/17 lj
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Nissan Murano. While driving 50 MPH, the vehicle decelerated and stalled with the brake warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's home. The dealer (freehold Nissan, 4041 U.S. 9 n, freehold, nj 07728, [phone]) was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The contact was advised to call NHTSA and file a complaint. The failure mileage was 149,000.
Last week was almost in an accident when my car completely turned off while waiting at a light at night. I was almost hit several times. Last year I had the alternator replaced. This time I had the cam shift sensors replaced. Guess what? It happened all over again in one week. People are going to die. My vehicle lost its ability to even have its hazard buttons on. My vehicle is under no recall. How can this company get away with this? Can they at least tell us what is wrong, so that we can fix it?
My vehicle caught fire as I proceeded to pull away from a curbside parking space. I turned my wheel to the far left as I proceeded away from the curb and that is when I heard a pop sound, saw white smoke spewing from the front right side of the vehicle, then I saw the flames. Five days prior to the incident, I had front brake pads and resurfaced rotors placed on the vehicle. Within the past 30 days the only other maintenance performed on the vehicle was a standard oil change.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Nissan Murano. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the check engine and oil warning indicators illuminated. The contact pulled over and had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the catalytic converter failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.
Vehicle shut-off without warning while driving on the roads and freeway. Had to immediately put neutral restart engine several times. Took it to the dealership in bellevue ne and they only replaced the duct vent tube from the air filter. I had mentioned that it has a code on odb2 scanner cam sensor and they don't have a recall for it. Please need a safe car for me and my family.
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling
Nissan is recalling 362,891 my 2003-2007 murano vehicles. The intake air ducts, which are connected to the intermediate resonator in the air intake system of the engine, May separate from the resonator with engine movement.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace/repair the appropriate components free of charge. The recall began on September 24, 2009. Owners May contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Engine complaints in other Murano years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2005 Nissan Murano?
NHTSA has 51 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2005 Nissan Murano, 5% of the model year's 987 complaints. The component named most often is engine (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Nissan Murano engine problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 09V-169 (engine and engine cooling, May 19, 2009). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2005 Nissan Murano engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 68,000 miles, and 26% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 0 injuries to engine & cooling 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.