Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power steering, steering column, rack and pinion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2009 Nissan Murano owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Was at lowes with my grand daughter when the steering wheel was locked and the steering lock indicator light was on. Vehicle would not start due to the malfunction of the steering lock box. Weather was bad and a gentleman tried assisting me but to no avail. After looking at the indicator lights he informed me he had heard of this issue and the problem was in fact due to a faulty steering lock box. I had no choice but have the vehicle towed to my temporary home and here it sits. My home flooded with 7' of water mid August and is still uninhabitable. I'm a grandmother with limited funds and really cannot afford to spend the large sum of money required to pay for a known defective part. During my research I found out that Nissan knowing this issue has now imited the warranty time on this known problem. …
The telescoping function on my steering column has stopped working on my Murano. I understand there is a service bulletin out on this same issue (ntb-09-073), but dealership refuses to fix it. The steering column is now stuck at a height where it blocks my view of the speedometer; I have to duck down every time I want to check how fast I am traveling. Obviously a safety issue, and I understand that this is a chronic problem for Murano's and would hope that Nissan would step up to the plate and provide a fix to make their cars safer.
Stering wheel lock actuator its not working dont let my car start this part its so expensive should be a recall regarding this problem I was is chicago 90 degres with my 2 daughters and my wife and my car doesn't start my A/C only can run for a few minutes before the battery is gone , how can be posible that this part can make the car and my family standing on the sun in summer time snissan should be responsible to fix this problem
No matter what repairs I do the ABS warning light will not go off. The breaking feels off. I leak power steering fluid and have had the pump checked. I constantly feel the steering tighten up and even randomly relax causing in unsafe steering conditions. Steering can tighten up and become loose again while in a parked position, a very slow moving speed and at freeway speeds.
I have replaced the power steering pump it is brand new and it is still very tight and hard to turn it acts like the pump is out but when I put fluid in it it loosens up for about 10 minutes and goes right back to being hard to drive.
The rack and pinion and rear differential of my 2009 Murano le is defective. The rack and pinion has stopped working twice and needs to be replaced for the third time. The rear differential on the car has also failed and needed to be replaced. The steering pump has also stopped working and needs to be replaced. The car was purchased in April 2008 and has had documented steering problems since. The dealership (koppel Nissan) has given me a hard time and Nissan has not addressed the issue. This steering problem causes the steering wheel to stop working and I have had several incidents were my children and I have been almost hit. This is a huge safety issue and the fact that the rack and pinion are on back order May indicate this is a wide spread problem. I have been told by mechanics to submit a lemon claim to the state of ny. …
For the month of August 2011, my 2009 Nissan Murano has experienced four (4) steering wheel failures that could've resulted in serious bodily injury or death. Hawkinson Nissan replaced the serpentine belt at least twice in less than a two-week period in August of this year because it was shredded. Although the dealership had done multiple multi-point inspections this month, they reported that there was no evidence of any pending failure of the serpentine belt when they did the inspections. In addition, on August 8, 2011, the technician found a "pass side rack and pinion boot filling up with fluid from bad seal in power steering rack," according to the invoice. Nissan found a leak in the power steering high pressure line. Nissan repaired the problem by replacing the high pressure power line and power steering rack. …
Upon parking the subject vehicle, it was observed that the powered tilt mechanism in the steering column would not function properly. One could hear the drive motor operating, but the column would not move to its normally stowed position. Further, any attempts to adjust the steering column up or down via the control button resulted in an electric drive motor noise, but no motion of the steering column without assisting such motion by pushing up or down on the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to Nissan autonation arapahoe (10030 east arapahoe rd, centennial, co 80112), where both the steering column tilt and telescope drive motor assemblies were replaced at full cost to the car owner, thereby remedying the malfunction. …
Takata recall .... My passenger airbag light has been on for about 3 yrs. Now and when it has been hooked up to a computer results always come back the same... Error in airbag. Now I've contacted Nissan and they are telling me that even though I May have a Takata airbag my VIN # is not on the recall list so therefore they cannot do anything about the problem. I would have to pay out of my own pocket to have it fixed. Now they did tell me that according to their records and with the VIN # that was given to them in oct 2008 my Murano already had been serviced for passenger side airbag light staying on. So basically what they were saying was that my Murano had already used the one free service check in oct 2008 for airbag. …
The tilt steering motor has stopped working. The in and out motor went out shortly after we purchased this pre-owned vehicle in 2012. Then, a few weeks ago, the tilt mechanism spontaneously tilted to the farthest down position possible. We then had to hold the control up as well as apply significant pressure upwards to get the steering wheel to return to the desired position. Luckily, we were not driving at the time of this incident, however I have read in some discussion threads regarding this issue that some drivers have experienced this issue while driving. Now the tilt mechanism does not work all together (in, out, up or down). We took the vehicle to our nearest Nissan dealer, and they said there is no recall for this issue, and it is not covered under our warranty. I contacted Nissan of north America and they have stated that there is nothing they can do to help us at this time. …
Steering complaints in other Murano years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2009 Nissan Murano?
NHTSA has 34 complaints about the steering of the 2009 Nissan Murano, 5% of the model year's 635 complaints. The component named most often is rack and pinion (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2009 Nissan Murano steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering recall for the 2009 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 2009 Nissan Murano steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 69,000 miles, and 9% 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.