These help you judge whether this one is worth its price.
Costly problem zones ahead at your miles come with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans
Loading the EPA's yearly fuel cost
What about the price? Check the asking price on two listing sites. Buying from a dealer? Run its offer through the offer X ray.
Education, not financial or mechanical advice. Have any used car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.
The full record
Tap to open
What owners complain about
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Seller kit
Questions for the seller, test drive checks and price points
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Walk up to the seller ready
Questions to ask the seller of a 2004 Nissan Murano, built from this year's owner complaints and recalls. What to feel, hear and look at on the test drive, with boxes to tick at the car. Honest points to raise on price, from the records and never from guesses. Copy the questions to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Write your offer
A ready to send offer for the seller, by text or email
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Send the seller a fair offer
Type the asking price and your own offer for the 2004 Nissan Murano, tick what you found, and get a polite message ready to text or email. Its reasons come from this year's owner complaints, recalls and crash ratings, and never from made up repair prices.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
When problems show up
Loading mileage at failure
Will it outlast the loan?
The month of your loan each problem zone lands in
Loading the problem zones
Recalls
4 recalls on file
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Crash ratings
NHTSA did not answer
NHTSA's stars out of five, for each version it tested. Front crash stars only compare cars of about the same size and weight. The tests changed for 2011 models, so these stars do not line up with newer ones.
Loading crash ratings
Fuel economy
The EPA's estimates for each engine and transmission, and its own yearly fuel cost. Yours depends on how you drive and the shape the car is in. Figures for 2007 and older use the EPA's 2008 method, so they may be lower than the original sticker.
Loading fuel economy
True cost to own
The loan, fuel, insurance and upkeep, a month and over 5 years
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What it really costs to own
What the 2004 Nissan Murano costs a month and over 5 years: the loan and its interest, fuel worked out from the EPA's figures for the version you pick, and your own insurance, registration and upkeep. A cost a mile, a link that reopens your numbers, and the breakdown copied to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Every year of the Murano
Owner complaints for each model year, this one outlined. Tap a year to open it. The newest 2 are not judged yet. Bars are totals, so older years stand taller; the verdict compares every year at the same age.
Loading every year of this model
Before you buy this one
Built from this year's numbers. Whatever the data says, the car in front of you is the one that counts.
A history report such as Carfax or AutoCheck pulls in more of the car’s past than these checks can:
Crashes and damage reported by police, insurers or shops, even when it was fixed.
Service visits that shops reported, with the miles each time.
How many owners, for how long, and the states it was registered in.
Whether it was a rental, fleet or lease car, when that was reported.
It only knows what was reported to it. A clean report is not proof of a clean car. Ask the seller first: many dealers hand one over for free.
Red flags in a history
Salvage title
Usually an insurer called it a total loss. In most states it cannot be driven on the road until it is rebuilt and inspected.
Rebuilt title
A salvage car that was fixed and passed a state check. It can be fine, but it is worth less, can be harder to insure, and needs a careful inspection.
Flood damage
Water can ruin wiring and sensors months later. Be wary of a flood brand that vanished after a move to another state.
Lemon or maker buyback
The maker bought it back over a defect it could not fix. Ask what the defect was and how it was fixed.
Odometer rollback
A mileage reading lower than an earlier one, or a title marked not actual miles.
Many owners, fast
Three owners in two years can mean a problem each one passed along.
Gaps in the records
Years with no service or registration. Ask why: it may have sat, been off the road, or been rebuilt.
Title words and rules differ by state. Not legal advice.
Before you pay
Pre purchase inspection
Have a mechanic you choose, not the seller, put it on a lift and look it over before you pay.
Insurance quote
Get a quote on this exact car before you sign. Ask your own insurer and one or two others.
NHTSA did not answer just now, so we cannot show crash ratings. Try again in a minute. You can also check it on their site.
Not every car needs every fix. Run the VIN at NHTSA to see which are still open. Repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand; ask before any work.
Engine
May 19, 2009 · Recall 09V169000
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. This separation occurs due to the premature aging of the material used in the intake air ducts which causes excessive shrinking.
What can happen
Engine may stall increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix
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.
Seat belts
Feb 13, 2006 · Recall 06V048000
On some sport utility vehicles, in certain high speed frontal crashes, the webbing of a rear outboard seat belt may contact the rear seat back hinge where it can be cut by the sharp edge of the metal portion of the hinge.
What can happen
If the webbing is completely separated, it can increase the risk of injury to an occupant in a crash.
The fix
Dealers will install protectors over the webbing of the rear seat belts. The recall began on march 20, 2006. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Fuel system
Jan 10, 2006 · Recall 06V003000
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.
What can happen
A punctured tank could increase the risk of a fire.
The fix
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.
Electrical
Jul 14, 2005 · Recall 05V319000
On certain sport utility vehicles, there is a possibility that a wire breaking inside the alternator could stop the battery from charging.
What can happen
If this happens, the charger warning and brake warning lamps will immediately come on and the battery will begin to discharge. After a short time, the engine will go into a "fall safe" condition which will limit vehicle speed. The engine will stop running which could result in a crash.
The fix
Dealers will inspect and replace the alternator with a new version which has been modified to prevent movement of the coil. The recall began on august 1, 2005. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
678 complaints; the part named most is the transmission and drivetrain
Unverified reports, not adjusted for sales. One complaint can name several parts, so shares add up past 100%. Filed Dec 27, 2003 to Jul 18, 2025. 36% name a part that is usually costly to fix.
Owners reported 14 crashes, 6 fires and 23 injuries in these complaints.
Transmission and drivetrain143 · 21%Usually costly to fix
Windows, wipers and visibility133 · 20%
Electrical110 · 16%
What one owner wrote about the transmission and drivetrain
My 2004 Nissan murano jerks to the left side as you give it gas and driving. It just jerks on it's own and heads in the direction of anything or object that's on the passenger side. I had a broken motor mount and told that was all it was and by replacing it that it would stop doing the jerking. I changed the motor mount, which needed replaced anyway, but it…
Filed Jul 8, 2020NHTSA complaint 113382511 of 18 owner quotes
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
16 more parts, and 18 owner quotes
Every part owners name for the 2004 Nissan Murano, with their own words about what went wrong. Usually costly to fix among them: Engine, Body and frame.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
5 checks, with a close look at the transmission and drivetrain
The bar holds the middle half of the complaints that gave a mileage; the dark mark is the middle one. 143 complaints of 678 gave one. Owners file when something fails, so this shows when problems were reported, not how long the cars last.
Transmission and drivetrainCostly65,000 to 105,000 mi
Half of these 47 complaints came between about 65,000 and 105,000 miles, the middle one around 75,000.
050K100K150K200K250K
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Mileage for 3 more parts, 1 usually costly
The mileage band for every part owners name, and your car's miles laid across them.
Run the VIN at NHTSA to confirm every recall was fixed.
This year has 4 recalls on file. Recall repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand. Ask the dealer to confirm before any work is done. Look up a VIN at NHTSA.
Ask the seller for the service records.
Look closely for any work on the transmission and drivetrain. It is the part owners complain about most for this year.
Have a mechanic you trust inspect it before you pay.
Ask them to look hard at the transmission and drivetrain. It is usually costly to fix.
Look at a vehicle history report.
It can show reported crashes, flood or salvage titles, and mileage that does not add up.
On the test drive, pay attention to the transmission and drivetrain.
Feel for slipping, hesitation, harsh or late shifts, and shudder at low speed.
