Engine Rattle in ’05 Nissan Murano

[Stephanie]

I have been looking everywhere for help on diagnosing this problem, and I have not found anything that can help me because the possible solutions have already been ruled out (ie: heat shield and gas octane) – I am hoping someone here can help me out.

I own an 05 SE Murano, currently has 80k miles on it, and for the most part it is running great – if you do not count the rattling noise it is making when I accelerate. I am going to try to be as specific as possible when describing the problem and the things that we have already checked out on it.

We bought it used from a dealership in October (’13) and starting having this problem in November (’13) and have taken it to several mechanics who can hear “something” but are not sure it is a rattle, or they hear nothing at all. The Murano rattles upon acceleration, but the rattle does not happen all the time. When it does happen, it seems to be around 20mph and between 1500 – 2000 rpm. The noise level is also different, sometimes it is a softer rattle that is on the quieter side, while other times it is more harsh and rather loud.
So far, in an effort to recreate this noise for mechanics and other engine-savvy people we have tried accelerating when the car is in park and the does not make the noise. We have tried using the emergency brake in conjunction with the normal brake, putting the car in gear and then accelerating – it does not make the noise then either. The only time we have been able to get the rattle is when the car is actually moving while accelerating from a stop. Of course, each time I have had a mechanic in the car, it does not rattle. Just today I took it out onto some back roads in an effort to record the noise on my phone and found out that I can get the rattle noise to happen more consistently when the Murano is in first gear (I placed it in 1st manually).
I have had the heat shields checked and were told they are fine. I have tried changing to a higher octane fuel and the rattle is still there. The oil and other fluids were also checked and I was told they are at good levels and that the oil had a good color to it. There are no engine lights on, and it has not thrown any codes.

I took the car out onto a back road away from traffic and made an attempt to record the noise. I uploaded the video here: http://youtu.be/nl_e0-DZuBE While watching it, the noise will start at about the 1500 rpm mark and is heard best at the beginning and the end of the clip.

Please can someone help me figure this out? I have been told by others to just let it go until I get a light, a code, or until something breaks but I do not want to do that – why not fix it now?

Thank you so much in advance, I really appreciate it. This has been very, very frustrating.

Jade

Topic

[Keith]

Have you checked your motor mounts?

[college man]

see if this helps.

http://www.justanswer.com/nissan/61ggh-nissan-datsun-murano-sl-clicking-noise-engine.html

[Stephanie]

Thank you for replying, the motor mounts were checked out and we were told they were fine, not cracked or loose.
I read the link that was given to me, and it is something that we are going to check out tomorrow. Although the noise descriptions are different, the conditions are pretty much the same. It is probably a good idea to check the drive belts anyway, just to be on the safe side.
I’ll update if that doesn’t solve the issue.

Thanks again for responding, it is much appreciated! 🙂

[college man]

keep us posted on your progress. 🙂

[EricTheCarGuy]

It did sound like an engine rattle to me. Thanks for posting the video BTW, it was very helpful. You might also check the exhaust. Sometimes heat shields can cause noises like that. Normally they’re higher pitched however. IDK, it just might be the timing chain or it’s guides as the link suggested. You might find this article helpful.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/diagnosing-noises-in-your-car

Keep us posted and good luck.

[Stephanie]

Thought I would post an update and see if anyone can offer more insight into my issue.

We changed the oil and filter and while in the process of doing that I noticed one of the drive belts looked horrible. There was a lot of cracking and we were wondering how long the belt looked like that and if the dealership we bought it from actually did everything they said they did before selling it. Seeing as how the ac/alt drive belt is so close to the filter, a belt in bad condition should have been easily noticeable.
The next thing we did, of course, was to replace the belts. During this chore we noticed that the tension (tensioner?) bolt for the power steering belt was broken. Lovely.

Unfortunately, the engine rattle is still there. We are on the hunt for a reputable mechanic to have them look at the timing chain and the like. I would take it to the Nissan dealership here in town, but I do not trust them (they had our ’06 Titan for a month to replace the recalled wire harness and tried to tell me it was okay for me to drive it after their having disabled the airbags).

I’ll update again when/if we get this figured out. I also wanted to thank those of you who replied, it is appreciated.

Thanks!

[EricTheCarGuy]

Good find! Were you able to replace the broken bolt in the power steering? If not, this may contribute to the noise.

Keep us posted.

[Stephanie]

Smallish update again…

We were able to replace the power steering bolt and the rattle is still there. Just got back from yet another mechanic who looked at the timing chain and tensioner, and thankfully while they were driving it the car did make the noise. The mechanic said the chain and tensioner look fine and are not loose.
He said it sounded more like an exhaust issue, and that he will do some research into it and let me know if he comes up with anything. While in the shop he did mention that Nissan released a service bulletin about an exhaust rattle but did not go into specifics.
Would a google search take me to said bulletins or do I need to be a mechanic to find them?

Have an appointment on Friday with an exhaust place to have them check it over and we’ll go from there. Fingers crossed that we find the issue and that it is a simple fix.

[EricTheCarGuy]

I have found some heat shields on Nissans cause rattles in the past. This is how I’ve dealt with them.

Let us know what you find.

[Stephanie]

Thanks for linking me to the video, I will have to call another person over to the house to help me check the exhaust out later today. My question is, would the rattle from the exhaust be constant, or can it happen under a specific set of circumstances?
The noise the Murano has does not happen all the time, usually under load/acceleration, about 20mph, and between 1k and 2k rpm. My husband has described the noise (as he can relate to it) as starting a manual car out in second and having a rattle before everything catches up. I personally have no idea what he is talking about, my knowledge of standards (well, cars in general) is limited.
I really wish that I could put you in the car as I am going about my business so you could hear it lol. Anyway, if all this issue takes is a hose clamp, then I will be thrilled.

[college man]

What octane of fuel are you using?

[Stephanie]

I believe it is mid-grade, I was not the one who put the fuel in it this last time but I doubt he went with a lower grade. Changing fuel octane was one of the first things we did to it though. Well, to be more specific, we added an octane booster to the fuel because there was a full tank of “normal” octane of gas in it when the noise started, and when we went to refuel we used a higher octane.

[EricTheCarGuy]

Yes, an exhaust rattle would happen usually at a given RPM or condition. I call it resonance. Meaning it has a specific condition that is met before the noise will manifest. I touch on finding noises of this type in this article.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/diagnosing-noises-in-your-car

[Stephanie]

Had the exhaust system checked out and everything with that checks out. They were able to get the car to make the rattle noise while it was on the lift and the mechanic said it was not coming from the exhaust. Good to know that I can eliminate at least something from the list of suspects. Have yet another appointment on Monday with a mechanic (different than the last one) that I was told about while at the muffler shop so I guess we will see what happens then.
Seeing as how there are no engine lights on and it has not thrown any codes (yet) we are flying blind but one way or another I will find out what is going on.

Thanks again for the suggestions, links, and videos. They have given me a lot of look into as far as possibilities go and I really am learning a lot.

[college man]

From what I have read. The 2005 model had a slight low rpm
engine knock/detonation which Nissan felt was normal. Keep us
posted on your progress.I would be curios to see what the timing
is doing at that point of the noise.

[Author]

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