Nissan, the Japanese automaker, has produced the Murano for many years, redesigning it only three times since it began production. It’s proven to be one of the most popular mid-size SUVs, becoming one of Nissan’s biggest sellers to date, despite the problems at the company.

But, popularity doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a reliable vehicle and worth the money. Consumer Reports pulled data from previous years’ models and charted their biggest trouble spots and then giving it their own reliable rating. Here’s what they figured out with this SUV and how reliable they determine the Murano actually is.

Trouble spots for the previous year models of the Nissan Murano

The Nissan Murano started selling in American automotive markets in 2002. It’s been around for three generations and continues selling many vehicles today. The first generation, which was from 2002 to 2007, saw quite a few problems, especially the 2006-2007 model years. Many problems came up with the electrical system and the CVT transmission. Some issues cost quite a bit to repair, like the leaking transfer case that tons of people reported.

The 2009 model was another bad year for complaints. Drivers reported problems with the brakes stating they failed while driving. There were also reports of a hesitation occurring in the transmission for that year. After that, though, things seemed to have gotten better. Consumer Reports showed that consumers lodged fewer complaints since then.

How has the Nissan Murano fared in the last few years?

The third generation of the Murano is from 2015 to the present. According to the data Consumer reports gathered for these model years, there were very few problems reported. All the previous years’ trouble spots had improved, with good ratings in many of them.

The only problem causing headaches was the body integrity of the 2017 model. The same couldn’t be said of Nissan’s Rogue which continues to get complaints from its owners.

Otherwise, reliability ratings were pretty good for the 2019 model. Consumer Reports gave the Murano an overall reliability rating of 4 out of 5. When it comes to crash testing and safety, the Murano received high ratings for the IIHS reports. They also gave it an overall rating of superior, the highest a vehicle can achieve. The NHTSA gave it five stars for both front and side crash tests with four stars for the rollover one.

How does it compare to its competitors?

When factoring in all other features for the Murano, Consumer Reports gave this Nissan SUV a score of 75 out of 100. Competitors, like the Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisade, and the Mazda CX-9 all received better overall scoring, but the Telluride and Palisade both had one recall listed. The Nissan Murano has had no recalls reported yet for the 2020 model.

However, the Mazda CX-9 had a higher rating of 5 out of 5 for reliability. It also didn’t have any recalls reported so far. Nissan has many other SUVs that scored well with crash tests, and they’re known for having some decent standard safety features. Some of them include automatic emergency braking and front collision alert.

On other trim levels, you can find the Safety Shield 360 package which includes many safety features as standard. They warn you, though, that the frontal collision warning is loud, so don’t be surprised if it startles you the first time you experience it.

All in all, the Murano has made enough improvements since its beginning in 2002 and is a strong competitor for the SUV market today. So, its earlier problems seem to be a thing of the past. Today, the Murano continues to offer the best in safety for now and hopefully many years to come.