Area51 - Mike and Sandra's 2020 Nissan Murano:

Also known as a cost effective and easy way to replace expensive front struts on an 8 year old Suzuki Kizashi after dumping a ton of money into more repairs this past winter.

Our 2012 Suzuki Kizashi was the first brand new vehicle Sandra and I purchased together and it served us well over the last 8 years. Powered by a peppy inline 4 cylinder engine with all wheel drive, full power options, factory Fosgate audio and leather interior it was a great car. Unfortunately after our 7 year warranty expired we started having to make significant and costly repairs including replacing the rear drive shaft, rear side axel & seal and a windshield washer pump.

 

 

Many of these parts were dealer only and were incredibly expensive (over $2000 for the driveshaft alone) as Suzuki no longer sells new cars in North America. Luckily our good friend Justin at Canada Car Care in Mount Pearl found us much more economical 2nd hand replacement parts to complete those repairs. In August while replacing the windshield wash pump I found both front struts leaked out and once again these parts were quite expensive so we decided to look into purchasing a replacement vehicle.

 

 

We previously decided that a mid size SUV would best suit our current needs, after a bunch of review reading and some test drives we decided on this beautiful 2020 Nissan Murano Platinum.

 

 

The features are endless but power memory seats-mirrors-steering wheel, touch screen, 360º cameras, power hands free lift gate, Bose audio, 20" wheels, full LED lighting package and an epic 3.5L V6 sure stand out as does the pearl white paint.

 

 

 

Among other features the platinum package upgrades the standard leather seats to quilted leather and are cooled in addition to being heated.

 

 

My first trip in the new vehicle was to long time friend Terry Clouston to have the front windows lightly tinted to match the rear glass for sun protection, heat resistance and privacy.

 

 

 

The following weekend we loaded up our new rig and headed out over the highway to our summer place in Bay Roberts, which is a regular trip to which our SUV will be much better suited than the car.

 

 

 

 

As a part of our purchase agreement we had a set of Nissan window visors installed. Neither ourselves nor the installer were happy with the fitment so we had them removed and are currently waiting on a different set to become available for the 2020 Muranos.

 

 

However the included hood deflector fit great and will provide great protection to the leading edge of the hood especially during our harsh winters.

 

 

 

In September my Armour Shield ceramic coating kit finally arrived from Avalon King along with their vehicle ceramic prep kit (which they sent me for the delay in shipping my ceramic order). The instructions were very thorough and application of the product straight forward and I'm very happy with the results. Professional grade ceramic coatings have been around quite awhile now and are one of the best paint protection systems available but they are pricey to have installed. I'm very eager to see how Avalon King's product holds up against our harsh winter, and I will be comparing it to the Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic applied on my Silverado earlier this year.

 

 

In November it was time to swap out the beautiful dark hyper silver 20" OEM wheels for winters. This vehicle required minimum 18" rims which in steel were pricy so we decided to upgrade to 18" aluminum which are lighter and much nicer looking. These 18x8" ENVY wheels which are winter rated for strength and finish coating were picked up locally at NL Light Bars. The tires are Firestone Winterforce 2uv supplied and installed by Canada Car Care in Mount Pearl.

 

 

McGuard lug nuts finish out the winter prep package. While swapping wheels I removed the fabric wheel well liners and applied a liberal coating of Pro-Form undercoating to the vehicle body and hit all body electrical grounds with Fluid Film which is safe for plastics, rubber and electrical components.

 

 

 

 

So far we are very pleased with the new vehicle, we received good trade in from our old car which was fully paid-off which made our new vehicle much cheaper. Sometimes it's nice to drive a paid-off vehicle, but when repairs get expensive it's also good comfort to know what your monthly vehicle expense will be and enjoy extended full warranty!

 

Fall 2022 Update:

The Murano still continues to run very well. A few minor issues in the first few months were sorted out by the dealer and we've had no issues since.

 

 

In November it was time to replace the front brakes, which I opt to do myself as I'm picky and want a definite great job done.

 

 

 

 

We also picked up a set of OEM rubber winter mats which will be much easier to keep clean.

 

 

They fit perfectly in place of the standard carpeted mats even utilizing the attachment hooks in the floor.

 

 

Our aftermarket aluminum winter rims are holding up perfect. Now on their 3rd winter there no marks, corrosion or damage on the finish despite being run in harsh winter conditions.

Post February 2024 Blizzard

 

 

Cheers, MIKE

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Copyright © 2011 Michael Smith