gas tank ruptured 06 Murano

Deeto

Member
Location
Hopkinton, MA
My wife is driving down the highway this morning (06 Murano) after dropping our son at daycare, bumper to bumper traffic but moving at highway speeds. The car right in front of her drops 3 feet of exhaust pipe. Swerving would put her into the cars on either side, so she braces for impact. Big bang up front under the engine, she said it jolted the car up and down. Banging and smashing moves towards the rear and turns into a whooshing sound. Not knowing what's going on, she looks in the rearview to see if it came out the back. What she sees is a trail of fire behind the car. Cars all around are braking and swerving to get away from her. The road behind her car is engulfed in flames. She said it was like Back to the Future, but a lot bigger.

Freaking out, she pulls into the shoulder and climbs over to exit the passenger door. She calls me as she's hysterically running away from the car on the side of the highway, screaming and crying and thinking the car is going to explode. Talking to her about it later, she said she was literally running for her life. I could certainly hear it in her voice. What a terrifying phone call.

Car is at the dealer, hasn't been looked at yet. At the very least, the tank is badly ruptured and needs to be replaced. I fear there's under-engine, transfer case, and drive shaft damage as well. This is a CVT, so any transfer case/trans issues require a replacement.

The exhaust pipe is still jammed under the car. Service said there's all kinds of "things" hanging from the undercarriage but they haven't had it on a lift yet. Scary stuff. I'm just glad she's okay.
 
Wow that's unbelievable. Is insurance taking care of you?


Glad your family is okay bro! A car can be replaced but a life can't. At the end of the day the car doesn't matter.

God bless
 
That's unbelievable. Glad she is okay though. The rest is replaceable! Good thing your son wasn't with her otherwise she would have been even more frantic! What about the car in front with the dropped exhaust? Did they stop or was it a reverse hit and run?
 
dam, a clear cut chain effect for hitting big items on the road. Glad your wife made out safe and no injuries.
 
Went to the dealer today to get the car seat, EZ Pass, and some other things my wife left in the car. The Nissan dealer was nice enough to put it up on the lift so I could take a look at it.

Hard to tell what it is, maybe a piece of leaf spring? Notice how it went right through the metal tank shield:

///6225[/ATTACH]

///6226[/ATTACH]

///6227[/ATTACH]


There's an air scoop under the front of the car to cool the transmission I presume. It blew right through that.

///6228[/ATTACH]


Adjuster will see the car tomorrow.
 
omg I have never even seen things like that, im glad shes okay, Is insurance going to claim it as your fault ? or are you guys gonna try to find the car that lost their muffler :|
 
Some people just dont care, if it was my muffler that dropped I would have stopped just to look at the damage and pick up the pieces.
 
Wow. I can't imagine the fear running through your wife's head at that time. Thankfully your son wasn't in the car either. Wish you guys luck in getting it resolved quickly and easily.
 
this is one of those cases where you just can't believe it until you see it! Crazy story that your family will be passing on for generations!
 
Thanks guys. Crazy stuff! We'll see what the adjuster says tomorrow.

In the meantime we have a chrysler town and country minivan for a rental. Its white and has 37 cupholders. Every time I get in it I want to drive into a lake.:bulgy-eyes:
 
WOW....just crazy. I would not want that phone call from my wife. I'm glad your family is ok, shaken, but ok.

Your wife made the right decision and not swerving into other cars. The insurance would have claimed it her fault for hitting the other cars. Since something fell off another car and impacted your vehicle....this should fall under comprehensive and does not affect your rates.
 
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