I Drove Our Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet 1,555 Miles Across Four States, Now The Real Challenge Begins 

When Griffin and I began filling the Autopian Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet up with gear for a 3,400-mile trip across America, there were doubts that we would make it. Sure, the CrossCab had only 102,000 miles and no check engine light, but it also had modifications that hadn’t been tested long-distance, a dying convertible roof, and zero redundancies. We had no spare tire, only minimal tools, and not much emergency gear. Yet, against the apparent odds, we did it, we made it to the start of the Lone Star Lemons Rally! Welcome to Day 4 of the CrossCab CrossCountry CabCross CountryCab 3,400-mile road trip!

Now, you might not be that impressed. We drove only 1,555 miles thus far, which isn’t even half of our total mileage. However, victory was not guaranteed. David Tracy warned me that the CrossCab has an axle that has been damaged and might not survive the trip. The vehicle’s right front wheel bearing started making noise before we were even 100 miles into the trip. Then I beat the crap out of the car.

If this is your first time reading one of these updates, you should know that this car has a lift kit, chunky Vredestein Pinza AT tires, and only half of it is wearing XPEL paint protection film. I bashed this thing up off-road for fun, but also to see how PPF works with my own eyes.

But now will come the real test. The CrossCab will drive to more or less the southern tip of Texas, then finally make its way up north to my apartment. I will do most of the northerly drive by myself, without backup.

Yesterday’s drive was almost entirely uneventful. San Marcos – the locals sometimes pronounce this as “San Marcus,” just go with it – was a gentle 6-hour, 17-minute drive from Lubbock.

My only real note from this drive was Texas Hill Country, a region roughly west of Austin. There are beautiful rolling hills, glistening rivers, and cute small towns. The roads twist, turn, and bend around it all. There are lots of tight curves, dips, and sweeping turns here. This was a shockingly fun time, and I didn’t even know that Texas had hills! Did we just discover the Texas equivalent of California’s Angeles Crest?

The CrossCab performed largely well, except for one huge and somewhat worrying development. Pretty much immediately into the leg to San Marcos, we felt a light front end vibration, sort of like what you’d get when you drive on a rough road. This vibration then increased to about the level that made the car feel like a giant Hitachi Magic Wand. Getting a whole car massage certainly felt good, but my level of worry increased tenfold.

The twist? The vibration is present only when accelerating.

So, what’s wrong here? Well, David Tracy did tell me that the axle on the right front wheel is worn out. My immediate thought was that the CV was on its way out. But then I remembered that I encountered this same issue in my 1997 Honda Life. It vibrated heavily under acceleration, and it had extremely bad bearings.

What concerns me is that replacing the Honda’s bearings fixed only 90 percent of the vibration under acceleration. To completely rid the car of the vibration, I also had to replace the CV joints. So, that’s not good.

Either way, the issues with the front end of the CrossCab have amplified, and we’re not even at the halfway point in the trip. The team is assessing options. I’ve futzed around with tire pressure without making any real difference.

That means the real challenge has begun. Once we’re done with the Lemons Rally, I’ll be by myself with a somewhat broken car without backup. But I’m not too worried; like a cat with nine lives, I keep finding ways to land on my feet.

In brighter news, the San Marcos Autopian meetup was a blast. A handful of readers showed up in a second generation Scion xB, a Toyota Celsior, a Ford F-150 Tremor, and a Ford Mustang Mach E.

Great conversation and Mexican food were had by all. Thank you all so much for coming out on a cold evening on a workday!

The fun of the Lemons Rally started early. We arrived at the event hotel last night and found some really cool rides.

Today, we take off and head south. This will be the last daily update about our road trip. Check back on Monday to see if we made it! Also, be sure to check previous entries for more opportunities to meet Griffin and me!