Behind the Nissan Murano’s 5-Star and TOP SAFETY PICK+ Awards

This blog regularly has posts informing you when a Nissan model has achieved an overall 5-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), designated as either a TOP SAFETY PICK or TOP SAFETY PICK+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), or both in the case of the redesigned 2025 Nissan Murano. Such posts occur frequently enough that they may give the impression that these accolades are easy to achieve. The truth is they are anything but. Dick Smith Nissan of Lexington takes you to where Nissan tests and retests their models to achieve their desired impact safety goals.  

For every Nissan model crash-tested by NHTSA or IIHS, several others meet their untimely end at Nissan’s state-of-the-art $40 million Nissan Safety Advancement Lab in Farmington Hills, Michigan, just outside Detroit. For each test performed by NHTSA or IIHS, Nissan engineers replicate the test multiple times. They analyze the results after each crash, identify flaws, consult with engineers to find solutions, implement them into the vehicle, and then retest. Overall, Nissan’s safety engineers perform approximately 400 crash tests each year. 

The facility enables 48 different passive safety crash test simulations to be performed onsite with cutting-edge high-speed photography systems and data acquisition equipment. Also onsite is a test dummy calibration lab, space for preparing vehicles, and a pedestrian safety lab.  

Advanced computer simulations can reduce the number of crash tests conducted. However, the actual tests reveal aspects that computer simulations can’t accurately map, such as the exact timing of when the airbags deploy and where they make contact with the crash test dummies. Other aspects are best tested in the real world, including whether doors remain latched and if any fuel leaks occur. 

“During our entire development process, we always think about the customer,” said Derrick Diver, Nissan Senior Safety Performance Engineer. “Nissan safety and design engineers collaborate extensively to ensure the Murano’s body structure deforms as intended to absorb energy during a crash and protect passengers.” 

The designers may have made the Murano beautiful to us, but to Diver and other safety engineers, nothing is prettier than a vehicle that deforms exactly as intended. Interestingly, the engineers struggle with impacts from smaller items rather than larger ones. This is because smaller but more resilient objects require all the energy absorption to come from a smaller portion of the vehicle. The IIHS explores this exact issue with their moderate overlap front impact test, which strikes just 40% of the vehicle’s front, and the small overlap crash tests, impacting only 25% of the front ends. They developed these tests based on data showing that most vehicles do not collide head-on because most drivers make some attempt to evade the collision, just not successfully. 

NCAP’s side impact test, which the test center simulates, is based on the same assessment by simulating a vehicle sliding sideways into a narrow but stout object, like a light or utility pole. In addition to measuring cabin intrusion, this effectively tests the vehicle’s side and curtain airbags. Designing airbags requires incredible precision, as the vehicle must determine whether to deploy the airbags in only 10 milliseconds. 

In the past couple of years, greater attention has been paid to second-row passengers, with smaller test dummies developed to simulate children. “Having a safe rear seat is important in any vehicle,” said Jeff Sitko, Nissan Safety Performance Manager. “That’s where we’re going to put our younger family members, and so we engineered it to be as safe as possible.” In addition to measuring intrusion into the cabin, attention is given to potential “submarining” – when a smaller passenger is at risk of partially slipping under the lap portion of the belt. The Murano ultimately scored five stars in second-row passenger safety. 

So, when you hear that the Murano or another Nissan vehicle has been awarded an overall 5-star rating or is an IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK +, consider all the work testing and retesting that went into earning those accolades.  

Visit Dick Smith Nissan of Lexington to check out the safety award-winning Nissan models like the Murano.