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Nissan Quest 2004+: Problems & Solutions
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Comments
Please don't think that doors opening while the car is in motion and with my grandchildren in the back seat can in any way be considered "new model occurrences". Or that the door closing on me and bruising me can be written off as well. There appears to be no safety feature to stop the closing mechanism and the dealer has been unable to find any solution to these problem. This is after four visits, a fifth one is scheduled for this week. If you have a fix, please share it.
We have noticed, however, that tranny shifting from 1st to 2nd? (10-20 mph range) slams into gear, emitting a noticable clunk. Dealer was unable to duplicate it, and it didn't do it when my wife took the caqr out with the mechanic. Anyone notice this on their Quest?
The more I look at the other vans, the more they look like vans to me... the Quest is unique (and surprisingly good on ice), just need to get a few things ironed out.
Vince
I agree, we've had some very slippery conditions lately and the Quest has been surprisingly good on ice. Maybe it's the weight of the van.
mean that the windshield washers are inadequate as on my Quest. I have posted earlier on
this problem which has not been fixed. The dealer first replaced the nozzles--no change.
Nissan then sent a whole new cowl with nozzles--no change. Recently, Nissan sent a
more powerful pump which the dealer installed on another Quest--no improvement. I
suggest that others with this problem file an official complaint with NHTSA (nhtsa.gov) as
I have because this is a serious safety problem.
Re posts 400, 408: It does take a long time to get heat from the front, floor vents. Also
the air flow is considerably less than that from my '93 Villager. We just completed a 2-
week, 3000-mile skiing trip in the Rockies. Because temperatures were mild and we had
sunshine every day, the car always became comfortable after 15-20 minutes of driving.
Whether the car will heat sufficiently on cloudy, below zero days is still to be determined.
In all other respects the Quest performed flawlessly in the mountains. Compared with the
Villager, the 240 horsepower (150 in the villager) was greatly appreciated
in mountain passes. Except for the terrible windshield washers, we really like this van.
I sincerely hope they fix your van for eliminate your problems. Good Luck.
golden_s, I'm glad the WD silenced you rattles as well. Seems like most people who tried it (but not all) got some relief. I've squirted mine twice in the last 4 months. That's not bad at all.
dwmel@lycos.com
So golden_s, we have had pretty cold weather in the NE recently, how has your S model handled heating up from the floor vents?
I have an 200 Olds Intrigue with 60k miles on it. This vehicle heats faster then the minivan but there is one third the space in that car then in the van. Also I would make sure your A/C is not on.
The windshield washer is not adequate specially when you are driving on the Highway. This is could be due to the fact that the nozzle hidden under the hood and the washer strike the glass with low angle (i.e. bad design) . I will follow up with Nissan, since I have filed a complaint with The Consumer affair in Ontario about the whole matter.
For the radio I was shown a TSB showing the the replacement of the AM antennae wiring is the fix, even though audio for all functions is out. The door has not acted up again. On 1/15 the passenger power sliding door would not stay closed (sub-zero), and the radio quit while it was in with the dealer, before he did any work.
Dealer now says the solution is to replace the entire radio, replace the locking mechanism (latch) for the sliding door and that the overhead console switches are faulty, replacing them as well. I had to 'acvtively debate, with Nissan Cust. [non-]assistance - Angie - to be provided a rental car for the 8 days my car would be in the shop until new latches were installed. This is a serious safety issue, which they reluctantly did.
The radio has been replaced as well as the door latch mechanism, which I did learn from Nissan has been re-designed - they did not mean to tell me this, the console switches have been replaced as well as the radio. I got the car back on 1/22.
Last night (1/31) the radio cut out again so I drove it to the dealership so they can see the problem for themselves, as service was closed I dragged the sales rep out.
This will be the second repair. If the radio fails again after the next 'fix' I qualify for the NJ Lemon Law and am [preparing the paperwork now. No person should ever except shoddy design as a reason for failure. I urge each of you to report the door problems, as well as all the others to the NTHSA. http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/ If you do not report it to the overseeing federal organization how can the problem be escalated.
Hoping that Nissan will respond to ad hoc customer complaints is the equivalent of asking a 16-year old boy how far he thinks he should go on a first date and then being surprised by the answer. We spend a lot of money on these vehicles and deserve a solid car.
For NY Lemon Law info visit http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/ocp.htm
BTW I have noticed problems with the under performance of the windshield washer sprayer as well. I will be following on this with the dealer as well.
Van handles superbly in snow and ice, only passenger slider popping back open in cold weather is discouraging.
The posts above have me scared to commit to a Quest. I live in central Wisconsin and we haven't seen 32 F in three weeks and below 0 F (most -10F or lower) just about every night.
Ironically, problems with the passenger side sliding rear door reported above was apparent in our test drive of a 3.5SL, which took place when the temperature was about 2 F with -35F wind chill. It would not go all the way back and reversed on itself. Dealer said it was ice in the track - I think not since car was very clean on outside. My wife and I decided then and there to opt for the no frills 3.5S - if we went through with a purchase.
Couldn't tell if the heat was an issue because salesperson seemed to want to warm it up for what seemed forever for the test drive, seemingly stalling on the showroom floor to buy time. Maybe he knew about the slow heating and wanted to hide it.
All of the above makes me think about waiting until late summer to see if they can solve the heat/wiper issues.
laundryguy
I pulled off and checked it out. I soon realized that the handler did not bounce back to the original position after I pulled it to open the car. I slightly push the handler back and the door closed!! No problem after that. I think this could be the one of the reasons some posters complained about the door. Make sure the handler bounced back right to the original position.
Hope this helps.
www.mycarstats.com
btw: I have a SE with 6k miles on it. I had the auto-reversing door problem, but my dealer fixed it. No other major complaints (except the slight door rattle).
Makes sense as this could be a charge buildup that is tripping an internal radio system. Re starting the car brings the radio back.
Just a few weeks ago, we recieved a call that the parts are in. I can understand the slow supply channels with new car parts, but almost 4 months....
While we patiently waited, we developed the door rattle. My patience with rattles was slim so I tried a variation on the WD40 theme and added white litium grease to the lower latch and alignment device. So far no rattles, even on frozen roads in PA.
The van goes in for service on the other items Monday, do I tell them to look at the rattle or hope it is gone for good w/ grease? I hate the thought of them tearing something apart that could create more problems.
Heat and other items seem fine.
Two suggestions:
1) Start the car slower; this would serve no purpose
2) Await a TSB due in "4-6 weeks" no time frame is specified. Nissan is faulting the design of the Clariion single-cd in dash unit. I am told this TSB will recommend switching the existing unit for a newly available unit. I would say that this qualifies the problem as widespread.
They say that the unit should be stepping down the voltage at the ignition-start but it is not. Hence the suggestion to start the car slower.
The only solution I have found is to stop the car. Shut the car off and turn off any lights that are on (internal / external) then restart. Possible the restart is just as effective. As a friend of mine said, "So you basically reboot the car". I guess Microsoft joined Nissan's design team!
As a TSB is coming that requires the Manufacturer to provide a newly designed unit I would say this must be pretty endemic.
Dealer has a volume control assembly on order for radio.
There is definitely a rattle from the left side, I have not tried WD40, dealer could not duplicate the problem.
Most annoying problem, however, is the hard shifting of the tranny at low speed (usually from a full stop, 1st to second?)
Very audible, noticeable clunk. I know I have 45,000 miles left on the tranny warranty, but it's not a pleasant sound. On my last trip of 70 miles to work, it seemed the engine was much noisier, whiningly maintaining speed. (acceleration was still good when I needed it, lots of merging traffic situations, van handles like a Maxima)
This is a flawed vehicle, but I still recommend it!
One day, my dealer may actually call me to say some parts are in!
Vince
Also I mentioned about my radio cutting out twice and they found no problem but today it happened a third time (Resolved when you restart the car.)
Still would like to get these issues resolved!
Is this a problem or just normal condensation (it has been quite cold lately)?
TIA
The only way I could get my radio back on was to completely shut off the car: no key in ignition, no lights (internal/external). Basically I had to reboot my car (Quest designed by Microsoft!)
I've been driving mine around SW Pennsylvania for 3 months now. I'm plesantly surprised how well it handles in the snow/ice.
The built in TCS (Traction Control System) seems to compensate for wheel spin/slippage giving better traction when needed. Of course it could also be attributable to the overall weight of the van or the new 17" tires.
Anybody else have this problem, is this feature just basically unreliable or should I have it checked?
Not sure why it can't be anymore accurate, but I'm sure it has to do with the shape of the fuel tank. I imagine the tank is wide and shallo so they can have the fold flat seats. just my two cents.
Both manual and power sliding door were missing spaces. Bought it back a second time and they showed me a TSB stating that many of the latches are misplaced and need re-alignment. They did this last week. I then drove from NJ to Vermont and back (700 miles) without any rattles. I had threatened the Lemon law due to repeated problems with the radio and the door and got Nissan's attention in a hurry.
Thanks,
Bob
After driving the Quest S for more than 4 month, the engine speed and gear shift of my car are very stable now. I almost CAN NOT notice any gap between gears. One of the reasons is that the engineer runs at low speed (rpm) all the time, even during acceleration on highway. Quest engine has a speed @ 1800 rpm when cruising at 60 MPH, and speed is only 2200 rpm at 80 MPH. Fast acceleration is normally at 2400-2600 rpm (when merge on highway). This is the maximum engine speed I need during past 4 months. Compare with 2004 Sienna, new Quest has lower compression ratio thus you don’t need high grade gas for the same performance.
Unlike the sporty cars or 4-cyl cars, you need to use engine speed way above 3000 rpm to get the same fast acceleration or cruising at high speed (>75 MPH). Under that case, the 5-speed transmission is handy for better performance and resulting better gas mileage. The fact that 5-speed on Quest SE does not have better gas mileage than SL (actually 1 MPG less) may indicate the 4-speed transmission performs just as good as 5-speed.
Just my 2 cents.
the only Quest TSBs relating to the radio are numbers are 03113 and 03113a (both dated 12/2003).
Using the boards TSB lookup for the Quest- LINK -
http://www.edmunds.com/maintenance/MaintenanceServlet?step=step4&- amp;year=2004&make=Nissan&model=Quest&style=3.5+SE+4d- r+Minivan+%283.5L+6cyl+5A%29&zip=85045&popup=current&- synpartner=edmunds&tid=edmunds...mnt.step2.9.Nissan
the TSBs elude to a problem with the AM not working..
AM ?? whats that ?
Unsure if it has anything to do with the recent posts about the unit itself shorting out etc...
If someone has full access to these TSBs, perhaps they can post the text.
cheers!