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Nissan Quest/Mercury Villager problems
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Comments
By the way - I had my transmission flushed by the dealer at 60K (my request) and have had no problems.
dhoff May 30, 2001 10:15pm
An outside source:
Is the Villager / Quest VG30E an Interference Engine? (under timing belt replacement).
I don't know about the '04's - anyone?
Steve, Host
http://www.mityvac.com/kits.html
I bought mine several years ago from J.C. Whitney by mail.
I have nissan quest 1999 83K GXE and recently when I turned to right or left I could hear click-click-click sound. This morning, I went to the shop and guy said CD or CDT(?) joint was worned and I need to replace with ~$200 for one part. Eventually, I need to replace two parts. Is it big problem? I'm sorry but I forgot its exact name.
Thanks
Our first big problem came at 48,000 miles in 1999. An increase in exhaust noise signalled cracks in both exhaust manifolds. Some of the studs had actually cracked off and were totally gone. We were lucky to have this fixed free under the 5/50 powertrain warantee -- however, I suspect that the significant amount of "monkeying around" in the engine bay to replace the manifolds led to a number of other problems we have had over the years since then.
The most annoying and persistent problems we have had are leaks. It leaked a small but steady (and smelly) amount of coolant for years, and it took 3 or 4 dealer visits ($500 +) to fix. More than one place in and around the engine was leaking. We also had a persistent but intermittent gasoline leak from a fuel line downstream of the filter, underneath the throttle butterfly. This also took several dealer visits and a lot of money to fix. We also have a small oil leak, I think from a crank seal, that we've never fixed. The only fluids we have not leaked are a/c R132a, PSF and ATF.
We had "check engine" light stuck on, sometime about year 2000. This was EGR valve problem. About this time, knock sensor also died, which we have ignored, although it does knock a lot in summer urban driving. No apparent damage so far though.
Despite an ATF drain (DIY) every 40,000 or so, we found lightly toasty trans fluid last year at 85k, and did full flush. No transmission behavior problems, though, clear thru to today. Except the designed-in 4th/3rd/4th/3rd/4th/3rd you get in the mountains.
The brakes have been OK, just a couple of front pad replacements which turned out to have been done with plenty of miles left. They tend to be sqeaky at low speed and take more pedal effort than I'd like though.
The passive seatbelts were hated from day one but still work as designed. Occasionally in cold wet weather (we always park in the street) they fail to move forward when the door is opened, but a jab at the intertia switch reset button (the red button by the parking brake pedal) gets them going again.
Sometime about five years ago, the glovebox wouldn't open. I think the handle got disconnected from the latch. I used brute force and tools to cut the latch, which permanently bruised the dash padding. I then had to also disable the hold-open spring because glued-in velcro would not dependably keep the lid closed.
A constant annoyance for me has been the totally crummy 1960's technology Ford lock cylinders in ignition and doors. Their internal parts, apparently a mixture of steel wool and sandpaper grit, have worn the edges off 4 or 5 keys my wife and I have carried over the years. Long ago, we learned to be careful to check that the ignition was actually locked after we pulled out the key. I realized it was time to take action finally when we started feeling the key wiggle independent of the lock cylinder "ears" as we started the engine last month. It was a pleasant surprise to find that a brand-new 1960's Ford ignition lock is available from the Nissan parts counter for about $40 and it takes only 15 minutes to put it in. Now we have a car that feels like a brand-new 1969 Ford when you turn the key again.
The tailgate window latch rattles a lot. There are a couple of poker chips loose behind the speedometer, or at least it sounds like that.
The rear shock absorbers pretty much fell apart by 9 years / 90,000 miles. I replaced them, and the struts, with new KYB, myself, and they work well except that I didn't properly torque the strut center shaft at first, and we still have some mysterious creaks and clunks somewhere in the running gear.
The air cleaner black plastic box is the most irritating idiotic design I can imagine -- difficult to reach and open, hard to align properly, and prone to misassembly. I wonder how much un-filtered air our engine has breathed over the years.
My wife has reported several false alarms of "low oil" over the years, while I have never seen one. I don't know what's going on, but I somehow think this is related to the old problem of the crummy ignition lock, and pulling out the key not in the "off" position.
Things that have always worked perfectly: power windows, power seat, a/c, power mirrors, power locks, ABS. (We don't have a sunroof.) Our overall average gas mileage has been 18mpg. The best we've ever done is maybe 23.
I can hardly wait to get a Sienna or '05 Odyssey -- 4 doors! More room! An extra 100 or so horsepower! 5th gear! Stability control! More airbags! No silly-seatbelts! Maybe a sunroof and roll-down sliding door windows!
Well, now I'm a camper owner and was wondering what sort of experience people have had towing with a Quest/Villager. "My" camper only weighs 2070lbs, so it falls well within the manufacturer's recommended towing capacity of 3000lbs. Should I get an oil cooler? A transmission cooler?
Any advice would be welcome.
Ours was a LX with touring package. It had 91,000 miles on it and was scrupulously maintained. What would be a fair value for that car? Second, is a replacement Mazda the best choice now that we are forced into a replacement. Our Mazda was paid for as of June 15. I'm not finding anything comparable at our local CarMax. I did, however, find a couple of low-miles Mercury Villagers that were loaded... However, the offset crash results are giving me pause. I spoke with insurance agent and our rates would actually go DOWN with Villager. Why is this?
Anybody with experience comparing the two vans, please let me hear... I remember when we bought MPV, I was dismayed to see all the bad reviews -- but it's now (and has been) a CR recommended buy. I absolutely loved it when we lived in Florida. We later moved and encountered hills where the lack of power that was never even a factor before came into play at times.
Our other car is a 1994 Toyota Corolla (next in line for replacement until MPV crash). I'm trying to keep payment reasonably low as I figure Corolla won't last forever. So far, though, pretty good.
Thanks for any help / insight.
93,330 miles (purchased my '99 Quest GXE 12/31/98).
Cost to operate:
$862.66 for taxes and registration.
$3,141.70 for insurance.
$7,860.85 for gas (est. @ $1.80 a gallon - 6373
gallons burned)
$2,617.16 expenses (service/tires/accessories)
Value:
$7,675.00 TMV (clean, private party)
$15,106.00 depreciation (paid $$22,781)
So, 16 cents to own and operate; 32 cents a mile with depreciation included in the cost of ownership.
My mpg is at an all time high of 21.3 combined, and I had two tanks in a row back in March of 29+ - one was 29.95 so I almost broke 30 for the first time!. The worse tank in the last 10,000 miles was 15.21.
Non-scheduled maintenance includes front brakes and a battery. $1,138 was for scheduled maintenance and $293 was for aftermarket stuff and $956 was for 9 tires, a rim and a few flats.
My driver's side power window is still balky (JimZ? <g>) and I had to reglue the side mirror for the 5th (?) time the other day from where I dropped a canoe on it. I haven't had to clean the throttle body for a while now.
Otherwise no problems to speak of. I'm looking forward to a big bill for a new timing belt and plugs, fan belts, hoses and fluids in the next year or so.
Steve, Host
I have a 2000 Nissan Quest and on the front cup holders one of them no longer will hold its position a keep a cup stable. Is there anyway to repair this, or how can I replace it myself?
Thanks.
Steve, Host
We purchased our 99 GXE at about the same time - mine has 78K on it with few problems - did have to replace an alternator that was overcharging.
Have you ever determined what was causing your coolant to go below minimum (earlier post)? I have a similar problem in that I have to top it off to bring it back up to full once or twice between oil changes. The dealer has pressure tested the system twice and found no leaks. Seems to be worse in the winter - maybe heater related. I can usually smell coolant when first shutting the vehicle down. My concern is it is internal and may mean big $$$.
Still have not changed my timing belt but am a little worried about going to 105 because I am pretty sure that we have an interference engine. I know we discussed this earlier but serveral automotive searches identify that I am correct.
The front bank plugs are readily accessible, but the rear bank ones are very deep requiring socket wrench extensions. You must have a rubber-sleeved socket which will grip the plug. I also duct-taped the socket extensions so they wouldn't come apart.
A warning. It's highly recommended that you tighten the plugs with a torque wrench. A relative recently had to replace the engine head (4-cylinder Mazda)because a spark plug came loose, stripped the threads and ejected. The repair cost was about $3000.
He either tightened the plug too much and damaged the threads in the aluminum head or the plug was too loose resulting in thread damage each time the cylinder fired. It took about 30000 miles before the failure. Very expensive lesson.
Did you save the links showing that the engine is an interference one?
I'm debating about changing out the timing belt early too, but that goes against my frugal nature (although being frugal doesn't mean I want to cheap out and break down somewhere).
Since my mileage keeps increasing, I'm loathe to mess it up with a bunch of new parts!
Steve, Host
My experiences with coolant losses always have led me to try sealers that you pour into the radiator to circulate to the area of the cryptic leak. By golly, it almost always works!
http://gates.com/part_locator/index.cfm?location_id=3002
The interesting thing is, I always find that these sites also verify that the Quest belt should be changed at 105K. I also have a VW Passat with a belt change interval of 105K but I know it is an interference engine and will change at 60k regardless. Seems to me some manufactures must believe their belts go longer. My problem is I doubt they would replace the engine if the belt breaks out of warranty and causes major damage.
From what I've read on the internet (insert disclaimer here) the Villager/Quest engines are non-interference. I have also read reports of them going much longer than the recommended change mileage without problems. I'm sure some of them break before 105,000 too, but I've never heard of one.
I do plan on getting it changed probably next week, along with the water pump and accessory drive belts. I'm debating wether to have them try to fix a pesky little coolant leak somewhere under the intake manifold at the same time. It leaks a tiny amount, I have to add a bit of coolant once or twice a year. Not sure if it's worth it, or even if they could give an accurate estimate without tearing it apart.
Dave
I've seen the Gates link, but I wonder if they are just parroting the Pathfinder requirements since it has the same VG33E engine designation.
I have a factory manual and it doesn't address the issue, unfortunately.
The one legit looking scanned document I've seen on the net claiming that the Quest was a non-interference design (via the VillagerQuest FAQ I linked the other day) doesn't indicate the source.
Interesting that several of us seem to have small coolant leaks at high miles. Anyone else?
Steve, Host
Try jiggling the glass and lubing the edges too.
Steve, Host
The other switch I am having some heartburn over is the turn signal and the high/low beam switch. Sometime the high/low beam flickers when I activate the switch and sometimes the signals fail to work.
That was a bunch of green to lay down for the Estate package on a vehicle the has so many little nit-picky problems (switches, radio display, climate control failure, etc).
Dave
Well thanks anyway.
jpmri5 Dec 1, 1999 2:40am
Maybe you have a lot of spilled Coke on it that's gumming it up?
Steve, Host
Thanks again.
So you might be able to find one online or at a salvage yard and d-i-y for cheap.
Steve, Host
PS to steve_ HOST: I double checked my sparkplug access on my 2000 Villager, and I remain convinced that the engine is rolled to the front, so to speak, to a position that makes all six plugs accessible from the top of the engine. I noted that my Haynes manual claims that Villager plugs on one bank must be approached from below the engine, next to the firewall. The visualization I get just standing there, looking, is that you could never reach any of the six plugs from below on this year model! Do you suppose other years of models did not have the engine oriented at the angle of rotation I see in mine?
Guess what's a big problem on the '04 Quests?
Replacing the driver's power window switch, which has a high failure rate.
AutoWeek
Steve, Host
Steve, why did you close out the Villager discussion? Just 'cause you can't buy a new one doesn't mean there is nothing to discuss.
There aren't many problems to discuss on these vehicles....
Our 95 didn't have any of the typical problems.
Just some ball joints, tie rods, and it liked to lock the doors by itself.
We just turned over 100K on it, and it still had original muffler, shocks/struts, rear brakes, hoses, all lamps.
Scott 2002 Villager Estate Premium
I haven't really looked too close, but I don't recall the back plugs being comepletely buried. I seem to think that the engine is tilted forward, and the rear bank might be somewhat exposed.
Of course, if they didn't insit on slapping on plastic covers to hide the engine, it would be easier to tell.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I considered reopening it (and I'm happy to do so if people want), but I figured most of the pre-'04 talk would center around problems anyway.
Steve, Host
Almost unbelievable that the 2004 Quest STILL has the window switch wear-out problem! They coulda fixed it so easily on this new model.
Sopman
The replacement one will work to raise my driver's window if I pull back hard on it and hold it for a second or two. Jiggling the window in the track seems to help too.
So I put my balky one back in since there was no improvement.
Like Dave said, there's nothing inside except circuit boards that I can see. I couldn't get underneath the boards - is there a trick to getting the switch covers off too?
Steve, Host
ps - thanks for the part Jim!
When I had this issue under warranty they replaced the window motor. So I'm a little dubious if it's just the switch. I also don't mind living a little bit dangerously (maybe some duck tape and clear plastic needs to be tossed in with the jack though <g>).
Steve, Host
You may be able to find an OEM rim at a salvage yard; I tried that first before settling for the universal.
Steve, Host