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Comments
Due to the following reasons:
1. Rattles and squeaks every where (sliding door, seats, all plastic)
2. Seats are very hard and the design is not comfortable (my personal opinion)
3. I had taken my van to dealership 3 times for sliding door rattles and safety issues
4. I had taken my van to dealership for front windshield sprinkler motor not working and connections failed
5. I had taken my van to dealership for lot of wind noise (they verbally accepted that the van design causing the wind noise and they can not do anything with that)
6. Low mileage.
7. One time it started in 3 gear in the traffic (looks like some transmission issue)
8. Sliding doors has no sensors. Very dangerous for the kids. The doors crashes on top of the objects and can cut the hands of the children. I demonstrated to the sales person at Nissan Dealership with books, it crashed. The door did not go back. I used my remote to open the door. This is a big nightmare. I do not waste my time before some thing happens to my kids, so I got rid of the vehicle immediately.
9. Back door has no sensors. If I press the remote (by any chance) when garage door is closed, it can crash to my garage door. I did not know if any solution.
10. The gear shifter is very hard; some times I feel it may break when I am changing gears. (My personal opinion)
11. The gas peddle design is not comfortable
I hope Nissan will correct the problems / issues in the future QUEST models.
6. your lead foot
8. the DO have sensors, but they are resistance-activated. also, they dont retract all the way when something is hit. only partway.
9. so now you want nissan to be responsible for the size of your garage??? please.
10. it didnt break.
11. again with the lead foot...lol.
i sympathize with the others, i really do...but these few things are simply lack of understanding of your van, and assigning responsibility to the wrong thing.
2. Something you should have tested during your test drive
5. Again, something you should have noticed during the test drive. Personally, I have nto had a problem with excess wind noise.
Seriously, nissanowner, you did have a soe issues wit the Quest and you got yours resolved. You shoud have held on to it longer, the gas mileage does get better. I also had poor mileage during the first few months but now with 11,500 miles onthe clock, I am averagin between 18-21 mpg (mix of city and highway driving) which is very respectable for a minivan. Strictly highway we are at 24-25 mpg.
Also the initiative by Nissan addresses the rattles, gear shift, squeaks, etc. My big question is why did Nissan expect to sell 80k units when their best year of the previous model was only 50k?????? Esp. since the minivan market has shrunk considerably over the past 5 years. It seems to me the real problem is the sales expectation was set too high. More people are buying the small car based SUVs over the minivan. NOt sure why but they are.
The dealer in my area is also very responsive and attentive.
I would still be driving my 99 had I not done considerable damage at 103,000 miles when a large Buck and my van temporarily occupied the same space.
One problem that was repaired on the 2004 was the AM radio problem. A new cable was installed according to the TSB.
Things that I have learned after buying:
1.The long wheelbase, and 16 inch tires, do not give much ground clearance. The plastic wind guard below the front bumper is too short to warn you with a scrapping noise when you are about to drag. On the 99 the guard extended low enough to tell you before any part of the structure made contact.
On this van the frame hits first in low places.
Most of the critical lines, oil pan, etc. do seem protected by the frame.
2. There is no "hold back" from the automatic transmission when going down hills, and I live in the mountains.
3. There is considerable reflection of the dash in the windshield, but wearing sun glasses neutralizes that problem.
4. The gas mileage calculator always seems to be a little more optimistic than actual pencil calculations, but the number of miles traveled is accurate. My average mileage is above 21 miles per gallon. Most of my driving is in fairly open country, but I do have lots of hills.
5. I knew the van was long when I purchased it, but I did prefer the external size of the 99.
However, it is so spacious inside that I can live with its more bulky dimensions.
6. I have heard the wind noise, but can live with that.
7.Rocks picked up by the tires seem to make an unusually loud noise hitting the bottom of the car. A coat of undercoating would have nice to cover the bare metal.
After about 4500 miles I still think it is the best van for me. It is a really nice car on the road, but a little more difficult to negotiate in close parking spaces than my 99.
I really appreciate all the comments given on this, and other, Edmund's forums.
Steve, Host
Well, you're talking about reliability? We were talking now about design. That's 2 different issues.
Most first model years have these problems you mentioned.
But the issue now is if the Quest needs a design change.
I personally does not like the Quest too much, but i don't think the exterior design is why people will not buy it. It's definitely the interior with the gauges placed on an odd spot, and 20+ same-looking buttons which forces you to take your eyes off the road to set something. And so is the CD player slot. And DVD player loading slot.
They do have one of the best engines, driving dynamics, and ideas with the many sun roofs and dual LCD's for RES.
They will also need to add SPLIT rear folding seat to compete with Sienna/Ody/Caravan.
8.75 seconds - SE, auto.msn.com
8.2 seconds - SE, nissan.jbcarpages.com
8.9 seconds - SE, www.mpt.org (Motorweek)
8.2 seconds - SE, caranddriver
I have never had a transmission that would not hold back when switched to a lower gear.
Steve, Host
Anybody have any comments or advice? I have sent an e-mail asking about this to Nissan-MX in English so have no idea what to expect.
Steve, Host
1. Exterior styling is truly contemporary and different. I tremendously enjoy the look of the Quest (but others may not). Personally, I would be disappointed to invest heavily in a conservative vehicle.
2. Fun, smooth to drive - I also own a Maxima with the same engine and like the way it accelerates and drives.
3. Interior size - we spent much seat time in the back seats and found the Quest's middle seats to be roomiest.
4. Fold down middle seats - rarely used but useful since the seats are still in the vehicle if you need them once you arrive at our destination.
5. Center console - I like the open look ahead with no gauges in the way and find that a minor turn of eyeballs is all that's necessary to read the gauges - anyone who "hates" the center console is really much too emotional. I do admit that the buttons are a little hard to use, but not an aggravation.
6. Minivans are "almost identical" in regards to features, but there may be certain features that are important to individuals, (for example the sunshades or split 3rd row seat in the Sienna). My kids like the multiple sunroofs in the back.
7. Safety - This is really # 2 but I just thought of it. The anti skid and 3 row airbags were important to us.
Regrets - my major regret is buying a first year vehicle; any make vehicle will have bugs that are only found after a few months on the road. Luckily mine all fell into the nuisance category and I feel confident they are or will be fixed. I believe I took my van back 6-8 times, but since the dealer is close and I always got a loaner, the nuisance level was acceptable. My issues were; sliding door wouldn't latch in sub zero temperature, door rattles, skyroof leak, rear hatch leak, push button fell into dash.
We still love it for all the same reasons, PLUS we now understand how truly functional and practical minivans are as well!
After owning ours for 9 months, it's not even an afterthought anymore ... i think it took me about 3-4 rides before it was irrelevent.
One side benefit is that the other passengers in the van get a clear view of the gauges (and Nav system). Not that i'm looking for any back seat drivers, but it seems to make them more a part of the trip.
Cheers.
P.S. To our gracious Host Steve, I believe I kept this post clean
5 speed now standard on SL.
Power package avalible on the S.
Roof rack now standard on the S.
Bose audio system now added to SL
leather package.
Vehicle Security System now standard.
Adjustable arm rest now added to front
leather seats.
New colors- Galexy black, Jade, Majestic Blue
No more Sahara gold, tea Green or Azure Blue.
Cheers
1. Seatback pocket came undone--replaced under warranty.
2. Broken clip on overhead console--replaced under warranty.
3.check engine light came on, bad air/fuel sensor--replaced under warranty.
4 Transmission issue/occasional silent radio issue.
But all in all I love this van.
FYI USA Today review of the 2005 Odyssey. He mentioned a rattle in one of the sliding doors. While the Odyssey, I'm sure is a great van, it's going to happen to all of them to varying degrees.
Anyway, these forums are very valuable, but some times they can make us overly sensitive to things that might not even exist in our vehicle.
My Nissan service advisor called me today to give me some good news. Actually, it is good news for all 2004 Quest owners. She claims that Nissan is extending the bumper to bumper warranty on 2004 Quests from 3 years/36,000 miles to 5 years/60,000 miles because of the problems they've been having with the 04's.
I had turning lights on my last car and really liked them. I had alot of features that I would have missed on a minivan, but thankfully the Quest has them all and then some. I am really liking the computer screen and all the functions on it. My SE w/nav is just so cool. I find it kind of strange that the Sienna and Ody get so much press and hype when the Quest seems to be outdoing it in the technology dept.
I finally got my MP3 player to work via the RCA jacks on the DVD player. That is really cool. I got headphone to RCA converter cable from local RShack. I ran the RCA cables under the floormat up through the glove box and put the MP3 player there. Once you hook it up, turn on the DVD, hit mode on the steering wheel to put DVD through Bose system, and hit mode on the DVD player to pickup RCA input. Nice.
Interesting about the extended warranty, I'll surf the web on that one for more information.
The fact of the matter is that the numerous difficulties with the Quest have been well documented in the Power survey and in what amounts to a significant and unprecedented "recall" to a far more considerable degree than the Sienna and Ody, which have many happy campers as owners and deserved reputations for not having the build problems associated with many Quests.
I understand anecdotally that there are probably a lot of happy Quest owners (more power to them), and agree that the design of the Quest is far more interesting than the others, with a nice powerplant to boot. It's why I looked at it to begin with. But the bottom line is that it's a classic tale of a first year model that doesn't appear to have been ready for prime time. Nobody is unjustly slamming the Quest; the available information simply raises a lot of questions for a cautious buyer regardless of whether Nissan is stepping up to the plate with fixes that probably shouldn't have been necessary in the first place.
It had a few rattles in one door, but an adjustment fixed that.
It had the AM radio problem, and the dealer added a new cable per the service bulletin. This was an extensive job requiring taking apart the dash. However, they got it back together just fine with no rattles.
My driver side lumbar lever does not hold adjustment. N biggie as far as I am concerned, but I believe it is covered by a recall.
Yesterday I returned to the dealer for the first oil change which was free.
I had a '99 Quest so I know many people at the dealership. The first thing the service writer said was, "your warranty has been extended, give me your operating manual". He placed a sticker in the manual to this effect. I am pleased to have a 5 year or 60,000 mile warranty.
He made a call, and gave my ID number to someone. He then went to a printer and brought back a sheet outlining certain recall items. They all seemed to be noise or rattle issues. I have no rattles and am in no hurry to have these recall issues resolved.
I am sure that there have been a lot of problems with the earlier models. You may or may not know that many Japanese engineers came from Japan and made many changes in the Miss. plant.
I do not know if the extended warranty is for all vans, or only for the earlier ones like mine.
As I wrote before, there are some things I wish were different on this van.
1. The '99 was smaller. I liked the size better on that one. The 124 inch wheelbase makes the car more likely to drag when going through a big dip like you find where driveways meet the street.
2. The car does not have a warning "scrubber" like the '99. If you drag the first thing that hits is part of the frame.
3. There is no "holdback" at all in the automatic transmission. According to the dealer, this is the same transmission that was used in the Maxima last year. When he told me that he added, "Of course this car is much heavier than a Maxima".
I guess he was saying the jury is still out on whether it will do as well in this van as it did in the lighter car.
4. I live in a rural area. My gas mileage always averages over 20 mpg. I check it with a pencil, and the built in calculator. My figures are usually a little less than that shown on the dash.
5. The car rides and drives very well. It is noisy when gravels or sticks are thrown against the underside. It would be nice to have more undercoating applied.
I never drove any other van but the Chrysler Town and Country. I really planned to buy one of those, because they have a dealership in my town, and I know the owner. However, when I would go look at them, there were always loose pieces of trim, nuts, etc. lying around the inside.
My previous experience with the Nissan dealer make me comfortable and believe that any problems will be taken care of.
My personal opinion is that this van has been underrated a lot. But, as I said, I did not try Honda or Toyota, so I cannot say I really have a good feel for how they compare.
I do believe the Nissan is not something that you have to fear, even if the 2004 was a first year for this model.
I bought a Mercury Villager the first year they came out 1993, and it did a great job. I traveled a lot and traded it for a 1995 Villager. When I traded in '99, I could not find a Mercury like I wanted, so I bought the Quest. When I traded in June it had 103,000 miles and had only two sets of front brakes. No other maientance had been done such as plugs, hoses, timing belt, etc.
One set of brakes would probably have been adequate, except for the caliper hanging up and causing premature wear out.
Lumbar, thanks for your input. It helps cement in my mind that I am onto something
Eventually, the "pre-owned" market will make a judgment on the Quest, just as it already has on the Odyssey, and as it will on the new Sienna. Hopefully, the Quest will be in the same league as the other two when resale becomes an issue.
I did not compromise like many Quest owners and waited to fix the quality probelms. Like many of present Quest owners, I was impressed with outside look at first. I like Nissan vehicles and brought 2004 Maxima. I love my Maxima. But not Quest. Quest is Very Very poor quality vehicle built ever by Nissan. Every day one new problem this message board on Quest. The problems are not consistent. This tells us how the overall vehicle is built. You will be lucky if you have no problems after you brought your quest. I wish you all Good Luck and Glad to hear Nissan extended warranty 5yrs/60000 miles. If Nissan fix all the quality problems in next year models, I am the first one to buy again. I love Nissan Vehicles but not 2004 QUEST.
Steve, Host
Steve, Host
go back to the dealer and redo the contract.