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Comments
The a/c problem is the worst. The van is now in the shop for recalls and upgrades and I asked them to check the a/c for a second time. the first time i was told it was operating according to specs. the van is barely tolerable in temps over 95. Can this be a reason for arbitration? p.s. my first year MDX had one minor issue that was resolved immediately by acura,I am beginning to regret selling it.....
This suggests that there is some probably with the doors controlling air flow. I'll be checking with the dealer on this.
Also, when on AC, the vent air temp is consistently in the 40s, so no problem at all.
It took me a year (we got our Quest July 2003) to notice that there is large gap between the shelf and the window covering the gages. The gap is about 1/4-inch. Has anybody else noticed this on their Quests? Do not use the shelf for storing small objects because there is a large cavity below the shelf.
The dealer (after days of blowing us off) discovered that there was too much freon in it (about twice as much as needed). After they adjusted it to the right level, it has been cold like alaska in my quest.
Now I am having that starting problem.
Anyone verified that it is the feul pump?
I am overseas now and I do not want to have to pay for the repairs over here.
thanks
I understand the feature of the airbag. It is still lit after my daughter is sitting in it.
Is this a "Known" issue and will my dealer recognize the problem and fix it - I take it in tomorrow.
Did you ever get the problem resolved ??
My post #725 explains what the technician at my service department thinks was the problem. It did happen once after he supposedly fixed the problem. Another Quest owner claims they called Nissan, they acknowledge the problem and are working on a fix. There are no official TSB's out from Nissan to correct this problem yet. A great and informative website on this kind of stuff is www.nissanhelp.com
I guess it's really hit or miss with this car- kinda like buying domestic. I hope Nissan really fixes the problems- it would be a shame to have to go back to Toyota (or worse, Honda)- I really like Nissans.
tom
In my recent case I parked on a slight downward sloping hill for a couple of hours. When I started the car I needed to back up - so yes it was in reverse, in addition because the Nissan will not hold well I had my foot on the brake to prevent it rolling forward towards a ditch as I backed up.
Then put it into drive, put my foot down and it was like trying to drive a Standard shift in third gear, engine running very hard, not much forward motion.
Once I got going into 4th?? it seemed OK. But then as I slowed to pull into my road, again the engine was working hard at 3000 rpm to move forward. When we stopped in my garage all four passengers noticed the nasty H2S smell from the front end NOT the exhaust.
I goes into the shop fr the second time on Monday to see if they can figure this out - Do you think the Nissan Bulletin 04035 might apply here?
1. Nissan & the arbitrator rejected my claim for them to buy back the van.
2. My complaint was that the vents would not stop blowing warm/hot air, except when the AC was turned on.
3. Nissan confirmed the problem and admitted it was a normal feature/design of the vehicle. All 2004 Quests behave this way. The only way you can stop the hot air is by turning on the AC. I found you can also turn off all air flow with the fan being off and the recirculate button pressed.
4. The arbitration attorney rejected my claim because this problem was "not caused by a defect in materials or workmanship." Instead, the problem "resulted from the design of the vehicle." This kind of logic is beyond my level of understanding.
5. A local AC shop owner attended the hearing as my expert witness and did a good job. The heating design has no coolant valve to regulate flow thru the heater core, and that is fundamentally the root of the problem.
6. The Nissan rep was very cordial, and admitted the van would get hot without the AC on.
The BBB Autoline performed the arbitration service in very professional manner. The facility and meeting room were excellent. I was simply unsatisfied with the decision...
I stated the facts as clearly and unbiased as I can. You can reach your own conclusions.
Sam G
I assume that the HVAC designers didn't think about the system being in the 'off' setting.
I fail to understand the purpose of a monitoring system if it doesn't help me figure out which tire has low pressure. The Owner's manual doesn't help (it specifically says 'the order doesn't correspond to the actual order or tire...')
I have 34 psi in the top and bottom figures, 31 in the middle two, the second from the top is highlighted and I have a 'Flat tire. check all tires' indicator. Is there is simple mathematical formula to calculate which tire is actually flat?
Thanks for your responses.
I fail to understand the purpose of a monitoring system if it doesn't help me figure out which tire has low pressure. The Owner's manual doesn't help (it specifically says 'the order doesn't correspond to the actual order or tire...')
I have 34 psi in the top and bottom figures, 31 in the middle two, the second from the top is highlighted and I have a 'Flat tire. check all tires' indicator. Is there is simple mathematical formula to calculate which tire is actually flat?
Thanks for your responses.
You can always "return" your extended warranty and they will give you back a prorated sum. You could then purchase another one to start at 5 years. I returned the warranty on my Toyota and got most if it back, even after 18 months.
I noticed I have a little vibration only when going downhill on the freeway. I was going to have the dealer check it out. My guess is it's the front rotors, although the vibration is not bad. I was wondering about the wheel balance.
tom
Thanks for all the replies. The order in fact seems to be clockwise starting from the front driver's side (although once we have a tire rotation, all bets are off).
We received the warranty extension yesterday. I wonder if any other car dealer has ever done that. I think it speaks volumes in terms of the problems they are having with this car. I am very disappointed with this car. By the way, we went to arbritration in March on the transmission problem...we lost.
This is costing my family way too much money. I think Nissan should buy back these cars, forget the extra warranty, I want a car that is safe and reliable.
What is the status with the transmission problem? It has happended twice but I feel the bad gas mileage (11-12mpg/city) is related. Are there any fixes?
Thanks, Tara
Ditto...my hearing was similar. Everyone was cordial however their conclusions simplistic. I went with the transmission problem and since I did not have 4 visits, only 2, I went with the safety clause of the lemon law.
Because I drove the car to the dealer to demonstrate the problem, he concluded it was not a safety issue. For my families sake I hope he's right.
You can reach your own conclusions here as well,
Tara
We live at the beach and don't use it often. However, in the morning I need it and it does not work. I have been trying all kinds of settings...bottom line is it is desiged so that the a/c comes on if you put the defroster on...that to me is crazy. After much exerimentation I have found that I must turn the temp all the way to hot...in fact when you do that you hear the air shift from the floor to the window (duh...where you need the air when your windows are fogged!!!)
So...the a/c is on and the temp is on hot and then my windows SLOWLY begin to defrost. I just hope I don't have to drive to far because it could get hot! And...I wonder how hard that is on the a/c system???
I am so sick of BXXXXX about this car. Tara
If you keep your windows clean on the inside it helps prevent them from fogging up also.
These vans have such large windshields it takes time to defrost.
Sorry you're having such problems with your car. Believe it or not, even Toyotas have cars with problems, and some domestic owners never have any problems. Statistically you will do better with a Japanese car, but the problem with statistics is it doesn't make you feel better when you get a car that falls below the norm.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. I hope you do better on your next car.
tom
Buying a car shouldn't be like getting a bad deal in a poker game. At $30k plus for a car I shouldn't have to wait until my next purchase and then hope I got a good hand on that play.
I'm just upset, Nissan isn't hurting financially why should my family pay for their mistakes. I've got kids to put through college...
Tara
Unfortunately, we as consumers also pay, as we always have. I knew the risks of a first year car when I bought the Quest- I was hedging my bet though hoping Nissan would do better, but I lost. The Poker analogy is not all that far off.
I cannot recommend this van to anyone who is financially tight, as I think there are more reliable choices out there. But if you go through cars frequently anyway, it's a nice minivan to have for a few years. Now that the warranty has been extended to 5 years I might keep it a little longer than 2 or 3.
tom
They have ordered a valve body (Part# 3170589X00 in case anyone is interested).
Hopefully this will fix my problem - I will report back after a few days.
Also, like others I got a very nice note from Nissan saying that they want to keep me happy with the vehicle and have extended the warranty from 3 to 5 years - I appreciate this very much, Thankyou Nissan for caring about my concerns.
I think that might work, what car manufacturer out there has a reputation for taking the high road?
I don't consider myself financially tight but I don't waste money, if my kids go to a public university or Stanford I want to be ready.
You are right they will pay for this due to the poor customer satisfaction, as they should.
Thanks for the chance to vent! Tara
Oh well, it's a dilemma I'm not likely to face though. I doubt Nissan would buy back 50,000 vans! What would they do with them?
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything about your finances, I was just speaking about people who have asked me for advice about buying a Quest. I don't thing many of us want to waste money, especially with kids and saving up for college. I won't make any comments about what I think about Stanford. ;-)!
Good luck again. Anytime you want to vent I'd be happy to chat!
tom
When we got in the Airbag light kept flashing, 1 hour more with the tech and I'm told this was just the system resetting itselg - notthe best customer iniitiative! We shall see what we shall see.
The wife tells me that got rid of the last rattles including the rear seat rattle (not part of the initiative, but we had it in for that as well).
We got the extended warranty letter - service dept. never heard of it. We also now have had the car in the shop for 23 days since initial purchase in jan 04. I will be contacting my lemon law lawyer as this puts us past NJ's 20-day timeframe.
Just contacted Freehold Nissan yesterday to find out how long it will take for the upgrade. The lady at the service dept said only one day, although it requires a week to order the parts. I really doubt it since they need to replace 5 or 6 items on the van.
How long did it take for you? Did you get a free loaner? Besides the upgrade, I want them to check out the rotors and fix the clunk from rear seat. Thanks.
During the warm weather, the pressure was reading 32,33,33,34, which wasn't too far off, so, I didn't bother them.
Anyone else have this happen? Good to see it is working as it is supposed to, but, weird that the pressure varies so greatly as to set it off. Maybe I need to watch that closer during the change of seasons.
The purpose of this is that the AC dries the air before it enters the vehicle, which assist in defogging the interior windows. I usually run my vehicles in defrost/floor mode during snowy times so that the melting snow dries quicker.
However, note that, the AC does not operate if the outside temperature is lower than 35 degrees. Running the AC at temperatures less than freezing can cause damage.
How did your service center find out that "there IS a KNOWN defect with the transmission control system that can cause the transmission not to drop into 1st when stationary"? I would like to direct my service center to the same source so that they can figure out if my symptoms are from the same cause that you have, and, thus, the fix might be the same.
Thanks!
-cj
The mechanic seemed to think that if this component was faulty it would give the symptoms I am experiencing. New one on order, will fit next week and hopefully problem solved - will let you know.
Nissan provided for a rental from Enterprise for the full 8 days. The rental was a Quest S, that should help sales! There is a $2/day charge that Enterprise wanted me to pay (I have been shown this before) but on principle I refuse to pay, Freehold paid this. I do not think I should have to pay anything for something that was caused by Nissan's craftsmanship
Acutally I didn't mind it varying so much. I have a slow leak in my other car and would love to have a monitoring system like this to alert me when I'm low. I can't tell you the number of times I have come out inthe morning and the tires is half empty. The temperature drops overnight really take the air out of the tires.
I also received my extended warranty. I appreciated it very much. Despite what others think, I feel Nissan is doing the best they can to solve all the issues with the Quest. Of course, nothing they do is quick enough if you are having troubles with your vehicle. But at least they are not blaming the consumer like Toyota did with the sludge and Chrysler did with their trannies in the 90's.
I first reported the problems with the radio in September 2003. When was it acknowledged? March 2004. When was it fixed? Two weeks ago.
I first reported the problem with the transmission in january 2004. When was it acknowledged? Two weeks ago. When was it fixed? Never; it's ongoing.
It does seem that Nissan's slowly starting to "get it" on some of these things. If you've only joined the Disenchanted Quest Crowd in the last few months, then you will not have been exposed to the denial of responsibility, lack of acknowledgement of genuine problems, or the beligerant attitude espoused by so-called Consumer Affairs personnel. But I have.
In order to present a balance, I will say that in the last 2 months I've had the opportunity to work with a two different dealers, both of whom took my problems far more seriously than the selling dealer's service department. I've also had the opportunity to talk directly with the Nissan Service Rep for me region on several occasions. So, it does seem that changes for the better may be afoot. But they've got a LONG way to go before I recommend the company's products to anybody, much less become a repeat customer.