Nissan Quest 2004+: Problems & Solutions

dtownfb

Try this link: http://www.infinitihelp.com/Ownership/Nissan/Quest/Diagnose.htm

Click on "Learn How to..."

dtownfb

I was searching on the Nissanhelp.com and found this link. It may help with your problem: http://www.infinitihelp.com/Ownership/Nissan/Quest/Diagnose.htm

Click on "Suspension, ABS,...."

pulisubs

Thank you. So I need to reprogram both my keyfobs then... The new one I bought and the second 'original' one. Will try that tonight and post how it went.

clarkjudy

glad to read the 05 is better. My 04 is a lemon and am in the lemon law procedure now. wonder if I am getting a fair deal or not.

Sylvia

Just a reminder - we do not allow solicitation for lawsuits in our discussions.

Please do NOT ask people to email you to join in your case, cause, etc. All such postings will be removed.

63ss409

Can you please tell me if your “passenger seat air bag OFF” indicator light stays on continuously when no one is in the passenger seat.

We just got our 2004 Quest back from the passenger seat air bag recall. Now the “passenger seat air bag OFF” light on the console display remains lit all the time unless someone is actually in the seat.

I explained to the dealer that this is not correct. The light should only come on if a parcel or package is on the seat (or a young child but I don’t have one). If the seat is empty the light should not be on. The dealer says it is correct and should be on , but he clearly hasn’t a clue as to what is or isn’t correct.

Oh, and please let me know if you have completed the recall or if you have a 2005.

Thanks,

eyeblind

Since day one mine has done this ( I've owned it for 11 months.) If someone is sitting in the front passanger seat, the light is off. If no one is sitting in the front passanger seat " passenger seat airbag off" light is on. I believe your dealer is right. Did you check your manual? Mine wasn't a part of the recall, since it was a later VIN #.

emmittobie

My light stays on even when no one is in the seat. Naturally, when someone sits in the chair, the light goes off. Hope this helps.

ahightower

Ditto. The light is supposed to stay on, don't worry about it.

mmailloux

Hello. l have a quest 2004 . yes the light from the passenger seat air bag stay on when no one is seatting .

dtownfb

I'll make it five in a row. Yep, mine does that as well. 2004 Quest S.

Not sure why you don't think this is correct?

jailer

I have a 2004 Nissan Quest S. It did not come with the towing package. I have found aftermarket hitches for the van but only can find a wire harness at the dealer and the dealer wants $300.00 just for parts. Has anyone had luck finding an aftermarket wire harness or had wiring installed by anyone but the dealer.

Thanks for your help.

63ss409

Thanks everyone. I'm wrong on this, the dealer's right.

Here's a tougher one:

All sliding door recall and bulletin work was done. I picked the car up but neglected to check everything. Got home and found that the passenger side auto door would open correctly by using the outside door handle, would open with the inside button by the door, but would not open with the key fob, or with the overhead console button. Also, the door would not lock with the key fob.

The "on/off" button on the overhead console was "on", before you ask.

Brought it back to dealer and left it. Got a call it was fixed, pick it up.

Everything worked as it should and I was told there was a switch in the off position. But the mechanic and the service writer were both off and no one else could tell me what or where any such switch could be. The Service Manager had no idea whatever.

Any ideas?

Thanks

63ss409

guest number 4

Here is a web page on the Nissan site that speaks directly to the issue of "Steering Pull Diagnosis and Repair." The item regarding alignment may also be of interest.

http://www.infinitihelp.com/Ownership/Nissan/Quest/BrakesS.htm

Look around this web site, there's quite a bit of info.

Good luck with the problem. For what its worth, our 2004 Quest does not have this problem.

66SS409

user777

i don't own a quest - but this behavior is not intuitively obvious. :confuse:

it's not how my van operates (light on when a light individual like a child or a parcel is in the seat) and you would think something like this would be standard through the industry - like other notification mechanisms (high beam on, seat belt not buckled, gas near empty, oil pressure low, etc).

one would expect there to be ennunciation when the system detects a problem, not when everything is OK (like noone is in the seat).

i'm sorry - but that is backwards.

at night, is the light on?

a light is supposed to call your attention to the discrepant, alerting you to a potential problem to get your attention. :surprise:

mmailloux

l have notice the same situation on my quest 2004 sl

dtownfb

Actually it is intuitively obvious once you understand the Quest as well as most new vehicles have the second generation air bags whose deployment rely on the weight of the passenger. Also the consumer has been trained to believe these safety devices are always on. Meaning you and I have to do nothing. It makes perfect sense to have some type of indicator that shows this vital safety feature is not active. Similar to the ABS system. There is not light on when it is working properly. But bright ABS light will shine if something is wrong with the system. Also this is the case with most traction control systems. No light on when working properly. Shut off the traction control and it will tell.

Not sure why you don't understand this esp. when you mentioned that the seat belts work the same way. IF you have them buckled, you see nothing. If you don't have them buckled you see a bright light. Teh way Nissan has it set up seems perfectly logical to me. Let the driver know when the safety systems are off or inactive by shining a light.

Yes the light stays on at night but trust me with all the other lights on the Quest console, you barely notice that small light.

user777

your explaination is consistent with my understanding, and what my vehicle does.

please if you re-read post 1128, I believe you will also conclude that the poster's car behavior does not support what you expect, and perhaps what your car does.

gg2k2se

I agree with the other Quest owners on the air bag off light. It makes sense.
Normal situation = airbag on = NO warning light.
Abnormal situation = airbag OFF = YES warning light.
The airbag is off when the seat is registering as below weight or empty.

user777

it's the "even empty" part I don't understand. if the seat is empty, what is the alert for? the alert is supposed to indicate that something below weight is in the seat and the system had de-activated the passenger airbag.

a light on the dash at night to alert you to a "normal" condition like the seat being empty is not intuitive. sure i'd learn to pay no attention to it also, but that is indicative of a bad alert system design (my opinion).

alerting systems are suppose to draw your attention to an anomoly (like the gas tank empty, the high-beams left on, the seatbelt not buckled, a door ajar...)

dtownfb

I understand your thought process better now. Don't necessarily agree with it but I do understand.

I think it all depends what we expect. The airbags are suppose to act automatcially without driver input or action. We are now condiditoned as drivers and passengers that the airbags are there when we need them. The light lets you know that the bags are inactive. Not the normal situation we are conditioned to expect. In other words an anomoly. Also what if for some reason you need your child to sit inthe front seat (i.e. need to haul something and both 2nd and 3rd row are folded), you now see all the time that the bag is inactive. If it were to flash and then go off, you might not see the flashing or forget it is inactive. Plus I am sure Nissan planned it this way to cover themselves in case of lawauit.

The more i think about it we are on the same wavelength (scary).

user777

well, we could ask any honda owner, and we could probably ask any sienna owner and at least for the former (i know because i drive an odyssey), the light would be on when your child was in the front seat, to let you know the system has de-activated the airbag because the passenger is too light.

it also happens when I toss some stuff like my laptop bag on the seat.

it is off when my wife is in the seat or i'm in the seat or there is no one in the seat.

now then - how'd you like a light on in a vehicle for every seating position if it had an airbag, and the airbag was disabled at that position because no one was in the seat?

alerting systems are designed to draw your attention to the discrepant. the no one is in the seat condition isn't discrepant, its a normal situation. the abnormal situation is someone does not weigh enough to warrent the system enabling the bag.

any sienna owner reading the forum that can tell us how your van treats this case?

vonbill3

Prior to the passenger seat recall the air bag icon never came on. I suppose that was at least part of the reason for the recall. After the recall, the "air bag off" light remains on when no one is seated there as it appears is the way it is supposed to function.

However, when my wife (122 lb.) is seated in the front passenger seat, the light is also frequently on. We returned to the dealer who made some adjustment, but the light still comes on when my wife is seated there, just not as frequently. By deliberately pressing down on the seat the light will go out only later to come on again.

My understanding is that the air bag should be off only when a child weighing less than 50-55 lbs. is seated there. I would like to know if others have observed this air bag off problem for passengers weighing more than 55 lbs.

I plan to ask the dealer to have the seat replaced rather than try more adjustments.

user777

i'd have the dealer fix this immediately. if your wife's weight isn't being sensed properly for the bag to be enabled, then she's not protected (obviously).

curious, does your manual tell you how the light is supposed to function?

vonbill3

There are 2 warning lights: One for the passenger front seat and one for the rest of the bags (Supplemental warning light). In my manual ( pages 1-29 and 1-30) the function explanation for the supplemental light is clear. There is no info at all concerning operation of the passenger bag.

The confusing info is that the manual states that the system needs servicing if the supplemental light remains on after 7 seconds; flashes intermittantly; does not come on at all. It's confusing because the light-on condition for the passenger bag means that all is well when no one is seated in the passenger seat. In other words, light-on has 2 interpretations in the Quest depending on which light is on. I agree with some of the postings that the light-on condition should be a warning and not that all is well. At a minimum this should be discussed in the manual.

As I stated, in my previous posting we will push to get the seat replaced. For just this one problem we have made 5 trips to the dealer.

vonbill3

It's taken 1-1/2 years but Nissan finally got around to providing a fix for the poor windshield washers some of us had to contend with on our 2004 models. Check out the Quest TSB 04141 at the Nissan help site. The TSB provides specific instructions to measure washer performance. Depending on results, a set of shims are available to improve performance. The shims are in 3 sizes depending on how bad or good the washers perform. If needed, the dealer will do the modification at no cost.

I had the work done and the washers are now almost acceptable. The fix includes a modification to the nozzle which making them spring loaded so I can tweek the mounting to get better performance.

dtownfb

I guess since Honda does it, it must be right!!! Poo poo on Nissan for screwing up this system!!! Shame Shame on them. They should have simply copied the flawless Odyssey, the prefect minivan.

I hope the sarcasm was heavy enough for you.

Seriously, I've always learned, there are more than one way to skin a cat. There is no absolute right way to do something. And as long as the message is understood, then you said it right way. My point is the light clearly says "Passenger Airbag Off". The driver and anyone else who sees it knows what it means. it means the passenger air bag is off. Why does it come on when no one is in the seat? I have no clue. I don't really care. Maybe the sensor is not that advanced and it is simply an on/off button. The light is not that annoying and it gets its message across loud and clear.

Also the normal situation is not no one in the seat. The normal situation is Air bags activated. The air bags are designed to work automatically or they could not call them safety features. The fact that there is someone or somethign under 75 pounds in the passenger seat shuts off the airbag. So the light is telling you that one of your air bags in inactivated. Again an abnormal situation. This is the way Nissan chose to alert the driver.

How about a light that shows that your ABS is not working or inactive? Wait they do have a light. How about a light that shows your traction control is inactive? Wait they have one of those too. How about a light to show when your seatbelt is not fastened? No way, they have one of those too. Surely, they don't have a light that comes on when my tires are low? Wow, they do. Imagine that, all these lights come on when the SAFETY DEVICES detects something out of the norm. Nissan really screwed this up by having a little light to tell me the passenger airbag is off when no one is sitting in the passenger seat.
Not sure why you think this is so wrong jsut because it not the way you think it should be.

dtownfb

Check out this website: www.nissanhelp.com

I believe there was a recall for this item last summer. The above website has a ton of information on Nissan and Infiniti vehicles.

But to echo what user7777 stated, get that looked at right away.

eyeblind

Thank you for your comments. They echo my opinion on this matter. I couldn't have said it better myself.

user777

I can take the sarcasm. just because honda does it one way, doesn't make it "right".

I wonder though, if we ask a toyota sienna owner, if it will be the same way.

from a human factors standpoint, i'm pretty comfortable with the operation as implemented in the honda.

now, it's too bad your manual doesn't describe proper operation.

if we were to check out other vehicles, do you think quest's implementation is "unique"?

dtownfb

I would not use the term "unique" just a different way of doing it. It accomplishes the same thing, the driver knows that passenger air bag is inactive. That is the important thing.

Sorry I an't comment on how Honda does it since I have no clue how they do it. As long as it gets the message across then it works.

garandman

I have a 2005 Honda Accord. The only difference is that the "Passenger Airbag" is a decal, but the "Off" glows full-time.

ord62

It's the standard wheel of the 2004 S model. I tried to tell the service manager that there may be a slow leak but he would not listen. He said they checked and everything was okay. I didn't used my car since after the arbitration hearing except of a 20 mile trip and it is now at least 9 PSI lower on the third indicator.

The arbitrator awarded me a "REPLACEMENT". I hope they find the problems on this car before they sell it to the new owner.

I'll surely miss the car but I just hated the many desperate times I spent bringing it to the repair shop, not counting my embarassments when it fails in front of other people. I just want a reliable van and it wasn't cheap.

I would say the driving experience was excellent but the reliability was very poor. It gives me doubt whether the safety system will work when needed. I hope I'll find a better car.

dbury

I bought my Quest last March and paid top dollor but wanted the whistle and bells but I stayed with the middle model and upgraded. During the winter I thought there was a strange smell but I have teens and one never knows. I keep the car tidy and clean. And rarely even use my back well area keeping it empty in case I wanted the seat down for whatever reason. The last time I had the car serviced around 16,000 miles I had some warranty issues that needed to be fixed. It was pouring down rain. Long story short I ran my hand over the back well carpet and it was soaked. Evidently there is good drainage in the back so smells didn't hang around and no mold you can see. But now I have a problem and probably had the problem from the beginning and didn't know it because I have a garage. Got someone who told the design of the van has problems because of the roof rack!
Meaning the manufacturer knows about this and is selling these vans as if there isn't. So I am curious if anyone else has a problem with water getting into the back well area. You should check while it is raining.

bmis

Hi dbury,
I have the exact same problem with my 20004SE. It went through several iterations of 'repairs', including replacing the sky view glass panels. That SEEMED to fix it, but when my wife recently made a 200 mile trip in a rain storm, she got home and there was nearly standing water in the well!

I have not taken it back since, as we are also garaged, and it is not normally a problem, but next time in for routine stuff, I will have them check it out again.

Very frustrating, because they have tried several times to fix it, but evidently they haven't. Please let the board know if you figure out a root cause through your dealer!

dtownfb

Here's a link to a TSB on slow leaks. It could be the cause of the problem.

http://www.infinitihelp.com/Ownership/Bulletins/Nissan/2004/NTB04-038.htm

It looks like you had a favorable hearing. I hope this one works better for you.

ord62

dtownfb,

Thanks for the information! I hope I got hold of it before the arbitration so I could have had the car repaired before I turned it in. But maybe I can drop this information at the dealership.

I just can't understand why the people in this forum are the ones finding the solution for their problem and not the manufacturer service personels. I always thought they are getting paid a lot more than the regular mechanics because they are better. "Could it be because these are covered by the warrantee and they don't want to spend more time/effort on non paying customers???"

dtownfb

This will open up a can of worms. I think what happens is companies know there are potential "trouble" areas and simply weigh the cost of fixes the problems and the problem not showing up until out of warranty. This is why they issue TSBs instead of recalls. Wait for the owner to complain instead of offereing to fix it. The corporate argument is why fix something if it isn't broke. The consumer viewpoint is you know it is defective and will eventually break, please fix it. It's what people refer to as "risk assessment" or "risk management". (Check out all the complaints on the midsize GM fourms about the altenator and intake manifold gasket failure and you'll understand what I am talking about.

There has been cases where manufacturers knew of a defect but weighed the cost of fixing the defect against the cost of potentila lawsuits. I doubt something that drastic happens now. But who knows.

With the Quest, since it is a completely vehicle for Nissan, I think we are experieincing first year issues for the most part. During this time period, I think the customers may have been ahead of the service department which is always frustrating.

gg2k2se

I had this problem last summer, bottom carpet was soaked and it happened several times. You could see where the water had traveled coming down the side of the cargo area from behind the plastic trim right next to the rear taillight. It only happened in very heavy downstorms. The service guy took apart the plasitic trim around the rear and found that water was coming from the 2 weld joints along the top of the door way. When the rear hatch is open, you can see 2 "L" shaped pieces of rubber on the right and left top sheet metal area. The rubber is painted but you can tell its soft if you stick your fingernail into it. My service department spread some sort of sealant over the existing rubber pieces and fixed the problem. Tell you service department to look.

I mentioned this in this board, but no one else seemed to have the problem. There is another water leak coming from the skyview roofs, which sounds more common and has a TSB.

bmis

Yeah, gg2k2se, I remember your posts regarding the "L" shaped pieces. I thought the skyview replacements had fixed it, because when the service dept removed the ceiling panel where the rear seatbelt retracts into the ceiling, they observed water marks up there.

I will definitely have them take a look at that, thanks for the reminder! I'll post back after that.

eyeblind

I think you are right. This is why, as you said, they issue TSB's instead of recalls. They know there is a problem or that a problem has developed, but they wait for the customer to complain rather than offer to fix it. They even go one step further in the wording of each TSB. Every one begins with the phrase," IF YOU CONFIRM." If the warranty period expires and they can't confirm it, then they don't have to fix it/pay for it. They certainly are covered, legally, because the have issued a TSB on the problem. I have two examples.
I had the silent radio problem. They would not fix it unless they could duplicate the problem. Well you never knew when the silent radio problem would happen, so they obviously couldn't simply duplicate the problem on the spot. It wasn't until I had it happen to me and I was in a situation were I had time to drive it to the dealer for them to witness it that I was able to get the replacement
radio.
In a similar situation I have the transmission issue, that happens sporadically without warning. Even though there is a TSB for the exact problem they can't confirm it, so they won't fix it. Of course they say " we're not saying that you're lying, but if we can't confirm it, we can't fix it." So, I 'm going to have to wait till it happens and I can drive it over to the dealer so they can verify it before I can get it fixed. It hasn't happened for months. I could go the whole warranty period and not get it fixed because they can't confirm it and I can't prove it, in their eyes, till I do. Fortunately they have extended the 04 warranty to 5 years.
Now I know they can say " if we can't confirm it, beyond your word, we could be taken advantage of." I am not going to go out of my way, waste my time and energy to get a new A/T CONTROL MODULE for my transmission and I hardly believe many people would.

famof3kids

I want to get a hitch and bike holder to haul our bikes. Where did you get the hitch? Did you put yours on yourself?

Thanks

vonbill3

Check my posting #114. The hitch brand was Hiddenhitch.

gg2k2se

I too had an intermittent issue with the sliding door not latching in the cold last winter. So I started videotaping the problem and took the video to my service manager. After about 2 minutes she agreed it was a problem and fixed it. This was about 2 months before they issued the recall on the latches so it was not yet a well known issue. Now with another issue I said "would you like to see a video" and they said no, they believe me.

So, I know it's a pain but carry your video camera with you and hopefully you can get some evidence on tape.

I got my hitch from U-Haul, they did a good job.

dtownfb

Very good idea gg2k2se!!!! This should be posted on every vehicle forum.

vinhphuc

Hi,
I'm new in this forum but since we plan to look at the Quest, I have one concern. What's the weight limit for the front passenger airbag to deploy in an accident? My wife is rather petite, and weights about 105-107 lbs. I can live with the lights on (or off, it doesn't matter to me), but I must know that if she sits in front with me, she's safe. Do you or anybody knows about the weight matter?

ahightower

I'm pretty sure it's 80 lbs.

But the whole point of the sensor is that if she's not heavy enough to trigger it, she's safer without it.

garandman

I'm new in this forum but since we plan to look at the Quest, I have one concern. What's the weight limit for the front passenger airbag to deploy in an accident? My wife is rather petite, and weights about 105-107 lbs. I can live with the lights on (or off, it doesn't matter to me), but I must know that if she sits in front with me, she's safe. Do you or anybody knows about the weight matter?


Do you mean, will it deploy, or not? It will, but if she has her seat belt tight it won't matter becaue it won't touch her anyway.

From racing I got in the habit of pulling my seatbelt tight across my pelvis, moving clothing layers out of the way as necessary.

In 1995 I was hit head on by a drunk driver (at 12:30 on a Monday afternoon - so beware), both cars travelling around 30 mph. Both airbags deployed, but the one in the steering wheel never touched me because the belt held me in place.

Of course, because those wonderful safety devices called airbags deployed, and ripped the dashboard in the process, his insurance company had to pay an extra $2,300, with absolutely no benefit to me.

vinhphuc

thank you. So when my wife and I go to test drive the Quest, we'd better make sure to have her sit in the passenger seat, and see that the light go off, right? Now on another slightly different matter, has anyone in the Rockville, MD area recently bought a Quest 05 SE? I'd like to know your paid price and what options you got. We plan to buy a minivan within 3 weeks. I posted a similar message in the "Paid prices and buying experience" but got no answer. Maybe some new Quest owner having problems on their vans are reading this board and can share their info with me? Edmunds TMV price indicates ~32K for a SE with DVD system, running boards and floor mats (these are the options we chose), is it reasonable to think I may get it for about 31.5K or less?

army4us

:lemon: I am currious is the only reason that you were awarded a replacement was because of the tire?? Did you have any other problems? I have had more problems with it then I can even count on my fingers and toes..... No joking. I went to BBB and was declined of an award of replacement or lemon. Now I am still fighting Nissan. As we speak it is back in the garage again and has been there for a week for a noise that they have no idea what it is.