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Nissan Quest 2004+: Problems & Solutions
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thanks again spoonie
I have a hyraulic jack and jack stands and would like to know the best places to lift and place on the stands without bending any frames or damaging any components.
Any advice is appreciated.
I've got to read the owners manual to make sure the engine isn't suppost to be replaced as part of normal maintainance very 40,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first.
What really gripes me beyond the brakes is the "normal maintainance" that they say you need to do and what the Nissan dealer charges! I'm due now for the "30,000" mile service. Cost is $350! I just shelled out $350 week before last on the brakes. In all the brand vehicles I've owned I've never had to fork out so much cash on just normal maintainance!
I've been trying to do all the recommended maintenance as I really want this van to last. I've had Ford and GM vehicles but none "recommended" in the manual even on premium maintenance any of this sort of maintenance at this low milage. My wife had a Nissan truck many years ago, it was 125,000 miles before major maintenance was required. I guess they have discovered how they can make more money on service than on sales?
I was due for an oil change, tire rotation and I needed balancing already. I probably should have picked the few items that I needed done and not have performed the rest.
I think I know now why people say Nissan products last a long time, if you replace everything between the front bumper and the rear bumper in the course of regular maintainance then it should last a while.
I'm in the computer business so I'm thinking I should try to sell computers to Nissan? I can recommend that every 6 months or 7,500 hours the computers should be air flushed (all the dust blown out) and have data block alignment performed (defrag) along with a 27 point inspection to identify items such as a power cord that may need replacement for $390 per PC. Of course, I'm going to recommend the power cord always be replaced so that's an additional $30 for the power cord and $80 labor.
I wish someone would start a class action law suite over Nissan brake pads and rotors as it appears to be so common of a problem. Pads and Rotors should at least last through the warranty period of the vehicle as is "normal" with any other vehicle I've owned. Nissan can "define" it as "normal" to be replaced every 6 months or 7,500 miles but what is really normal is what everyone else is and what they are not. I can "say" it's "normal" for anything I want, it doesn't make it true. So with it not being normal it is a "defect in materials and workmanship" which is a covered warranty item according to the warranty manual.
I'm not sure I have the time or money to start such a class action effort though.
Here is a link to the article that I found:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/nissan_brakes.html
To echo the post #2018 by "inclinvestment" in Nissan Quest 04+ forum, I'd like to know if any Quest 06 owner experiences major or persistent problems with his/her van. I personally own a Quest 05 SE model which has accumulated ~9800 miles. So far, I didn't have any problem at all and very satisfied of how this van has performed
Phuc
I understand the need for the inspection interval. With brakes which apparently wear out so fast they probably should be inspected frequently. Nissan North America told me "As part of normal maintenance, brakes/rotors are to be inspected and/or replaced (if necessary) every 7,500 miles or 6 months, whichever occurs first". So I can expect up to twice a year to have the brakes replaced? If they keep turning the rotors they will probably need to be replaced eventually too.
My inlaws have a mini van of another brand simular in size and weight to my quest. They have more miles than I do on my Quest and have never had the brakes serviced. I've driven their van, the brakes work fine, no vibration or anything!
I had a Pontiac Grand Prix which I traded in for my Quest. It had more than 100,000 miles on it and best I remember brake pads replaced only once and I never had issues with brake vibration.
I didn't buy a $30,000 vehicle only to have the brakes replaced frequently. It significantly increases the cost of ownership and is not industry normal from all I can see. "Normal" is what Nissan defines as normal and not what I define as "normal" based on what I see from other manufacturers. I think I'll sell Nissan some computers and say it is "normal" to have them dusted out once a year at $350 per computer and I'll dust them out!
I can't let this issue go. It cost me out of pocket $339 that I didn't expect or plan for as part of "normal" maintance.
As much as I dislike the $339 out of pocket I dislike the feeling that I was ripped off and not told about such extravigant maintenance. Then to be hit with $390 for 30,000 service only two weeks later. Had I known what I know now I would have never purchased a Nissan.
By the way why are mechanics telling me to go with other brand brake pads and that they will last much longer than Nissan brake pads?
I uncovered law suites on a few other Nissan vehicles (not Quest) stating brake pads were worn out prematurely and Nissan agree'ed to warranty them for $36,000 according to the article I read at http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/nissan_brakes.html and these were not heavy vehicles.
Law suits often do cost a lot of money and apparently often do benefit the lawers. My wife works for a large law firm so that would make it easier. Still law suits are a last resort. However, as matter of principle it is something you sometimes have to do to right what you feel is a wrong.
As for the 30,000 mile scheduled maintenance, it's a great way for a dealer to nickel-dime you to death. All cars have a rigorous maintenance schedule. A good, honest independant mechanic can help you with these items for much less.
Although car manufacturers don't necessarily sell the vehicles cheaply they or the dealers do appear to make a lot of $$$ on maintenance and repair. Why recommend maintenance every 50,000 or 60,000 miles when you can get more money recommending it much sooner and at more regular intervals?
Rest assured, next brake pad replacment will be at a non Nissan dealer and ceramic pads!
O yea, by the way Epson has a class action law suit claiming that their ink cartridges indicate that they are out of ink before they are actually out of ink and then force you to change them thus requiring more frequent replacement. I got a notice in mail on that recently. Sure the more often you have to change your high $$$ ink cartridges the more money they make off of you. Sounds kinda like Nissan brakes?
I feel for you but brakes have always been a "wear and tear" item. In the case to the G35, the brakes needed replacement at 13k miles. I would complain too. You won't get a lawsuit started for brakes wearing out on a 4,300 pound vehicle at 30k miles. I'm at 38k and will need to replace mine soon.
you made the mistake of following the dealer's 30k maintenance instead of what is in the owner's manual. This is how they make their money. Not much required for the 30k mile service, at least not $300 worth.
Like exploder750 said, go to an independent shop to get your brakes replaced. It will be less money and better quality brakes.
Did I just get really lucky with my Quest? If I get another Quest and if it breaks down on the side of the road, I'd be kicking myself for ignoring the CR's result and I KNOW that if I get Sienna or Odyssey, I won't have any problems.
Can you guys feel my pain?
This was my first Nissan, and it's my last. Ever. I could have gotten this kind of service from Ford, for goodness sake.
I used my floor jack with a small grooved block of wood to lift from the rear scissors jack point on the closest thing you get to a frame rail on a unibody. I then put my jack stand under the arm that bolts to the underside of the body and runs diagonally back towards the center. A better lift point would have been the center crossmember between the rear wheels, but my jack couldn't lift the van high enough at that point to get the jack stands under.
BTW, I hope your jack is sturdy. Mine, which is a 2.5 ton, was about at its limits.
For the front, there's a similar arm that bolts on the frame and runs diagonally forward towards the center. Lift under that, and place the jack stand underneath there as well.
In regards to brakes, I just got burned on this recently, too. The rears were toast, with the outer pad on the passenger side down to metal, literally. That uneven wear was due to ZERO lubrication on the caliper slide pins, which means they were dry coming from the factory. Lovely. The fronts were at 5%, said the dealer.
The dealer was happy to quote me $350 for the rears and $250 for the fronts. After calling my favorite parts place and the dealer's parts, I found that front pads run around $75 and rears around $50-65 depending on brand. Doing some quick math I told the dealer that I'd be picking up the van and doing the brake job myself, thanks.
Incidentally, if you don't know how to do a disk brake job, you should find someone to teach you. The van is pretty simple and pretty much like other vehicles--in some respects easier. A disc brake job that only involves pad replacement requires loosening one bolt and removing another on each caliper. It requires 1 special tool for compressing the piston (or pistons, since the front calipers are dual-pots) back into the caliper, and that special tool will run you around $10-25 depending on where you buy it.
A skilled amateur (which is all I am) can do an axle in an hour, and a marginal pro can do it in 1/2 hour. Seriously. I still need to question the dealer on how they come up with $350 for the rears, even if they had to turn the rotors, or $250 on the fronts. The markup on those pads must be massive, or the non-warranty book time for the job is simply outrageous. For the price they're asking, there ought to be free massages in the showroom while I wait.
Take the CR with a grain of salt or less IMO. The Quest 04 seems to have more problems as judged by the numbers of posts in this specific forum. However your seemed fine and more importantly, you don't find complains from many Quest 06 owners, strongly suggesting that Nissan corrected many of these problems.
What drawed to the Quest in the first place if I may ask? Anyway you shouldn't have more problems with Quest than other vans, including the Odyssey and Sienna.
I own a Quest 05 SE and have NO problems. Absolutely happy with it. Read my post #1992 in "Nissan 04+" forum if you will. Hahh, all those BIAIS reviews! GOTTA LOVE THEM for their "good" job!
Have a good one,
Phuc
Now to all the Quest 06 owners,
Let me rephrase my earlier question, " Are you HAPPY with your van?"
Heck, if I get almost no reply when I ask if you have any problems, then it means all of you don't have it and are happy, right? Come on, some feedback please
Phuc
That said, I have a questions relative to your project:
A. I've never done rear pads, and have heard that sometimes there is additional hassle due to the parking brake design. On the Quest did you run into this? If not, I'm guessing Quest parking brake is a miniature drum brake hidden inside the rear hub?
B. What brand/style pads did you buy? Semi-metallic? Ceramic? Standard?
C. Did you do anything with your rotors, or just leave them alone?
What drew to Quest as my first minivan ever was its styling. My wife and I have always been designers of many discplines ranging from architecture to web design and we really like its unique design in both exterior and interior. But at the same time, reliability is a big concern for us since we use it to go on business trips.
Chris
By the way, $800 to have sat radio module installed in my supposedly satellite ready 2004 Quest was also a bit over priced too don't you think? Just another example of overpriced parts. I just bought a $50 receiver and hooked it in myself.
Getting back to the subject, it was something like 50,000 miles (or more) on my Ford Truck before I was hit up for transmission service that I was hit up for at 30,000 on my Nissan Quest!
You can't sell an expensive vehicle and then suck money out of people every time you turn around on what Nissan calls "normal" maintenance and maintain a good reputation.
Someday Nissan may be wondering why they are in financial trouble and yet still don't see where they failed.
Tires have been just the opposite for me, I've been able to get 70 - 80 thousand miles out of tires from the manufacturer on any new vehicle I've owned so far. My Ford truck has 80,000 miles on it right now and the tires are still in very good condition with only little signs of tread wear and they are Goodyear tires! I've found when you replace the tires you buy according to the miles that you want them to last. I suspect the manufacturer can do the same, if they use cheap tires then they do not last but cost the manufacturer less. Then some sucker like me will go to the dealer and get new tires when they wear out so soon, it makes for great return business.
I'm hoping that you are not speaking from a Nissan point of view in that the next thing I'll be looking at is new tires in just a few thousand more miles? I would expect at minimum 50,000 miles if not 80,000 out of the tires?
... Gary
I suppose unless Nissan pays for all your maintenance, you'll never be happy. As I said in an earlier post, life is too short to get so worked up and bitter about something like a car. There are much more important things to focus on like health and family.
One more thing - I'd start thinking about tires.. I'm done.
The cost of ownership due to what is classified as "normal" maintenance is much higher than any other vehicle I have ever owned causing a much greater "cost of ownership" than I have ever experienced with any other vehicle. Had maintenance been in line with other manufacturers I wouldn't have a complaint in the world. I'm going to do all that is recommended by the manufacturer and no less as you apparently do as I want the vehicle to last and be safe...
It really doesn't take that much time to email a complaint or two, there are much more important things to focus on but you know, I hate being taken for a ride...
Woops, wait a minute, instead of spending that money on health or family I spent it on vehicle maintenance. I'm going along thinking, like any other vehicle I've owned, it would be after the basic warranty expires before I need brakes, tires and transmission service and so on only to find out that's not the case. My wife's Nissan truck didn't need this sort of service but that was years ago, it must have been built better back then?
It's my own fault, I looked at everything but cost of ownership when I was looking for a vehicle. My Ford mechanic tried to tell me I would be eaten up in maintenance costs with a Nissan but at the time I thought he was just upset I didn't buy another Ford.
Thanks for the tips on the tires, I'm at 31,000 miles so I had better start saving for tire replacement, I didn't expect that one either. I'm at 80,000 miles on my Ford truck and the OEM tires are in great shape and your at 33,000 on your 04 Quest and had to replace the tires already? I guess my "dumb luck" has run out, I would have expected at least 50,000.
I've been happy with my Quest other than the high maintenance costs.
Yes I do get somewhat worked up when money goes from my pocket to someone else's and even more so when it is in large chunks.
I've heard car dealerships often make more money at their maintenance department than in selling vehicles. A $99 dollar brake job for $339 isn't bad profit and plus I'll need it again and again and again... Sounds like a business that makes business for itself.
Is there anything else I should expect to wear out soon?
I work on computers for a living, would you like me to perform your 500 hour (or 6 months) service on it which includes a 27 point inspection and evacuation of the processor chamber (blow dust out of the case), it's just $100? Your cooling fan will need replacement at 700 hours for $200. You'll need a hard drive defrag at 800 hours for $175 (a special this month). Then if you have a floppy drive it'll need alighnment by now too, $280. I also recommend a screen recalibration for $400 once a year. Your ink jet printer will need a nozzle flush and calibration for $250. Then as you will notice in your special computer manual that I made up, your keyboard is a normal maintenance item, it will need replacing at 20,000 words or 1 year whichever comes first, that's also on special this month for $119.95. I know this sounds like a lot but it's "normal" for my brand of computer and besides the manual says it's "normal". Sure you may have had "dumb luck" with other brand computers with parts lasting much longer but other computers are just your basic washer and dryer sort of item based on old technology. Sure you can type on them and write email but they are no thrills. Just because you've not had to spend this sort of money on other brand computers or do this much maintenance doesn't mean it isn't normal, after all I can't pay for all your maintenance. Dude you should have bought a Dell.
I and couple of others have suggested going to an independent mechanic for your brake job. It will be cheaper and they will do a fine job. If you don't want to take our advice, go complain elsewhere. It's getting old reading the same thing over and over again that makes no sense.
It's people like you and others who let Nissan get away with this thinking it's perfectly normal for brakes to wear out so soon, tires not to last very long... I've owned a lot of new vehicles and until now just Ford and GM and NONE have even come close to needing brakes and tires at low mileage such as mine.
I just need to go back to old technology (as someone else put it) were I have the dumb luck of parts lasting. Perhaps others will read this and know the issues, I wish I had read this before I bought a Nissan.
I have two people on this board who disagree with me, everyone else I talk to are as shocked as I am at brakes wearing out and now apparently tires too...
If Nissan refunds my $339 for a "warranty repair" of brakes I'll shut up. Other Nissan owners have won in court over brakes and have warranties extended to 36,000 on the brakes. My goal is to get this for 04 Nissan Quest owners.
So next time I'll get brakes at someone other than Nissan. I'll buy some good quality tires that will last me a while.
That's your dealer, it's not required on the standard maintenance schedule.
It's people like you and others who let Nissan get away with this thinking it's perfectly normal for brakes to wear out so soon, tires not to last very long... I've owned a lot of new vehicles and until now just Ford and GM and NONE have even come close to needing brakes and tires at low mileage such as mine.
You got taken by the dealer for the 30K service. Caveat, read your owner's documents about what is required. Service writers at most dealerships are on commission.
Brake life is highly variable. We have five fleet cars and the OEM setup can last anywhere from 20K to 50K, depending largely on driving pattern. Some people are chronic tailgaters, on and off the brakes, while others lay back and never touch them. Our Quest brakes are fine thus far, the vehicle will turn 30K miles this week.
Our Ford Econoline van with Michelin LTX E load rating truck tires lasted around 45,000 miles. The same model replacement (only D load rating) lasted 75,000 on the back and 95,000 on the front - they had much more tread. OEM tires are just not the same as the aftermarket replacement, even for the same brand and model. We don't drive tires much past 5/32nds tread (your hydroplaning and wet stopping ability declines rapidly at that point) and passenger car OEM tires seem to last 25 - 40,000. The Michelin replacements we put on a Subaru still have 6/32nds after 55,000 miles. The OEM Bridgestones on our new Subaru are rated 21st out of 22 on some user forums.
I never get brakes at a dealer. I take the vehicles (including two trucks) to a local garage and have him put the best aftermarket components on it he can find. Most front pads wear out unevenly because the caliper slides aren't lubricated and I've yet to find any dealer who does it even though it's on many maintenance schedules. If you go to a shop with Flat Rate mechanivs, in the long run you're gonig to be unhappy with the cost or the quality of work, if not both.
When we take a vehicle into a dealer, we print out precise instructions, including any copies, and make the service writer initial a copy for our records. This does wonders for getting problems resolved. But our Nissan dealer, Team Nissan in Manchester NH, has done a good job without any prompting.
You got screwed badly by your particular Nissan dealer about replacing the Quest brake pads, and Nissan refused to reimburse you for that. And of course you were not very happy about it. Did I summarize correctly your problem? Now, the MAIN point of this forum is to seek help/advice from other fellows about specific problems. WHAT'S THE HELP YOU'RE SEEKING FROM OTHER QUEST OWNERS? I failed to see that in your most recent posts!!! You hated this particular dealer and Nissan in general. Good. Say it once or maybe twice. NO POINT TO SHOUT IT OVER AND OVER! No need to beat on a dead horse, right? Wrong forum BTW to do so. I hardly see how shouting out here will make Nissan change their way of doing. Write to them directly or sue them. Everyone is sympa when we see another fellow in trouble, and tries to offer some help/advice. You got it already from rprossil, dtownfb, garandman, etc. You can write 1 million times that Nissan screwed you badly with the brake pads, but it will not change a thing of what happened. It only irrates the same people who tried to help you in the first place.
So here what I'd do if I were you:
1. Do the maintenance service STRICTLY based on the OWNER'S MANUAL, AND do it at a mechanic shop(no DEALER EVER EVER AGAIN, right?) you TRUST. Moreover, when in doubt just take your van to another shop for 2nd opinion. Opinion is cheap!!!
2. Heck, if you think the Quest is no good to you, then trade it, sell it, sue Nissan or do whatever necessary to get another van. End of the story. No point to shorten your life over a vehicle.
You hate Nissan and the dealer. We got it. Now what's the help you're seeking from this forum? If not help seeking and SAY NO MORE. BTW I GOT NO PENNY (not even a half of it) from Nissan for this post! They gotta pay me though :P
Thanks
Mary
I appreciate your response on this. Yes when I changed my oil few weeks ago, I used that center hard point as well.
My jack is a 3 ton and seems sturdy and stable.
Ihope someday to have a garage built with a Bend Pak lift.
Regards,
Wiedemann