Nissan Quest 2004+: Problems & Solutions

boa35

Have had my SE since Aug 2003 with zero problems--until, of course, the recent recall. After they replaced the front passenger seat/airbag sensor, my 138 lb wife is unable to activate the airbag sensor. When she took the van back today, the service dept was mystified as to what the airbag's weight activation setting was supposed to be. "Let's call California [where the seats are send for the refit], they'll know!" Wrong! They didn't know either. Service Dept told her to come back tomorrow so they can have her sit in every Quest on the lot as a test to see which ones, if any, show the passenger airbag activated. Sigh! No doubt the seat will ultimately be returned to CA for a refix but it appears to be a crap-shoot that it will have the sensor set at some appropriate activation weight.
Needless to say, everyone that had their seat changed had better put some light-to-moderate weight adult in the seat and check the warning/indicator panel to see whether or not the airbag activates. If no one else has experienced this--did I get the only lemon sensor they made?? If so, I guess it's probably some kind of a poetic-justice payback for having a heretofore flawless '04 Quest.
I think I might also shoot an e-mail to the NHTSA; they'd probably also be very interested.

emmittobie

Thanks for the response. Hope to be able to find out what it is when I take my car in sometime within the next few weeks.

drssyoon

In the manual, I believe it says 103 lbs. My daughter, who is right at this weight, sometimes fails to trigger the sensor. Did not have this problem before the recall and sensor replacement/recalibration.

On a separate note, I had a bumper mishap and took the car to a body shop for repair. I asked the people there to see if they can do anything about my passenger door which continues to have the dreaded rattle problem even after the recall. In addition, it sticks out about 1/4-1/2 inches even when closed. Anyway, the bodyshop folks (not the Nissan dealer) were able to fix the rattle! The only rattle I hear now is from the second row captain's seat (passenger side). When the seat is completely folded down to the floor, no problem, but otherwise, it rattles pretty loudly. Will have the dealer look at it the next time I take it in.

viviana

Had the CSI done, took 1 day, and 2 weeks later my passenger slider door is rattling again. I purchased my SE in Oct 2003, now has 15000 miles on it, and I am considering selling it. Besides the rattle (which is going to put me in the nut house!) I have had difficulty starting it numerous times and they have found no problem. I spent a lot of money on a fully loaded NEW car and am losing sleep at night because I think we made a mistake. Going back today to have the rattle looked at for the 6th time, and will discuss replacing the door entirely if this is an option. Anyone else considering trading in their 2004, perhaps for a 2005 or a different van entirely? Very sad...I love the look and the way the car drives. I traded in my fully loaded Maxima for this, and I want it back!

trubrit

I've had my 04 Quest for about 6mos. Apart from what seems the typical complaint, sliding door issues I was relatively happy. However, on two occasions when accelerating hard from a dead stop I've had enough power to give me MAYBE 10mph. The first time was after about two months of owning the van. I was concerned but busy and it didn't happen again until two weeks ago. It almost got me killed. That got my attention and made me contact the dealer. I was informed that "the engineers at Nissan were aware of the problem and working on it." Thanks Nissan for "working on it." How about a safety bulletin warning owners not to rely on the power for needed acceleration!

bacahern

Is anyone else having this problem. My 2004 Quest SE is also blowing fuses for interior lights. Anyone know the fix?

BACAHERN@aol.com

golden_s

I've now had my van for a year and almost 11,000 miles, CSI was performed on my van last month and for about 2-3 weeks the rattles were gone, lately I've been noticing them again but I'll have to check (I have 4 kids and they like leaving things in the van), any hard object that is placed in the "sliding door pockets" seem to make the rattling sound, maybe they should be lined with a thin layer of rubber foam to avoid this. With regard to the car becoming motionless when you put it in "D" after backing up, it happened to me again (after CSI was done), but having experienced it before, I just re-started the van and everything was fine afterwards. I'll be taking my van back to the dealer soon for service, I'll also have them take a look at my brakes since I get a vibration in my steering wheel when I step on the brakes slightly when travelling fast(>50 mph). Overall, it's still a blast to drive (used to have a '95 Windstar) compared to our old van, never had a problem with the radio, love the space and functionality of the folding seats(once you'ved used this, there is no substitute) which will be useful once again as we are moving to our new home. By the way, gas consumption has been decent IMO, in Jersey City where there are stoplights on every block, I can still manage about 13 mpg(compared to 9-10 mpg for the windstar) and on the highway, depends on what my cruising speed is, if its between 60-65 mph, then mileage is agout 25-26 mpg, between 70-80 mph it's about 22-23 mpg, never did I get above 20 mpg in the windstar, even when we drove to Florida.

eyeblind

I'm glad to here you are still enjoying your van. I'm getting about the same on mpg as you. My van has 5,000 miles on it. All city driving(in Phoenix) getting 13 mpg with regular unleaded. If I use premium it only increase to 14 mpg. That difference is not worth the extra money. Highway mpg I'm also getting the same as your figures.

lumbar

That has to be one of the widest swings from "around town" driving to highway miles I've ever seen, regardless of the conditions for "city" driving. There has to be some kind of design issue in play. Transmission?

lynnw

I have been getting right about 16 mpg w/my Quest in the city. I only have about 2500 miles on it and have seen it improving in the mileage, my goal is to see it do about 18 mpg in the city. My last car only got 16 mpg in the city and it was a sedan. Anyway, I have only had my van for about a month and have had no problems except now I hear the bench rattle over bumps. I know some people here have had it looked at and really to no satisfaction. Does anyone have any words of advice that will help me with my service dept so that I can make their job easier in identifying why it rattles so that they can repair it the first time? Truly that is the only problem I have had and am so happy with my van I almost cant stand it. I enjoy driving it much more than I ever enjoyed my sister's Ody. I hope Nissan gets a handle on the rattles so that all the customers can be 100% satisfied.

gg2k2se

I also get anywhere from 20-24 on highway (5 people, luggage, 70-80 mph). My city driving sounds similar to above, 14-15 mpg. I only drive 5 miles to work with 7 stops on the way and many hills. Add to that many other kid related short trips and 15 mpg sounds reasonable.

Same with the rattles, whenever I hear a bad one, it ends up being a rolling battery, 2 CD cases bouncing together or an empty plastic soda bottle. I had a good one this week, sounded like it was coming from the front defroster vent. I figured maybe a loose dashboard or something in the heating vents, but it was some dry, crinkly leaves caught under the hood that vibrated with the wind.

nganti1

We have a 2004 Nissan Quest SE for over a year now, with over 10000 miles. Absolutely love it. And like someone else mentioned, we have not had the rattles, self opening sliding doors, unwanted heat from the vents, or any such problem that some owners have experienced (maybe we are too thick, or just lucky, or only a small percentage of Quests have these problems, given that over 50000 Quests are on the road).

Recently we did get the recall notice for fixing some apparent problems. My question is, do we need to get the recall service done? I would like to take the position that if it ain't broke do not fix it.

tsy

I have had my Quest for a year now without any major problems, and even the rattle are no longer a problem. But the passenger door recall I think needs to be done- I can't imagine the door opening with my kids in the middle row!

The other stuff I'm going to let my dealer try- hopefully they won't break what ain't broke- but it is with some trepidation that I take my van back in.

I'll tell you in a few weeks how it wentl

tom

smlbrd

Is anyone having a problem with their rear windshield wiper falling/breaking off? I thought it was a carwash problem after the first two times, but then I stopped going to the carwash and recently found it broken off again? Am I just unlucky?

lynnw

I posted last week about a rattle I had in the back and thought it was the bench seat. Well, I was wrong. As it turns out the rattle belongs to my baby's car seat. The thing has the worst rattle in it. I am so thrilled that it was not the vans seat. Now I can say that I am super happy with the van and enjoy driving it even more now that I know there are no rattles. I just wanted to post that the rattle problem did not belong to the seats in my van (I have never had a door rattle either). Would hate to give this van a bad reputation if it is undeserved. This is my favorite van on the market.

twillis

I and others have posted previously about the sluggish response when the Quest decides not to engage first gear when moving off.
I was patient and hoped Nissan would have a solution by now, but they have not.
The other day I realized how dangerous this problem can be, I tried to merge into traffic, but because of the gear problem could not accelerate properly and very nearly had an accident.
The fix as many of you know is to stop the car move to park remove key and re-start - very embarrassing for me and frustrating for the cars lined up behind !!!
I was wondering if anyone out there has knowledge or experience on the lemon law in MA - would this qualify as I now feel very unsafe in the vehicle

emmittobie

Don't really have any experience with the lemon law in MA although I have thought about it with my Quest also. I was wondering where you are located in MA. I bought my car from Marlborough Nissan in MA and just curious where you purchased yours. Maybe we can tag team and both work the lemon law .

rosered

FYI- the link you included is not from Nissan's "official" website as I just found out when I called customer service to cancel my extended warranty for 6yr 75,000 (with the hopes of getting a much deserved full refund!). I've had my Quest for one year, and Nissan says you can only get a full refund if you cancel within 60 days. Not so fair if you purchased your vehicle a year ago! They will give a pro-rated refund depending on mileage and how long you've owned car. Just my two cents!

twillis

Hi emmittobie - I bought mine in Springfield MA, Feb 2004. I have started the Lemon Law procedure by contacting a lemon law firm I found on the web. They want copies of my sales papers and service reports etc. so they can determin if I have a case.
I'll take it a step further just to learn the ropes and then decide what to do after that.

samuelg

Ok, my van has the heat issue that Nissan basically said to "run the AC when it's hot". It's a design issue & basically all Quests have this problem. Issue closed.

So I have to run the AC year-run. Annoying, but tolerable. I may have a by-pass coolant valve installed to fix this properly. We'll see. In the meantime, this is not serious enough to sell & take a painful beating within the 1st year.

But aside from the heat issue, the van has been a great vehicle.

I have to confess that the front seat back has way too much lumbar for my taste. My back was hurting all the time. I futzed with it for months & gave up trying to fix it. Then I got a little creative & ambitious and swapped out the back of the driver seat & installed a delightfully comfortable '93 Mercury Sable rear seat. It took a bit of cutting, drilling & making an adaptor bracket. But in the end, the Nissan factory driver seat back unbolted, and the modified Sable back bolted right in. Perfect. Same interior gray color, and ahhhhh, this is comfy, and works perfectly with the electric adjustment. The original Nissan seat back can go back in with four bolts, back to factory-condition, whenever I sell it....

So aside from the heat, this van may work out after all. Nissan's extended warranty made me & my wife feel a lot better. We are reluctant to bring it in for the CSI fixes- none are needed. I'll wait til the May '05 deadline. At least the dealer will have had more experience performing it by then. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Maybe they'll fix the heat by then... Ha. :-)

SamG

awesome9again

Suggestion. How about dropping the tranny down to low gear when that happens. As much as we are tired of hearing your whining we don't want anyone to get hurt.

Cheers.

awesome9again

Funny, I don't have a heat issue with my Quest even though you say "all Quests" have it.

You know, this is a nice forum to hear people's opinions on the Quest but you have to remember that it's AN OPINION. I've heard everything from "no button to close the power rear hatch" to "can't turn off the navigation voice".

You took out the driver back and installed a 93 Sable rear seat? I think you are looking for the Honda or the Toyota forum.

dtownfb

twillis: I highly doubt that you will win lemon law case. The situation you are referring to can not be duplicated nor is anything technically wrong with the van that you can prove in the courts. I too have had this happen to me and I complained to my local Nissan dealership. Nissan is aware of the problem and working on a solution. They do know it is not a "transmission" problem. In other words, switching transmissions will not solve the problem. The service advisor was very upfront about the entire thing. She stated it had to do with the throttle control and some other computer module. I'm sure others on the board can give you a better description. Try to be patient. The folks who own Mazda MPVs went through the same type of problem last year about this time (check the MPV forum from November 2003-january 2004). gone are the days when you can simply find a faulty part, replace it and the problem is gone. With the number of computer, modules and electronics in a car, it takes time to solve a problem esp one like this that can't be duplicated on demand.

keep us up to date.

djpk

Same thing happen to me twice so far. I had my quest for about 10 months now. I didn't even mention this when I brought mine to the dealer on Monday. I have few other problems with my Quest. Let me know if you had similar problems.
1, Display sometimes won't display half of the screen including outside temp and air flow. It just blank in those area. Dealer said it is fine in their shop. Can't do anything.
2, Driver side manual sliding door stuck and won't open it without trying really hard. They said this is part of the recall. I thought the recall is power sliding door issue.
3, I hear metal squeak sound from left front when I try to make U turn. I only hear when the handle is all the way to the left.

I am not sure if they are going to fix all these. Just like they had a hard time to fix my first problem with fuel pump. They didn't know why my car won't start. On the third time I brought in, they fixed it. So far, this is the worst car I've ever bought.

golden_s

if you drive less than 15 minutes in the city like I do and when I say city I mean like stoplights in every block, the engine would not have had enough time to warm up properly, this is not a transmission issue rather it has something to do with allowing enough time for the engine's computer to start picking up signals from the different sensors and adjusting the amount of air and fuel it will allow to enter the combustion chamber for the most efficient combination. Remember when you need to have your vehicle inspected, it is recommended that the car should have been running for at least 30 minutes, it's for the same reason I mentioned above, hope this makes it clear.

boa35

I posted the solution to the blowing fuse problem way back in #313 --That was the only problem I've ever had (with the exception of the airbag seat recall glitch that itself created a problem (they're re-replacing the seat this week.)
 
Anyway here's the text of #313:
When I first got my SL, I lost interior lights each time the 15A "BCM Battery Saver" fuse repeatedly blew. (It supposedly also controls a lot of memory devices.) I had it in to the dealer about three times before they discovered that several other fuses in the under-dash block were installed incorrectly, i.e., wrong amp fuses were found in several slots. Presumably this happened at the factory; although they did of course ask if I'd been screwing around with them. Never did get all the details--they seemed to suddenly became somewhat "wary."
Anyway, after they got the correct fuses in the correct slots, I've never had any more problems.

samuelg

Awesome,

This was not opinion, it was the Nissan rep's statement at the arbitration session. Basically, the ventilation system does not shut off hot coolant to the heater core. Perhaps some Quests do this worse than others. All the Quests that the dealer checked out behaved the same way, when they were evaluating my van. This was also part of the rep's pitch.

If your doesn't have this problem, that's great. You're among the lucky few. I'm learning to get used to it. I'll probably add the valve I mentioned in my earlier postings. I spoke with the dealer service manager today, and he was fairly supportive of doing this. Not that the dealership would actually perform this, but he was agreeable that it made sense & should not be a problem to the engine if done properly. He acknowledged that the Titan or other SUV engine did have a coolant shut off valve, unlike the Quest.

Regarding my Sable seat back, ahhhh. Feels great. After all the problem's I've had with back & leg pain from vehicles I've owned, I'm thrilled to have something comfortable. This is purely a reflection on me. I understand many people find the Quest seats comfortable. I'm clearly the oddball on this one. I think the middle seats are MUCH more comfortable than the front seats.

SamG

twilke

This vehicle has got to be the biggest POS I've ever seen.

Since the weather is getting colder we started to run the heater. Works great up front but blows cold air to all the rear vents.

Door rattles, window rattles, warped rotors...still shimmies after replacement, tranny stuck in drive, wouldn't start..towed to dealership..replaced fuel pump, ETC., ETC., ETC.

Does anyone know if Nissan actually has anyone with a real Engineering degree?

abkool

I have skimmed through several messages and the models are either SL or SE. Just wondering if anyone has an S model with similar types of issues encountered.

twilke

Yes...I have an "S". The only problem I don't have is leaking sunroof and thats because it doesn't have any.

nishonbaru

Left work and the car would not shift. Started and stayed in 3rd or 4th gear. Had to floor it to get it to go and if I went above 40mph it was running hard. Took it to Nissan and they ended up dropping the pan, had metal in the pan and 1/8 to 1/4 of clutch material in the pan. They replaced the transmission. Drove it a week and I was leaving work and the van would not shift again. Took it back to Nissan. They can't duplicate the problem. I'm at day 25. Once I get to 30 they have to give me a new car.

abkool

Hmm interesting. How many miles have you got on it so far.

mac11

We have been having the same problem with our 04 Quest. We are currently trying to lemon law it. The first time that it happened to me I pulled out in front of a semi with my family in the van. It scared the hell out of me. Nissan doesn't consider it a saftey issue. The service manager of the local dealership does and tried to argue the issue with Nissan Main. Our service manager tells us that they know exactly what the problem is but don't know how to fix it. They have tried to get the manufacturer of the part to come up with a fix but they can't figure it out either.

twilke

I think we've got about 9K on it. About the time we think we can live with it something else happens.

We've got to be getting close to 30 days in the shop.

I guess Nissan just doesn't get that people buy new vehicles so they don't have to run to the service center or be stuck on the side of the road.

LDegrelle

So whats the deal? Whsts the part? That kind of thing could get someone to come up with either a creative solution (maybe not so creative as bolting on a 11 year old car seat), or perhaps contact someone who could help.

mama10

Yesterday was our arbitration day and we went over the trans issue the a/c issue and the auto reversal feature of the power door. the nissan rep admitted the transmission suffered from a "electrical problem" that nissan was still trying to correct. He stated all 04 4 speed models suffer from this. The arbitrator wanted to know if they were sending out 05 models the same way. She seemed interested in the fact they were going with the 5 speed for 05. The rep stated the auto reversal feature was designed to operate with significant pressure to reverse it. (my 2 yr. old son was injured when his sister closed the door when he was trying to get in) I seem to remember that Nissan advertised anti-pinch technology on the automatic doors. having to apply significant pressure to reverse the door does not seem to me or the arbitrator to avoid "pinching" but we will have to wait and see what her decision is next week. since the temp was only 70 degrees the a/c performed ok. hard to believe but I still like many things about the van. if this one is re purchased i may consider buying one once the issues are resolved. has anyone else had luck with BBB on the tranny issue? I know Nissan is working on a fix but this problem has been reported on edmunds since Jan. i think they have had plenty of time.

plashenick

I got my court date for December. Will keep you all posted

twillis

Hey awesome9again - obviously you have not experienced this problem, it won't move to low gear even by using the shifter. The only way to get it out of High gear is to stop the car, put in park, turn off the engine, remove the key, put it back in, start the engine and away you go. This is no fun if it happens while trying to turn into moving traffic.

bravesquest

Our 04 SL has just over 5k miles on it. Somewhere around 2k miles, we got the Check Engine light coming on & staying on... took it to dealer, they replaced the O2 sensor. The dang thing came back on... then went off... then came on.... Over a span of nearly 3k miles, with NO rhyme or reason to why it came on or why it went off again. By the time I made an appt. with the dealer again, it had gone off. Hasn't come back on in a couple of weeks, but I'm waiting. I see that several others have had this problem, but has anyone gotten it resolved completely??

Also, we had a tire pressure warning come on and stay on. We had tires rotated & aired up, yet the light stayed on. Took it to the dealer & they fixed it... but not sure how. Any ideas??

yun

Hey, I got the answer for you on this one. Same thing happen to me and it took me three visits for Nissan Service Department to figure it out. This is due to Exhaust Leak at Heat Shield on converter. Basically some shield fell off. This can cause Check Engine light to come on and your engine should be a little noisy at idle. This happened to me at about 4k miles. Man, talk about the ordeal I had. They kept blaming me that I didn't close the gas cap, etc. Anyhow, this completely resolved my issue.

aloharo

I can only respond to the "heater blows cold air in the back vents" issue. The rear air temp is controlled by the small knob on the far left of your dash panel. The one that has blue on the left side and red on the right side. You MUST turn that know to the red side for the rear heater to kick in. Leaving it on the blue side runs the rear AC.

twilke

You must think I'm a real moron.

Our Quest '04 S does not have a temp. knob on the far left.

The knobs in order from left to right from the gear shift are:

1) Fan Speed Only.
2) Temp. and A/C on/off.
3) Air position and rear defrost on/off.

From the pictures on the net ours looks nothing like the ones I'm seeing on Nissan's site or Edmunds. Figures....another Nissan cluster.

dtownfb

that is weird twilke. I also have a S model. My button for the rear is all the way on the right side of the "dashboard". It's smaller then the other buttons. it should look almost identical to the button above the passenger side sliding door.

jday

I have filed under Fl lemon law and now getting car repaired. No guarantee this will fix the problem but the Tech. thinks it will. I would like to hear from someone who has been down this road ahead of me. Car went in the shop 10/25/04, they have 10 days to fix. Contact me on the side at jday007@bellsouth.net or at this site. best of luck. I have reported this problem to the National safety board.

abkool

I also have an 04 'S and the buttons are also on the right side. I think thats how it is designed because the manual also has the pictures correct.
dtownfb, do you have the 'issue' with the rear blowing not cold air. I havent really investigated mine, it seems to blow room temperature I think.
For the S model owners, any 'squeak', 'rattle' type of stuff from the right side door.
Anyone hears a 'clunk' when applying the brakes? I dont but wondering if anyone else is.

Ciao.

terryharris

We had a 95 Nissan Altima with constant rotor problems. Resurfacing never helped. New rotors did job. Replaced 2 times in 100,000 miles. Crappy rotors! My 2004 Quest has not had the rotor problems yet and I have 12,000 miles.

twilke

Yes....it also has two small knobs for the rear as well but neither controls temperature. The top knob is fan speed and the bottom knob is for position (i.e. floor or roof).

It's really stupid that the bottom knob has a blue and red line as if it controls temperature when it does not. (at least not in mine)

gg2k2se

twilke; Less emotion, more thinking. I believe it's quite logical. If you want warm air it blows from the lower vents and rises. If you want cold air it blows from the top vents and drops down. Only one control necessary.

Actually try it before sending another message. Then let us know if it works.

milissag35

We had this problem several months ago. Went to the dealership and they were shocked that there was a problem with a Nissan engine/transmission. They ended up replacing the transmission after they ordered a special part to remove it in the first place and having the van for over 2 weeks. It did fix the problem. We now have problems with the fuses blowing (we have 14,000 miles on the van, 12,000 when the tranny was replaced). Also, the drivers side window when you put it down using the automatic feature to take it down the whole way, and go to put it up, it will only go up 3/4 of the way unless you hold the up button on the window button for several seconds. They did fix that saying that the memory in the window somehow got messed up. They also said that there are 8 recalls on the van as of now and they will need the van for a week to fix everything. UGH>>>frustrating. I never knew this site was here, and after I started reading, I wish I knew it was here before, it helps to know others are having the same problems and to know what they had done to fix them.

twilke

Actually...we already took it in and there was a problem.

It does function, when it's functioning as designed, as you say. In a 2000 sq ft house the concept of heat rising and designing the ventilation system in this manner is adequate. In my vehicle I would like the option to blow warm air directly at people.

Using your logic why would they allow the vents in the dash to blow warm air? You would just use the floor right?

You are right though....I am emotional that this is the biggest POS I've owned.