Nissan Quest Low Ground Clearance

mrragu2u

I/we have a 2006 Nissan Quest. My wife wanted it, I wanted to get another Suburban.

I am a little disappointed with the gas milage 21 in city and up to 24 or on the highway. Not what I expected from a 3.5L engine. Just venting here. Now for my issues.

This van can barely clear a decent speed bump without hitting the bottom. This drives me crazy!! Any ideas? Can you get a lift kit on this vehicle?

The other issue is having a class III hitch on the vehicle. Can you REALLY haul 3500 lbs. with this vehicle? I am stuck with this van for several years, so any help would be appreciated. I am being a little harsh, but it isn't that bad of a vehicle.

Thanks,
Mike

dtownfb

Disappointed with getting 21 mpg city in a vehicle that weighs over 4200 pounds??!!??? You have very high expectations. i don't think any vehicle other than your Suburban will satify you.

One thing you should know is the 3.5 L engine in the Quest is recognized as one of the best engines available. I believe the van is rated for 3500 pounds ans should have no problem handling that load with the proper equuipment. I know many people have installed hitches on these vehicles. YOu may have to search the "Nissan Quest 2004+" forum to find their posts.

Relax. It is a very good vehicle now that it appears they have gotten the kinks out. The 2007 is suppose to be even nicer.

famof3kids

Yes, it is low to the ground, but, we have learned to be more careful. We haven't had any problems with speed bumps. We have had problems(?) with the rear trailer hitch dragging sometimes, but, no big deal.

That's pretty good mileage for such a heavy vehicle. Set the cruise on 70 for highway travel and you might see an improvement. Also, we noticed our mileage got better after around 10,000 miles.

garandman

I am a little disappointed with the gas milage 21 in city and up to 24 or on the highway. Not what I expected from a 3.5L engine. Just venting here. Now for my issues.

This van can barely clear a decent speed bump without hitting the bottom. This drives me crazy!! Any ideas? Can you get a lift kit on this vehicle?

The other issue is having a class III hitch on the vehicle. Can you REALLY haul 3500 lbs. with this vehicle? I am stuck with this van for several years, so any help would be appreciated. I am being a little harsh, but it isn't that bad of a vehicle.

1. It's rated 18mpg city and 25mpg highway. What exactly were your expectations? Aren't you really just throwing a hissy because you wanted a Suburban? It's tough to be a Man, sometimes.

2. Ground clearance is 5.8" That is the same or more than any other minivan than the Toyota Sienna.

I assume because you owned a Suburban you must be an off-road kind of guy and know better than to take them square - or am I wrong?

3. No. It cannot tow a 3,500 lb trailer over the Rockies on a hot summer day. How much does your trailer weigh? Live in the Rockies?

mrragu2u

Ouch!

OK. The gas milage is up a little. When we first got it, it was 17. I just felt like it should have been more. I feel that going from a 5.7L to 3.5L should have given more milage. My wife did research all the vans and got this brand because the interior room was the largest and closest to the Suburban.

As for the ground scraping, I am being careful...much more so now, but it still does it. A suburban would have been nice, but they were a lot more expensive than this van. So, all is not lost. We have the rear entertainment center, sunroof and the skylight windows. that will put you over 40K MSRP on the Sub.

I am not an off-road guy, but the dragging hitch is a real pain. My wife thinks I am tearing up the van when it happens. I put the hitch on to haul a U-Haul once. Long story of a 700 mile move. I would like to get a camper trailer and just wonder if it could handle pulling it. The trailer will probably be too big for this van. The trailer would need to be big enough for wife, 3 kids and me. Oh yeah, and the small mutt. Let's put it this way, my accord won't do it for sure. I am sure I am dreaming on this.

It is upsetting to pack all the luggage in the nice deep rear section and it drag the hitch. I was hoping that someone might have a solution.

All this aside, I would NEVER choose a Chrysler mini-van over this one. Been there, done that and will never own one of those again.

Thanks!
Mike

stever

I've grumped about the low clearance on my '99 Quest before and I have a few logging road scars to show for it. Nothing worse than dings on the oil pan although I almost scraped off the ebrake Y gizmo underneath early on.

I have more problems with speedbumps and dips around town though - most of the time I'm scraping the bottom of the front bumper (it's attached at the bottom with zip ties now so there is a bit of free play :shades: ). Another inch or two of clearance and/or less front overhang would be great, but it's never been bad enough to make me research a lift kit or different shocks or springs or something.

I tore up a $300 brake equalizer on an old Voyager I had (love those logging roads!) but at least it was a short wheel base minivan and handled the dips ok.

btw, my Quest mpg didn't hit its stride until after 10,000 miles either.

Steve, Host
SUVs and Speed Shop

exploder750

We have a 2004 Quest with 69,000 miles and are very happy with it. It was something my wife "had to have", so I settled on it to keep her happy . The other posters are correct, your gas mileage is very good all things considered. I've noticed a general deterioration of gas mileage at 70mph, so try to keep it at 65mph. Also, you can rest easy knowing that you have by far the very best engine/transmission combination on the minivan market, bar none. As for towing, it appears that it is rated for 3500lb, with tongue weight of no more than 350 lb, and passenger/cargo weight of no more than 1204lb. While towing, I'd advise keeping the overdrive shut off unless under light conditions; ie going down a hill or slight decline.
One other thing; keep a close eye on the engine air filter. The intake is in a spot that is conducive to picking up a lot of bugs and dirt. I've changed to a Fram Airhog filter, very cost effective at $40 when cleaning every few months; vs buying a new paper filter at $10 a pop.

Good luck with your wife pleaser, surely she'll reward your thoughtfulness and sensitivity to her needs.

breton

I had the same dragging hitch problem with my 2004 Quest. With kids in the back it would drag when backing out of my driveway. I also tow a 1000lb popup camper and it would drag quite often. I ended up putting on Airlift air springs and this solved the problem. They are small airbags that go inside the vans coil springs and you can pump them up with a bicycle pump. I also now tow a 2200lb boat and it rarely drags. I paid $90.00 from the JC Whitney web site for the Airlift springs. It does take a little muscle to work the air bags into the coil springs but the installation did go easier than I expected.

http://www.airliftcompany.com/online_catalog.html

hotfox

I was surprized at the low clearance.
YES
the van does a great job of pulling
I had a special heavy duty hitch installed, just in case...
I used to pull a boat, but when I became widowed, wasn't sure if I would still would.

I'm not sure about how to 'raise the vehicle' because when I was checking out replacing tires on my van - they are expensive cause of the rims and size.

Your milage will go down with towing.

I was surprized at how low my milage was on this van - especially when it was published alot higher in papers.

zelskid

From day one, my 2000 Quest has scrapped the plastic panel under the bumper when the tires hit a tire stop in a parking lot. Tire stops seem to be a standard height- so what is Nissan's problem? I rememeber using those twist in coil spring spreaders from my younger days. Would that be the simplest solution? I only need 1/2 inch more clearance.