Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Nissan Quest/Mercury Villager problems
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
To the kind gentleman who posted the repair you saved me a lot of aggrevation and maybe some money.
Who told you that it was a belt? I usually recall the only cars with belts are the in line engines with overhead cam shafts, usually a cam in block has a chain which will knock long before snapping.
AS for you wondering about damage if you have an interference engine you'll be looking at a set of valves, a set of new heads, a set of new pistons & rings and possibly a block if any pieces hit the cylinder wall. Good Luck and hope it is a non interference engine as the cost then will be the tow and replacement of the belt. Post when the job is doen.
I had the belt and water-pump replaced for $426.00, and have driven a few hundred miles. Seems to be running good. I was told that with 170,000 miles and it running now, I should try to trade or sell ASAP. I see some of you have over 200K miles, and I'm wondering why I can't get that many? I have brand-new brakes, timing-belt and water pump, as well as brand new tires. I'm hoping to get 7500 to 10K more miles. Any reason as to get rid of it???
Thanks,
Mike
Thanks, Bill
Dave
First my check engine light came on. Ignored it because the van was running fine and this has happened a couple times before where the light stayed on for a day or two and then went out....I always figured it was some water in the gas or a sensor that was intermittantly acting up.
Anyway, the light was on for about a week when suddenly I developed another problem, the car would not shift properly. It seemed stuck in first or second with the RPMs going up and then suddenly at around 3200rpm the trans would "catch" and lurch into gear. It would then drive fine as long as I did not slow down and drop into a lower gear or stop...in which case it start all over again with not upshifting. Also I noticed that when I start the car the O/D OFF light will flash at me. A check of the transmission fluid showed that it was somewhat dark and looked higher than it should be on the stick.
I had no idea if the engine light and the shifting problem were related....I guess I am still not sure.
Next I pulled the transmission pan and drained the tran fluid...dirty looking but not really burnt smelling. The filter was clean looking (it is just over a year since I changed it). I cleaned the filter....found a few miniscule metal fragments in it and a small piece of plastic? Nothing much on the magnets. I put it all back together with new fluid but no change.
I finally found a way to read the codes using a jumper wire and came up with the following fault codes:
0302 EGR insufficient flow, 0304 Knock sensor fault, 1103 A/T first gear signal fault, 1206 Throttle position sensor to A/T signal fault.
So my next plan of action is to test and/or replace the TPS to see if that helps.
I am hoping this means my problem is electrical/signal in nature and not a mechanical problem with my trans.....because I was a phonecall away from having a different transmission put in my van.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Installing a new TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) solved the problem.
What seemed like a slipping transmission was just the TPS not sending the signals that tell the transmission when to shift gears.
Everything seems to be working great and we erased the codes by taking of the battery ground for a few minutes.
Have gone out for three drives with it and no Check Engine light has returned....so far...not even the EGR code.
YAY !
I am so glad I found info on the web that told us that many Mercury Villager and Nissan Quest owners have needlessly replaced transmissions when it was only the TPS. So if you ever have transmission problems...don't replace the transmission before you make sure your Throttle Position Sensor is the culprit first.
Amazing, I had the exact same problems and codes. Actually, I had a 3rd. and fourth gear a/t code instead of 1st gear.
What I found was:
1. broken hose ( about 2 inches long) at the EGR-BPT valve.
2. TPS tested faulty, but acually was working properly; it only had to be rotated slightly. The TPS sends a signal indicating the engine being at idle. Apparently this signal is very important to the trans. control module, because that is what was causing my transmission problems!!!!!!!!! I don't remember the specifics, but I used the Haynes repair manual - it tells you to adjust the TPS so that at idle you have a certain voltage (I think 5v). Do yourself a favor and probe the wiring harness to check to voltage with the connector connected.
I still have the knock sensor code. testing says that the sensor is bad, but I don't believe it (maybe because of the price and the dificulty of changing it - need to remove the upper and lower intake manifold!)
Hope this helps. I'm curious to know how you make out with your knock sensor.
Catalyst: Not Ready
Oxygen Sensor: Not Ready
Oxygen Sensor Heater: Not Ready
EGR System: Not Ready
I was focus on the P0135 issue first, replaced the upstream Oxygen Sensor and then erased the DTC. After the 20 minutes driving, I parked it on my driveway and turned off ignition. Waited for about 5 minutes and turned on the ignition again. The Check Engine light was returned. Problem was not fixed. It's not the Oxygen Sensor Heater problem. It's the circuit problem, but I don't know where the problem is. I will be very much appreciate if anybody can share their experience on this board.
Any ideas where I should look? I'm guessing tranny problems - trans oil is fine.
Maybe fuel filter?
TIA
Jeff Bragg
I am a satisfied owner of a '93 Villager with 170K and I have been planning to trade it in for a newer one, mostly for the double doors. Since I have a bunch of kids and need the 2nd row bench seat, I'm limiting my search to non-captain's chair '99-'00 Quest SE's or '01-'02 GXE's (and the Villager equivalents). Can anyone tell me if there are any advantages of the '01-'02 over the '99-'00 models or vice-versa?
What is the process / parts needed to change out the driver's side power window switch on a 99 Villager? Mine just went today (I am guessing that is what it is since the window will not move up and it is in the down position). I cannot hear the motor attempting to run so I think it must be the switch.
Please advise - thanks.
There's one screw hidden by a plastic cap in the door arm area; remove the cover and the screw and you can lift the whole door arm piece out. Then you can disconnect the switch from the wiring. The switch itself is held in place by 4 screws, so after you remove the connector (you may have to squeeze the sides while prying it off), it's an easy replacement. The part is about $80 last I heard.
If you want to try to repair the switch, see my earlier post and maybe have a replacement lined up at the dealer first.
Jr714, my Quest is a '99 and the crash ratings weren't so hot on it. Nissan improved the restraint system and did some other changes and the ratings got better in later years. Otherwise check for balky wiper switches and power window switches. Mine seems to be running ok at 104,500 miles; I did a recent CV boot/axle replacement and the tach is sticky.
Steve, Host
Thanks in advance, Mike
Thanks in advance, Mike
An inspection of the fuel, fuel lines and replacement of the fuel filter turned up nothing and did not eliminate the problem. Further inspection, however, turned up a "melted" catalytic converter containing pieces of the exhaust manifold. A complete replacement of the exhaust system still, however, did not eliminate the symptoms she described. This is when the diagnostic computer turned up a code showing a faulty knock sensor.
A dealership service department informed her that this was the culprit and charged approx. $1000 parts/labor for the "repair". 5 days into this, she was told she could pick up the van, but when she did, the symptoms returned immediately!
After replacing the sensor a second time, they then tried swapping out an ignition module and then an ignition coil. Eventually, through trial and error, it appears the actual culprit was the distributor.
My question, though, after reading several posts in this forum, is whether a faulty knock sensor could even possibly have been the culprit. We're finding out after the fact that this service department has a reputation for encouraging unnecessary repairs (its rumored the techs are paid on commision). We were told that the damage to the exhaust system was caused by overheated exhaust going to/through the exhaust manifold. Could an inoperative knock sensor possibly have caused the symptoms she was experiencing or lead to the damage of the exhaust system that we had to replace?
My van is with a friend right now so I cant confirm but try looking it up under the cabin filter replacement section. Also the service guy said that they are a major pain to get on and off. He also mentioned something about special clips (or something like clips) that can give you problems but I can't remember if that was for the filter or the collar...sorry.
Good Luck,
Jenn
After putting on the rear shoes on both sides we put on the drums and reversed the lug nuts so the flat side would be touching the drum (no tire at this poitn) and tightened them just finger tight.. Then we spun the drum to see if everything was moving freely before putting the tires back on. Well the passenger side was fine but the drives side would only spin for 1 revolution and then the lug nuts in the 4 to 5 o'clock positions would become so tight you couldnt loosen them without the lug wrench and the nut in the 10 to 11 o'clock position would be away from the drum about a 1/32 or so, enough to easily see the space gap.
So we adjusted the tension screw to bring the shoes all the way in with no luck.
We filed the metal edges of the shoe down because we thought they might be dragging because we saw some shiney non-black areas after the first couple of spinning attempts but no luck.
So we thought the shoes were not the same but both sides match in length and width and match the old ones except in length the new ones are about 1 inch longer.
So we thought the drum might be out of round so we swapped drums and again no problem on the passenger side but the same problem on the drivers side so the drum is ok.
So we took the shoes off, checked behind them etc and there was no debris and we checked the backer plate which seemed ok so we put the shoes back on again and still the same drivers side issue.
So then we thought the bearing had been extened too far and had wedged itself sideways in the shaft so we took a look at that and all seemed ok. We did not take the bearing out because then you must replace it and it is self-contained and cant be "repacked" or so we were told by Nissan dealer. But there were not burnt areas and it seemed in the correct position.
So we put everything back together, drum still stuck but I drove the thing down the road anyway and the wheel did turn and the brakes worked but the drivers side drum gets REALLY hot as compared to the passenger side drum.
So because we ran out of ideas we have put the old shoes back on the drivers side and are looking for some...any... ideas. The local parts guy made me promise to tell him what it turns out to be as they are quite intrigued at this point.
One thing is that when you beat (and I mean really hard on the drum) with a hammer after you reach the "no more turning freely point" you can get the drum to turn another 1/4 turn or so with "each beating" but it is very difficult to turn and only my father can turn it I am not strong enough. When you first tighten up the lug nuts finger tight you can get one full revolution but then no more unless you really wail on it to get the xtra 1/4 turns.
We are at this point thinking the back plate or axle is off but it works fine/spins-freely when we put the old almost spent brake shoes on, which are the same width as the new shoes but an inch shorter than the new ones.
We didnt notice any undue wear on the inside face of the drum either. But we did notice that the shoe in the most rear position was wearing funny on the bottom side, the innermost area on the pad (at the very bottom closest the backing plate) is worn about 1/2 inch up in an excessive manner but on the outermost bottom area is worn 1.5 inches up the pad in an excessive manner like it has been sheared off or someone filed it...but you can see the wear lines so it wasnt "sheared" per se.
We seem to have stumped everyone we have spoken to in our area and any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Jenn
PS Also the front brakes get very hot now and smoke when I drive through puddles of water. Is this normal? (The pads were very low before so that may be why I never noticed before and the calipers are functioning fine ie not stuck open from formerly low pads etc)
ClaireS
MODERATOR
Need help getting around? claires@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
Tell everyone about your buying experience: Write a Dealer Review
If you read Msg #1874 from dbrem26, he explains the procedure as I did it. It was very simple and took only a few minutes. It's just a little awkward to reach this board since it's under the passenger side dash. Also, once I removed it, it looked burnt as I read here from another Quest owner.
Good luck,
Dave
currently 160,000 and doing ok.
door locks; I've noticed in the past couple of weeks that the driver side door lock (the most used), is getting increasingly difficult to operate. However, can't say if it's the lock, or is some sum-[non-permissible content removed] tried to pick it, because I noticed what looked like "pick marks" on it. they are manual locks....not power locks.
on the other hand.....could be a bad tumbler. for example...my ignition tumbler has been shot for about 5 years now........you can remove the key while it's running.....and it doesn't always operate smoothly.
However, after 12 years of faithful service, with nothing major gone wrong.....I'm not complaining.
sacramento
called a local sacramento dealer.....set the appointment..got it done no charge and timely too.
sacramento
The dealer wanted almost $1,000 to replace the thermostat, water pump, fluid, spark plugs and wires...but these were small things so I did it myself.
I do not know if this is the same problem you have. My problem stated out as sluggish with the ac on and then continued to slowly get worse. It started to do the same thing with the ac off and started using more gas.
I would start with new plugs and wires. Be careful to set the gaps properly( the tech. that did my last tune-up skipped this step!).
NOTE: If your water temp. gauge reading is ANYWHERE else besides the spot it has always been( even in the "NORMAL" range) and your engine is having problems, change the thermostat first. It is the cheapest and fastest thing to replace, and is most likely the problem.
Good luck, let us know how it works out.
Mark
How do I get at the front controls apart to work on it? My problem sounds real similar since it only works once and a while. The while is getting longer and longer.
Thanks for any help.