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Nissan Quest/Mercury Villager problems
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Comments
Picked it up on Nov-2000, Colorado. Nov/Dec 2000 was when there was a sales slump and overproduction in minivans (Chrysler/Dodge offering up to $5k in rebates).
The Linc-Merc dealer/reps were spying us as we drove across from Nissan (an advantage when shopping in an auto mall). Involved a low-mileage 98 Saturn SW2-Wagon at (12.3K miles), $12.5K retail. The 01-VillSport came with a $1K rebate, and I let my trade go for $9.8K. The equation remains equal... I prefer the new-car lower price with the lower trade-in price (you get the tax benefit) - what you gain in the purchase price you lose in the trade-in.
Go in with your financing ready. Stakeout the dealer stock (Nissan had 5 Quest SEs). The Nissan across the street had 13-2000 and 1-2001 Quests (while the Linc-Merc had 2-2000 and 8-2001s. Let them know of the Quest and Villager future production plans.
And, they were eager to push our deal through (it was a busy day with people buying Continentals and Navigators). Would you believe it only took us some 15 minutes at the finance office and when we shook hands I said, "Don't you think I should sign my check before we go?".
Good luck.
Tachometer stuck at 1000 rpm
Throttle sticking (found solution ideas here, will try)
Interior dome light comes on intermittently--dealer clueless
Horrible grinding from front brakes since Day 1--dealer clueless, full of poor excuses
Rust on top edge of rear door--dealer refuses to repair it
Every AC vent broke--dealer refuses to make repairs
Strange metallic smell from AC, especially rear unit--dealer clueless
Both headlight wires faulty and must be jiggled every time the lights are turned on--dealer clueless
Driver's window switch failed with the window down
The van has 60,000 miles and has oil changed every 3000 miles. All maintenance is done as suggested. These problems have occurred since the van was purchased. The dealer has given us the runaround until the car's mileage exceeded that for the warranty. Any suggestions?
The front calipers are a Ford designed product that are apparently notorious for this scraping problem. The dealership adjusted them, resurface the rotors and smoothed out the pads and I have not had the grinding sound since. That was more than 30K miles ago.
Those that have a squeeking sound remember that your brakes are equipped with a wear sensor that will give you a shrill squeal when they are about to go. Hope this helps.
Charles15 is correct on the brake diagnosis. The dealer and a brake shop just confirmed the brake problem as FORD. New calipers needed at 60,000.
Cleaning the throttle body was easy and worked wonders. Thanks to all for the tips. The car no longer lurches dangerously.
Headlight problems: both front headlight wire harnesses MELTED and corroded. The repair is easy--unplug the wire leading to the headlight bulbs. Cut the wires. Repace the harness (plastic piece that plugs into the light bulb ($15 for two). The harness has three metal slots for the bulb pins. The plastic was completely melted from the heat of the halogen bulbs. The dealer service department said, "duh, i dunno." The dealer parts guy said, "That's because it's built with junk." I think he's on to something.
engine reliaabilty? transmission? brakes? electrical? a/c?
at 60k there should be a major service, right? what would that involve?
all sharing is appreciated
tia
rob
Thanks
Mercury Villager Manifold Exhaust Bolts
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
We just purchased a used 95 quest.....nice van but it has a coulple of monor problems. The drivers side rear brake light is out....I changed the bulb.....twice...and it is still out. All the other lights are working fine.....Am I missing something? A fuse or? The other problem is the alarm code. We didn't get it...is there a way to reset it to a default set of numbers or figure out the combo that is in it now?
Thanks!
Any help will be appreciated.
Ray
Check out this link for a discussion of how to get the bulb:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/villagerquest/message/3138
I would suggest that anyone with a maintenance or repair question on the Villager or Quest check out the Villagerquest archives at yahoogroups.com. (Not that I have anything against Edmunds!) There is a wealth of information to be found there.
Dave
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
I want to thank y'all for the information on repairing the rear heater blower. While I was not able to solder the bad connection, I followed the instruction on bypassing the relay and jumpering the car side of the plug. Rear blower works fine now. Hope the fix lasts.
Thanks,
Raj
erikandbrenoh
mandip, wojna, erikandbrenoh, and rsmith757 please check out this link for some notes on check engine lights, hard starting (in hot weather anyway) gas (not really sulfur?) smells and the rear A/C blower.
Also follow the link there to Steve Cutchen's page for more info on most of these questions. Steve sold his '93 minivan, but he collected some good stuff there and it's still on his page. Maybe one of you will hit a home run and find an easy fix.
Please let us know how it works out.
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Two questions: Has anyone out there had or heard of a similar problem? Did Ford/Mercury take some accountability and help/pay for the repairs?
The van has never had a timing belt change, nor can the previous owner remember the last time it had a major service. What items, beyond the timing belt, should I take care of right away?
I assume this is an interference engine like most Japanese engines?
Also, there is a smell of coolant in the engine compartment. The PO said that he had his mechanic pressure test the system and they couldn't find a leak. He also said he only tops off the coolant tank about every 6 months, so the leak is small. I'm wondering, are head gaskets a problem with Villagers/Quests of this vintage?
Any other suggestions more experience members of this list can provide would be much appreciated.
- Chad
Your timing belt is due for a change. It would be a good idea to change the water pump and accessory drive belts at the same time. Change the coolant and spark plugs too. The engine was changed around 94 or 95 to be a non-interference engine, I don't know exactly when.
Head gaskets don't go bad very often on Villagers. More likely it's a coolant hose connection, or possibly a leaking radiator. If you take a light and carefully follow all the coolant hoses, you will find there are a lot of connections and joints. It's likely one of these is leaking.
Dave
Are those GY Eagle LSs? What was wrong with them (on all 4)?
Everything else on this van is in great shape so I would like to get the timing belt, head gasket, and all of the belts replaced. I have a good independent mechanic I could take the van to, but I'm concerned about the issue of overtightening of the belts causing the crank to break.
This may be a case where I had better get the job done at the dealer even though it may cost me more. I'm also concerned that if the crank did break after the job that the dealer would still try and weasel out of it because the van has 100k miles on it. I suspect I'll just have to trust that they do the job right.
As far as the manifold bolt problem goes, the previous owner said he never had any exhaust work done at all. The manifold seems to work fine. The van was manufacturered in March of 1994. Was the bolt problem resolved by then?
I'm also curious, will Nissan dealerships work on Villagers and Mercury dealerships work on Quests?
If I were you, I don't think I'd be too worried about a head gasket leak just yet. A head gasket leak would cause more damage if it was leaking coolant or oil into the combustion chamber. You can get the oil analyzed to check for traces of antifreeze.
As far as Mercury/Nissan dealers working on other brands, that's probably a dealer-by-dealer decision. What I've generally found is most dealers will work on other brands.
Dave
-noisy , rattly ride
-left power mirror inoperative
-a front end shudder that comes in small waves at 100k/hr (60 miles/hr)
-check engine light stays on.
Any thoughts on these problems?
Also, what do you make of Phil Edmunston's Lemon Aid Used Car Guide 2002 downgrading of the Villager's ratings? He lists problems that sound like GM and Chrysler vehicles; air bags malfunctions, brake failures etc. He is very grumpy this year about mini vans.
Thanks
I noticed a very strong gas odor after parking in the garage. I loosened the gas cap and a stream of pressurized air came out for a very long 8-10 seconds. This seemed like excessive build up of pressurized air in the gas tank. Has anyone had similar problems?
However, when braking I've noticed over time that the rotors have become warped and have been getting increasingly worse. I've always operated under the notion that aluminum wheels can be prone to this if the lug nuts haven't been torqued properly.
I questioned my dealer about this when the van first started to exhibit the shake 20K+ miles ago and he told me that they do torque the nuts when they rotate the tires. Of course that doesn't mean the mechanic actually takes the time to do it or do it right.
I know this is something I'll never be able to prove so I've take the van to my car mechanic and I expect they'll turn the rotors and everything will be fine. I KNOW they torque the nuts there.
I'm really irritated that I have to spend the money to have this done (never mind reducing the life of the rotors) especially when the van has been OK otherwise. Has anyone else experienced a warping problem?
I'm just wondering whether it really was bad service or whether the rotors are of suspect quality. Since I won't be letting the dealer rotate the tires any more, I may eventually get my answer but I'm curious about other experiences out there.