Problems with 2004 Nissan Quest STRUCTURE

I took the vehicle in for some maintenance/repair to the front axle on 1/16/2020 and the mechanic found that the subframe on the passenger side of the vehicle by the front tire was severely rusted to the point where he can push his finger through the side of the frame. he told me he could not believe i had not had an accident because in his opinion hitting a medium size chuckhole in the roadway could cause the right front of the vehicle to completely collapse. the mechanic indicated this did not happen overnight and has been ongoing. the vehicle has been parked in a garage at my home during its use since it was purchased new by me and not routinely left parked on the street. the mechanic advised me that in his opinion it was not safe to drive the vehicle very far.

Subframe rotted

I am writing due to the fact i took my 2004 nissan quest into the shop today because of a loose steering wheel and a horrible clunking noise coming from the front right side. my van only has 97,000 miles on it and has been taken care of very well. the mechanic told me the the subframe is basically rotting away and is the worst he has seen in 50 years of work. i've read numerous accounts online of other who have had this same issue. i feel like nissan should help cover the cost of my repairs due to poor manufacturing and poor quality of parts. i am very unhappy and will be sharing my story with whoever i can share it with. i will include a link with a site with many complaints from other owners of this same vehicle. please help me out. this is a big issue because my wife and three children ride in this vehicle daily. https://www.carcomplaints.com/nissan/quest/2004/body_paint/rotting_subframe.shtml

There was noise coming out from the front passenger side of the vehicle and upon applying brakes the steering wheel was getting pulled forcefully to the right. thinking that there could be some problem with the struts, i took it to the repair shop. the repair shop noticed that the passenger side of the sub-frame (frame or engine cradle) under the engine compartment was completely rusted and almost completely giving away. a high-speed bump or a sudden braking may have caused it to give away completely and could have caused the vehicle to go completely out of control. the car is old but that old for the frame to give away. this is a costly repair but more than that it is a safety critical issue that may lead to a bad accident. the only reason this may be noticed before something dreadful happened is only by chance. the drivers might be noticing other issues that prompts them to take it to the shop while the other sides of the frame are holding up the vehicle for some time. some further research showed that this same issue has been reported by quite a few consumers (frame rusted/breaking on the passenger side), but no action has been taken thus far. i have noticed that there are numerous complaints and i-team news reports about similar issues, but no action has been taken. remember that there are others who quietly get their cars repaired but not lodge a complaint. given my previous experience with nissan on a different issue with the same vehicle (cam sensor failure causing the vehicle to turn off completely (while driving) that completely jams the steering wheel and brake failure. the vehicle could only be brought to stop by applying parking brake). i don't trust nissan to take any action unless they are forced to.

Tamara inflators, sent my van to my local nissan dealer for brake repairmen. i was told since the front subframe at passenger side had severe rust area, my van is not safe to drive. it will cost me more than $4,000 to replace. i checked internet. there are many same problems occurred on 2004 quest. it looks like the defect of materials to me.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. the contact stated the sliding door latches failed to function properly for the rear doors on both sides. the contact had to check the doors to ensure that they were secured and when the failure happened, the contact had to manually close the two electric doors with force. the vehicle was excluded from nhtsa campaign number: 04v186000 (latches/locks/linkages) and nhtsa action number: pe04027 (structure, latches/locks/linkages) but the contact had experienced the failure concerning the recalls. two dealers had been notified (busam nissan,1501 e kemper rd, cincinnati, oh 45246,(513) 771-8100 and jeff wyler nissan of cincinnati, 8680 colerain ave, cincinnati, oh 45251, (513) 385-1400). the contact was to check with the manufacturer to determine a remedy to repair the vehicle. the contact was uncertain if the manufacturer may provide a solution being excluded from the recall. the failure mileage was not available.

I took my car to the mechanic for an alternator, my mechanic discovered that the front subframe of the vehicle was rusted almost through and deemed the car unsafe to drive. we located a used subframe with difficulty because many of them were like this. seems to be a problem with the frame in this vehicle. if it had cracked there would have been an accident. nissan north america is uninterested because i did not go to the dealer. i have the rusted part. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. the contact stated that after taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for an unrelated issue, the mechanic informed her that the sub frame on the passenger's side was severely rusted. the manufacturer was notified about the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 97,000.

I got out of the car, turned it off and went on the house minutes later the car was on fire. the flames were big and they were in the front passenger side of the engine. i had just drove the car about an hour, there was no smell no sound no indicator lights nothing. the flames were big and car went up fast. *tr

No incident yet. i was informed by nissan service that the front engine and suspension support frame has a hole rusted through and needs replacement. apparently this is a known design issue. there is no reason a hole should form in a frame support member if safely designed. it is difficult for an average vehicle owner or non-nissan garage to notice this problem so many vehicles may have it. the most obvious time the frame would break would be during a high speed bump. it would be hazardous if the frame broke during travel resulting in possible loss of control of vehicle. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. the contact stated that the automatic sliding door became partially jammed. the contact attempted to close the door manually and noticed that the door was not on track. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 120,000. the vin was unavailable.

My mechanic noticed severe rotting of right side of subframe which holds the engine and other important car parts in place. i was made aware that if the subframe broke, the engine would fall out and the right wheel would slide to the side, causing complete loss of control of the car. very dangerous, possibly fatal. i was lucky it was found before such an accident occurred. i have found two other similar complaints about the subframe rotting out. there is a drip from the air conditioner that is designed to fall right on this important structure and pools there. my fear is that others are unaware of the structural issue and could not be so lucky to find it in time before fatality occurs. i believe the car needs to be recalled to fix the improper drainage of the air conditioning. *tr *js

Van driving odd, dealer found that engine mount was broke. dealer replaced engine mount saying it was serious issue and seen often in nissans. *tr

driving my 2004 nissan quest with approx 61000 miles at 55 mph on local highway when it sounded like the side of car was hit. i pulled over and found my passenger power sliding door rail cover, a piece (~4ft by 5 to 8 inches) had nearly completely detached from the car except for bent back bracket. i could not remove (piece wedge into tail light) so i pushed it in as best as possible and drove home. very fortunate the piece did not detach completely and hit the vehicle behind. this could have caused some serious damage, maybe even hurt someone. i found other reports of this safety/design problem occurring with 2004 quest. the metal cover was bent, the taillight assembly cracked around the edge and some nasty scratches in the paint. this piece is attached by small plastic grommet clips that seem brittle. poorly designed since the rear is attached under the taillight and the front with plastic clips. if they would have put the metal tab in the front also this would have never happened. took it to the dealer in kennesaw,ga and they said it would be $700 to fix and it would not be covered as a manufactures defect. called nissan corporate and they dragged their feet for a few days and called me back and said they would assist in any way due to being out of warranty. it is a real shame because i have had 2 nissans previously (trucks) and i will probably never buy another nissan. corporate was very cold and short, zero customer service in mind. *tr

My nissan quest 2004 has problems with the sliding door- it opens but closes immediately - almost trapping my 4 year once. also, it does not lock fully and so there is a beeping sounds when the van is started and driven for a while, when closing the door from the button inside, there was a noise and beep and it would not close at times until 3 or 4 trials. *tr

Children was entering vehicle and door spontaneously closed on hand. this has happened periodically since, but never with the exact same circumstances. ie opened door to load packages, turned back around and door started closing.

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. on 4 separate occurrences, when the consumer pressed the key fob to open the passenger door, it would malfunction and close without warning while passengers were attempting to enter the vehicle. during the 4th malfunction of the door, the consumer was standing outside the vehicle bending over the passenger car seat , when all of a sudden she heard a ball bearing fall inside the wall of the van and rolled one half inch and then the door began to close. the door hit the consumer on her left hip and advanced her pelvis to the right and continued closing until her back right upper thigh made contact with the d-ring in the door frame. the door continued to close pressing her thigh even more. the door malfunctioned again by not sensing the consumer's presence in the door jamb and automatically retracted the door. the consumer placed her left shoulder on the door and pushed as hard as she could until the door retracted in manual mode. the consumer sustained a bruise to her skin and muscle of the back oh her right upper thigh. updated 08/11/09.*jb

I bought a nissan quest 2004 van from broad street honda dealer at richmond it has serious door problem which was not locking completely and it is obviously not save for my three children. i took the van to them and the don't want to fix the problem even it is under their warranty for 3000 mile or three months even i also bought from them an extended warranty but it is useless they said even i paid 14000 dollars of it. they simply want me to give the car to them bellow the price i bought from them. i believe it is fraud a clear fraud. please help me. *tr

I was driving my 2004 nissan quest (with approx 60500 miles) at 55 mph on local highway when it sounded like the side of car was hit. i pulled into the nearest gas station and found that my passenger power sliding door rail cover siding piece (~4ft by 8 inches) had nearly completely detached from the car except for bent back bracket. i could not remove (piece wedge into tail light) so i pushed it in as best as possible and drove 20 miles home. the piece fell off completely in driveway when i opened passenger door. i am very fortunate the piece did not detach completely and hit the car behind me when i was traveling 55 mph. i googled and found 2 other reports of this safety/design problem occurring with 2004 quest. other than the single bent bracket and a bit of chipped paint on the edge that has wedged under the tail light--this piece and my car show no other signs of damage. i was not hit by anything--so either this piece was not properly attached or the attachment is not properly designed. *tr

Our 2004 nissan quest which we purchased new is rusting around the sun roof. we have had numerous problems with the van. for a vehicle less than 5 years old, and has been garage kept, i believe rust in this location is a defect in the vehicle. when my dealer said he would not cover fixing the rust, i took the van to a body shop, and the owner was so appalled by the rust, that he called a different nissan dealer, who agreed and recommended we file a claim to nissan's claim office. after several weeks, and having to take the van back to the dealer 4 times, the claims office stated that since the van is out of warranty, it is not covered. my claim number with nissan is 6336483. *tr

In december of 2006 we purchased a 2004 nissan quest se. the first year was not entirely trouble free, the drivers seat would self adjust while driving. the dealer fixed it no charge. the in december of 07 the trans went out, again the dealer covered it at no charge, gave us a loaner and were done within a week. except for the inconvenience of not having our van we were fine until now!!! in june of 08 we were going for a sunday drive and the van just died in the middle of the street. nothing would work nothing, no power anywhere. we called road side and all they could do was tow us to al piemonte nissan in melrose park, il. the following monday, the dealer calls and tells us the ecu is burnt out, and has some corrosion. it's covered under warranty so no need to far right!!! a week later we finally get a loaner, ok not too bad. two months go by and we finally have word that we have a date when the part will arrive!!!!! the part gets installed but the van runs like crap "omg you mean they actually tested it"!!!! they now are replacing a cracked distributor, god only knows how that happened!!!! the dealr does not charge us for that, but the van still runs like crap so now they have to replace three of the 6 coils and well we had to pay over $800 bucks for that. totally not expecting that we had to charge it, putting us in the hole even deeper. you know we haven't spent alot of $ on this car but for a 4 year old car it sure has had alot of major components replaced. the the freaking dealer doesn't test the car, so we leave and the remotes, doors, sunroof, windows don't work. the center counsil is falling apart and they didn't even clean the '!@#$% car. i take it back, rip the manager a new one, he gives me a loaner again and i'm back the next day to pick up my van, now they clean it. it's been a few weeks now and the van is fine but i often think what would have happened if it broke down in the middle of the interstate!!!!! *tr

Numerous complaints with vehicle /sometimes no power ( is an issue on the freeway) turn engine off and restart car runs fine most times??? engine crank position sensor replaced with 70000 miles on the van / door recalled , fixed now acting up again / radio sometimes comes on with no sound, fixed at 30000 miles now once again a problem.. dealer tries to help but nissan absolutley no help. numerous calls to the factory customer rep, told that due to the fact problems do not occur at the dealer nissan not responsible. nissan customer rep took 3 weeks to call me i made calls every day, finally cought him. *cn

Failure of automatic doors, mirrors and moon roof began from the moment we drove van out of lot. daily we have issues with one of the above problems. have taken to 3 different dealers to have problems resolved and each time are told they could not find anything. *tr

2004 nissan quest sl van, passenger side power door, closing on its own and failing to sense an obstruction (in this case, my child). my wife had to physically throw herself against the door to stop it from crushing our son. the dealership has refused to pick up the vehicle as of yet.

Tl* - the contact states that his sliding doors will not close on his 2004 nissan quest van. the contacts states that this happens in all types of weather conditions. he has taken this vehicle into the dealership several times. to no avail the problem has not been corrected.

It is in the shop right now for issues with handling, the liftgate arm coming out of the door, abs, slip, traction lights are on all the time, cruise control is inoperable, rear wiper assembly has broken for the second time, front washer fluid is not working. most notably are the issues with the liftgate and handling. we took the vehicle into the dealer several months ago for both issues. our liftgate would never open on the first try. they checked into it and kept the vehicle for several days. we were given a rental and told they would pay for it and in the end they charged our credit card for it. they had a tech from nissan fly out to look at it. they informed us that they were waiting on parts. we picked up the vehicle and never heard from them again. the other day i went out to open the door. it had pulled the molding loose and i could see metal shavings at the end of the strut. we have had it in with complaints about the handling before. we suspected that the rotors were to blame. every time we brought this up we were told that wasn't the case. we were told to replace the brakes to solve the issue. we then replaced all four tires. nothing has solved the problem. when driving on the highway the steering wheel shakes and the vehicle shudders when the brakes are applied. it has been doing this since approximately 15,000 miles. the ac blow hot if you sit for more than a few minutes with the engine running. if you rev the engine, it just blows hotter. you have to drive around for several minutes to get the ac to blow cold again. we are less than happy with nissan's customer service. we have called them several times and emailed and have had no resolution on any complaint. we have been told by them that a rep will call us and it has never happened. *jb

The automatic sliding side door on my 2004 nissan quest van closes suddenly and without warning -- pinning the person entering/leaving the vehicle, or the person who is leaning into the vehicle between the door frame and a continuing-to-close- door. *jb

The passenger side sliding door panel started falling off making it impossible to open the door. i took the van back to the dealership and they replaced the clips and also mentioned that their courtesy van was doing the same thing. the clips held the panel in place for two weeks. i took the van back and was informed that i would have to purchase a new panel (very expensive). i have yet to purchase the 2000 dollar panel and still do not use that door. *tr

2004 nissan quest se with a manufacture date of 03/29/04 just spent 30 total days in the dealer's shop while certified nissan service personnel and the nissan tech support people worked to identify the cause and correct rattling sliding doors that opened while the vehicle was operating at 45 mph without warning: doors that open and close continuously while parked until the battery is dead; and doors that once they get to full open status begin to close without warning and are unstoppable. i use three car seats in my van and doors that open while in motion are very frightening to everyone but sliding doors that shut while little people are climbing in and out with not way to stop them is more of a life safety issue. i was told my vehicle was not part of the door recall 04v186000 because it was manufactured after they corrected the problem.??? i will update when problem is corrected. *nm

Purchased this vehicle 3 months ago, used. we have had nothing but problems since. the main problems are: the roof leaks, whether it's the sunroof or something else causing the leak remains to be seen. dealer claims no leak found, but everytime it rains there is water in the van, which now reeks of mold. the passenger power sliding door will not close properly on the first try. it keeps opening up right as it goes to close. dealer claims fixed but still have to make 2 or 3 attempts before it will finally work. door would not close at all 2 times in the last week. manual override did not release the door. after waiting 5 minutes and trying again, the door would finally shut. the a/c does not blow out cool air on very hot (over 80 degrees) days. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated there are multiple problems associated with the vehicle. first being, the brakes made a noise when applied. second, while attempting to accelerate, the transmission remained in third gear. this would not allow the vehicle to accelerate properly, at any speed. thirdly, the sliding door on the passenger's side opened while driving. the contact was able to close the door, although it took much force to do so. lastly, the driver and passenger side vents had hot air flowing through them. the temperature gauges were adjusted; however the hot air still flowed. as a result, the air conditioner was turned on in order to maintain a comfortable temperature. the vehicle was taken to the dealer numerous times for inspection and solutions to these problems; however the problems could not be duplicated.

Dt*: the contact stated while pressing the button to close the automatic sliding door, the door hit a passenger. the dealership was alerted. they determined it was the way the vehicle was manufactured. the manufacturer was alerted however no repairs were made. updated 05/04/06. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated the automatic sliding door was inoperable and had to be opened manually. also, the door made a ticking noise while driving. the door now opens correctly, but the dealership was unable to get rid of the noise.

I wanted to notify you of the defect in the power door mechanism of the 2004 nissan quest sl. my vin number is [xxx]. i have taken it to porter nissan dealership in newark, de to be fixed on at least three different occasions since it was purchased and it still malfunctions. i have also raised concerns about the safety of this mechanism with the dealer on many occasions. i believe the defect is 2 fold. 1. inconsistent closing: when a button is pushed to close the door, it does not always close. it goes to about 6 inches from closure and then backs open. this gets to be very frustrating. 2. more dangerous is the fact that the sensor does not work properly when the button is accidentally pushed and someone is in the way. the door proceeds to close despite an obstruction and requires tremendous force to open again. both my husband and i have been caught in the door. last week my husband hurt his back trying to force open the closing power door. this problem has existed since we purchased the vehicle and i believe that it is a serious safety concern. most importantly, i am worried that it can hurt one of my children who won't be able to push it open with force. i am writing this in hopes that this gets addressed quickly. i have tried calling nissan and their message simply says that they are too busy and to call back later. *nm updated 07/17/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

Dt*: the contact stated the sliding door opened and closed at random. the sliding door malfunctioned when the vehicle is in park. an adult was pinned by the sliding door, no injuries were sustained. the sliding door was pushed off the track and the vehicle was towed to the local dealership. the sliding door was placed back on track. *ak

The power sliding doors in my nissan quest 2004 require a very strong force to stop them once they are activated to close. my 4-year old son got hit by it on nov 11, 2005 and almost got stuck between the door and the door frame. i have in many occasions being hit by the doors on the way to closing and only a very strong resistance can stop them. i have talked to the dealer and they referred me to nissan but no one has an answer on the problem other than saying that yes the force required is very large. isn't that a very serious safety issue? shouldn't the power sliding doors, like the door of elevators, have a safety specification to ensure that they close at the slight use of force? minivans are used by many families with kids. i see that as a serious problem. luckily no one got hurt this time. *nm

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. the contact stated that the vehicle's side electrical sliding door opens and closes automatically. the doors on the vehicle will also occasionally fail to open. the door will open so that a passenger may enter the vehicle, then the door will close before they are completely inside the vehicle. the vehicle has been taken to the dealer approximately six times and the dealer changed the sensors and readjusted the doors. the door continues to not work properly. the vehicle is part of recall # 04v186000 (latches/locks/linkages:doors:latch), but the failure persists. the current mileage is 70,000 and failure mileage was 42,000. the consumer stated battery weak, dealer replaced battery. the consumer stated slow leak in tires, the dealer replaced all four tires. the dealer stated there was a recall on 2nd row seat, dealer stated parts are on special order. the consumer provided a copy of vehicle repairs. the wiper blades were replaced. updated 07/10/07 *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. the rear driver side sliding door closes by itself. the vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions. initially, the contact was informed that nothing was wrong with the sliding door. next, she was informed that the vehicle was out of warranty. she was then informed that the door bar was bent. the dealer repaired the door, but it never worked properly. occasionally, the door would not close at all. while attempting to close the door, it would drop to the ground and received scratches and dents. she has been manually closing the door because it would not close with the remote. the purchase date was unknown. the current mileage was 68,000 and failure mileage was 20,000. updated01/02/08*lj

Dt: the contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. safety defect were the side panels. they just feel into the street. passenger side panels fell off while driving on the highway in april, 2005. no crashes involved. no police or fire reports taken.*ak

2004 nissan quest power sliding side door smashed child's hand. the door neither stopped nor retracted, but shut tightly and completely on child's left hand. *bf the vehicle was taken to the dealer who explained that the door worked fine and blamed to consumer for not keeping the child hand away from the closing door. *nm *sc

Sliding doors rattles and noisy. third seat windows when open rattles and noisy. rear windshield wiper does not clean. *nm

Dt: 2004, nissan quest has 4 windows on the roof and they leak. consumer took vehicle back to dealer four times and they refused to fix it.*ak

Power sliding door retraction feature failed. as a result, one occupant's body was pinned . dealer stated that this was normal operation. *ak (the rear passenger door) *sc *jb

I went to pick up a computer/ modem. i got home and picked it up out of the back seat, the side my automatic door is on. the corner of the modem hit the little open/shut button. it crushed both my arms between the door and modem i looked like i had been hit with a baseball bat on both of them. if it had been one of my children, it could have easily broken a arm/leg, and i don't want to even think about if their head got in it some way. the dealer told me there was nothing i could do for it, except complain to you all. so i am, i love my van, but i don't let my children get in the automatic door without supervision. nissan quest, azure blue, 2004. *nm

Grinding noise upon initial start of day and several failures upon initial start; sluggish and feels like it'll cut off on incline and acceleration. upon several complaints when auto was a few months old regarding not going into gear and slowing, nissan put in some computer chip relating to the transmission. they claimed they could not duplicate problem and slowing probllem continues. also problems with defective interior equipment such as middle row side lights falling out recessed housing, no tension in arm rests ,skirts on middle seats don't stay attached,middle pass side door hard to open, rubber on door pulling apart,middle door, drivers side,looks off track,etc. *jb

Vehicle stalls, sometimes it will not start. vehicle has been serviced numerous times, and a sensor was replaced. however, the problem recurred.*ak the drivers side front and back door both squeak and rattle and are difficult to open and close. the transmission sometimes does not shift and has no acceleration. *tc

A newly purchased 2004 nissan quest with current mileage of around 4,800 miles when incident happened. while driving on highway, the driver side rear tire suddenly bent and smoke came out. van was then towed back to dealership and found that the cross member was broken off. dealership denied warranty coverage because service manager thought that such damage may have been caused by a collision, because he saw a few light scratches and a smaller than 2cm mark on the rim. i am sure that the van was not hit by anything when the tire was bent. the scratches and little mark could be caused by pulling over to shoulder with a bent tire. i pointed to the service manager that the joint of the broken cross member was full of rust, a sign of incomplete sealed over a period of time, obviously not a new damage caused by an accident. even tried contacting manufacturer many times, but no solution was made because manufacturer makes decision based on dealership statement. also, squeaking noise has been coming out from rear sliding doors, dealerships stated that they removed doors but no finding and problems still exist. *jb

Driver and passenger side doors would unexpectedly open and close on their own while the consumer was driving. the consumer drove the vehicle to the dealer for inspection and the mechanic was unable to duplicate the problem. *ak the passenger side sliding doors did not reverse in direction when an object was encountered until that object was pushed to 4-6 inches of the door frame. (the button switch caused the door to close on people) the consumer was told that the door was working as designed. *sc *jb

While applying the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate. within seconds of parking the vehicle a fire occurred. the vehicle displayed a dangerously slow acceleration as if the transmission was in the wrong gear when trying to accelerate the vehicle. there was also poor fuel economy (11.6 to 12.1 mpg instead of the normal 19-26 mpg). also, within the first few weeks of ownership, the power sliding door on the right side opened independently on two occasions and failed to open or close on several occasions, there were problems with the control buttons, the radio text display on the dash read malfunction multiple times and sometimes it occured when the engine was started. *ak *sc there was a problem with the catalytic converter. *jb

2004 nisson quest, hood prop rod design flaw. if wind catches hood, prop rod falls out, dropping hood on person looking at engine. i reported it to nissan dealer, service manager said he can not do anything about it, that's just the way they are. *ak