Problems with 2004 Nissan Quest ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Vehicle abs lights, slip light and vsd light activated and vehicle lost braking system to manual from power. *jb

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

Dt*: the contact stated while traveling various speeds, the airbag warning light remained illuminated after an occupant who weighed 115 pounds sat in the seat. the front passenger air bag would not deploy in the event of a crash when the air bag light was illuminated. on another occasion, an occupant who weighed 150 pounds sat in the passenger seat, and the air bag light remained illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who performed a diagnostic, and did not provide any error codes. the dealer and contact encountered a nhtsa recall #04v103000, regarding the air bags: frontal: sensor/control module. the dealer determined the vehicle was not involved in the recall due to the vin. also, the fuel gauge on the instrument panel, did not display the correct amount of fuel in the fuel tank. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who replaced the fuel tank, fuel pump, but the problem recurred. the manufacturer was not contacted.

Battery main ground wire is strapped supported to frame then grounded at bolt in transmission. ground wire breakage occurred at transmission grounding point due to oscillation of stiff ground wire being oscillated up and down by transmission movement relative to vehicle frame. *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

1). transmission - 29,889 mi. to present. serviced 6 times. constantly shifts up and down at school zone speed, loud clunk when decelerating at 40 mph, loud clunk when decelerating in highway exit curve. dealer says everything is working to specs...nothing fixed. 2). brakes - 46,363 & 55,204 mi. new front and rear brakes installed. at 73,014 miles van needs new brakes and rotors. 26,651 highway miles. wallace nissan service said nissan used undersized rotors for vehicle weight and tire size, hence need for frequent replacements. 3). electrical - 04/05/2010, 64,194 mi. the vdc and ck engine lights came on, van speed very erratic...5 to 40mph all by itself, stalled several times. dealer computer diagnosis...faulty sensors in crankshaft and camshaft $209.07. 10/03/2011, 72,547 mi. same vdc and erratic speed. dealer's initial diagnosis, faulty throttle sensor, installed new sensor...same problem, upon further investigation dealer found the ecm unit was totally corroded and had to be replaced. $962.16. nissan mechanics say it was a faulty design location of the ecm right under the windshield wiper cowling which allowed water to enter the ecm, corrode it and cause its eventual failure. in subsequent year models of the quest, nissan moved the ecm to a more protected area. 4). electrical - sliding rear door sensors continue to fail as the door shuts to prevent injury to a person with a hand in the way. sliding doors continue to rattle even after 6 service visits to fix it. 5). electrical. rear hatch motor and lock mechanisms continue to break down even after 6 service visits and $1,164.94 in repair costs. 6). other problems involve: faulty backup sensors, serviced 4 times $285.88. same drive belts replaced twice within 26,651 miles and $250.00, leaking sunroof and skylights, nissan had to replace the entire roof because of severe rust. overall, van is crap! *tr

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)

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

Complaint regarding 2004 nissan quest tow package and wiring design flaw.*mr the consumer stated the directional lights only blinked once when a trailer was connected to an after market wiring harness. the dealer informed the consumer that they did not know the tow package needed to be ordered from the factory. *jb

While driving through a construction site vehicle drove over an orange traffic cone. in the process, it pulled down a wire from under the vehicle, causing it to shut down. owner contacted the manufacturer, and was told that what was being experienced was not a mechanical defect, and there was nothing they could do. *ak the consumer believes a recall should be initiated that would provide protection for the wiring under the vehicle. *nm

Nissan quest 2004 has been in for service 5 times. tire problems, console lights (possible short) and rear interior lights. *bf the air conditioner failed, the door handle fell off, the front driver side tire was continuously losing air. *jb

We got the car in dec 2003. between feb 2004 and april 2004 the car had 5-6 hard stars; in most cases it took less than 5 minutes to have it started and only one time more than an hour. i left it there and came back after 5 h.---it started right away. all this happened in houston tx.. dec 20 2004 in the middle of nowhere in pennsylvania, second day of our holyday vacation. i?ve tried to start it for more than 3 hours, until the battery went dead. finally the dealer picked it up. after about 10 day the nissan ?trained? auto mechanic comes up with the diagnostic: ?no problem with the car, you just flooded! it is not going to be covered by the warranty!? you don?t have to be a mechanic to know that an injection engine can?t be flooded unless the car has a problem ( no sparking, injectors licks, off timing?). same car the radio/cd sometimes just won?t play; the power is on but no sound. usually after 5- 10 minutes will go on. the rear ac fan came loose and had to be replaced. (at least this is a problem that could and had been fixed!) nice car but i have to file for lemon. i pay for a new car and i expect it to start when i need it not when it ?feels like?*ak

We purchased our 2004 nissan quest on october 6th, 2003. this was a vehicle that we wanted to get for our family after reviewing safety information etc. not even two weeks after we had finalized the sale, transmission fluid was all over a parking lot due to a plastic clamp not being replaced at the dealership. our van would not start and had to be towed to the dealership in order for everything to be checked out. our second incident happened about a week ago and we are very lucky that there weren't any injuries to report. we were driving down the highway and with the accelerator "floored" our van would not go over 55 mph. on a main highway this is not safe due to other drivers doing above the speed limit or well above. we tried to take it to our dealership but with it being past business hours there was no way that we would have been able to meet with a service representative. the next morning when we took it to the dealership, it was as if nothing had happened. i am very disappointed in this car and can't believe that in less than a year, we are taking it in again to the dealership to have it worked on. luckily our dealership has gone above what we asked and has done their best to work with us, but without other people complaining and this not being investigated there is little that they can do to pinpoint the problem to fix it. this is the most expensive car that we have bought ever and this is the most times that we have taken in a car for problems in such little time. with two small children, we thought that this van would be the most economical and safe vehicle that we could afford for our family, but we are sadly learning that there are underlying problems that need to be officially recognized and taken care of before something happens to someone. it would be disappointing and sad to see if this occurrence is what it takes for nissan to investigate such complaints. *jb

My van has been repeatedly in the shop since the day we bought. first it was the internal light relay, then noise from the ac, then the dvd/radio didn't work, then rattles from doors, back windows and seats, then all the recall items lastly more rattles in the back and the passenger airbag sensor which ive been informed cannot be fixed. "they haven't come up with a fix for that problem yet. *ak

My nissan quest has been plagued with electrical problems from day one. the windows go down completely on their own with vehicle turned off. the passenger sliding door opens randomly on its own. the tire alarm goes off when tire pressure is fine. air vents fly off and lights fall out of the ceiling. most troubling is the automatic side sliding door. owner's manual stated on page 3-8 the door will reverse direction immediately during power open or close, a warning chime will sound and the door will reverse direction and return to the full open or full close position. the door does not operate this way, the door will not stop when it encounters an object it will continue to push the object in its way. my husband and i have both been caught by the door. it has knocked small children to the ground. i have complained to nissan , and they insisted that this was the way the door were supposed to operate. the automatic close button is right at the level a small child would put his hand to enter the vehicle and could be easily activated. nissan says the door is designed to reverse within the last couple inches even though this is contradictory to its manual. please help before a child is seriously injured. *ak

Re: my 2004 nissan quest-have had same problem recur for almost 1 yr & dealer has not fixed it in 5 tries. on 7/21/04, brought my van in for service 'cause an alarm beeper would go off randomly when driving-comes from rear power liftgate. besides the constant beeping, at times the liftgate will not open, also when open the liftgate will not close using the power buttons-then liftgate needs to be shut manually. at my 7/21/04 service appt, the dealer ordered a part that would be installed later to fix beeping. picked the van up about 4:30 pm, got groceries, picked up daughter & drove home. on the way the van was beeping all the way when suddenly a flashing warning light came on that said "warning lift gate open". i panicked thinking my lift gate was about to fly open. i pulled over confused because liftgate was not open. i pushed interior control for lift gate but liftgate did not open. thinking i was temp. ok, i slowly drove home w/ flashing warning signal on whole time. when i got home-tried to open liftgate. it wouldn't budge-not w/ power controls inside van nor key fob. it wouldn't open manually either. at that point, i was afraid to drive van any further. was well after 5 pm & the service dept would be closed but i called them anyway. i talked to john nelson, sales mgr & explained what happened. told him i was afraid to drive van because of warning light but can't seem to open/close door either. he assured me that van has "safety mechanisms" that would prevent door from flying open while driving. i told him that it was hard to believe van was safe when it seemed warning lights were malfunctioning. since 7/21/04 the warning light has not come on again. but the problem that preceded the warning light-the constant beeping-still happens all the time, but only when it's warm. since i live in wi nov 04-mar 05 was problem free. don't know if door will really fly open, but i know quest already had recall for similar problem-sliding doors not latching in sub-40 weather. *jb

We purchased this van in sep of 2003. at the end of oct i went out to leave for work and the van wouldn't start. we had it towed (my expense) to the dealer. once it arrived there it started fine. a couple weeks later it did the same thing and we just waited until it warmed up and it started just fine. we discovered that it was doing this when the temperature was below 34 degrees. we again took it to the dealer and they kept the van for 2 1/2 weeks. they finally told us that they were flying in a technician from california to change the fuel pump. haven't had this trouble until now. again this week i went to leave for work and it wouldn't start. (now it's 80 degrees outside) the wrecker tried to start it 3 hours later and it still wouldn't start. but after being towed and bounced around it starts again. the dealer has kept the van again and is going to change the fuel pump again. in between these 3 visits we have had to take it in numerous times because the van would have no power and start off in 2nd or 3rd gear. each time we took it in we were told that nissan knew it was a problem they just hadn't figured out how to fix it yet. this was finally fixed 2 weeks ago. we have taken the van in because the driver window stutters as it's rolled down, the doors rattle,the passenger side sliding door sticks and difficult to open, and the carpet under the drivers peddles was cut too short and kept pulling loose. each time i take it in i'm told that there is nothing that can be done. for the window stuttering, they told me it was the window tinting (but the passenger window is fine) we are extremely dissatisfied with this vehicle. we are one step away from violating the lemon law. it states that if the vehicle has to be taken in for 4 times for the same problem in a year it's a lemon. well, we are on our 3rd visit now. i would strongly recommend that no one purchase this van. ...

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

Dt: the consumer noticed when the doors were shut, the lights illuminated as if the door were open. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, and they reported it was fixed. the problem returned when consumer drove the vehicle home that day. there was a problem with the hatchback door lock. when closing the door, the consumer had to bang it hard to get it closed. the sliding door was having problems as well, it must be slammed in order to close it. the dealership has attempted to fix the problems with the doors. the tire problems began about 2 weeks after the purchase of the vehicle. tire lights are coming on, indicating that the tires are loosing air. owner advises that one time the tire light would come on about every block. the vehicle was taken to the dealership after this. the tire had a nail in it. there is also problems with the transmission. when shifting from park to drive, it is very difficult to shift. owner received a recall letter about this last year and in january of 2005. the recall number is not available. the dealership states that this recall is closed. the dealership won't look any further into the transmission. there is a problem with the front passenger seat, you could see the metal in the seat. the radio has been replaced three times. it is now needing to be replaced again. the car has a bad smell, like rotten eggs. the smell is coming from engine. dealership reports it is coming from a computer chip and it still smelled after replacement. the same smell returned and then the owner returned the car to the dealership, they kept it for two months. the dealership replaced the catalytic converter. the owner advises that there is still a bad smell. the dealership reported the smell must be sulfuric acid. the owner went to the doctor in regards to the bad chemical smell that burns. the vehicle had problems with the battery. owner paid for car rental. *jb the drivers seat moved when the consumer applied the brakes.*jb

Purchased vehicle on 1/6/04. on 1/7/04 radio would, intermittently cut out. brought vehicle to dealer on 1/9/04. was instructed by dealer to return vehicle for repair on 1/15/04. to complete the repair the audio unit was replaced. on 1/31/04 radio repeated original problem of cutting out, brought vehicle to dealership for verification as service was not open. *jb

I have had nothing but problems, both big and small, with my brand new nissan quest se. i can almost deal with the sqeaks, rattles, broken buttons, broken lights, malfunctioning sensors, radio problems, and malfunctioning slider doors, but the problem i cannot accept is the failure of the car to run during damp or cold days. the car cranks and starts after a few attempts, but when it is put into drive it either lags as if it's running out of fuel, or dies completely. this has happened on at least 8 occassions, 2 of which i had to call a tow truck because i could not restart the car. unfortunately, my dealership cannot replicate the problem so nothing has been done. meanwhile, i never know if my car will run on these days, i have even been forced to walk down the street in below zero windchill temperatures with my children in order to get help. i purchased a new car to have safety and peace of mind, and instead i am losing sleep at night and asking nissan to buy this car back. i will list the most recent occurrence on the form, but please note this has happened at least 8 times.*ak

The passenger side automatic sliding door opened intermittently while the vehicle was in motion or when it was sitting still. when the door opened it was difficult to close. in one instance the door actually shut on the consumer. the manufacturer and the dealer are aware of the problem. *nm

The service engine light came on , the consumer has taken the vehicle in on three occasions. each time a different service was performed, to include, the computer was reprogrammed, a fuel assembly repair, and a small leak in the vent control valve. the vehicle is in the shop for the check engine light on again.*ak

Rear sliding passenger door safety mechanism for detecting limbs/etc. does not function to provide safety. this mechanism forcefully pushed a 130 lb adult that was applying significant pressure to stop the door, before hitting a 2 yr old child. adult unable to prevent door from closing, had to pull child out of harm in addition to self. *jb

Nissan quest 2004 service engine soon light on and problems with steering. *bf the service engine soon light had come on 3 times, creaking was felt in the steering wheel and or the front end, sounds were heard coming from the engine compartment, computer tire monitor indicated a flat tire and or low tire pressure during cold weather, the vehicle would run for five minutes then go up to 4 degrees higher (over inflated), when the weather was warm, the setting would then be above 40 psi which was dangerous to drive if not adjusted (incorrect results on the display), srs light had come on after recall campaign #04v103000 was performed, driver's side power window was intermittent, sliding doors made loud bump noise when opened all the way, especially on inclines, heat outlets located on the floor behind the first row seat can't be controlled by the passenger rear controls, the dome lights were not working, the door rattled, the drivers side front window would not move, the window switch has an open circuit, the vehicle was jerking upon acceleration at 30 mph, rear heater was blowing cold air, there was a heavy grinding noise when the vehicle was first started after sitting for more than one hour along with the power steering, transmission fluid leaked a reddish/purple fluid on the garage floor, the interior lights were inoperative and there was an evaporation leak. *sc *jb

(1) there were no events leading up to the failure. (2) am radio reception is terrible, high static everytime you run over a bump in the road. (3) the first dealer could not replicate the problem, the second dealer found loose ground wires for the am antennae, but had not ordered them until a determination could be made if it was under warranty.

2004 nissan maxima sl 3.5l v6 currently four failures under varying conditions cause the vehicle computer to go into "safe mode", flash vdo and check engine lights, and immediately lose power, reducing speed to approximately 20mph. authorized dealer has repaired each time and each time reported fixed. nissan north america restates same, refuses to replace under va lemon law. car owned 5 months, four failures, each of which could have killed me, my family, or fellow commuters. this car travels approximately 100 miles per day into dc from ashburn as well as serving for trips and around-town general ferrying. nissan does not care about the safety of my family, friends, and those around us. multiple incedents, no fatalities - yet, nor property damaged - yet.