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Problems with 2004 Nissan Quest POWER TRAIN

On average, the 2004 Nissan Quest starts to “feel” problems with the POWER TRAIN and its various aspects after 105 085 miles.

Components Affected by POWER TRAIN Issues

We have classified the 29 complaints from 2004 Nissan Quest about POWER TRAIN into the following categories.

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 38

Recently reported POWER TRAIN problems on 2004 Nissan Quest

While driving on the interstate with 2 infants in cars seats as well as 3 other adults the vehicle lost power. it would not accelerate. within minutes the steering was stiff and was extremely difficult to turn. pulled off the interstate and onto a side road. the vehicle finallt decellerated to a full stop. turned it off and restarted a few moments later. vehicle ran again but no steering. popped the hood and looked and no power steering fluid in the well. added fluid and steered ok till 4 blocks from my house at which time the steering acting up again and not accelerating no matter how far you push the pedal. turned it off and restarted again. steering not working but accelerated enough to park it at home. took to my mechanic but says he cannot look at it until wednesday. was so scared cause had the grandbabies in the van.

The car would stall and the steering would go out, which was very dangerous. it happened daily since may of 2016. in order for the car to go from stopped to a starting position, it would take all of my strength to push down on accelerator to get the car to move.

I believe a sensor somewhere is going out. the transmission intermittently will "miss" a shift, or come out of gear. if i let my foot off the gas and then give it gas again, it will sometimes "slam" in to gear. when it is acting up, it will also take a couple seconds to go in to drive from park or reverse, then it "slams" in to gear. it also is lacking in power, almost as if a vacuum advance was not working properly. this seems to happen when it is warm. once, after replacing the battery the vehicle seemed to work fine for some time before starting to act up again.

During 05/05/2016 started having transmission issue, the car suddenly started giving starting problem and then when it will start it will not have any pickup in drive mode. after few hours everything went normal and when started driving all of sudden break got pressed and car couldn't go anywhere and check engine light came on. after diagnostic it found to be bank 1 camshaft sensor but even after replacing vehicle still behaves same with engine light on.

Engine control module [ecm] due to a bad design,rain and water from melting snow leaks onto the ecm and destroys it.i have been told that this is a common occurrence with the 2004 quest and that nissan had a secret recall on vehicles up to 8 years old.while driving on a busy highway at 60 mph the vehicle suddenly slowed to 20 mph,i was lucky to get off the highway safely.why did nissan not notify all owners.

On 10/08/2015 - within 10 days after my last servicing thru nissan dealer i lost transmission on my nissan quest 3.5 se model year 2004 with mileage 110000. it was very painful experience as vehicle had to be towed to tom wood dealer where its been replaced at a very high cost from my pocket that i was not prepared. i was surprized on the transmission failure for such a low mileage but more surpise that the dealer could not detect it during multi-point inspection check after every oil change servicing. for the sake of record, i have performed all of the quest servicing (100%) thru the dealer from where i bought this van initially. also i had replaced transmission oil at 60k mile servicing that was recommended at that time. this van is well maintained and still got this transmission failure is a surpize and raises concerns to the nissan dropping quality. also i was looking online and noticed quest 2004 has this problem, known for bad transmission. there are many complaints and case reported against nissan usa. i am reporting to all 3 sites thru this link below (carcomplaint, cas and nhtsa). http://www.nissanproblems.com/trends/transmission-jerking/ i pulled off very dangerously on the free-way when this transmission failure had occured, it would have been a major accident.

I was driving my van and i came to a stop on a hill and it wouldn't go, i had to push the pedal to the floor to go. and it won't go in reverse either. i had power problems years ago but turning my van off and back on 'fixed' the problem. also the timing chain issue has been going on for years.

Attempting to get on the interstate. accelerated, but rpm's went up to 5 or 6 but the speed did not increase. husband tried to manually shift, but vehicle would not go into overdrive. we pulled off the road, turned vehicle off and restarted. vehicle reacted correctly to accelerating with just a little sluggishness. transmission fluid was checked and it was fine. unfortunately, day trip was cancelled and children were very disappointed, because we were afraid to be too far from home and not be able to get back.

Over the last 6 months, the transmission in our 2004 quest has slipped out of gear while driving down the road. this has caused a safety concern for my wife as traffic mounts around us. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. while driving 45 mph, the transmission slipped and made an abnormal noise from the front end of the vehicle. in addition, the odometer failed to provide the reading level. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission, the water pump, and the electrical system needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 122,681.

I was driving with my son and the transmission line snapped. i was scared because i didn't know what happened. thank god my son who is disabled was not in the car. my mechanic said that this should not happen. when i got my car back my transmission is now very sick. i have always maintained all fluid changes at the correct time. my car is not the same. now today my oil pan was "eaten" from the transmission fluid leaking. i have had many issues with my quest. this car was not built with proper parts. i can't drive it but i have to keep it for my son is in a wheelchair and is severly disabled. *js

After having driven my nissan quest to a friend's house, i was attempting to back out of the driveway. when i shifted into reverse, there was a loud thud from the transmission. i was able to back out of the driveway, but when i shifted into drive, there was again a loud thud. i accelerated and although the engine rpm increased, the van hardly moved. i should have been going 25mph, but was going only 5mph. i disengaged the overdrive button on the shifter and attempted to accelerate again. i was only able to go 10mph and the engine rpm indicated 3500rpm. i pulled the van over to the curb and came to a stop. i shifted into 3rd gear. there wasn't as loud of a thud, but there was a noticeable lurch forward. i was able to drive in 3rd gear to get home using sidestreets, however, i was turning 3500 rpm at 34mph. there had been no indication of any issues on the way over to my friend's house and the maintenance on this van has been pretty meticulous. the automatic transmission fluid level was check after i arrived home and the level indicates that it is full. *tt

After the minivan is warmed up for 15-20 minutes the transmission feels like i've been hit form the back of the vehicle when down shift to 1 st gear it slips and the rpm gauge moves back and forth. mechanics shop have told me the solenoids needs to be replaced transmission is only 108,000 miles.

Van makes a rattle when rpm's are lower than 3000. it's the timing chain as i was told by a mechanic. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. the contact stated while driving approximately 10 mph, the transmission slipped out of gears without warning. the failure recurred sporadically. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing who confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the defect. the approximate failure mileage was 127,000.

Rattling noise that increases as i accelerate. i assumed it was part of the exhaust system only to find out it is a timing chain issue which can cost at a minimum of $1800 for labor that does not include parts. i have contacted several mechanics in my area and they won't even deal with this issue due to the way nissan has put the timing chain in the 2004 quest. *tr

Vehicle lost speed dramatically on the road. car would not drive more than 10 mph, no increase in rpms with accelerator depressed. mechanic reports ecm failed while driving due to rust development. ecm is placed in unprotected location directly under windshield drain. nissan offers no fix. *tr

While driving to work, i noticed my van was having acceleration problems. from a stop sign when i drove the engine revved up to almost 5000 rpm then shifted hard into 2nd gear on my automatic transmission. then while driving 40 mph the vehicle felt like it was continually shifting between gears. then when i tried to park at my works parking lot, the van would not shift into reverse at all. then would i took it to the nissan dealership they charged me $93.50 on 02/27/2013 and told me i needed a new transmission and the cost would be approximately $2500. i've only had the vehicle for less than three years. *tr

My 2004 nissan quest se would loose power when slowing down to 30 mpr. i was told that 2nd or 3rd gears are lock engaged. it would then make a load crushing sound like the transmission was knocking against the gears. this is very hard to drive early in the morning. i took the vehicle to aamco. they told me that i can have a rebuilt transmission for about $2300.00. i don't know about you but i can not afford this on my income and out of work. do anyone have a solution to this problem? *tr

A family trip from st augustine heading southbound on i-95 towards w.palm beach 75 miles into journey the vehicle shuts down with no warning signs. had this van towed to nearest repair shop 25 miles and had the throttle body replace. there was no check engine light on prior to this repair. parts that was defective was the throttle body, ignition coil and was told by repair shop a possible defective fuel injector. *tr

Timing chain rattling. *js

I went to my local nissan dealership for an oil change and was very surprised to have them to tell me i needed a timing chain replacement. i was so surprised because i have had this van at the dealer for repair at least four times over the past two months and was told there were no problems with the van. i feel that nissan knows there is a problem with this timing chain due to the comments the service techs were making.this is a $3800 repair that is due to poor design by nissan, i was told they put the metal timing chain on a plastic guide. i feel that nissan should have to make this right with its customers asap!

Warning lights "slip", "tcs off" and "service engine soon" would intermittently remain on well past ignition -- usually after the engine had struggled to start. dashboard "tcs on" switch did nothing to remedy this. sometimes, even when the van was being driven at 25 to 55mph, these lights would suddenly pop on and the engine would stall out, depriving me of most of my steering and braking capabilities with traffic right behind me. in my area, the main highway is heavily traveled, full of curves and often narrows to 2 lanes with very limited shoulders. the engine dying unexpectedly on this road is a safety hazard not only to everyone in my vehicle but to oncoming traffic as well. i am frequently followed by fully-loaded logging trucks and semis, whose drivers would find it extremely difficult (if not impossible) to avoid hitting me, especially if i were in a spot where i could not coast all the way off the road. after reading numerous online complaints of others having the same engine problem, i wrote to nissan reporting the danger, suggesting a recall. (file #7197243) they refused to cover repair because my warranty had expired. told me to take my quest to a dealership, who wanted $104 just to hook up their diagnostic equipment, plus the actual repair costs. the problem -- a faulty camshaft sensor -- was subsequently fixed by a local shop. the mechanic there told me that the mechanics' "crystal ball" hotline was reporting frequent failures of this component -- in addition to a tsb nissan put out on the problem. (so, they are aware!) given the importance of this sensor for safe operation of their engines, shouldn't the company address the high failure rate of the ones installed in their vehicles, regardless of mileage? i hope you will look into this before lives are lost as a result of nissan's refusal to acknowledge and deal with this safety issue. *tr

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

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. the contact stated that while driving approximately 20 to 25 mph she noticed that in became difficult to shift gears. also, when she tried to accelerate to higher speeds there was hesitation. the vehicle was then inspected by a independent mechanic and they advised her that it may be a valve inside of the transmission. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 90,000. the vin was unavailable.

There are major problems with the shifter/transmission on my 2004 nissan quest van. the problems started a few years ago when parked on a slight incline and the van wouldn't shift into reverse. i called the dealership and they advised me to pull forcefully on the shifter to make it shift. it did shift but this has continued to be a common problem. after about a year of dealing with this, the shifter started to not engage in the correct position indicated on the dash and i would have to play around with it to get it to engage in the correct gear (it looked like it was in drive according to the base of the shifter, but was actually still in neutral). there were other symptoms such as having to push the shifter firmly in to park to remove the key. fast forward to today and i finally discovered what has been happening. i went to shift in reverse on an incline and had to very forcefully pull the shifter into reverse. after doing so, the dash and the base of the shifter are mismatched by a whole gear. *tr

1. check engine light, transmission hesitance, transmission loss of gear and grinding. also while in drive vehicle will roll backwards. 2. infrequent, but in three years of ownership a failure occurs once every three months. 3. no repairs have been done. *tr

The transmission slams you into gear and then wont shift.. makes the van undriveable

Loud knocking noise from are of transmission being told it is common in quest 2004 s the guide become loose and rattles. *tr

Transmission held car to 20mhp then after shifting back and fort it goes back to normal. engine dies here and there, when break pedal is pressed car steering wheel shakes. this almost cause an accident. dealer took this car many time and they tell me. that they can't duplicate the noise. researching online i found many complaints about this car and most of them says that the transmission brain is faulty. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. while driving approximately 45 mph on normal road conditions, the contact depressed the accelerator pedal followed by an extremely low power response. the rpm's suddenly increased. the contact experienced erratic shifting between gears and hesitation. the failure recurred several times and the vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, they could not duplicate the failure. the mechanic recommended that the transmission be flushed, although it was not covered under the service warranty. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage was 28,000 and current mileage was 31,000.

Was told on 6/28/08 that my quest needed a new "brain" for the computer and this is what was causing the vehicle to not go out of second gear. we are still waiting on the part and nissan usa has no answers for when the part will be in. they have refused us a rental because it is not their policy because the 5/60 warranty is out, but the part to the engine is under warranty. the car is unsafe to drive - the transmission often slips as well as provides no acceleration most of the time. *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

I currently lease a 2004 nissan quest. my lease is up in august 2008 and my transmission broken down on me in january 2008 @ 63,700 miles. the warranty on the vehicle covers 5 years or 60,000 miles. as you can see, i am over the miles by 3,700 but the product should not have broken down at only 4 years of age. emma lancaster (customer service rep. north american) and the nissan corporation were not helpful in solving this problem of replacing the transmission at no cost to me. after waiting 2 weeks for emma to return my call with a status of the situation, she informed me that i must supply proof that i had all necessary maintenance done on my vehicle. i then submitted receipts from independent station owners indicating that all necessary maintenance was performed. after waiting yet another week for an answer from emma and nissan, emma informed me that nissan would not pay to replace my vehicle because i did not have my vehicle serviced at a nissan dealership. however, two weeks prior emma lancaster admitted to me that the transmission should not have broken down at this point in time. end result: i paid $3,600 to fix a transmission (which took one month to replace and repair) and paid $1,200 to lease a rental car (another $ amount that nissan will not reimburse me for) until the transmission on my quest was installed. according to nissan all parts of the 2004 quest are discontinued and they had to send out to have a new transmission built. i will never lease or purchase another nissan product and will spread the word to other consumers not to purchase any nissan vehicle. the products are unreliable and the customer service is horrid. *tr

I have a 2004 nissan quest, we have experienced numerous problems including the power sliding door opening at 60mph.(nissan put in a rubber bumper on the door) the power drivers window wont go back up after using auto down(nissan unable to find a problem) transmission starts off in 3rd gear from a stop almost causing accidents.(3rd time we have complained and hasn't been fixed yet(nissan does not know why it is happening). *tr

We have been complaining about transmission problems since about 23000 miles. the most recent incident occurred on 15-17 mar 2007. on arch 15 my wife was driving at highway speeds and she turned from one road on to another and heard a clung. as she drove on she felt the engine was working hard and heard loud unusual noises. looking down, she saw that the automatic transmission gear shift had moved from drive to low without human help. over the next two days the transmission was sluggish, and was reported in person to the dealer that saturday on march 17. i asked a representative to come and drive the van on the spot to experience the sluggishness, the representative declined. the transmission remained sluggish throughout the weekend, until i took it in for inspection on march 19. during march 19 & 20 the technicians could not find anything wrong.*ak

On three incidents, the engine will rev however the vehicle failed to accelerate as though it was in the wrong gear. if the engine is restarted then the problem clears itself however that may not be possible when driving on a highway. took the van to the dealer with several copies of complaints filed by others, however they are not able to replicate the problem therefore nothing was done. nissan should seriously look into this problem and not address the problem because they cannot replicate the problem. *nm

My 2004 nissan quest se with 20,000 miles failed to move when in (d) gear and accelerator applied. while in a traffic jam, the engine revved but vehicle experienced no forward motion as if in neutral. about 5 seconds later the vehicle lurched forward, and we almost hit the vehicle ahead of us. minutes in the same traffic jam, the vehicle went into this "neutral" mode again. i put it in park and back into drive, to avoid an accident, and the vehicle moved sluggishly forward, then proceeded normally. this happened once more that day. *jb

A loud ticking sound when starting up cold for about 5 minutes before it warms up. we reported this a few months ago and were told that it was the variable timing chain, then were told no it's normal, then it's the vtc, no the engineer says it's normal. they are refusing to repair. it is not a normal sound. *nm

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.

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

Nissan quest 2004 would not accelerate beyond 20 mph. passenger side power door opened on its own; vehicle lost power on incline. *bf the vehicle made a loud noise, but a bracket on the exhaust was fixed to correct the nosie. *jb

While engaging the vehicle into drive it seemed like the emergency brake was applied, and when the gears shifted, the vehicle jerked back and forward. *ak

Dt: caller has had van for a little over a year and in november 2004 the brakes started making a noise and van would not respond to giving it gas. caller stated the rpms revved, but the van would not accelerate. the caller said her husband hit the brake and the steering wheel shook. the brake rotors warped and the axle needed to be rebuilt. the transmission shift unit also needed to be replaced. dealer replaced the rotors and they were rebuilding the axle and replaced transmission shift unit. manufacturer has been contacted. the caller was waiting for them to call her back.*ak

Transmission was jumping gears. consumer was backing out of the driveway and vehicle suddenly went into neutral by itself. consumer took the vehicle to dealer, but was told that they could not duplicate the problem. dealer was not sure what could have caused the problem. *ak

Transmission jumped out of drive to neutral. *ak

Have 10,000 miles on my 2004 nissan quest and they have had to replace the transmission 9/04. now two weeks later it's doing the same thing it did when they replaced the transmission. the dealer can't duplicate the problem. and they won't pull the pan.

Vehicle lost power whenever it would drop down to a lower speed or come to a stop position. vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the consumer that vehicle was putting itself into a safe mode. consumer was instructed to place the vehicle into park, switch off the vehicle, and restart it when this problem occurred. vehicle had been to the dealer on 4 separate occasions, but dealer was unable to correct the problem . manufacturer has no solution for this problem.*ak

When accelerating from a stop transmission hesitated before acceleration. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak

Transmission slips intermittently when attempting to accelerate. *ak dealer describes problm as transmission going into third gear default. problem has not been fixed yet. the consumer filed vehicle under the florida lemon law. *tc

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