A happy Quest owner (for a change)
At the risk of jinxing it, I just thought I'd post a happy Quest experience for once. We bought a used 04' SE with everything including navi, dual screen DVD and the crazy rouge (red) interior which we've grown to love. It had 100,000km on it when we bought it just over a year ago and we've put 30,000km of TROUBLE FREE motoring on it since then. Other than having the ECM checked (which was fine thank heavens), it's been a excellent van which, while too extreme for some, stands above out from the boring "cookie cutter" alternatives. We routinely get positive compliments on it (most having never seen one up close) but we realize that it isn't everyone's cup of tea. That, plus it's hard to be cool in a minivan.
While I routinely surf the Questdriver forums and cringe at the problems other have had, it seems like we've been blessed with a "winner". I hope this post helps to illustrate that they could build a decent van every once a while:-)...
Jimmy
Trouble free Villager
As most here know, the Merc Villager is a Nissan Quest with a Mercury badge. My 1998 van has been a joy to own and drive. I reworked all belts including the timimng belt and haven't had a major breakdown in the 7 years I've owned this performance van. I'm happy!
1998 Merc Villager built for performance, next a new camaro!
happy
We love our van too!
We had all the TSB's issued when we bought it. We had the engine knock and camshaft chain/glide replaced under warranty. Just this week had to replace both front wheel bearings, at $800. I'm surprised at the wheel bearings wearing out so soon, but, seems to be a more common issue.
We'll in be line in Jan for the 2012 model!
Thanks for posting this. I
Thanks for posting this. I also have a 2004 Quest and very happy with it. Besides the regular maintenance like oil change, coolant flush, belts, brakes, tires, wipers, etc, its been a great van. In the first 2-3 years of ownership, I did have the well known rattles and bad radio issue and couple of other things but all were taken care of by the dealer. I still get the occasional shimmy on the steering wheel when driving on the highway, but I can live with it. I am not saying the Quest is perfect by any means but it's definitely not the worst. If you check out the Sienna or Odyssey or Sedona forums, I guarantee you will find posts on their forums with topics similar to "I am having so many problems with my van". I truly believe Nissan makes very good powertrain, but their attention to details in the rest of the car can use much improvements.
For those who thinks I am biased (or blind), I also own a 2008 Honda Odyssey. Whenever I go on weekend trips with my wife and kids, we always take the Nissan Quest and leave the Odyssey at home. The 04 Quest is much more roomier and has so much more acceleration power compared to the 08 Odyssey. Even my wife agrees!! The Odyssey has had it's share of problems including failing transmission. My 08 Ody has had the transmission reprogrammed twice to fix a bad vibration. I realize the fact that modern cars with so many bells and whistles are more prone to having problems. I actually bought an extended warranty on the Odyssey just in case. I would love to own a car with zero problems, but reality tells me this isn't possible.
2004 Nissan Quest SL
Same here...
I have a basic 2008 SL, and besides from the right sliding door rattle (that was adjusted by the dealership), I never had any other issues with the van. Just a month shy of 2 years since we bought it, and with 24,000+ miles on it, we are very happy with the van. I monitor this forum from time to time to get myself ready for what could go wrong with the van... many are complaining about the brakes, but I haven't seen the need to change mine. Fuel mileage is expected: mixed driving is around 20-21 mpg. One time, when on the highway just doing 60mph, we were getting 34mpg... very roomy for 2 adults and 2 kids... so far, so good (knock on wood)...