These help you judge whether this one is worth its price.
Costly problem zones ahead at your miles come with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans
Loading the EPA's yearly fuel cost
What about the price? Check the asking price on two listing sites. Buying from a dealer? Run its offer through the offer X ray.
Education, not financial or mechanical advice. Have any used car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.
The full record
Tap to open
What owners complain about
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Seller kit
Questions for the seller, test drive checks and price points
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
Walk up to the seller ready
Questions to ask the seller of a 2004 Nissan Quest, built from this year's owner complaints and recalls. What to feel, hear and look at on the test drive, with boxes to tick at the car. Honest points to raise on price, from the records and never from guesses. Copy the questions to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Write your offer
A ready to send offer for the seller, by text or email
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
Send the seller a fair offer
Type the asking price and your own offer for the 2004 Nissan Quest, tick what you found, and get a polite message ready to text or email. Its reasons come from this year's owner complaints, recalls and crash ratings, and never from made up repair prices.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
When problems show up
Loading mileage at failure
Will it outlast the loan?
The month of your loan each problem zone lands in
Loading the problem zones
Recalls
4 recalls on file
Loading recalls
Crash ratings
NHTSA's stars out of five, for each version it tested. Front crash stars only compare cars of about the same size and weight. The tests changed for 2011 models, so these stars do not line up with newer ones.
Loading crash ratings
Fuel economy
The EPA's estimates for each engine and transmission, and its own yearly fuel cost. Yours depends on how you drive and the shape the car is in. Figures for 2007 and older use the EPA's 2008 method, so they may be lower than the original sticker.
Loading fuel economy
True cost to own
The loan, fuel, insurance and upkeep, a month and over 5 years
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
What it really costs to own
What the 2004 Nissan Quest costs a month and over 5 years: the loan and its interest, fuel worked out from the EPA's figures for the version you pick, and your own insurance, registration and upkeep. A cost a mile, a link that reopens your numbers, and the breakdown copied to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Every year of the Quest
Owner complaints for each model year, this one outlined. Tap a year to open it. The newest 2 are not judged yet. Bars are totals, so older years stand taller; the verdict compares every year at the same age.
Loading every year of this model
Before you buy this one
Built from this year's numbers. Whatever the data says, the car in front of you is the one that counts.
A history report such as Carfax or AutoCheck pulls in more of the car’s past than these checks can:
Crashes and damage reported by police, insurers or shops, even when it was fixed.
Service visits that shops reported, with the miles each time.
How many owners, for how long, and the states it was registered in.
Whether it was a rental, fleet or lease car, when that was reported.
It only knows what was reported to it. A clean report is not proof of a clean car. Ask the seller first: many dealers hand one over for free.
Red flags in a history
Salvage title
Usually an insurer called it a total loss. In most states it cannot be driven on the road until it is rebuilt and inspected.
Rebuilt title
A salvage car that was fixed and passed a state check. It can be fine, but it is worth less, can be harder to insure, and needs a careful inspection.
Flood damage
Water can ruin wiring and sensors months later. Be wary of a flood brand that vanished after a move to another state.
Lemon or maker buyback
The maker bought it back over a defect it could not fix. Ask what the defect was and how it was fixed.
Odometer rollback
A mileage reading lower than an earlier one, or a title marked not actual miles.
Many owners, fast
Three owners in two years can mean a problem each one passed along.
Gaps in the records
Years with no service or registration. Ask why: it may have sat, been off the road, or been rebuilt.
Title words and rules differ by state. Not legal advice.
Before you pay
Pre purchase inspection
Have a mechanic you choose, not the seller, put it on a lift and look it over before you pay.
Insurance quote
Get a quote on this exact car before you sign. Ask your own insurer and one or two others.
Not every car needs every fix. Run the VIN at NHTSA to see which are still open. Repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand; ask before any work.
Seats
Oct 17, 2005 · Recall 05V480000
On certain mini vans equipped with a folding third row rear seat, when the third row seat is raised from its stowed position, it engages striker brackets, one on each side of the seat cushion. The fold-away striker loop is welded to a mounting bracket. The striker may become detached from its mounting bracket due to a broken weld at the point of attachment to the bracket.
What can happen
If the third row seat striker weld fails, the striker could separate from the mounting bracket. Striker separation could affect the risk of injury in certain types of crashes.
The fix
Dealers will replace the third row seat striker brackets free of charge. The recall began on december 19, 2005. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Seats
Oct 13, 2005 · Recall 05V474000
On certain mini vans, there is a seat adjustment mechanism that contains exposed moving components located at the rear inside edge of the second row seat.
What can happen
When the operator attempts seat adjustment, a finger may be pinched in the moving seat adjustment mechanism which could cause an injury.
The fix
On earlier model vehicles built through june 28, 2004, dealers will replace the inboard second row seat adjustment handle, rivet a plastic reinforcement to backside of the existing seat back cover carpeting, install tie-downs and a flange to the inboard side shield. On vehicles produced from june 29, 2004 through september 26, 2005, dealers will rivet a plastic reinforcement to the backside of the existing seat back cover carpeting, install tie-downs and a flange on the inboard side shield. The recall began on december 19, 2005. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Doors, locks and latches
Apr 16, 2004 · Recall 04V186000
On certain minivans equipped with a power sliding door(s), at an ambient temperature below approximately 40 degrees fahrenheit, the actuator for the power sliding door(s) may experience binding due to an out-of-specification condition. In order to open, close or reverse a power sliding door, the shift selector lever must be in "park." if the actuator is experiencing binding and the driver shifts the vehicle out of "park" while a power sliding door is still closing, the door latches may not engage.
What can happen
This can result in the door coming open unexpectedly upon rapid acceleration, and an occupant could fall out of the door and be injured.
The fix
Dealers will replace the actuator for the power sliding door(s). Owner notification began on june 23, 2004. Owners should contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Air bags
Mar 1, 2004 · Recall 04V103000
Certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with the advanced air bag requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, "occupant crash protection." the air bag for the front passenger seat is to be turned off (so that it does not inflate) when certain occupants, such as small children, are in the front seat.
What can happen
This reduces the risk of such occupants being unjured by an inflating air bag in a collision.
The fix
Dealers will inspect the front passenger seat cushion/sensor assembly. If the seat cushion/sensor is found to be operating improperly, the seat will be removed and recalibrated. Owner notification began on june 23, 2004. Owners should contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
445 complaints; the part named most is the electrical
Unverified reports, not adjusted for sales. One complaint can name several parts, so shares add up past 100%. Filed Sep 21, 2003 to Apr 20, 2023. 42% name a part that is usually costly to fix.
Owners reported 7 crashes, 10 fires, 39 injuries and 4 deaths in these complaints.
Electrical77 · 17%
Transmission and drivetrain72 · 16%Usually costly to fix
Engine71 · 16%Usually costly to fix
What one owner wrote about the electrical
The speedometer quit working and the odometer does not work right
Filed Jan 22, 2020NHTSA complaint 113010221 of 18 owner quotes
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
15 more parts, and 18 owner quotes
Every part owners name for the 2004 Nissan Quest, with their own words about what went wrong. Usually costly to fix among them: Body and frame.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
5 checks, with a close look at the electrical
The bar holds the middle half of the complaints that gave a mileage; the dark mark is the middle one. 80 complaints of 445 gave one. Owners file when something fails, so this shows when problems were reported, not how long the cars last.
Brakes7,000 to 100,000 mi
Half of these 22 complaints came between about 7,000 and 100,000 miles, the middle one around 40,000.
Run the VIN at NHTSA to confirm every recall was fixed.
This year has 4 recalls on file. Recall repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand. Ask the dealer to confirm before any work is done. Look up a VIN at NHTSA.
Ask the seller for the service records.
Look closely for any work on the electrical. It is the part owners complain about most for this year.
Have a mechanic you trust inspect it before you pay.
Ask them to look at the electrical first.
Look at a vehicle history report.
It can show reported crashes, flood or salvage titles, and mileage that does not add up.
On the test drive, pay attention to the electrical.
Try every switch, screen, light and lock, and make sure it starts every time.
