Owners have filed 1,696 complaints on the Nissan Quest, covering 1993–2017. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (183 reports). Worst years by volume: 2004, 2007, 1995; cleanest: 2017, 2015, 2016. 70 reports describe a crash, 50 a fire, 13 a death. On average the car was 5.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Nissan Quest
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,696 Quest complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 183 Read
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…
The contact owns a 2004 nissan quest. While the vehicle was parked for 45 minutes, it spontaneously caught fire and was completely destroyed. An investigator inspected the vehicle and concluded that the fire originated in the engine compartment due to a failure of the power distribution box. The contact has a copy of…
My 2004 nissan quest se caught on fire and was totaled. The vehicle has been acting strange and 5 days prior to the fire was the last day I drove it. It would not crank after I put it in the garage and so I was going to have it towed to the nissan dealer the next week. It was not touched after that day until we were…
Power Train 177 Read
I was driving to the doctor when my van lost all power in a line of traffic all mode got hit by a truck in the rear end. Do not what happened just know it is down .car has no power will not pull out or driveway
While vehicle was parked and the key was not placed in ignition, and with a child inside, vehicle rolled, crashing to a retainer wall. At time parking pawl was neutral. Currently, consumer does not know if pawl was moved by child or it rolled by itself
Consumer drove vehicle into driveway, put vehicle in neutral, got out to close gate, and the vehicle jumped into the reverse mode, crashing gate
Electrical System 167 Read
My son was driving the vehicle and ran into the back of a boat trailer. Speed at impact was approximately 30mph. The vehicle he hit did not stop, we suspect he didn't even realize he had been hit and probably thought he just hit a bump in the road or something. The vehicle suffered front end damage typical of a 30mph…
Vehicle hit a deer at 65 mph and caught on fire. Manufacturer was notified. Feel free to provide any further information
Car had internal fire with the push start system. Brake switch caught fire when the car was started melted electrical underneath
Structure 134 Read
My car randomly accelerated on 2 occasions , may 30, 2013 and june 27, 2013. The first incident resulted in a crash, hitting a pole, tree, and another vehicle. 2nd incident was a near miss, almost had a head on collision with another vehicle. My 9 year old son and I were in the car. No resolution from nissan. They are…
I start driving very slow out of parking space when the car accelerate by itself, reaching high speed within seconds, the brakes did not work at all,foot pedal or emergency brake. It seems that the accelerator pedal was stuck. My foot was not in the accelerator but car continue increasing speed. I have no choice to…
During a vehicle crash the window and door locks malfucntioned while being in a "locked" position, and the occupant wasn't able to get out of the vehicle, had to go through a broken window to get out
Fuel System 125 Read
On nov 21, 2002 I was involoved in a very low impact accident in which my 2001 nissan quest vehicle rear ended a 98 mercury marquis. My air bags did not even deployed indicative of the low impact nature of the accident however, upon impact the quest immediately caught fire. I was uninjured in the accident but the…
Involved in a low impact auto accident (probably less than 40 mph because air bags weren't even deployed, no injuries whatsoever sustained by myself and other driver, miniscule damage to other vehicle) in 11/01. Immediately car was on fire which resulted in total loss of vehicle. Alleging that the nissan quest is…
The contact owns a 1997 nissan quest caught on fire. The fire department extinguished the fire, but the vehicle was completely destroyed. A fire report was filed and the contact has pictures of the failure. Two days later, she received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign id number 00V419001 (fuel system,…
Service Brakes 123 Read
The contact owed a 2012 Nissan Quest. The contact stated while shifting the vehicle into reverse, the vehicle launched forward at high speed without any warning. The contact pressed on the brake pedal, but it failed to stop the vehicle, causing the contact to loss control and drive into a ditch and crashing a tree…
The contact owns a 2008 nissan quest. While driving at approximate speeds of 30-35 mph in traffic, the vehicle ahead of him stopped abruptly. The contact attempted to engage the brake pedal; however, the brakes became spongy and would not engage. The vehicle crashed into the rear of the preceding vehicle. Upon impact,…
I bought my 2007 nissan quest in april 2008 with only 26 miles on it. I noticed within a couple months that when going over 30 miles an hour the brakes did not engage right away and I had to pump them once or twice to get them to work much like my 20 year old car when I was a teen. In sept 08 I was in an accident when…
Air Bags 87 Read
The contact owned a 2009 Nissan Quest. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, she did not notice that the traffic light had turned red and continued driving. Another oncoming vehicle made a left turn in front of her. The contact stated that she swerved and the front end of the vehicle hit a pole. The contact saw…
While sitting at an intersection the vehicle was rear ended. This caused the vehicle to collide into the vehicle in the front of him, none of the air bags deployed. This caused the passenger to sustained minor injuries and was transported to the hospital. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. The caused…
Violent deployment of air bag upon collision, causing injury to consumers, also started a fire on passenger's side of vehicle
Visibility 80 Read
Engine light on - computer code: anti-knock sensor estimated repair @$350. Did not repair; reset system, light did not reappear for 3,000 miles, reset again. Door locks intermittent problem, esp. With slider. Airbag light flashing, cannot afford repair. Read light burning out bulbs (twice within 3 mos.) after market…
Recall work performed on the installation of a screen on the fresh air intake to prevent debris from entering vehicle resulting in vehicle fire, however failed after repair and vehicle fire experienced. (attorney for consumer)
When operating heater it smells like burning leaves. Also, while operating heater a burst of flames shot from the inside bottom vent, causing a fire that burned the child that was sitting in the passenger's seat. Dealer has not been contacted
Quest years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Air Bags | — | 1 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2014 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 2013 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 4 | 2 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 3 | 3 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 2 | 2 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 7 | 9 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags,tires | 1 | 1 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 7 | 4 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 7 | 2 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 2 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 8 | 4 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 3 | 4 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 7 | 3 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 6 | 2 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 3 | 8 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 339 |
| Average complaints per series | 5 |
| Worst single series | 42 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.0 years |
A model average of 5 hides a worst series at 42. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Quest?
By complaint volume, 2004, 2007, 1995 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Quest years are the cleanest?
2017, 2015, 2016 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Nissan Quest have?
1,696 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1993–2017. Of those, 70 describe a crash and 50 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.