2007 Nissan Quest Problems: 6 Known Issues

On the 2004-2017 Nissan Quest 3.5L VQ35DE V6, the Quest's power sliding doors suffer from motor failures, broken cables, and latch mechanism issues. The electric motor that drives the door wears out, leaving the door stuck partially open or unable to power-close. The latch assembly also fails, preventing the door from staying closed. In some cases, the door opens unexpectedly while driving, creating a serious safety hazard.

On the 2004-2007 Nissan Quest VQ35DE, on the third-generation (V42) Quest, Nissan moved the instrument pod to a center-dash location, and that pod is the single most complained-about component of the generation. Owners report the LCD segments for odometer, fuel level and coolant temperature going blank or showing only dashes, gauges and warning lamps cutting out intermittently, and in many cases the whole pod losing power while driving. A recurring owner observation is that when the cluster drops out the transmission simultaneously reverts to 'O/D OFF' and the van jolts on the next shift, because the same feed/ground path also carries transmission signaling. The failure is a solder-joint and internal circuit-board fault in the cluster itself plus, in some cases, a failing body control module - swapping in a used cluster from a donor van typically reproduces the same symptom because the donor unit has the same aged board.

On the 2004-2007 Nissan Quest VQ35DE, the third-generation Quest used the RE5F22A five-speed automatic behind the VQ35DE on upper trims of the 2004-2006 vans and on all 2007 vans (lower 2004-2006 trims used a four-speed automatic) - a transmission shared with the contemporary Maxima and Altima 3.5, and the subject of a class-action complaint filed in 2011 alleging premature failure in 2004-2007 Quest vans. This is a conventional planetary automatic and is a DIFFERENT unit from the JATCO CVT fitted to the 2011-2017 V43; do not conflate the two failure stories. Owners report slippage on light throttle, flare between gears, a harsh 1-2 or 2-3 engagement, and the SLIP indicator illuminating - often followed by the van losing drive entirely. The mechanism is clutch-pack wear accelerated by fluid overheating; drained fluid comes out dark and burnt. The center-dash cluster fault can also strand the transmission in O/D OFF, so confirm which of the two is actually occurring before quoting a rebuild.

On the 2007-2009 Nissan Quest VQ35DE, nHTSA opened preliminary evaluation PE14-012 in May 2014 after complaints that 2007 Quest vans ran out of fuel with the gauge still showing fuel remaining; by the time it closed, the agency had counted 136 unique complaints. Nissan traced the fault to one of two resistors in the combination meter's voltage-divider circuit for the fuel sender opening or lifting, which makes the gauge and the distance-to-empty display read high once the tank drops below about a quarter. Owners reported the DTE readout showing more than 70 miles of range immediately before the engine stalled from fuel starvation - a genuine safety exposure, because the stall happens without warning in traffic. Nissan's own investigation found the same circuit in 2008 and 2009 vans, and the agency closed PE14-012 on Nissan's agreement to run a service campaign covering approximately 68,003 model year 2007-2009 Quest vehicles.

On the 2004-2017 Nissan Quest VQ35DE, both the V42 (2004-2009) and V43 (2011-2017) Quest use the VQ35DE 3.5L V6, and this engine family has a well-documented timing-drive wear pattern discussed at length in Nissan owner communities. Three distinct parts fail: the plastic primary chain guide cracks and breaks up, the secondary (bank) chain tensioners lose their hydraulic bleed-down control, and the primary tensioner plunger sticks. The signature is a loud rattle or buzz for a few seconds on cold start-up as oil pressure builds, plus a rattle on throttle between roughly 1,500 and 2,500 rpm; worn secondary tensioners instead produce a constant whine from the front of the engine. It is a mileage-and-oil-quality failure, most often surfacing past 120,000-150,000 miles and much earlier on engines run on extended or neglected oil changes. Left alone, a disintegrating guide can let the chain jump timing.

On the 2004-2009 Nissan Quest, the V42 Quest offered the SkyView roof - four fixed glass panels over the second and third rows - plus a powered front moonroof, so one roof carries five glass openings. The drain tubes route down the pillars under the headliner and are prone to kinking and to plugging with debris; when they back up, the water tray around the glass overflows into the headliner rather than out the rocker. Owners report soaked headliners, wet carpet in the second and third rows, and - because the drip path runs down onto the overhead and center electronics - killed radio, amplifier and HVAC control units. The seals around the fixed SkyView glass can also perish independently and let water in between the glass and the roof panel. Nissan addressed water leaks from the SkyView roof in a service bulletin issued in September 2005.