Quest for Adventure Turned Service Nightmare!

After being devoted Toyota owners for 5 years, we decided to make the move to a minivan when our second son was born. We decided on a 1995 Nissan Quest, fresh off the showroom floor, as it felt closest to our Toyota Camry. I adored the quiet ride and tight handling at first, but quickly began to regret my decision.

Within the first month of driving my Quest, we began experiencing seatbelt problems. The middle belts would lock up after use, making them inoperable. A service check revealed a potential computer problem and the seatbelts were "fixed." However, we continued to have intermittent problems.

My quiet ride soon turned into a noisy adventure, and several belt adjustments didn't fully correct the "clicking" of the engine. The cassette player decided that it didn't like to broadcast sound through the left speaker when it was cold, and the sliding door didn't like to remain latched. After a few adjustments to the door latch, we became used to driving with the interior lights turned out, as the shock of having them blind us on a journey down a dark highway when the door decided to pop open became too much to handle. We experienced problems with the rear wire harnesses, a problem we learned "sparked" a recall. What a service nightmare!

The Quest is a bit smaller than many of the other minivans on the market, but for those looking for a car-like feeling, this can be an asset. Gas mileage was good, but frequent trips to the service department were a hassle and expense. While the 2000 Quest is a roomier model with more luxury, I still suggest looking at the Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna instead.