NHTSA Complaint #10113854 — 2004 NISSAN QUEST

PURCHASED 2004 NISSAN QUEST 3.5 SL 3/13/04. EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS WITH CAR STARTING DURING FIRST WEEK. REQUESTED FULL CHECK OF ENGINE. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP FOR CUSTOM PACKAGE. UPGRADE AND ENGINE DIAGNOSTIC DURING 2ND WEEK. WAS NOT DONE! BEGINNING 3RD WEEK CAR WOULD NOT START. DEALERSHIP TOWED AND SUPPOSEDLY FIXED. RECEIVED. VEHICLE FOLLOWING DAY 4/02/04. ON THE WAY HOME FROM DEALERSHIP, CAR SUDDENLY DIED IN A TURN ON A MAJOR INTERSECTION DURING RUSH HOUR. NEARLY HIT A CAR AND A CURB BEFORE I COULD STOP VEHICLE. MY CHILDREN WERE ONBOARD! UNKNOWN TO ME, GASOLINE WAS POURING OUT FROM UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE. CARS WERE ZOOMING BY ON THEIR WAY HOME. SOME MEN GOT MY CHILDREN AND I OUT OF THE CAR AND PUSHED TO CAR INTO A GAS STATION ON THAT CORNER. WE WERE IN THE VEHICLE FOR SEVERAL MINUTES WITH THE HAZARD LIGHTS ON, BEFORE I COULD SAFELY GET MY CHILDREN FROM THE CAR. DEALERSHIP ONCE AGAIN TOWED VEHICLE AND SUPPOSEDLY FIXED THE FUEL RELATED PROBLEM. REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP. MY VEHICLE TO THIS DAY DOES NOT GET NEAR THE REPORTED GUIDELINE FUEL CONSUMPTION RATINGS. WINDOW STICKER 19 - 26 MPG, LOWEST END RATINGS ON THIS MODEL ARE 16 - 22. MINE GETS 13 - 14.1 IN TOWN AND 17 TO 18 ON THE HIGHWAY. HAVE READ OF RECURRING PROBLEMS WITH LOW IMPACT CAUSING FIRE IN THE STEERING COLUMNS OF THE 2004 NISSAN QUEST, A PROBLEM AND RECALL THAT EXISTED LONG BEFORE THE 2004 MODELS. *AK