Nissan Repair: 04 Nissan Quest clunking & grinding front left, 2004 nissan quest, nissan quest

Question
I have a 2004 Nissan Quest. When I was backing out of a parking space, the minivan started to act a little funny. Moving forward, there was a clunking noise, like I was running over something in the road (I wasn't). Then it changed, the van started bucking a bit, and pressing the gas pedal didn't necessarily result in forward movement. There was also a screeching sound at times, as of metal against metal. It was coming from the front left tire area, but the noise wasn't constant, it would come and go. It seemed like the front left tire would work, and then it would get hung up for a bit, and then work again. The clunking noise came and went too, it wasn't constant. The van was not drivable - it wasn't really responding to the gas pedal. These things happened when I was going straight. I had to have the van towed, and the tire getting hung up for a bit happened even when the van was in neutral (although the engine was running). Any idea what might be causing this?

Answer
Hi Amy -

Try checking if the brakes locked on you. Hopefully you have a jack that you can lift the tire off the ground, place the car in neutral, and see if you can spin the tires by hand. If not, then the brake and caliper will have to be replaced.

Hope this helps -
aloha
calvin