What breaks most · 1990 to 2018 model years
Nissan Maxima problems by year
Owners have filed 5,945 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Nissan Maxima across model years 1990 to 2018. Three years stand out: 2004 for powertrain and transmission complaints, 2005 for powertrain and transmission complaints and 2006 for powertrain and transmission complaints. The quietest years are 2015, 2013 and 2014.
- Years to check closely: 2004, 2005, 2006
- Fewest complaints: 2015, 2013, 2014
- Complaints on file
- 59451990 to 2018, all trims
- Worst year
- 20041411 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 292107 fires · 284 injuries · 12 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 78kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 96Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 106 | 7 | 4 | Fuel system (36) | |
| 76 | 8 | 4 | Seat belts (14) | |
| 110 | 15 | 5 | Engine and cooling (22) | |
| 78 | 9 | 6 | Air bags (12) | |
| 89 | 6 | 5 | Fuel system (20) | |
| 152 | 17 | 5 | Air bags (25) | |
| 96 | 13 | 5 | Engine and cooling (17) | |
| 102 | 7 | 6 | Electrical system (39) | |
| 112 | 13 | 6 | Electrical system (24) | |
| 164 | 7 | 4 | Electrical system (82) | |
| 358 | 25 | 3 | Electrical system (171) | |
| 168 | 8 | 7 | Engine and cooling (28) | |
| 195 | 26 | 9 | Engine and cooling (29) | |
| 190 | 12 | 4 | Engine and cooling (54) | |
| 1411 | 32 | 2 | Powertrain and transmission (931) | |
| 940 | 15 | 2 | Powertrain and transmission (773) | |
| 564 | 20 | 2 | Powertrain and transmission (387) | |
| 118 | 4 | 1 | Body and structure (32) | |
| 73 | 7 | 0 | Air bags (21) | |
| 288 | 5 | 1 | Steering (155) | |
| 238 | 5 | 1 | Steering (152) | |
| 75 | 5 | 0 | Air bags (19) | |
| 76 | 6 | 0 | Air bags (23) | |
| 41 | 1 | 0 | Air bags (16) | |
| 46 | 6 | 0 | Air bags (17) | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | Air bags (1) | |
| 52 | 7 | 8 | Brakes (11) | |
| 23 | 5 | 4 | Air bags (5) | |
| 3 | 0 | 2 | Brakes (1) |
What fails on the 2004 Nissan Maxima
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 66% |
931 | 14 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Tires | 10% |
141 | 3 | — |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 7% |
101 | 1 | Shop suspension parts for the 2004 Nissan Maxima |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 5% |
70 | 1 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2004 Nissan Maxima |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 4% |
61 | 2 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 2004 Nissan Maxima |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 4% |
54 | 0 | Shop body and structure parts for the 2004 Nissan Maxima |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 4% |
52 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2004 Nissan Maxima |
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 3% |
48 | 0 | Shop engine parts for the 2004 Nissan Maxima |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Whenever i accelerate and the speedometer hits 20 mph the transmission jerks or if i'm going 60 mph on the freeway and start to brake and as my speed is decreasing when the speedometer hits 20 mph it jerks. The transmission must be slipping or have an issue.
-
When driving the vehicle, the... Cv transmission could slip out of gear causing loss of power. Cv transmission could hesitate in shifting to next or previous gear. This can cause hard, violent shifting to occur which could seriously damage the vehicle and result in an accident.
-
My car was under 90k miles when it experienced transmission slippage, premature clutch wear, overheating, and other problems that ultimately resulted in serious and expensive damage to my vehicles transmission.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 30, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Nissan Maxima years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2004, 2005, 2006 carry the most filings on the Nissan Maxima. The 2004 alone has 1411 complaints, led by powertrain and transmission.
What is the most common Nissan Maxima problem?
On the 2004 model year, the most-reported component is powertrain and transmission with 931 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Nissan Maxima problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Nissan Maxima complaints that include mileage is about 78,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.