Nissan Maxima Complaints

6,958 consumer complaints on file.

#11771157October 14, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I am experiencing a severe safety defect regarding the door lock mechanisms on my 2017 Nissan Maxima. The electronic door lock actuators have failed, causing the doors to intermittently refuse to lock or unlock when using either the key fob or the internal door switches. This creates a critical safety hazard, as it leaves the vehicle vulnerable to theft when the doors fail to lock. More importantly, when the doors fail to unlock, it compromises passenger safety during an emergency, as occupants can become trapped inside the vehicle or unable to exit quickly. This is a known, widespread issue across multiple Nissan models from this era, and Nissan needs to be held accountable. I request that the NHTSA investigate the 2017 Nissan Maxima door lock actuators and force a safety recall to prevent potential injuries or entrapment.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11771247October 14, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Assessment: The driver reported that the vehicle did not provide any alert prior to the collision. The exact cause of the lack of alert is unknown at this time. Possible contributing factors may include system malfunction, sensor obstruction, or limitations in the vehicle’s alert technology.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11769555October 7, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I woke up the morning of 09/30/2026 and took my kids to the bus stop. All the lights on my dash lit up. We were headed out of town for the night so we parked the car and took my husband’s truck. That was at 9:42 am. At 9:16 pm our neighbor called and said the fire department was next door and that my car was engulfed in flames. We contacted Nissan and there is a recall for a fire hazard but it’s not attached to my VIN number.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11766671September 24, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving 15 MPH, the ABS independently activated. In addition, the contact became aware of an abnormal sound. The failure was a persistent failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11766340September 23, 2026
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
See attached document for complaint.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11764174September 14, 2026
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL, POWER TRAIN, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2020 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while her husband was attempting to park and turn off the vehicle, the gear shifter failed to shift into park, the STOP button failed to respond, and the vehicle suddenly accelerated, crashed into a tree in the median strip, knocked down three poles, and the brake pedal was depressed but became unresponsive. The vehicle continued driving and crashed into a sign pole and came to a stop. The contact stated that a tire also exploded during the crash. The contact stated that the air bags failed to deploy. The contact and her husband sustained injuries during the crash. The contact’s husband sustained a fractured left shoulder and had since developed balance issues. The contact sustained balance issues and weakness in the body. Medical attention was provided. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 23,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
2
Deaths:
0
#11763977September 14, 2026
POWER TRAIN
The transmission would begin slipping and causing power loss after driving it for more than 20 minutes causing it to slow down rapidly especially on hills
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11752845July 25, 2026
ENGINE
I was approaching an exit on 7/23/2026, and all of a sudden my engine light begans flashing very fast! Once I get to the red light at the exit, the engine light stops flashing and the car begins to shake profusely...... When the light turns green, I get on the accelerator and the shaking gets harder and the engine light begins to flash again.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11746819June 26, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The car has been diagnosed with a CVT transmission problem which the mechanic stated was hard to diagnose. The car sometimes slow down to only 30 miles or less being unpredictable when driving and could cause an accident in a busy street or highway as the problem comes at unpredictable times. The car is close to 61000 miles and a car with this mileage should not have a transmission problem. According to the independent mechanic who inspected the car it might be a problem related to the design of the transmission. I had several incidents when the car really slows down and this has the potential to cause a fatality. This car had episodes of loss of acceleration, power loss and unpredictable driving behavior. One time my car was towed on 05/03/26 due loss of acceleration on a highway and i had to pull over and the police helped staying behind my car to prevent an accident. As i mentioned before the problem was hard to identify and I had to take my car several times to the shop to find out what has been wrong
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11746526June 25, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Car was parked outside husbands work since 7 at 12:15 pm he was advised by a co worker that my car was on fire ! When I ran outside my his workers where trying to put out the fire with the fire extinguishers from the work warehouse ! The fire department ended up finish putting out the fire ! The whole engine compartment was burnt to a crisp and a huge hole was burnt through the hood on the passenger side along side the firewall of car !
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11744323June 15, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
The vehicle experienced a no‑start condition and was towed to a dealership. The dealership performed major engine and timing repairs without authorization and kept the vehicle for nearly four months. After the repairs, the vehicle still cranks but will not start, requires jump‑starts, and now has new electrical issues and a nonfunctional A/C system.The safety risk is that the vehicle can fail to start unexpectedly, stall, or lose electrical power, which could leave occupants stranded in unsafe conditions. The issue has been reproduced and confirmed by the dealership, but they were unable to diagnose or repair it. The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership and a warranty company.There were no warning lights before the failure. The symptoms began immediately before the vehicle was towed and have continued after the dealership’s repairs.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11742646June 8, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
My 2019 Nissan Maxima (approximately 70,000 miles) displayed a hazard warning indicating a vehicle failure and began stalling without warning. The vehicle was brought to Mossy Nissan on May 28, 2025, where it has remained for over 11 days. The dealership has been unable to identify or repair the root cause of the electrical failure. The vehicle has been observed stalling while in the dealership's possession. This is a safety defect — a vehicle that stalls without warning poses a direct risk to the driver, passengers, and others on the road. I am formally requesting NHTSA investigate this issue as a potential safety defect in the 2019 Nissan Maxima.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11740781May 29, 2026
ENGINE
2020 Nissan Maxima SR is experiencing CVT transmission issues that appear substantially similar to the defects described in the Nissan CVT Martinez Class Action involving prior Nissan model years.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11740833May 29, 2026
POWER TRAIN, POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:INTERNAL:CVT
My vehicle repeatedly loses acceleration/motive power while driving. When I press the accelerator, the pedal may go down but the vehicle does not respond normally and begins to decelerate unexpectedly. This can happen even at low speeds, including around 20 mph, and creates a serious safety risk when entering traffic, turning, or accelerating with other vehicles nearby. Warning lights illuminate afterward as if the vehicle detected a crash or traction/ABS event. The issue resets temporarily after turning the vehicle off and back on, but it continues to happen repeatedly. Nissan advised that the vehicle was part of a CVT-related issue/settlement or warranty extension, but said coverage has expired. I am filing this as a safety complaint because unexpected loss of acceleration/motive power can cause a crash.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11731774April 17, 2026
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I am submitting this as a formal complaint regarding an ongoing and unresolved safety issue with my 2018 Nissan Maxima (VIN: [XXX] ). Despite multiple attempts to have this issue diagnosed and repaired, the problem continues without resolution. The issue occurs after driving for approximately 30 minutes. The vehicle suddenly goes into limp mode, the gas pedal becomes unresponsive, and the RPMs begin to drop regardless of speed. After about five minutes, the vehicle slowly regains power. This creates an extremely dangerous situation, particularly while driving in traffic or on highways, as it puts my safety and the safety of others at risk. I have taken my vehicle to multiple transmission shops, Nissan dealerships, independent mechanics, and mobile diagnostic services. I am consistently being told that nothing is wrong and that no repairs can be performed because the vehicle will not produce a diagnostic code. However, the issue continues to occur and remains unresolved. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11727083March 25, 2026
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I was driving at night when I got a headlight system error message on my instrument panel and I noticed my driver side headlight was not on. A few seconds later the light came back on and a minute or so later it went off again and came back on and I got the error message again. It came back on and has worked pretty much since but I have seen it flickering at night on a few occasions. The next day when it was light out I looked at both headlights and noticed a lot I mean a lot of condensation inside the headlight assembly. I know some fogging and some light condensation is normal on these LED lights but the amount inside the driver side headlight is not normal. And I was lucky enough to have the error and light go off and on in a fairly well lit area so thankfully I was not in an accident or driving on road that’s not well lit. There’s clearly a defect in the sealing of the headlight that’s allowing that much water in. And not having a headlight working because of an error caused by water that can disable my visibility especially on the driver side to due to the headlight not being sealed properly. There is not physical damage like a crack or anything in the housing of the headlight. And since the whole headlight needs to be replaced since it’s LED that’s $2200 before labor. And there didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the headlight no condensation when I looked at it on the car lot when I bought it on 3-4-26. I tried to have my Nissan dealer repair/replace it using the Endurance Apex Unlimited warranty I bought when I purchased the car but they won’t cover it due to a faulty seal. I’ve seen a couple post about the same side headlight on others 2019 Maxima’s with the same issue so this doesn’t appear to be a one off. And I would think headlights going out from moisture and condensation causing errors to the electric contacts controlling the headlights would be a serious safety issue that could potentially cause bodily harm or even death from an accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11723652March 11, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I took my vehicle yesterday to Monroe Nissan to check on hvac job done last May 2025 as ac was blowing hot air again I was told the ac compressor needs replacement along with that they recommended transmission replacement at a cost of 8000 plus. My Nissan is out of warranty but it only has 20000 miles. It didn’t even reach the recommended 30000 CVTs fluid change yet but already they notice the first code of CVT failure and the second one can appear soon too. I’ve seen many complaints about Nissan cvt issues while my car has yet to give me any dashboard notification I’m very concerned how this can happen at such a low mileage. Monroe Nissan said is because of not using the car frequently but I’ve researched online and it said that can’t be the direct cause of it as there is a well known issue with Nissan CVT with many complaints
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11721901March 4, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Car turning off while driving and can't turn the wheel to get out of the road. We had the car battery, fob battery and alternator replaced and still the same issue. We heard this has happened to another owner of the same vehicle that lives in or town. This is not safe and could cause an accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11721046February 27, 2026
SUSPENSION
My rear passenger side coil spring broke. This is a dealer only item. I contacted the dealer and the item is on back order. It is my only means for transportation. I didn’t cause this break, and now I can’t even get it fixed until it comes in whenever that may be. The dealership doesn’t have an estimated time for delivery. I am financing my car and can’t even drive it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11718735February 18, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
I recently purchased a 2019 Nissan Maxima in November of 2025 from the Nissan dealership, with in the matter of 2 weeks after getting the car as I was driving the sunroof just exploded sounding like a gunshot. My son was in the car and luckily, I had the shade up, so no glass got all over us. The issue almost caused a wreck due to me having to swerve after thinking someone was shooting and or something fell out of the sky. I have a panoramic sunroof, and the insurance company say they do not cover sunroofs.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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