CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2004-2006 Nissan Maxima has widespread transmission problems. It starts with the vehicle jerking when shifting, & progresses to full-blown transmission failure.
Maxima owners report spending $3,000 to replace the transmission, typically around when the odometer hits 100,000 miles.
There's a class action lawsuit filed in late 2011, & it is still in the "discovery" stage. Apparently, these things take time ... far too much time.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
90,422 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that she experienced difficulty shifting the gears. The vehicle eventually shifted gears and the vehicle jerked. The vehicle was taken to dealer. The dealer stated that they had to replace the transmission. The vehicle had not been repaired.the manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 73,000 and the current mileages was 94,000.
I am the original owner of a 2004 Nissan Maxima. I like many others that have filed a complaint, am experiencing a transmission failure. The failure starts on the downshift from second to first gear after the car has been driven about 20 miles. The transmission begins to jerk. I have also experienced late shift on acceleration and a hard "thunk" when shifting into reverse. Dealer quoted $4000 for transmission replacement. I have noticed several complaints filed with NHTSA for this same failure, a class action law suit that has been filed in Sept. 2011, and several complaints on Nissan forums. When will Nissan be held accountable for a defective part?
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the vehicle surged independently. The vehicle also would not respond immediately when the driver applied the accelerator and instead, would stall for seconds before jerking forward. The vehicle was taken to a personal mechanic for diagnosis and the contact was informed that he would need to replace the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 94,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the vehicle stalled and failed to accelerate. After a few moments, the vehicle began to accelerate. The vehicle then jerked while shifting gears and nearly crashed into another vehicle. The failure had occurred previously. The vehicle was taken to repair shop, where they stated that the vehicle had a manufacturer's defect on the valve body of the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified, however no assistance was provided. The failure and current mileages were 100,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. While driving approximately 25 mph, the contact noticed that the vehicle became hesitant to accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle also began to jerk. The failure occurred constantly. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 98,100.
- Winston Salem, NC, USA
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Tranmission skipped @ 65,518 wich I was told was out of the powertrain warranty paid $4,000 on 12/08/08 for what I thought was a new tranmission. Found out later Nissan uses re-built trani. Right after the initional trani was put in I continued to have the same problem...took it a few times back but all I got was the run around...they stated it might be the motor mount, that got fixed still the problem was there. The car went thru diagnostic reading from 2009 thru 2012 but since the engine light was not on it would not give any diagnosis codes.... until April of this year my transmission skipped again @ approx. $113,500 while being tested by a Nissan mechanic...updated 07/13/12
Transmission is failing prematurely. This should not happen to a car of this price range/age. Nissan refuses to acknowledge there is a defect. Transmission is very jerky and sometimes refuses to change gear.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact was driving approximately 20 mph when the transmission began to jerk slightly. The failure became progressively worse over time and the transmission exhibited a violent jerk. The malfunction recurred whenever the transmission would shift from first gear and also when driving in reverse. The vehicle was taken to an independent transmission center for diagnosis. The contact was awaiting a response from the technician. The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 84,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that when shifting from first to second gear or from second to first gear while driving 35 mph, the vehicle would jerk severely. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure who offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage was 140,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle jerked forward and began to decelerate. The contact continued to depress the accelerator pedal until the vehicle began to accelerate normally. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 142,000.
I purchased a brand new Nissan Maxima 8 yrs ago. For the last 2 yrs it has been given me problems with the transmission. The car will get stuck in between gears and then suddenly jerk will I'm driving, which is very scary and dangerous. I've noticed that it tends to get worse when it's hot or I am going incline. I've done some research and it seems to be a recurring problem with the 2004 and 2005 models. I purposely bought a brand new car to avoid these types of problems. I don't think it's fair that I have to pay $3,000 to fix it when it's obvious that it is a manufacture flaw. It's very frustrating to see so many complaints filed against this model, and Nissan not taking responsibility for it. I hope this can change soon.
Transmission jerks when shifting from 1st to 2nd and when downshifting. Also jerks and banks hard when the vehicle is put into drive after reversing. If the brake is not pressed really hard, the vehicle lungs forward very hard.
My 2004 Nissan Maxima has suffered severe transmission problems over the course of the last year. When the vehicle is switched from "park, " to "drive, " it sometimes takes several seconds to engage. When it does, the car jerks really bad. Also, the car jerks horribly bad when shifting between gears while driving. The jerking can be so severe at times, the car will veer to the left. I fee that this is a huge safety concern! the car has almost veered into oncoming traffic on more than one occasion! when the vehicle is at a dead stop (stop sign, red light, etc.), it will also take a few seconds to engage itself to drive. My Nissan Maxima has less than 60,000 miles! no car should be having such severe problems at such a young age. I have been reviewing this problem on the internet, and it appears that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Nissan Maxima car owners who are having the same problem. It is absolutely ridiculous that Nissan would turn a blind eye to an issue that they have to be aware of!! I have been a huge advocate of Nissan, if this issue does not get resolved by Nissan, you can bet that I will not only never buy a Nissan again, but convince everyone I know to never buy a Nissan.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. While driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle began to jerk when changing gears. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing and the technician stated the transmission would had to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
My transmission in my car keeps getting stuck in 5th. It is an automatic with a slap stick, I have tried to manually gear it down and it will jerk and make a loud noise and will not come out of 5th. I have to turn the car off and wait about 10-15 minutes and crank it to see if it is back in 1st 9 times out of 10 it is still in 5th so I have to keep turning off the car and re crank it and it acts like it doesn't want to start!
Very hard shifting from 1st to 2nd and 3rd back to 2nd. I talk to dealership service manager about the problem and he told me that all 04 Maxima and some of the 05 Maxima had bad transmission and Nissan corporation needs to recall them.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Orlando , FL, USA