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.

2004 Nissan Maxima drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2004 Nissan Maxima Owner Comments (Page 8 of 16)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #175

Jan 012013

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 150,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My transmission stop working.

- Hiealeah, FL, USA

problem #174

Jan 032013

Maxima

  • 133,000 miles
Transmission is jerking when shifting thru most gears and sometimes gets worse while driving long periods. I feel this problem needs to be taken care of and Nissan needs to be held responsible and needs to be put out there for everyone to see how money hungry they are for not wanting to help. They are taking money from people when they know the problem. I even seen companies come out with parts that help the problem because they know there is a market for this problem. You need to make Nissan fix there problem and make right because in today market this is not going to end well with the people who are getting screwed over. I have been working with green light auto who is tired of dealing with this car because it has this issues now let me tell you this new mounts, fluid all new even sensors and 02's that are noted to go and cause these issues. Still have the problem. You need to make them fix this problem before the transmission fails and kills someone due to an accident then we will start having people sue and get some help from legal matters. Class action law suite is also filled and is going on as well. Shows that everyone is tired of the crap.

- Shelton, CT, USA

problem #173

Apr 102012

Maxima

  • 101,000 miles
Transmission failed while driving causing vehicle to come to a complete stop while in traffic almost causing an accident by vehicles following. Nissan has completely ignored this inherent transmission failure on thousands of these model year vehicles. A recall is necessary to fix this totally flawed transmission, and give the consumer some sense of responsibility that Nissan so far has failed to show.

- Apple Valley, CA, USA

problem #172

Mar 012012

Maxima

  • 82,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vehicle has a very sever jerking or kicking sensation when shifting up or down around the speed of 20-30mph. It happens very often. Even when applying the brakes to slow, the car still jerks forward violently.

- Manitowoc, WI, USA

problem #171

Jan 062013

Maxima

  • 71,914 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact was driving approximately 35 mph when the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continue to drive without failure. Additionally, the contact stated that when the gear was shifted from park to reverse, the vehicle would jerk. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing or repairs. The approximate failure mileage was 71,914.

- Granada Hills, CA, USA

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problem #170

Jun 132012

Maxima

  • 128,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle began to stall. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated the power transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions for the identical failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 128,000 and the current mileage was 140,000.

- Penbroke Pines, FL, USA

problem #169

Jan 062012

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 105,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When car is warm and I shift from park to drive, the car hesitates, jerks and take a few seconds to go into gear. Also, upon accelerating on a highway on-ramp, the rpms rev up high but the car does not accelerate as expected which bogs down the response. I have almost been hit numerous times merging onto a highway or trying to get up a ramp. This is a safety issue - even more so when my children are in the backseat. Upon doing research online, I have discovered that it is apparently a function of the transmission used in the 2004 Maxima. I will be getting this car fixed but felt that this organization needed to be aware of the problem.

- Cranston, RI, USA

problem #168

Apr 182012

Maxima 6-cyl

  • miles
Vehicle jerks into gears when shifting up, as well as shifting down. Gears will often get stuck in high and manual shift will sometimes work. It takes a while for the car to go from park to drive while sitting still and jerks when it finally shifts to drive. Gears will often slip while shifting while driving down the road from 1st gear to 4th gear. The car will rev very high and then kick like a horse for the gears to shift into place.

- Moultrie, GA, USA

problem #167

Oct 042012

Maxima

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph and releasing his foot from the accelerator pedal, the vehicle jerked violently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they advised that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 90,000.

- Eatontown, NJ, USA

problem #166

Jul 012010

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 120,000 miles
When trying to merge onto highway or avoid traffic, the car slips going into gear. With the transmission slipping it is difficult to operate safely as its hard to predict the vehicles behavior. It is a costly repair and according to research the problem is not that uncommon with said vehicle. Please investigate and recall.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #165

Aug 012012

Maxima

  • 55,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20-30 mph, the vehicle began jerking and shifting violently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where they advised her that they would drain and seal the transmission fluid. The vehicle was repaired by draining and sealing the transmission fluid. The failure recurred approximately two weeks after the repair. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000. The current mileage was approximately 60,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Upper Darby, PA, USA

problem #164

Jul 102009

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
We have been having problems with our transmission for a few months now, we took it to the dealership (cerritos Nissan) and they say the problem is that we need a new transmission. This will be our third tranny and the car only has 120,000+ miles on it. Our first transmission lasted 5yrs. Before having to be replaced and now this one has lasted 3yrs. The transmission now is stuck in 5th gear when you switch to the tip tronic setting to see the gearing and this is the reason there is no power during acceleration. We also need motor mounts now because of the violent jerking that the tranny does when put into gear. And the dealership also said we needed a timing chain replacement because it was bad as well, total repair cost $6700+. I've recently taken my car to another mechanic and he said the timing chain was perfectly fine. Our driver side window switches do not work again, that was replaced 1yr ago. And we are now on our third set of front struts.

- Santa Fe Springs, CA, USA

problem #163

Dec 062012

Maxima

  • 68,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that when attempting to shift into drive or reverse, the vehicle would shake violently. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 68,000.

- Totowa, NJ, USA

problem #162

Dec 032006

Maxima

  • miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while attempting to shift into drive, the vehicle erroneously accelerated. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was confirmed that the transmission had failed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the issue. The failure mileage was unavailable and the current mileage was 109,000. The VIN was not available.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #161

Jun 132012

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 133,926 miles
Nissan Maxima 2004 automatic transmission failure. Symptoms started as a hard jerk into gear when going from drive to reverse and back to drive. I changed the fluid and that worked for awhile but the hard jerking started again which led to transmission failure.

- Calimesa, CA, USA

problem #160

Jul 032012

Maxima

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while shifting gears the transmission became hesitant. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 67,000.

- Chicago , IL, USA

problem #159

Jun 202012

Maxima

  • 89,000 miles
Seems like when weather is warm, transmission jerks in 1,2,3 gears. Happens when slowing down and speeding up. Research indicates that this is a common problem with them make and model. Shouldn't Nissan be made to own their issue. Most vehicles never have a transmission problem, especially when regularly serviced. Not the case with this car. My wife won't drive it, and I won't let her. Im trying to be very careful with it, but the problem is there. I can't afford the fix. Help.

- Rapid City, SD, USA

problem #158

Apr 202011

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 103,000 miles
When accelerating there is a hard jerky stall shift from 1st to 2nd gear. Afraid I'm going to be rear-ended. When decelerating, there is a hard shift jerk from 3rd to 2nd gear. Reminds me of semi truck road signs (no engine brake allowed).

- San Marcos, TX, USA

problem #157

Feb 012012

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 100,000 miles
Transmission started to "slip" around 100,000 miles. I took it to five star Nissan in warner robins ga, they said there was no problem and recommend transmission fluid flush, which they did perform. At about 111,000 miles, the transmission began to slip again, and it started to "shift hard". I took it back to five star Nissan who advised me "the transmission is shot". luckily it did not fail in traffic.

- Warner Robins, GA, USA

problem #156

Nov 092010

Maxima 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the vehicle would hesitate after shifting into gear and would also shake violently when engaging in gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 128,179. Updated 12/21/12 updated 1/4/2013

- Gainesville , FL, USA

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