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:
11 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
76,985 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 the transmission was causing the vehicle to jerk when placed in park. When shifting between gears, the vehicle would decelerate and exhibit jerking. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic where the contact was told that the transmission would have to be rebuilt or replaced. The contact did not give a reason for the diagnosis. The failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 118,000.
My husband and I own 2004 Maxima.we are experiencing a transmission problem right about it got to 85000 miles. We have started noticing the delayed gear contact to make the car go and very hard jerking into the gear. It happened under slow traffic. The cars are ok to drive on the highways. I have contacted the Nissan and was told since it passed the 60000 miles it is out of warranty. We bought both cars as certified pre owned which supposedly covers the transmission up to the 100000 miles. When I took it to the dealership it was a day out of warranty. Nissan knew about this problem and they are not doing anything about it. They sold us a defected vehicles knowing they have problem with it. I have seen hundreds if not thousand of complaint with their 2004-2007 Nissan Maxima transmission. I am surprise they have not done any recall on them. Nissan should be accountable for their mistake and pay for the replacement. Like I said we owe 2 Nissan Maximas, it is going to cost me $10,000 to fix those cars. What does it take for Nissan to own to their mistake ?
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the transmission would slip from first to second gear and the vehicle would also stall on the road. The contact also stated that the catalytic converter was overheating, causing the engine coils to misfire. The dealer diagnosed that the there was a defect in the computer. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The failure mileage was 119,000 and the current mileage was 120,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the transmission would make a loud knocking noise when shifting gears. In addition, when shifting gears while driving over 20 mph, the engine would rev. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic, who stated that the failure was due to a gear shift malfunction. The failure mileage was 88,700 and the current mileage was 94,000. The VIN was not available.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle suddendly jerked forward and the transmission slipped. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics, where the techncians stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000. The VIN was unavailable.
- Plano, TX, USA
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The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that when downshifting or shifting into drive, the vehicle would jerk violently. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer but they were unable to detect a failure within the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
We own a 2004 Nissan Maxima with 60,000 miles on it. The transmission started to act up on us and we have spent the last 9 months between dealerships and and transmission shops trying to fix it. Still the car is in limp mode and we cannot drive it. We have emailed before with no response. I have searched on the internet and have found that others with this model car have had the same problem. This should be a recall or class action law suit here. Please respond with a resolution.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact heard a knocking sound from the transmission gears. The dealer advised the contact that the motor mount caused the failure and replaced it; however, the failure continued to occur. The vehicle was taken to the dealer a second time after the warranty expired and the contact was informed that he should have the transmission replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. No repairs were performed. The current mileage was 120,000. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. While driving approximately 25 mph, the transmission began to hesitate in a jerking motion. Suddenly the rpms increased and the sporadic failure occurred at any speed. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing where they were unable to duplicate the failure. The failure continued to occur and previously failed to accelerate over 25 mph. Upon starting the vehicle, all of the warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel briefly. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the vehicle would experience a hard shift and jerk when changing between first and second gear. In addition, the vehicle would intermittently experience a failure in which the gear shifter would not shift unless the vehicle was placed into manual. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who stated that the failure may be due to the valve body or timing chain; however, they would be unable to diagnose the exact failure unless repairs were performed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 97,000.
The contact owns 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the transmission was shifting hard and causing the vehicle to jerk abnormally. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the gears were slipping and the motor mounts were failing. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 99,500 and the current mileage was 122,000.
Nissan Maxima transmission issues. Maxima transmission jerks into 1st and 2nd gear. Nissan has said that the motor mounts need replacement. I have had transmission fluid changed and regular maintenance as far as oil changes and tire rotations. I have researched and found many other Nissan Maximas of the same year with the exact same problems.
The transmission on my 2004 Nissan Maxima jerks violently and skips gears while driving and when it goes back into gear it feels like I have been hit from behind. There are hundreds of complaints for this same issue and I can't believe Nissan hasn't been forced to do a recall yet. This problem started at about 75,000 miles and is only getting worse.
2004 Maxima automatic transmission, transmission jerks violently when shifting, after driving for a short period of time transmission stops shifting and car is inoperable.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle would jerk violently when changing gears. The failure would also occur when reversing. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 82,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the transmission and engine motor mounts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 136,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the transmission would jerk, when shifting from park into drive. The vehicle would also hesistate before jerking up to speed, while driving at low speeds. The failures were intermittent, and the vehicle stalled at least twice a day. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
When I take off it jerks real bad between 1st and 2nd gear and then when I am slowing down about to come to a stop it also kicks and jerks real bad when I started having intermittent transmission problems. It now has become a daily problem whenever I drive. The main issues is when put my car from reverse to drive or park to drive it hesitates for at least 7 to 10 secs. And then jumps real bad and then goes into drive.it usually does all this when the car is hot. The gears also seems to be slipping or jumping when I slow down from 3rd to 2nd. Yesterday was the first occurrence of it jumping when going from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. I cant believe with all these complaints nothing has been done. What else needs to be done for this problem to be fixed.
2004 Nissan Maxima. I notice the transmission was slipping when changing gears. It also was jerking repeatedly while changing into 1st and 2nd gear and then back down from 2nd to 1st. I was told by a Nissan service advisor that my car needed a transmission flush. I had the flush done on the car, problems still exist. Nissan now says I need a new transmission. I traded the car in for another Maxima. Thinking it was something just with the 2004 model. I now have the same issue with my 2006 Maxima. There are thousands of people with this same problem. This transmission should be recalled, before someone get hurt and Nissan stop stealing people hard earned money. When they know something is wrong with the car.
I moved the gear shift from park to drive, lifted my foot from the break and then pressed the accelerator, and the engine raced but there was a pause for about a second before the transmission engaged with a loud bang. This caused the car to lunge forward as the tires briefly peeled out. In response to that our 5 year old granddaughter said "it's ok, it was just a bump". it is not ok. We took the car to the Nissan auto dealer service center and they wrote "transmission is on its way out technician advised replacement, ...". this 2004 Nissan Maxima has 112576 miles on it, and we have consistently taken excellent care of it. We have had many costly equipment failures with this vehicle, and we were told that a new transmission would cost us about $4000. This is unfair, and I now question the safety of the vehicle as designed. I see on the internet that there are many similar transmission failures and complaints to NHTSA regarding this issue. Some of the complaints indicate that the pause before shifting can be many seconds. What if a person can't get the car to move, then steps out of the car to look under the hood. Their car could jump into gear and take off without them in the driver's seat. The failure happens almost every time we drive the car. The failure happens when shifting from park to reverse, from neutral to reverse, from neutral to drive. The car has not yet been repaired.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Riverdale, GA, USA