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.
When you get in and start the car, everything's normal until you put it in drive. After that you noticed that the indicator says D but you hit the gas and it's very very sluggish because it's in a higher gear than first or second. It's stuck in that one gear and it will not shift at all. It'll stay there. You can accelerate - eventually, you can accelerate normally on the highway, but you noticed that you're only doing about 3,500 RPM at 65 miles an hour which is too high. So if you stop at a stoplight, you can put it in manual mode and bring it down to first
And when you accelerate, flip it up to go into the next gear, and it jerks very violently - after that you cannot shift anymore. You can only downshift to that one other gear so you've only got two gears total. I suspect one the first one is Gear 1 and 2nd gear is going to be Gear 3. The car has been put up for a couple years because it's basically not usable with only two gears and I just did not want to tear it up any further because I did not have enough money to fix it. I still don't know, but I really need the car now.
i bought my 2004 Nissan maxima in 2015. it had 93,000 miles on it and at about 96,000 miles the car would make an awful hard jerking feeling when the car would switch gears. eventually the transition went and I had to pay 4,500 out of pocket. that was the beginning of my problems I have this car since 2015 it is not 2017 and since then I have replaced tranny, starter, radiator, ball bearings, both front struts and im sure many more things the most messed up part is that it looks completely fine but internally it just gives me more problems than I could ever dream of. I have put 6500 in this car in JUST REPAIRS I and begging someone to help me with this car I have never seen such a poorly made car ever.
I bought a 2004 Nissan Maxima in July 2016 and in October 2016 the transmission started slipping from 2nd to 3rd gear. It would jerk real hard starting out from a complete stop then it left me in the middle of the road with no gears at all. The car only has 122,000 miles on it. Due to the cost to have this repaired it now sits in my driveway as a planter.
Bought this car 6 months ago. Wish I had not, piece of crap transmission. I'm 3rd owner, car has been serviced regularly & has 100,125 miles. Never buying nissan again.
I was pulling out at a stop sign and the transmission went right there in the middle of the road. Luckily it wasn't really busy at that time or it could have been really awful. I have read several complaints about the transmissions on the 2004 2005 2006 Nissan Maxima letting go. I am only the second owner and the car has been babied repaired, and kept up on.
Bought car used from a dealer. within 1 year, engine knocked, hard shifting and finally transmission failure. My son paid $3120.00 for new transmission.
F*ck the transmission in the 2004 nissan maxima. Horrible design, nissan knew they was selling a piece of expensive sh*t. I can't wait for a class action lawsuit. $3,500 to rebuild.
Very unhappy with this ordeal. I don't make a lot of money. Bought the car used from Nissan at $6000, still owe $4000, had barely 6 months and transmission totally fails. Price to fix around $4000, worth as much as I still owe on the car!!!! This is awful and Nissan needs to take responsibility!
It is stuck in 5th gear, then dies out and won't crank for a while. Nissan sucks!!! I bought a Nissan thinking that it would last years and years! Now it has trans failure and to fix is more than the car is worth!!
Now really upset. Rebuilt/new trans installed on 9-21-09. Here I am again 63,000 miles later and it goes again! Should have traded it in, but hadn't had the funds for a new car yet. Now a $3000 trade is down to $O.
Update from Jun 23, 2015: I read that they don't do anything because there is no injury. Well luckily the car stalled when the trans was going near a stoplight and luckily the people behind were paying attention and didn't rear end my vehicle!
I was 1,000 miles out of warranty and Nissan was no help in fixing. Called the dealership where purchased and they told me to go and get fixed from local mechanic because they would charge at least $6000. My local mechanic fixed it for $3,699. Since I had it fixed due to not wanting to loose everything and not get a dime for it, I am going to drive it for a while. Can't afford to buy anything else!
This car is a lemon. First I had to replace the engine at 150,000 miles and then the transmission is gone and cannot drive except in first gear. Everything you read about this car is true, BAD -should have never gotten a Nissan and will never again. The Nissan dealer gave an estimate that no person could afford, another words they did not want to do the job. Nissan needs to step up and clear this mess up and fix what they screwed up years ago. It took them this many years to get it right.
Yes it's a pain in the ass and yes I have high mileage but that doesn't matter. Before this maxima I had a Honda Accord. When I sold it for $600 it had almost 485,000 with the same motor and transmission. I never had any problems with the two major items on a car. I spoke with the guy who bought it about 8 months ago and his son is driving it. This was 13 years ago.. I've read all of the complaints about the 2004 max's and if Nissan doesn't want to fall by the wayside, it's only right to at least recall that year for transmissions or help with the repair of one. I will never purchase a Nissan again and I've expressed this to lots of family & friends. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
I Had to have my transmission replaced after only 62,000 miles on my 2004 Maxima and the company would not even help to pay any of it knowing it was a bad transmission from the beginning. I begged them to replace it and help me pay for it. They came up with everything they could not to help me. If my car had more than 62000 miles I could maybe understand them giving me the run around but, I have been the only driver and took very good care of my car. It still looks new. I drove it to work everyday about 9 to10 miles a day never having any problems. Changed the oil and had it check when needed. I will never buy Nissan.
I actually had the transmission replaced at around 55 K miles while it was still under warranty. Now the issue is it goes into "safe mode"?!?!? I am driving my car and it will go into 4th gear. The car will hardly move. I can use any other gear except "D".
I have owned my maxima since 05. I have had numerous problems with it since then and believe Nissan should definitely recall this vehicle. I had to replace the transmission once already at 60k and at 120k it seems I need to replace it again. I am so fed up with Nissan and at the moment will never buy another one. How could they sell a vehicle when so many ppl are having the same issue with the transmission and not recall. Something or someone needs to do something about this as Nissan seems to be "ripping off the consumers". Very disappointed
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
When you get in and start the car, everything's normal until you put it in drive. After that you noticed that the indicator says D but you hit the gas and it's very very sluggish because it's in a higher gear than first or second. It's stuck in that one gear and it will not shift at all. It'll stay there. You can accelerate - eventually, you can accelerate normally on the highway, but you noticed that you're only doing about 3,500 RPM at 65 miles an hour which is too high. So if you stop at a stoplight, you can put it in manual mode and bring it down to first
And when you accelerate, flip it up to go into the next gear, and it jerks very violently - after that you cannot shift anymore. You can only downshift to that one other gear so you've only got two gears total. I suspect one the first one is Gear 1 and 2nd gear is going to be Gear 3. The car has been put up for a couple years because it's basically not usable with only two gears and I just did not want to tear it up any further because I did not have enough money to fix it. I still don't know, but I really need the car now.
- Jerry C., Lancaster, TX, US