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:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
71,392 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 2005 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving at highways speeds, the vehicle would jerk and decelerate. In addition, the vehicle would take a longer time than normal to accelerate up to speed. The check engine light would also illuminate on the instrument panel during the failures. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown. Updated 09/20/2011
The contact owns 2005 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the transmission was failing and the vehicle would jerk when shifting from first to second gear. As a result, the motor mounts also failed. The transmission was flushed, but the failure continued. The failure mileage was 98,000 and the current mileage was 143,000.
I purchased a 05 Nissan Maxima Feb of this year it was fine until about a couple of months the transmission has started jerking when it shifts from the 1st and 2nd gear. This should be considered a recall because mine isn't the only one with this problem. I was looking.into the 09 Maxima but I don't know now. Could you please look into this problem?
We have a 2005 Nissan Maxima that is having issues with the automatic transmission. It jerks and has trouble going into gear while going from 1st to second gear. Shifting with the lever does not help or alleviate the problem. We were told by Nissan that the transmission need to be flushed. It seems like this very unsafe.
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated while driving various speeds he noticed that there was a violent jerking when shifting from second to third gear. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who advised him that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and have not returned his call. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. The VIN was unavailable.
- Bruster, NY, USA
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I have a 2005 Nissan Maxima with under 90,000 miles. I am experiencing transmission problems. The car jerks when I slow down and does the same thing going from 1st to 2nd gear. I started having this problem about a year ago and I took the car to a transmission shop which I was told it needed a transmission/engine mounts which were replaced, after a week the problem continued. I thought it was just me, but I read there are a lot of people having the same problem and Nissan is not doing anything about it. There has to be a defect in the transmission, which should be a recall. Is there anything you can suggest can do please help. My warranty is over and I know it's going to be very expensive to repair. I purchased the car because of the style and Nissan reputation for having reliable cars. Their reputation is taking a hit because of the fact they are not showing any concerns about the problem.
I am having trouble with the transmission in my wife's 2005 Nissan Maxima. It hard shifts in 1st gear and sometime hesitate to go. I have had the transmission rebuilt ($3000) and still have the problems. The car only has 116,000 miles on it. The old parts are available.
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the vehicle would jerk while stopped with the brakes engaged. The vehicle would also hesitate to accelerate when changing gears, and while in reverse the vehicle would jerk backwards. The failure occurred on an intermittent basis. An authorized dealer was notified, but provided no assistance. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 91,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Over the past year since Feb 2010, I have been having transmission problems with my 2005 Nissan Maxima. The car gives a hard jerks when going from 1st to 2nd gear. Yesterday while driving my Maxima on the highway, luckily I was driving at 20-30 km/hr, it completely stopped and would not accelerate. For a few seconds, made this horrible noise and then kicked back into gear like nothing had happen. This continued to happen 3 times in a span of 10 min. I drove to a mister transmission where I was told I needed a new transmission for $3000-$3,500. Thank goodness I was not hit and killed. Nissan is fully aware of the 2005 Maxima transmission problem that thousands of consumers are experiencing but yet they are doing anything to correct the problem. I am filing a complaint against Nissan because they were fully aware about the transmission defect. This is a very dangerous situation-someone will be killed.
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while driving forward, the vehicle would hesitate then begin driving in reverse. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was not yet taken to have the failure diagnosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 106,736.
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated while driving, the transmission would jerk violently when changing gears. The dealer diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified, but did not assist the contact. The failure mileage was 48,390 and the current mileage was 48,111. Updated 08/10/11 updated 3/06/2012
I purshased a 2005 Nissan Maxima 3.5se and right around the 86K mile mark, the transmission started jerking during upshifting & downshifting of gears. After taking the vehicle to the local dealership, it was recommended that I do a trans. Flush & that would solve the issue. After a couple days, it was back to the same jerking during shifting of gears. I brought the vehicle back and was told that I needed to replace the transmission and it would cost me over $3000. The customer service was horrible and I was told I should have taken better care of the vehicle. After doing my research, I found that the Nissan Maxima years 2004/2005 had major transmission flaws. I contacted a very good friend, who's brother worked at a Nissan dealership, and was told that I had a lemon! the transmissions in those 2 years had a lot of problems and they were constantly reparing them. I am filing this complaint because I believe that a manufacturer should stand behind their product 100%. I work for a corporate car company and have never had to deal with this. I have received no help from the dealerships nor the corporate.
Transmissions shifting hard at 89,000 miles. Dealership informed me that it needs replacing. After researching the internet it looks as though Nissan is aware of this defect in the transmissions in 04 and 05 Nissan Maximas but has not implemented a recall. Seems the transmissions are going out as soon as the warranty expires. Cost to replace is $4,000-$4,800. Why should we have to pay this when Nissan is well aware of the issue? they bought the defected parts so they should pay to fix them all.
The contact owns 2005 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated the transmission failed on for the second time. The contact had the transmission replaced in March of 2009 per the dealers recommendation yet the failure was recurring. The transmission would become stuck when shifting from second to third gear. The contact stated that the vehicle would also stall intermittently accompanied with a hard jerking sensation. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 130,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated the transmission began to shift hard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 125,000.
My 2005 Nissan Maxima is also showing signs of transmission problems. I have been experiencing jerky shifts when change gears. I took my car to the Nissan dealership in newburgh NY, (which I don't recommend!!! ) the car came back with code P0797, pressure control solenoid valve stuck on. They looked at the car and found broken wire from ground, which cost me over 400$. when I was driving home I experience the same sensation off jerking while accelerating from gear 1 to 2 (and 2-1).the next day the check engine light came back on. I checked the code in autozone, the same code P0797 was read. Brought the car back to the dealership just to find out that, they look "deeper" in to the issue and found another problem (same code !!!!) supposedly 2 valves on transmission need to be replaced, that will cost another 1200$. I took the car to amcco just to make sure I am doing the right think and found out that the code P0797 stands for mechanical issues not electrical (not for the broken wire!!!!). I called dealership and after long conversation with the manager I was told that they will work with me(not sure yet how),but because of my numerous complains he wont fix the valves anymore he want to replace the whole transmission. Estimate 4500$. the manager told me strait up that he knows Maximas have issues with transmission(it took him about 30 min. To came strait forward). He forgot to tell me how he will work with me.
05 Maxima transmission/shifting problems my 2005 Nissan Maxima has about 62,000 miles and started showing signs of what may be serious transmission problems. While driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle would give a hard jerk/jump also when decreasing speed. It feels like I'm being kicked in the back or rear end. A loud clunking sound. I've keep my car maintained and even inspected by diagnostic nothing shows, no trouble codes show up when they put the car on the scope. The vehicle would be good for a couple of days and then start acting up again, clunking and sometimes bucking like a stubborn horse while driving. Mechanics have checked transmission oil and engine oil has been check and very good. I really suspect there is an undocumented flaw with this transmission and it showed up in the late '04 and '05 build cars.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Richmond, VA, USA