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.
8.1
pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$2,800
Average Mileage:
110,350 miles
Total Complaints:
29 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
not sure (12 reports)
replace transmission (10 reports)
yes i will have to pay the $3,800.00 to get my car fixed (4 reports)
Replaced valve body at 55k and it's now at 85k. It is shifting very hard; park to drive and reverse to drive. Delay and jerk when shifting. On the other hand, my 96 Maxima with 165k is fine. Would love to stay Nissan loyal, but they should step up here.
My wife has had this car from around 20K miles. It runs great along with good fuel economy. Our problem started just over a year ago with around 180K miles on it. It would clunking into gear when after reversing the car and going into drive. It would also feel like it slips into neutral when slowing down and then when you step on the gas it would reve up and clunk into gear. We took it in for service and did a flush.
This did not fix anything. We took it to a local transmission garage they quickly looked at it and told us the trans needed to be replaced at a cost of 3500 for a re-manufactured unit with little warranty. I took the car back without fixing it and started an intense look into issues with this car and trans.
After a few days of looking at issues, videos, and reading review after review. I have found that Nissan has a common issue with this transmission. I found a place that recognizes and has a fix for the problem. An updated valve body. The company I found reports selling about 35 units per month every month. I took the car in to have the valve body replaced with a modified valve body. The total cost was $1380. installed. The company was Level10 Transmissions. It has been a few days and it is shifting perfectly.
Delay in shifting from P to either D or R, then clunks into gear, hard. While in D it is stuck on a high gear, I believe 5th. Does not down shift at all. Coming out of a stop, it obviously doesn't want to accelerate and get moving. Putting the shift into manual mode has no effect. I cannot drive this car in this state and there is no telling what could happen. Otherwise, I love this car and has been one of my favorites ever owned.
DAMN. I wish I read all this before I bought this 06 Maxima...Instantly off the used lot after the Tranny warmed, that's when the hard shift into drive started. I have noticed a slippage between 2nd and 3rd, I believe like twice where the RPMs just revved up with no acceleration. With only 96K a new trans just might be in the near future. Got another what, 5 years God willing with the low mileage..
Had transmission checked by Nissan dealer said nothing was wrong but he flushed transmission and changed the filter, put fresh transmission fluid and charged me $1200.00 . Problem was never fixed.
- Mary B.,
New iberia, US
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The transmission started junking and slipping a few weeks ago and got worst as time past. Till suddenly as I'm driving in the free way started decelerating to the point that I had to pull over and stopped. Now it doesn't accelerate anymore. I got some mechanics to look at it and all said that I need to replace the transmission. FML
There is a delay when the car shifts gears, especially going from park to 1st or park to reverse. After the delay, there is a very hard jerk before it goes into gear. This jerk is hard enough, my mother cannot ride in the car because it causes neck and back problems. I took it to Jeff Wyler Nissan and they told me the engine mount was broken and I had to replace the transmission. They told me this was not a typical problem with Nissans, that my warranty expired and I would have to pay the full amount. They recommended transferring me to their sales department and purchase a new car.
This is a known problem with this year and model Nissan Maxima. First, when I put the car in reverse, then into Drive; it hesitates and jerks before I can drive. When I'm taking a corner and attempt to accelerate after slowing down, the RPMs go up but the car doesn't accelerate. After the RPMs go up, it will jerk forward so bad that I feel like I'm being hit by a car from behind. As I decelerate, the car jerks and hesitates. I notified Nissan when I took the car to the dealer. They said that they could not duplicate the issue. Well, since then it has gotten significantly worse. I have to drive my 7 month old daughter to and fro every day and I don't want anything crazy to happen because Nissan won't do what's right. They are playing with people's lives. It's deplorable.
seems Nissian knows there is problem with these transmission and they are not willing to do anything about it. Is it going to take a death of an innocent soul beforethey will fix this problem. I can not drive mine in fear it will stop going down the road in traffic. I sure cant put any more money in it Im already out more than the car is worth. I pray that there is a lawsuit out there and i hope i can be in on that one . Sincerly pissed off
My nephew purchase the car brand new and I liked it. I ended up buying it from him. I had it for a month and I started having problems with the engine. I took the car to get it checked and ended up changing the timing belt, catalytic converter, water pump. The total for the problem $3500 and now is the f*cking transmission. I love the car but is killing me. I looked up how much for the cost of a transmission from $1500 to $3500 its bull sh*t. No more.
Initially the car would have a delay shifting into Park and would stick in 5th gear while driving. Changed the Front Cam Position sensor, CPS, myself for $80. Fixed the problems for about 4 weeks. Started happening again and the repair shop said it was the cam position sensor again. So went back to Autozone and they provided a new front CPS for free. Problem kept happening so I took it to Nissan and they changed the Back Cam Position sensor. seams to have solved the problem for several months. It is now is intermittent when shifting hard into drive, but has started shifting Hard around 20-25 MPH, Not sure if it is the sensor again or what. Very irritating and seams to be an electrical issue with the sensors that tell the tranny when to shift? Not sure if sensors keep going out or if the wiring harness for it keeps shorting the sensors out or what the issue truly is. It would be nice if Nissan would figure it out and tell us what truly needs to be done to fix the issue. Otherwise the Car is Outstanding.
This is my first car and the transmission is acting up strange in the first month. I don't wanna be rude but it's the fault of nissan so they should recall and fix the transmission free of cost.Why do we have to pay 2k+ for their fault?
This my second Nissan vehicle. 2005 Frontier and 2006 Maxima. Both had transmission issues. 2005 Frontier wound up being a recall. hopefully The 2006 Maxima will be a recall
THE TRANSMISSION ON MY 2006 MAXIMA JUMPS WHEN SHIFTING TO 2ND GEAR , TO FIX IT WOULD COST ME ABOUT $2800.00, I BELIEVE IS VERY UNFAIR FOR NISSAN NOT TO DO A RECALL SINCE THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM ON MOST MAXIMAS FROM 2004-TO 2006 MODELS, ALSO MY MECHANIC TELLS ME THAT I NEED A NEW RADIATOR THIS WILL JUST ADD TO THE COST TO GET THIS CAR RUNNING PROPERLY.
I may be arriving late to this party since I don't put many miles on my car and I've had my 2006 Max since 2008. I don't drive a lot since I live close to work and I do a lot of my shopping online. However, shortly after hitting 105,000 miles, I've noticed on longer trips where the transmission gets warmed up, it will jerk into second gear after I try to accelerate after having just stopped or slowed down. This is very frustrating and being a single woman, my worst pet peeve is dealing with car repairmen. The class action lawsuit that was filed in 2011 was decertified in December 2014. Is anyone aware of any other class action that has been filed since there are so many of us with the same issue?
After taking very good care of this car with regular maintenance and oil changes every 3,000 miles, it's very disappointing that this very serious problem has arisen. With so many reported similar complaints of the same problem surely this is a manufacturer defect and not a car owner lack of maintaining the vehicle. The problem has caused the "motor mounts" to now be defective. Estimates for this ranges from $600-1,000. Combined with the estimated $3,000 transmission repair, that is $4,000 that I do not have nor can afford. Nissan should step forward and fix this problem at their expense.
Bought this car from a private seller. It's my fault for not doing my due diligence in getting the car fully inspected...and for trusting a Craigslist seller, however the seller did not fully disclose all problems with the car upon me asking. There is no possible way he did not know about this problem. Of course I was not aware of this problem until after purchasing. This was a difficult problem to discover as it did not reveal itself during the test drive and is most noticeable after driving the car for a long period of time ( ~30min or more). Also, the problem is only noticeable driving through the city.
Specifically the transmission seems to slip slightly in the transitions between 1st and 2nd, and 2nd and 3rd gear, both upshifting and downshifting. This car also has the notorious problem of an occasional delayed and violent shift going from reverse to drive. I had a bad solenoid replaced which seemed to make the shifting problems less severe, however they are still occurring. I suspect it may be an issue with the clutch. Not sure how much it may cost to fix. I paid $4500 cash for the car and one week later I have already put $1500 back into it in repairs. As a recent college grad, I can't afford a $3000 transmission fix. I NEED A RECALL NISSAN!
So annoying and costly... I noticed a clunk, pause action as I slowed down dramatically from highway to exit ramp. Feels like the automatic engine is shifting like someone new to a manual car. Mechanic tested also by stepping hard on accelerator. Intermittent and hugely annoying when you read online that Nissan knows about this issue and has not done a recall. I have been Nissan loyal for 30 years, but I'm going to have to find some other car brand to last my family the next 30 plus years.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Replaced valve body at 55k and it's now at 85k. It is shifting very hard; park to drive and reverse to drive. Delay and jerk when shifting. On the other hand, my 96 Maxima with 165k is fine. Would love to stay Nissan loyal, but they should step up here.
- Michael B., Southampton, PA, US