CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2011 Nissan Maxima is a good reliable vehicle overall. There's a slight trend of transmission failure just before 100,000 miles, but not widespread enough to be a major concern. Beware of Maximas from 2009-2010, and 2004-2006 though.
The 2009-2010 Maxima has an expensive problem where the steering lock prevents the car from starting, & costs upwards of $1,000 to fix.
Nissan Maximas from 2004-2006 have a widespread transmission defect, but judging from our complaint data, Nissan fixed the transmission problem starting with the 2007 model.
I have a Nissan Maxima 2011 model 3.5L V6. On 27-Dec-2013 all of a sudden the car wouldn’t start up. All I can see is a yellow color "KEY" indicator on the dash. I had a really hard time calling the towing service and getting the car to the local Nissan service station in the city Sharjah in United Arab Emirates.
They told me that the Steering Lock Control Unit has gone faulty and it would cost me around AED 4000 i.e. USD 1,100. That’s when I began my search on the net. Having gone through different Nissan Maxima forums and blogs, I came to know that this was a common problem in 2011-2012 models and that Nissan had re-called the specific parts.
If the problem exists then why wasn’t the cars re-called from UAE as well or why wasn’t this highlighted. Secondly, this seems to be a manufacturing problem. I can understand if this fault occurs after 5 or 6 years of usage. But within just 2 years is really disappointing, and my car is in really good condition. Now I am worried even if I get it fixed. Will the same problem happen again or was it the right decision going for a Nissan. Highly UN-reliable.
I will highly appreciate if an alternate solution to this problem can be offered rather than me burning a hole in my pockets.
- Imran J.,
Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I have a Nissan Maxima 2011 model 3.5L V6. On 27-Dec-2013 all of a sudden the car wouldn’t start up. All I can see is a yellow color "KEY" indicator on the dash. I had a really hard time calling the towing service and getting the car to the local Nissan service station in the city Sharjah in United Arab Emirates.
They told me that the Steering Lock Control Unit has gone faulty and it would cost me around AED 4000 i.e. USD 1,100. That’s when I began my search on the net. Having gone through different Nissan Maxima forums and blogs, I came to know that this was a common problem in 2011-2012 models and that Nissan had re-called the specific parts.
If the problem exists then why wasn’t the cars re-called from UAE as well or why wasn’t this highlighted. Secondly, this seems to be a manufacturing problem. I can understand if this fault occurs after 5 or 6 years of usage. But within just 2 years is really disappointing, and my car is in really good condition. Now I am worried even if I get it fixed. Will the same problem happen again or was it the right decision going for a Nissan. Highly UN-reliable.
I will highly appreciate if an alternate solution to this problem can be offered rather than me burning a hole in my pockets.
- Imran J., Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates