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.

8.0

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$320
Average Mileage:
22,250 miles
Total Complaints:
3 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. needed bushings, and new tires, and one rim (1 reports)
  2. not sure (1 reports)
  3. replacement of wheel bearings (1 reports)
2011 Nissan Maxima wheels / hubs problems

wheels / hubs problem

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2011 Nissan Maxima Owner Comments

problem #3

Aug 132013

Maxima SV 3.5L V6

  • CVT transmission
  • 42,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

WE'LL LET ME FIRST START BY SAYING NISSAN CUSTOMER AFFAIRS CONTACTED ME AND ACTED LIKE THEY WERE GOING TO HELP ME WITH MY PROBLEM. THEY TALK A GOOD GAME BUT IN THE LONG RUN I STILL DIDN'T GET ANY SATISFACTION AT ALL.

OKAY, I'VE BEEN HAVING THIS ANNOYING PROBLEM WITH MY BRAND NEW 2011 MAXIMA SV MODEL. I WILL NEVER EVER BUY ANOTHER NISSAN PRODUCT, THEY TOTALLY SUCK. BULLSHIT, SO NOW I HAVE A BENT RIM AND I NEED FOUR NEW TIRES WHICH I HAVE BEEN ROTATING SINCE DAY ONE. I HAVE 51,400 MILES ON MY MAXIMA NOW SO I GUESS YOU CAN SAY IT'S OLD, NOT. I DO A LOT OF HIGHWAY DRIVING BUT FOR SOME REASON WESTERN AVE NISSAN COULDN'T FIND THE PROBLEM AT ALL SO I WAS TOLD BY NISSAN CUSTOMER AFFAIRS TO GO TO A DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP.

SO I WENT TO KELLY NISSAN ON 95TH ST. VERY. VERY NICE PEOPLE TO DO BUSINESS WITH. I MUST ADD THEY CHECKED OUT EVERYTHING ON MY CAR. AND FOUND THE PROBLEM WHICH WAS A BENT RIM. AND I NEEDED FOUR NEW TIRES, BUT I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT NEW TIRES ARE ONLY GOOD FOR 50,000 MILE'S. WHY IS THAT SO? I HAVE HAD OLDER CARS AND I NEVER ROTATED THE TIRES AND NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME A BRAND NEW VEHICLE THE TIRES ON HIS $40,000 DOLLAR VEHICLE IS ONLY GOOD FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MILES. STRAIGHT BULLSHIT AND THEY'RE WEARING UNEVENLY ALSO. I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND THAT AT ALL. CRAZY.

SO NOW I'M LOOKING TO TRADE OUT THIS NIGHTMARE IF POSSIBLE EVEN THIS IT AIN'T WORTH THAT MUCH. MY WIFE SAID WE SHOULD HANG ONTO THIS CAR. I SAY NO, GET IT OUT OF HERE, TAKE MY SOUND SYSTEM OUT, AND TRADE IT OFF. THIS HAS BEEN THE WORST NEW CAR EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD, AND YES, I HAVE HAD A NEW VEHICLE BEFORE. I HAVE A LOT OF FRIENDS WHO ALSO HAVE NISSAN MAXIMA, SAME MODEL, BUT I REALLY DRIVE MINE NOT MEANING HARD. I HAVE A LOT OF PLACES TO GO.

I HAVE HAD AN ENGINE LIGHT POP ON WHEN I GOT STUCK IN THE SNOW, MATTER OF FACT ALMOST ALL THE LIGHTS CAME ON FOR SOME CRAZY REASON. WHEN I GOT STUCK ABS LIGHT, ENGINE LIGHT, KEY LIGHT, BRAKES LIGHT, SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT. COME ON NOW I ONLY GOT STUCK IN SNOW, I DIDN'T DO THAT MUCH SPINNING OF TIRES, SENSITIVE ASS CAR. BUT AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS ME. NO IT'S NOT ME. THIS IS A PROBLEM I BLAME THE PEOPLE WHO PUT THESE VEHICLE TOGETHER RUSHING TO GET THESE OUT TO THE LOT TO SELL THEM NOT MAKING SURE EVERYTHING IS TIGHT. EVEN WITH NO MILE'S THERE CAN STILL BE A PROBLEM. THAT EVEN SOUNDS CRAZY BUT TRUE I REMEMBER BUYING IT AND THE SALESMEN SAYING DRIVE KIND OF EASY FOR FIRST COUPLE OF WEEK'S. I WAS LIKE WHY, ITS NEW. NOT LIKE I'M RUFF WITH MY VEHICLE ANYWAY BUT WHY? IT SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE A LIL RUFF DRIVING, IF NOT SOMETHING IS REALLY WRONG.

I'M JUST REALLY TIRED OF DEALING WITH THIS MAXIMA AND I WANT A MORE DEPENDABLE VEHICLE, NOT SURE WHAT I WANT YET.SO THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON WITH MY NISSAN MAXIMA SV 2011 RIGHT NOW. SOMEONE LET ME KNOW IF THEY ARE EXPERIENCING ANYTHING LIKE THIS AT ALL? EMAIL ME. ( TOM_JR1@YAHOO.COM

- Thomas H., Chicago, IL, US

problem #2

Apr 122013

Maxima SV 3.5L V6

  • CVT transmission
  • 24,155 miles

OKAY, LET ME START BY SAYING I HAVE BROUGHT A BRAND NEW NISSAN MAXIMA SV 2011. ACTUAL MILES WERE ABOUT 4-6 MILES. IT WAS ON THE SHOWROOM FLOOR AND STILL HAD PLASTIC ON SEATS AND AROUND WHEELS. I HAVE HAD TO VISIT THE DEALERSHIP I GOT IT FROM NUMEROUS, I REPEAT NUMEROUS TIMES, FOR IGNORING PROBLEMS.

FIRST PROBLEM WAS IT STARTED RIDING ROUGH AND I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE 15,000 MILES ON IT YET. I THINK ALL IN TOTAL I'VE HAD THIS CAR ALIGNMENT DONE FIVE OR SIX TIMES OR MORE. EVERY TIME I GO TO WESTERN AVE NISSAN SOMEONE TELLS ME IT'S CAUSE OF THE BUMPS IN THE STREET, THAT'S WHY EVERY SO MANY MILES YOU NEED TOO GET IT ALIGNED AGAIN. I SAID ON A NEW CAR, THAT DON'T SOUND RIGHT. THEN I HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY BRAKES, MY PEDDLE WAS LOW I HAD THEM CHECK IT. THEY SAID I DIDN'T NEED BRAKES. PLUS I'M LEAKING FLUID. NO ONE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THIS IGNORING THE PROBLEM ON THIS NEW CAR THAT'S OVER $40,000 DOLLARS.

RIGHT, I GUESS I'M CRAZY FOR BUYING IT, HUH? SO I WENT TO MIDAS AND HAD THEM CHECK MY BRAKES AND YES THE PADS WERE VERY LOW. THE MECHANIC SHOWED ME THE FRONT AND BACK SO I GOT THE FRONT DONE ONE WEEK AND BACK THREE WEEKS LATER. OKAY AS OF NOW, I HAVE 51,200 MILES ON MY NISSAN MAXIMA CAUSE IN MAY 2013 I DROVE TO NEW ORLEANS WHICH IT HANDLED THE ROAD GOOD GOING AND COMING BACK.

A BEAST ON THE HIGHWAY AND A PUNK ON THE STREETS, I DO A LOT OF HIGHWAY DRIVING. I TOLD NISSAN THIS ALSO. THEN I ALSO HAD TO TAKE MY CAR IN CAUSE OF AN ENGINE LIGHT POPPED ON ONE DAY. EVERYTHING I SAY SHOULD BE IN THE COMPUTER TO BACK UP WHAT I SAY. I HAVE A HAD A TIME WITH THIS CAR NO JOKE.

AND NOW MY MOST RECENT PROBLEM. I GOT STUCK IN SOME SNOW AND I HAVE MULTIPLE LIGHTS THAT POPPED ON; BRAKE LIGHT,ABS LIGHT,ENGINE LIGHT,LOW TIRE LIGHT,KEY LIGHT,MY TRACTION LIGHT IS ON ALSO. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS AT ALL. REALLY, SO I GUESS THEY ARE GOING TOO TELL ME I CAN GET STUCK IN THE SNOW WITH THIS MAXIMA, ITS TOO SENSITIVE. SO I GOTTA GET IT TOWED TO THE SHOP TODAY, DATE IS 01/06/14.

I REALLY HAD IT WITH THIS CAR, NICE LOOKING CAR INSIDE AND OUT BUT THESE IGNORING ISSUES. PLUS I TOLD NISSAN THAT THE LAST TIME THEY ROTATED MY TIRES I HAD A VIBRATION COMING FROM, I THINK, THE FRONT TIRES. OF COURSE THEY SAID IT'S BECAUSE I NEED NEW TIRES. SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME HOW IF NISSAN ROTATES MY TIRES EVERY TIME WHEN ITS TIME TO ROTATE THE TIRES WHY WOULD THEY WEAR UNEVEN, HUH? I KNOW I GOT 51,000 MILES ON MY CAR NOW BUT I ALSO HAVE HAD A LOT OF CARS I NEVER ROTATED THE TIRES ON AN NEVER HAD A ISSUE AT ALL.

LIKE I SAID I DO A LOT OF HIGHWAY DRIVING AND I THINK IF IT'S A DEFECT IN THESE TIRES THEN THEY SHOULDN'T BE ON A NEW CAR. IT SHOULD BE ALL SEASON TIRES ON A $40,000 PLUS CAR, GO FIGURE. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS ME JUST BEING A LITTLE CAUTIOUS WITH THIS CAR WHEN IT COMES TO THINGS GOING WRONG, BUT I SHOULDN'T BE HAVING THESE ISSUES.

THEN I DID A SURVEY FOR WESTERN AVE. NISSAN CAUSE THEY SEND ONE TO MY EMAIL EVERY TIME I GO THERE. I GAVE THEM A BAD REVIEW AND WHEN I WENT IN TWO WEEKS AGO FOR A NAIL IN MY TIRE, I WAS TOLD I HURT THEM WITH MY REVIEW AND THEY NEVER GOT A BAD REVIEW IN 10 YEARS. I LOOKED AND SAID MY EXPERIENCE HERE HASN'T BEEN GOOD. NOT ALL BAD, BUT QUITE A FEW. I WANT TO SEE WHO IS GOING TO HELP ME WITH THESE ISSUES, CAUSE THE REGULAR WARRANTY OF COURSE IS OVER AT 36,000 MILES, BUT ALL MY PROBLEMS HAPPENED WHEN IT WAS STILL UNDER FACTORY WARRANTY WAY BEFORE I HIT 36,000 MILES.

SO WHO SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALL THIS MADNESS, HUH? ME OR NISSAN? WELL, NOT ME. OHHH, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I HAVE THE FULL PANORAMA ROOF, ALL GLASS. WHY DOES THIS SUNROOF GET OFF TRACK AND NEED GREASING SO MUCH? THAT'S ANOTHER ISSUE CAUSE I DON'T EVEN OPEN IT A LOT BUT THE FEW TIMES I DID I HAD TO HAVE NISSAN LOOK AT IT AND OF COURSE I WAS TOLD IT WAS OFF TRACK A LITTLE, HUMMMM, GO FIGURE ON THAT ALSO.

I STAY IN CHICAGO,IL THE DEALERSHIP IS WESTERN AVE NISSAN 7400 S. OHHHHH, I FORGOT TOO MENTION WHEN I GOT THE CAR IT HAD HAIL MARKS CAUSE THAT YEAR WE HAD A HAIL STORM AND I GUESS IT WAS OUT IN LOT AND GOT HIT SO IT WAS MARKS IN CHROME AND HOOD AND ON THE SIDE SO THEY PROMISED TO FIX. THEY RUSHED AND SO CALLED FIXED IT AND OF COURSE MISSED A FEW PLACES CAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT ME TO KEEP THEIR LITLE RENTAL VEHICLE TOO LONG BUT IT WASN'T EVEN A FULL DAY

Update from Mar 5, 2014: okay, my new story is i had a problem with a vibration coming from front wheel nissan dealership on western ave couldn't find this problem so i went too another one on 95th st. oak lawn they actually found the problem plusi need four new tires also, okay not sure why cause i only have 53,000 miles on my car so now your saying my brand new tires are only good for 53,000 miles where did they get there info from and when has new tires needed to be changed at 53,000 miles so now your telling me they are making the tires cheaply so they wear easy so more people can buy tires huh, that's what i get from all this but anyway i have a bent rim and nissan wants $840 for a new rim cause i have factory 18 inch rims on my car i brought a whole new set of custom rims and brand new tires for $900 and i got a spare tire also, nissan is full of sh*t don't get me wrong i have had a nasty time with my nissan but after i put these new tires and rims on my car i fell back in love with it. cause it look so dam good , and nissan they also got me cause i needed sum bushings in back both sides they only $7.00 bucks for this stupid part why nissan charge me $125.00 bucks too put this part on my car which is there labor rate for an hours work which it did not take an hour i watched this mechanic walk around with my car lifted in air and talk with his friends walk back over too my car look underneath car. walk back over to friends this happen two times so thats about 25 minutes gone by so far then finally start which only took maybe five minutes too do what he needed too do to my car but they charge all that money for a seven dollar part come on now, thats all for now. rides a lot better now than it did with factory wheels on

- Thomas H., Chicago, IL, US

problem #1

Oct 152012

Maxima SV 3.5L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 36 miles

I have owned my 2011 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV for two years and have had multiple issues already. I bought the car brand new and have had to replacement both front wheel bearings costing over 1000 dollars. This was not covered under warranty because of the mileage but I am well aware this problems should have never occurred. There was no "good will" at the dealership and I was not treated with respect.

- Joy B., Saint James, NY, US

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