CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2012 Nissan Maxima is a very good reliable vehicle, continuing a stretch of good model years from 2010. Beware of Maximas from 2009, and 2004-2006 though.
The 2009 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.
For the 2012 Maxima, so far so good!
2.9
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
48,241 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.
Green wire burn throughout the entire wiring harness..From alternator to engine fuse box and also to inside fuse box.. Bypassing the blown fuses and/or relays!!
On June 9, 2022 @8:50am I was driving my Nissan Maxima to work and as I was at the stop light waiting to go through the intersection, the car shut off completely cutting off all power. I have push button and no electric was working. My jumper cables were in the trunk but I could not access them because the trunk would not operate without power. Without power my hazards did not even work so I could not let traffic flow know that I was in distress. My car almost was hit 3 separate times because of a faulty part or system built by Nissan needs to get their stuff together and quit putting people in danger. I-??m scared to drive it now because it could shut off as I am in the act of driving and that could be catastrophic not only for me but for other innocent people. I will be contacting Nissan and they will be fixing this properly! The car was finally jump started and I was able to drive the rest of the way to work. Let-??s see if it starts when I have to leave work? So not cool.
Pressing door lock/unlock button on the door handles fails to lock/unlock all doors consistently. Rear door locks respond intermittently or not at all. Driver door often takes four button pushes to get it to unlock. Although it hasn't happened to me, I've heard other drivers mention difficulty getting into the gas cap (it locks when driver's door is locked). This issue has occurred in the last 6 months.
I had an a.C. compressor issue 3 years ago and had it replaced by trophy Nissan mesquite, Texas in 2017. Now 3 years later may of 2020 my compressor has locked up again. It was working fine until a week ago when I was on my way to work it was great but after my shift was done and I came out to go home my a.C.compressor wasn't working.so I was wondering if there were any Nissan recalls with a.C. compressor issues on my Maxima.
Car will not start, steering wheel locks, key fob light is on, brake is stiff. This is not the first time Nissan had this problem. My car only has 50,000 miles on it.
- South Richmond Hill, NY, USA
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The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the instrument panel malfunctioned and the tire pressure monitoring system gauge did not operate. The vehicle was taken to bill gatton Nissan (235 century blvd, bristol, tn) where it was diagnosed that the instrument panel was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.
On Dec 12, 107 my 2012 Maxima had a side airbag sensor replaced (dealer replaced air bag control unit fp-number 98820-9N09C). The airbag light on the passenger side would not go off after the car started. The warning light stayed on regardless if the car was still or moving or whether there was a passenger in the car or not. In September of 2018 the exact same warning light returned which makes me think that there is a larger airbag problem at hand.
1)my instrument panel went out some years ago that displays warning or problems with the car. It flashes off and on periodically after driving for a while. I have taken this to Nissan several times, but due to it being out of warranty they want do anyting about it. Several certified Nissan dealers service dept. Stated that should not be going out. 2) I have had battery issues within the first year of purchasing the car back in Nov. 2011, since it was under warranty all they did was replace the battery. Since then every year or two years I have to keep replacing the battery until hear recently July 2018. This will be the 4 or 5 time replacing this battery within the 6 years of ownig this car. Everytime I tatke it to one of Nissan service center there explanation is the Texas heat drains the battery. That excuse does not make any since to me.
My driver side door the door lock intermittently works. It some times locks and doesn't unlock or doesn't lock at all. Recently it is working less often. Now the back door on the driver side stopped working too. The other day my 6 year got locked in the car and had to unbuckle his car seat to unlock the door. Luckily he wasn't an infant. I read on line that many people are having trouble with their door locks in Nissan/infinity cars.
I have replaced the mass air flow sensor five times since Oct 2105, the 1st time was able to get several months before any warning light would appear on the dash board, now I don't a week before the warning light appears and car stalls out, I have cleaned the components around the sensor as well as bought the dealer sensor for over $200 still no difference, no one I have it to can locate the issue
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while attempting to enter the vehicle or when inside the vehicle, the ' no key' warning indicator illuminated. As a result, the contact was unable to start the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.
The door lock actuators do not work and this requires me to ensure my doors are locked manually. The cost to repair is expensive and should be the responsibility of Nissan because it is apparently a defect. This defect is a security risk for potential theft and personal injury to the Nissan owner.
2012 Maxima S with door lock/unlock problem. Noticed it about a month ago. Key fob wouldn't lock/unlock the doors. Then about a week later the door lock/unlock button started working sporadically. A few days ago when dropping my daughter off for school she had trouble opening the back door to get out. Not only is this frustrating but now it's a safety hazard as well. As of right now my doors would not lock this morning. This is very frustrating and unsafe especially since there has been car breakins in my neighborhood. I have not taken the car in yet to officially see what the problem is.
All 4 door lock actuators fail at the same time. Door lock switch and remote fail to lock or unlock the doors and the issue started on all 4 doors on the same day with no reason as to why.
The ignition locks up, stranding me. The push button start will not engage the started, or will occasionally make a clicking noise without starting. Usually, after a few moments, the car will start. This sometimes takes more than 10 minutes.
When vehicle was approximately 1 1/2 years old the positive battery connector connecting the power cable from the automobile electrical system to the battery corroded and came apart. The Nissan part description and part number is "battery terminal 243 - part # 24340-7F003). This was replaced with a factory part. Approximately 1 1/2 years later it corroded and came apart again. This failure causes the engine to loose any electricity from the battery, which would cause the engine to stop, causing a loss of power steering, power brakes and air bag protection or prevents the engine from starting due to no electricity feeding the starter and vehicle electrical system. Fortunately, the vehicle was not moving when this failure occurred on either occasion or serious injury or death could have occurred. I do not believe that the design of this connector or the type of material from which it S made is adequate. I have replaced the connector with a lead battery connector used for connecting rv batteries and do not believe that the vehicle will ever suffer this problem again with the aftermarket replacement connector. Fortunately for me the vehicle was stopped when these failures occurred. Other than the obvious danger, I believe this problem would cause most people to incur significant expense in towing and repair charges, just to replace the connector. Although I was able to repair the problems myself, I doubt that most people would be able to do so on their own. The parts sales person at the Nissan dealership where I had bought a second connector (although it was not used) seemed to indicate that they sold an awful lot of these connectors, which suggests that a better design or material would be advisable and make it much less likely that a failure of this nature would occur.
The contact owns a 2012 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph the open door warning indicator remained illuminated even though all four doors were closed securely. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road. When the push button ignition switch was engaged it failed to shut off the engine and the interior automatic doors would only unlock manually. In addition, the interior lights illuminated continuously. The failure was not diagnosed nor was the vehicle repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 22,995.
I was driving South of the NJ turnpike I heard a loud boom sound and vibrations on the accelerator I looked in the rearview mirror and saw debris and a cloud of smoke. Smells of something burning also there was a tremendous amount of smoke coming from underneath the hood of my car. I immediately started pulling over from the middle lane as I'm pulling over almost causing a major accident the car went dead everything just blew out coast off to the shoulder almost killing myself and others. I immediately rushed out of the car and started running on the shoulder because I thought my car was going to blow up. I called roadside assistance and they called puleios tow truck of North brunswick NJ which was a horrible experience they towed me off the turnpike I had to pay $150 out of pocket for third party towing that I had no knowledge of no control of and no money! Nissan roadside supervisor[xxx]told me "that's your bill to pay and soon as you pay we will dispatch our tow tuck to take you to Nissan dealership. Where I had the car serviced." After the money was paid I still had to wait another 2 1/2hr. After being stranded from quarter to 9am. Just heartless for a customer who was almost killed on the NJ turnpike all from there manufacturer defect in the battery which exploded and blew two big holes in the engine. Diagnostic done by North plainfield NJ...my engine is completely blown and the car is only 14 months old. Now how do you explain that! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Duncan, SC, USA