10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
90,217 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2005 Nissan Maxima:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #40

Feb 272015

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 140,000 miles
Having trouble/delayed shifting. It went away for a week but it came back again. When I'm pressing on the gas it sounds like it's revving the engine but the car is not moving as it should.

- Rancho Cordova, CA, USA

problem #39

Feb 022015

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 120,000 miles
Transmission takes about 1-2 seconds to move and then jerks forward. This usually happens when warmed up. Sometimes when car is moving it jerks while shifting gears.

- Southfield, MI, USA

problem #38

Feb 072015

Maxima

  • 55,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Maxima. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle started to jerk and then stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and it was determined that the motor mounts, crank position sensor, and the timing chain needed to be replaced. The dealer stated that the vehicle may still need a new transmission, but these repairs should be done first. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 55,000.

- Gretna, LA, USA

problem #37

Jun 142012

Maxima

  • 130,000 miles
My 2005 Maxima transmission is jerking when switching gears and also slippage. At first I thought it was the mounts because one was bad but after replacing them the problem still was still there. Later I found out it was just the transmission. I looked online and found a number of people was having the same problem and there still have not been a recall. This will be my last Nissan.

- Norfolk, VA, USA

problem #36

Apr 012014

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 151,000 miles
Every time the car is started, there is a grinding, metal-on-metal sound from the engine. We assume that it is the timing chain that is making this noise since this motor uses plastic parts in the timing chain assy.

- Millstadt, IL, USA

problem #35

Aug 012014

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 78,000 miles
My car has been jerking when going into second and third gears, engine revs while driving then jerks again and makes a loud noise. I am scared to be close to another car because I don't know what it's going to do next. It only has 83,000 miles on it and has been kept up for services and no real problems until now. I would like for this to be investigated to the fullest. I bought this car brand new and one of the reason I bought it was for its safety record, which I am not feeling very safe in it now. I should not be having these problems with the mileage I have on it!

- Buena Park, CA, USA

problem #34

Aug 012014

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 75,000 miles
Transmission clunks when shifting, engine timing chain guides worn out making loud noises at idle.

- Yuba City, CA, USA

problem #33

May 082014

Maxima

  • 90,000 miles
I took my car to Nissan to have my car totally checked over. The ABS light came on and I had sharp jerks from the transmission and hesitation around 40 mph. The timing chain also had a rattle when the car was started. My ABS system had failed due to water shorting out the ABS sensor which destroyed the ABS control module repair cost $1200. When I told the service advisor my ABS light was on, he had a service bulletin at his station with exactly what he thought was wrong with my car and he told me it was a common issue with my car. The transmission needs a valve body due to premature wear cost $3500 to rebuild and install new valve body design. The timing chain has guides that wear and chain rubs against plastic then down to metal repair cost $1500. Nissan needs to fix all of these defective cars and pay the people who have made these costly repairs.

- Somerville , TN, USA

problem #32

Apr 302013

Maxima

  • 100,000 miles
* year, make, model: 2005 Nissan Maxima SE * problem summary:: knocking or rattling noise from engine. Issue is directly related with consumer safety and product quality standards. * car purchase history: Single owner & brand new car purchased from Nissan car dealer (I.e. we purchased car from Nissan dealer); all maintenance is properly performed. In March 2012, we took car to Nissan dealer. Per dealer, engine chain is hitting and causing knocking or rattling noise in engine. If you google for this issue, there are so many issues (exactly similar issue - 2005 Nissan Maxima - engine knocking or rattling issue) overall feedback from Nissan dealer: We / customer is responsible for the issue. Nissan did not covered it. We paid @ $1700 cash (March 27, 2013) to fix that issue. Now at this time, (I.e. June 28, 2014) - this similar noise is appearing again. Customer request: I am an engineer; when it comes to safety & quality, I know what I am talking about. Anyone can file a lawsuit ? just to be ready for time and money (I wish for that open check book). My request is: Are there any regulation that can regulate safety & quality of the car; or manufacturer to be accountable for such issue and ethically fix this for customer? we (customer) paid approx. $36000 for such car quality? wow..... I have all the evidence of engine fix maid with Nissan mcgrath - elgin, il dealer... all evidence are there... when I say evidence, it is legal evidence. I mean this. No talk...all official evidence. Let me see what national car safety - dot can do.....hope for the best.

- Streamwood, IL, USA

problem #31

Jul 242013

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 115 miles
My car started jerking all of a sudden. I, took it to transmission shop and was told that it was my transmission going bad. I was told that it will cost me $3,000 or more to repair. I had only had the car for a year. I didn't realize this is an going issue until I started researching further into the history for the male and model of this car. Nissan needs to step up and own up to their defective cars.

- Jackson, MS, USA

problem #30

Dec 192013

Maxima 6-cyl

  • miles
2005 Nissan Maxima SE, transmission problems. Sometimes shifts violently, when in reverse & jumps from 2 to 3 gear, almost like being rear ended, also revs up to 5 or 6 RPM on the tact without foot on pedal, and looses power. I took it to a Nissan dealer who told me I needed a new transmission for $4000 and because of the shifting the motor mounts also need replaced. One time the car will drive fine then the next all the problems are back. I have looked on several Nissan web sites for complaints on this car, there are hundreds of people with the exact 2005 Nissan Maxima SE transmission problem, why Nissan does not look into a recall on this car is unbelievable. There is no way several hundreds of people can be having the very same problem and it not being because of the car. This defect in this car is extremely dangerous. Please look into this before someone gets seriously hurt or killed. Look for yourself and see how many people are demanding Nissan recall the 2005 Nissan Maxima SE.

- Nevada, MO, USA

problem #29

Nov 212013

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 73,740 miles
My car starting jerking between 2nd and 3rd gears. I made an appt with my local Nissan dealer for a few days later and within those few days it progressed to severe bucking between gears and I no longer felt it was safe to drive, luckily the dealer isn't far from my house. I was told my transmission needed to be replaced and 3 engine mounts were cracked. Total cost $5200. I wasn't able to come up with that much money so they fixed the engine mounts and flushed and filled the transmission fluid to give me a little more time. It still jerks between 2nd and 3rd and will need to be replaced very soon, but this is a very expensive repair, $4,000!! it is also a known problem that Nissan should be paying for!! the forums are full of people having the same issue and there is a class action law suit!! the technician at my local dealer even made a comment that this is a "known problem". it's time to make Nissan pay for the faulty transmissions that are causing unsafe cars to be on the road. I'm still worried someone is going to re-end me because I have to start off so slow to reduce the jerking between gears.

- Thornton, CO, USA

problem #28

Jun 062012

Maxima

  • 118,000 miles
I bought a used Nissan Maxima for 8,000 since the day I bought it, the car has a hard time shifting from 1st gear to 2nd gear and so on it makes a loud clunk noise and is staring to damage the mounts. I have read similar complaints to mine online and need to learn how to get it recalled or fixed.

- Salem , UT, USA

problem #27

Jul 092013

Maxima

  • 127,339 miles
I was preparing to exit out of a parking lot when suddenly my car jolted backward and hit the front bumper of the car behind me through no fault of my own. This car jerks and jolts unpredictably.

- Salisbury, MD, USA

problem #26

Aug 272013

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 66,692 miles
After purchasing car from dealer with 66300 miles I drove it for roughly a week when I started to notice the transmission slipping and jerking while going from gear to gear. The car started to drive like a manual even though it was automatic. Then shifting to drive from reverse the car would kick and jerk very badly and a very heavy jerk while driving on the freeway when it goes into a different gear. I took it to a local Nissan dealer after less than 1000 miles driven after being purchased and it was determined that the transmission was broken and 2 of the engine mounts were also broken which was determined to be a result from the bad transmission. The transmission was replaced along with the 2 engine mounts. At 66K miles the transmission on the car should not give out and after reading on various sites this seems to be a common problem with this vehicle. This car is not safe and Nissan should take responsibility for putting out a unsafe vehicle that contains a bad transmission.

- Rockwall, TX, USA

problem #25

May 012011

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 70,000 miles
My 2005 Nissan Maxima has been having a transmission problem since it reached about 69,000 miles. Right now the main problem it does, is that in drive it jerks between 1st and 2nd shift. It also jerks pretty hard when downshifting from 2nd to 1st. When the problem was starting to begin, it only affected from shifting from reverse to drive, but has moved to the crazy jerking it does now. At about 71,000 miles I had the car taken to a dealership and they couldn't find anything from using a code reader, but from just some simple shifting out of gears (park to drive, park to rev) they recommended a trans oil change (about $250) which I denied, because I looked a the oil myself and it was still cherry red, so that was too much to spend to just "to see if that fixes the problem". so at about 79,000 miles when the hard jerking started getting bad, I took the car to a different dealership, which then they did recognize the problem, and told me it would be about $4000 to replace the transmission, which stunned me, especially cause I had just finished paying off the car and the warranty had ended. So I obviously I denied such a costly repair, but in talking to the mechanic at the dealership, I told him that the jerking problem isn't so bad at all when I use the manual gearshifts and I asked him why. Well he told me that problem could also be in the valve body which could be a cheaper fix, but they replace whole transmission units not parts, because of warranty purposes, but that he's seen quite a few similar problems with other vehicles. Since I told him it was too much for me to spend he recommended a trans repair center. So when I took it there, they confirmed that just changing out the valve body would be a "bandaid fix" and that a full replacement would be needed (about $3500 from them). Now in reading other stories from people with the same problem as mine.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #24

Jul 262013

Maxima

  • 76,000 miles
My car transmission is slipping when trying to accelerate and shifts hard when its does in 1 and 2nd gear and sometimes stall the car and wont move only rev for about 5 secs then jerk hard enough to make it feel like I got hit by another car.

- Charleton, SC, USA

problem #23

Apr 022013

Maxima

  • 89,000 miles
The car shifts and changes gear extremely hard !!. the force with which the transmission changes gears causes the vehicle to lunge forward unexpectedly on acceleration, while going uphill, downhill and slowing down. I've had several close calls because of this and on the day in question, the turnpike was bumper to bumper so it was more stop and go than normal. I had to take the shoulder to avoid rear ending the car in front of me because I was inching along in traffic and on one occasion when the traffic moved the car bucked and lunged forward. I've had to replace my broken engine mounts because of the constant bucking and rocking. Now I have to replace the transmission all together. There are tons of complaints regarding the same exact problems with this same make and model. This is a trend, it's dangerous and I believe is definitely a big safety issue. Nissan Corp has to be made aware of this.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #22

Jun 012012

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 135,000 miles
Transmission jerks into gear and shifts like it could blow up or destruct at any moment while driving!

- Jasper, GA, USA

problem #21

Jun 012012

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 128,000 miles
My 2005 Nissan Maxima V6 3.5L A5 speed has some very serious problems with the transmission, when driving it after a while, the transmission jerks or kicks when placed in reverse or drive and the rpms rises suddenly or drops when driving it at a normal speed. The catalyst converter obd light also keeps coming on. We have seen countless of similar concerns posted on social networks and online websites regarding all 2005 Nissan Maximas having the same issues. This is not an isolated issue as we now know. We as consumers believe that the transmission design has a major flaw and that Nissan usa has been knowingly selling cars with such flaws. We need to have a government mandate to do a nationwide recall on this transmissions. Thanks

- Modesto, CA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »