Nissan Maxima Reliability by Year
Based on 2M+ real complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
8,839 NHTSA complaints (1982–2023).Complaint rate: 99.6 per 10,000 vehicles sold in the US.
Should I buy a Nissan Maxima?
Quick answer from 8,839 NHTSA complaints · 1982–2023
Nissan Maxima shows elevated crash or fire rates — buy with caution. 5.3% of reported complaints involved a crash — above the ~4% mainstream average. Most complaints relate to transmission / drivetrain. Inspect carefully or consider a different model in the same class.
- 2015 Nissan Maxima· 0.5/10K sold
- 2023 Nissan Maxima· 2.1/10K sold
- 2021 Nissan Maxima· 2.4/10K sold
- 2005 Nissan Maxima· 152.7/10K sold
- 2006 Nissan Maxima· 105.1/10K sold
- 2009 Nissan Maxima· 86.2/10K sold
Keep scrolling for year-by-year complaint trends, recall campaigns, and component breakdowns — or click any year above for a full report.
Why these years are worse
The most common issues driving the complaint spikes:
- transmission / drivetrain — 1,248 complaints (1.3% involved a crash)
- automatic transmission — 1,125 complaints (1.8% involved a crash)
- electrical faults — 469 complaints (1.9% involved a crash)
- steering defects — 455 complaints (3.3% involved a crash)
- airbags — 371 complaints (23.7% involved a crash)
What Happened to 25,713 Nissan Maximas On the Road
Complaints record what owners reported. These are the outcomes actually recorded against 25,713 Nissan Maxima VINs built 1985–2023 — accidents, title brands and odometer flags from our vehicle-history database, not from the NHTSA complaint file.
Do the complaint spikes show up in real accident history?
The Nissan Maxima averages 36.9% accident history across all model years. Here is how the years flagged above compare on real records:
- 2009 — 41.7% of 367 VINs on record show accident history, in line with the 36.9% model average. Owners complained more, but these cars are not crashing more.
Typical Nissan Maxima on record: 1.9 owners on average, 69,292 average miles.
Which Years to Buy & Avoid
Years auto-clustered by complaint volume relative to this model's median.
Rankings based on raw NHTSA complaint counts. Sales volume data not yet available for this model.
Bottom line: Avoid the 1999–2006 Nissan Maxima (219 crash-related complaints). The 2018–2023 models had significantly fewer reported issues. Most common issue across all years: Transmission / Drivetrain.
Avoid These Years
Average
Better Years
A model's reputation is just the start.
Even within the “good” years, individual cars can have hidden accidents, title issues, or odometer rollbacks. Check the actual VIN before you buy — full history report for $8.99 (vs. Carfax $44.99).
Complaint Rate per 10,000 Vehicles Sold
Normalized by US annual sales volume — higher = more complaints relative to sales
Show raw complaint counts
Common Nissan Maxima Problems
Most reported component complaints to NHTSA. Bar length = volume; color = crash-involvement rate.
Show full table
| Component | Complaints | Crash % |
|---|---|---|
| Transmission / Drivetrain | 1,248 | 1.3% |
| Automatic Transmission | 1,125 | 1.8% |
| Electrical Faults | 469 | 1.9% |
| Steering Defects | 455 | 3.3% |
| Airbags | 371 | 23.7% |
| Engine Problems | 369 | 3.0% |
| Unintended Acceleration | 243 | 16.9% |
| Engine & Cooling | 222 | 1.4% |
| Body Structure | 212 | 5.7% |
| Suspension Failures | 195 | 4.1% |
When Each Problem Spiked
Year × component heatmap. Darker cells = more complaints that year. Reveals which model years a specific defect concentrated in — useful for spotting redesign-cycle quality dips.
Year-by-Year Breakdown
NHTSA complaint count per model year — click any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
| Year | Generation | Complaints | Rate | US Sales | Crashes | Fires | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982NO DATA | — | 4 | — | — | 0 | 2 | View → |
| 1983NO DATA | — | 8 | — | — | 0 | 1 | View → |
| 1984NO DATA | — | 40 | — | — | 0 | 4 | View → |
| 1985NO DATA | — | 64 | — | — | 2 | 43 | View → |
| 1986NO DATA | — | 74 | — | — | 3 | 47 | View → |
| 1987NO DATA | — | 194 | — | — | 6 | 101 | View → |
| 1988NO DATA | — | 73 | — | — | 3 | 35 | View → |
| 1989NO DATA | — | 78 | — | — | 8 | 2 | View → |
| 1990NO DATA | — | 138 | — | — | 7 | 3 | View → |
| 1991NO DATA | — | 99 | — | — | 10 | 2 | View → |
| 1992NO DATA | — | 140 | — | — | 23 | 3 | View → |
| 1993NO DATA | — | 102 | — | — | 13 | 5 | View → |
| 1994NO DATA | — | 128 | — | — | 7 | 3 | View → |
| 1995NO DATA | — | 195 | — | — | 18 | 6 | View → |
| 1996NO DATA | — | 117 | — | — | 15 | 6 | View → |
| 1997NO DATA | — | 123 | — | — | 8 | 19 | View → |
| 1998NO DATA | — | 133 | — | — | 14 | 13 | View → |
| 1999NO DATA | — | 215 | — | — | 9 | 7 | View → |
| 2000NO DATA | — | 467 | — | — | 33 | 6 | View → |
| 2001NO DATA | — | 225 | — | — | 15 | 4 | View → |
| 2002NO DATA | — | 278 | — | — | 37 | — | View → |
| 2003NO DATA | — | 249 | — | — | 20 | 4 | View → |
| 2004NO DATA | — | 1,725 | — | — | 43 | 32 | View → |
| 2005AVOID | — | 1,152 | 152.7 | 75,425 | 32 | 17 | View → |
| 2006AVOID | — | 733 | 105.1 | 69,763 | 30 | 7 | View → |
| 2007AVOID | — | 169 | 32.1 | 52,574 | 5 | 1 | View → |
| 2008 | — | 99 | 21.0 | 47,072 | 9 | — | View → |
| 2009AVOID | — | 460 | 86.2 | 53,351 | 7 | 2 | View → |
| 2010AVOID | — | 399 | 65.9 | 60,569 | 9 | 2 | View → |
| 2011 | — | 138 | 23.5 | 58,737 | 9 | 1 | View → |
| 2012 | — | 137 | 20.8 | 65,946 | 10 | 2 | View → |
| 2013 | — | 71 | 13.2 | 53,896 | 1 | 2 | View → |
| 2014 | — | 126 | 25.0 | 50,401 | 20 | 1 | View → |
| 2015GOOD | — | 2 | 0.5 | 40,359 | 2 | — | View → |
| 2016AVOID | — | 223 | 35.4 | 62,970 | 16 | 8 | View → |
| 2017 | — | 147 | 21.7 | 67,627 | 11 | 3 | View → |
| 2018GOOD | — | 44 | 10.4 | 42,337 | 2 | 1 | View → |
| 2019GOOD | — | 26 | 7.4 | 35,076 | 6 | — | View → |
| 2020 | — | 32 | 17.6 | 18,141 | 2 | — | View → |
| 2021GOOD | — | 4 | 2.4 | 16,386 | 0 | — | View → |
| 2022GOOD | — | 6 | 8.4 | 7,110 | 1 | 1 | View → |
| 2023GOOD | — | 2 | 2.1 | 9,653 | 0 | — | View → |
Year-by-Year Breakdown
Tap any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
Data Sources & Methodology
Complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint database (8,839 records for this model). Public domain data, updated monthly.
Sales data: US annual vehicle sales from goodcarbadcar. Coverage: 45% of model years have sales data. Total US sales: 887,393.
On-road outcomes: Accident, title-brand, theft and odometer records for 25,713 Nissan Maxima VINs in our vehicle-history database. Independent of the NHTSA complaint file — a complaint is what an owner reported, these are what was recorded against the vehicle. Year-level figures are shown only for model years with at least 200 VINs on record.
Rate calculation: Complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold = (complaint count / US annual sales) x 10,000. This normalizes for sales volume so high-volume models like Civic or Camry aren't unfairly penalized.
Year classifications: AVOID = 1.5x+ the model's median complaint rate. GOOD = 0.6x or below. Years less than 3 years old are marked TOO NEW (insufficient data).
Buying a Nissan Maxima?
Check the specific VIN for hidden accidents, title issues, and full vehicle history — just $8.99.
Check VIN Free