CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2004-2006 Nissan Maxima has widespread transmission problems. It starts with the vehicle jerking when shifting, & progresses to full-blown transmission failure.

Maxima owners report spending $3,000 to replace the transmission, typically around when the odometer hits 100,000 miles.

There's a class action lawsuit filed in late 2011, & it is still in the "discovery" stage. Apparently, these things take time ... far too much time.

3.4

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
39,418 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.

2006 Nissan Maxima lights problems

lights problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2006 Nissan Maxima:

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

2006 Nissan Maxima Owner Comments

problem #6

Nov 172016

Maxima

  • 5 miles

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

My 2006 Nissan Maxima is shifting gears on its on as if there is a transmission problem. The steering wheel keeps shifting to one side the guys at the wheel alignment place told me it's the rack and pinion. They also informed me that the rack and pinion goes out very fast and the part is about 400$. the gas light and the light that tells you that you need coolant has been on and stays on. The car is not running hot and my car has a full tank of gas.

- Killeen, TX, USA

problem #5

Feb 162016

Maxima

  • 100,000 miles
"takata recall" transmission slipping and wiring on headlights going out all this going on while in motion.

- St. Thomas, PA, USA

problem #4

Nov 252008

Maxima

  • 35,000 miles
Exhaust/emission - catalytic converter failed and makes terrible noise - not fixed yet. Dealer says, car will work without any problems at 103,000 miles (8th year) body frame - under carriage on driver side rusted, with a bulge. Dealer said, rusting it not enough, you should be able to put the screw driver or finger through the rusted portion. 35000 miles ( after 5years and 2 days) transmission - it jerks and is very dangerous on the road. Repair estimation is around $3500 from the dealer. When the car comes to a stop in the traffic light, then sometimes, it does not move. After accelerating a bit, it just jumps. It is very very hard to go in a stop and go traffic. So I maintain a certain distance keeping this in mind. Nissan motor corporation does not care for any of the issues. Dealer comes up with one or the other reason. Until now they have never worked conducively with the customers. 103,000 (9th year.) engine - the timing chain failed, engine was making the sound of a railroad. Costed a lot to get it fixed, and after that, sound is not completely gone. After multiple compliants, they are not bothered. They say, use only 93 octance. 103,000(9th year)

- Randolph, NJ, USA

problem #3

Jan 102013

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 64,000 miles

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

First after buying this Nissan Maxima 2006, I noticed that my head light lamps needed to be changed every 14 months. I never had a car where I had to replace the head light lamps so often. Both of my other cars (Toyota and Honda) have over 100K miles and we never had to change the lamps on those cars. Next, the ABS brakes are not working properly, really" after 70K miles" wow! later I found out that this is a common problem with this car. The ABS appear to be running while the car is moving and on dry roads. Finally, the transmission. Why do I have a slipping transmission on a car with only 64K miles. After research, I found out that the problems that I'm having with this Nissan Maxima, hundreds of other owns are having the same problems. I always had Honda and Toyota cars and I decided to try something new in this Maxima. I will never buy Nissan again, I'm running back to Honda and Toyota!!!

- Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #2

Sep 042010

Maxima

  • miles
2006 Nissan Maxima transmission keeps slipping and jerking in-between gears. There is a growling noise coming from the engine. There is a squeaking coming from the front driverside shock. Took to Nissan dealership to have it inspected and ended up having to have the transmission rebuilt and they couldn't "reconstruct the noises from the shock" and they couldn't identify the what was causing the noise from the engine.

- Redmond, WA, USA

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

problem #1

Jun 012010

Maxima

  • 37,500 miles
In June of 2010 we started to notice condensation building up in the left driver side headlight. It got progressively worse but the leesburg fl Nissan service department said to ignore it since it was very expensive ($1200) to replace the unit. Then in Feb of 2011 we noticed that the xenon bulb in that fixture had blown out. We don't do too much night driving so we don't know exactly when it blew, but it seems the excessive condensation contributed to the bulb's failure. Aside from the expense of replacing the bulb and fixture, the headlight assembly condensation problem seems a safety issue (and a manufacturer defect) because of reduced visibility and the prospect of the xenon bulb failing prematurely.

- Clermont, FL, USA

Not what you are looking for?