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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
90,422 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.

2004 Nissan Maxima drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2004 Nissan Maxima Owner Comments (Page 1 of 16)

problem #315

Apr 082018

Maxima

  • 80,000 miles

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

When in motion the transmission starts to slip in 1 and 2 gear then 4 and 5 gear jumps out of gear then goes in to limp mode

- Pioneer, LA, USA

problem #314

Jun 222019

Maxima

  • 160,000 miles
Car was fine initially then started car which took longer than normal to start and car would not hardly go due to it not being in 1st gear. Put the transmission into manual mode and downshifted it to first and got a hard clunk but car would now go under its own power but when you put it back in auto mode it goes straight to 3rd gear. Shut car off came back later and started car it started right up and had no issues with transmission. Drove it for a bit turned car off for a bit and then went to start again and had the long start and bad shifts again.

- Saint Joseph, MO, USA

problem #313

May 092019

Maxima

  • 155,000 miles
When driving the car wil lose power and start jerking badly, cutting back like losing power. It feels as if it is going to stop in the middle of the road. I took it to a well know transmission specialist and was told that this is a problem with several Nissan cars including mine. There are several recalls including the 2003 but not my year, I'm confused and it's getting worse. But it's a known issue. I don't understand. My safety is warranted"?"

- Tyler, TX, USA

problem #312

Nov 272017

Maxima

  • 107,000 miles

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

Whenever I accelerate and the speedometer hits 20 mph the transmission jerks or if I'm going 60 mph on the freeway and start to brake and as my speed is decreasing when the speedometer hits 20 mph it jerks. The transmission must be slipping or have an issue.

- Tomball, TX, USA

problem #311

Apr 052018

Maxima

  • 14,000 miles
These transmission should of been recalled years ago I always tend to feel a gear jump in the first gears when about to start moving the car or braking. This can be a serious problem when you suddenly need to make a hard stop and the transmission will make a huge jump then stop and with that extra time it takes to jump them stop can be a minor injury if a pedestrian is present or even death.

- Pomona, CA, USA

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problem #310

May 022018

Maxima

  • 150,000 miles
Transmission slipping

- Smithfield, VA, USA

problem #309

Aug 172016

Maxima

  • 73,000 miles

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

Transmission jerks from P to dr, jerks when down and up shifting. Does not seem safe. 73, 0000 miles on vehicle

- East Rockaway, NY, USA

problem #308

Sep 122017

Maxima

  • 85,000 miles
The transmission is having issues when changing gears. It starting to hesitate between first gear and second and second to third. My vehicle has only 85,000 miles.

- Massapequa Park, NY, USA

problem #307

Jun 012017

Maxima

  • 186,000 miles
I just purchased the vehicle this year as a used vehicle. The vehicle has started to jerking and would not accelerate when I press the gas. It takes at least 1 minute then the RPM shoots up. Sometimes I feel that I am going to get whiplash from all the jerking this vehicle does. I should not have to pay for a new transmission when Nissan knew about the transmission in these vehicles. They should be hold accountable for their actions and replace all the transmissions in these vehicles and pay other individuals back their money that has already paid to replace their transmission.

- Florence, SC, USA

problem #306

Apr 252015

Maxima

  • 82,000 miles
Vehicle has 91000 miles on it and transmission is failing.(jerks when vehicle takes off from stationary position. Front end gives rough ride, after replacing struts.

- Fredericksburg, VA, USA

problem #305

Jun 022017

Maxima

  • 189,000 miles

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

Transmission is stuck in 5th gear when going forward. Shifting to reverse or attempting to downshift causes serious jerking (thump). The problem seems to be electronic in nature because restarting the vehicle would fix the problem when it first started occurring. Now, restarting the engine does not fix it. Nissan has certainly known about the problem for years, since many complaints occurred when the vehicles had fairly low mileage.

- Baxter Springs, KS, USA

problem #304

Nov 112004

Maxima

  • 20,000 miles
Problem with transmission started soon after I purchased car, I would say in the first year I had it which was in 2003, although it is a 2004. I took it in more than once when the transmission started causing trouble. It would act (and still does to this day) as if it had/has been knocked out of gear, RPM goes up and then the transmission picks back up. When that happens it will jerk really hard and take off. As I said, I took it to my Nissan dealer and each time was told they did not find any thing wrong with it. This is my 5th Maxima, and have to say it is my last. The son of a woman I used to work with had the same problem with his 2004 Maxima, which he bought used. He traded it for something else. My car is still going, although the problem does not seem to be happening more often, but does seem to be more severe when it does happen.

- Alvaton, KY, USA

problem #303

Jul 012011

Maxima

  • 110,000 miles
When giving gas to accelerate, the car will jerk/jump going from 1 to 2 rpms

- Barrington, IL, USA

problem #302

Sep 142016

Maxima

  • 71,000 miles
Down shifting in lower gear or upshifting from lower to higher gear loud bang in transmssion

- East Rockaway, NY, USA

problem #301

Nov 102016

Maxima

  • 100,120 miles
Transmission failure at 100K miles

- Inglewood, CA, USA

problem #300

Oct 032016

Maxima

  • 192,000 miles
I was pulling out at a stop sign for a left turn when all a sudden the car jerked and I heard a loud bang. This was my transmission letting go. I was stuck in the middle of the road. Luckily someone stopped and helped me push the car to the side of the road.

- Seekonk, MA, USA

problem #299

Oct 172016

Maxima 6-cyl

  • 90,000 miles
Transmission shift poorly, high rev inbetween shifts, hard down shifts and extremely hard up shifts. Very dangerous to drive during icy conditions due to the high rev and hard down shifts that cause uncontrollable loss of driving.

- Grandville, MI, USA

problem #298

Oct 012015

Maxima

  • 150,000 miles
Transmission jerks when downshifting on highway and roads, this is a very hard jerk that is very hazardous. I have done research online and there are hundreds of other people having the exact same problems with the same vehicle.

- Oneida, TN, USA

problem #297

Jul 012016

Maxima

  • 130,000 miles
Very hard shifting and delay from park to drive, hard shift from park to revers

- Schenectady, NY, USA

problem #296

Aug 052016

Maxima

  • 136,000 miles
Transmission failing for second time. Transmission was rebuilt/overhauled in March of 2014. Mileage at time of rebuild was 111,090 miles. The total cost of said repair was $2,996. As of today August 19, 2016 the said mentioned transmission is failing for the second time. The current mileage is approximately 136, xxx miles. The current symptoms while car is in motion are, extremely hard shifts and slipping into upper gears.

- Manville, NJ, USA

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