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:
11 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
76,985 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.
While driving my 2004 Nissan Maxima on highway 92 leading to fort huachuca AZ, the car came to a complete stop from the speed of 45mph. Jerking me forward. Prior to this the car had been in and out of the dealership at least twice because of a metallic noise coming from the engine compartment. None of the repairs fixed the problem all of which I had to pay for. The transmission went out while driving at speeds of 45mph and the car jerk violently when switching from 1st to 2nd gear before coming stuck in 5th gear.
My 2004 Nissan Maxima SE slips during 1st and 2nd gear, when accelerating and decelerating, and while coming off the freeway it knocks while switching gears. It also misses gears when I slow down and brake and then try to accelerate, the RPM revs up and then it catches the gear.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. While driving 40 mph, the check engine light illuminated and the vehicle began to stall. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that there was transmission failure and it needed to be replaced. The powertrain was unknown. The current mileage was 100,000 and failure mileage was 99,899. Updated 5/6/08 updated 05/06/08
I believe that there should be a recall to the 2004 Nissan maximum SE for their transmission. I came across a complaint website and found that there are alot of people going through the same thing as I. my transmission has been jerking alot and it is very dangerous having to think that one day someone will hit my car from behind because my transmission will stall on me. Please help!! they really need to recall this because I believe it is a manufacture problem.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. Since the vehicle was purchased, the contact has experienced failures with the radio and headlights, the rotors were replaced three times, the front coil springs were replaced twice, and the battery wiring burned. Currently, the transmission pulls when the vehicle is accelerated. The vehicle will be taken to the dealer to diagnose the transmission failure. The manufacturer stated that no recalls were available for any of the failures. The current mileage was 49,000 and failure mileage was 26,000.
My 2004 Maxima jerks to an extreme when it has been driven for longer than 15 minutes. Its excessivly jerks gears and jerks to a stop when I lightly tap the brakes. This is dangerous as well as ridiculous!
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. While attempting to accelerate from a traffic light, the vehicle would not move. The contact had to shut off the vehicle and wait a few minutes to restart it before it would drive normally again. The failure occurred several times at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the catalytic converter and transmission were failing. The current and failure mileages were 84,000.
Nissan transmission and timing chain issues. Please see attached comments which demonstrate extent of problem. Nissan and their dealership should assume responsibility for this obvious defect. www.carsurvey.org/viewcomments_review_61092.html.
Our 04 Nissan Maxima SE was purchased at 23K miles from dealership and we purchased the extended warranty for coverage up to 80K. It seems that right at 82K we started experiencing transmission issues that were extremely noticeable -I can say that right around 60K we had slight transmission concerns but the dealership did diagnose as such, although my wife strongly suggested to them that it seemed like something was wrong with the transmission and gears jerking/shifting. Now, at 98K our transmission has gone out -the car does not shift into gears at all and my wife was stranded on the highway in Connecticut (we live in New Jersey) when she experienced this -no warning except for the engine light coming on and car's RPM revving up to 5 & 6, she exited to let car cool down and it would not move into any gear once restarted. We really feel that Nissan is aware of this defective transmission and is refusing to stand behind their substandard product!
My 2004 Nissan Maxima SE slips during 1st and 2nd gear, when accelerating and decelerating, and while coming off the freeway it knocks while switching gears. It also misses gears when I slow down and break and then try to accelerate, the RPM revs up and then it catches the gear.
The contact owns a 2004 Nissan Maxima. While driving 60 mph, the check engine light illuminated and the vehicle began losing power. The contact was able to drive to her residence and have the vehicle towed to the dealer. After inspecting the vehicle, the dealer stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact filed claim number 6097908 with Nissan. The current and failure mileages were 102,000.
I own a 2004 Nissan Maxima and noticed jerking between 1st and 2nd gear and then today the check engine light came on and I lost completer power. I googled the problem and was shocked to find hundreds with the very same problem. I also saw a bulletin Nissan put out that said to their mechanic do not use any other transmission fluid other then matic K. please investigate this!!! go to www.carsurvey.org/viewmorecomments_review_61092_4.html.
2004 Maxima SE experiencing severe transmission jerk. Every place I go in addition to the dealer state that I need a new transmission at around $3,400. The transmission was flushed and the problem persisted I have no extended warranty and it gets frustrating. I had a complaint filed earlier with Chrysler for the 2.7 liter engine sludge issue but no resolution to that either. I had to replace that engine twice at $6,000 a pop. Here we go again.
My transmission slips and jerks. I took it to the dealership and they said I needed to replace the transmission. Funny the defect did not happen until after my warranty ended.
The car was slipping and jerking, took it to the dealership 3 times for the same problem and they said nothing was wrong. After the warranty expired I took it back to the dealership and they said it was the transmission.
2004 Nissan Maxima my transmissions has been jerking and slipping for over a year now I have tried a few different transmission mechanics and they are saying I will have to get a new transmission. This does not make sense for a 2004 car to act like this. I did research and I hear that this is a problem with many of the 2004 I make a car payment every month on a car I cannot drive this is horrible for Nissan.
A year after the purchase of my 2004 Nissan Maxima I have experienced severe transmission problems. The transmission slips and jerks. I have changed the fluids on a timely manner and the car is still giving me problems. I believe Nissan should make a recall on this vehicle considering there are others out there experiencing the same problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Sierra Vista, AZ, USA