IllustrationHAVE OCAISIONALLY FOUND PARKING LIGHTS ON FIRST THING IN THE MORNING. SOMETIMES BATTERY IS DEAD. CAN TURN OFF BY ROTATING SW HARD TO "OFF". ONLY HAPPENS IN SPRING (?) 2 YRS. RUNNING NOW. RUBBER BAND HOLDING SW IN "OFF" WORKS MOST DAYS.
1987 Nissan Maxima
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 1987 Nissan Maxima do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 99.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Maxima years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 4 of 176 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Fuel System, Gasoline. Review the 100 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 21 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
5 crash reports95 fire reports5 injury reports
What owners actually said
176 reportsFUEL INJECTOR FAILED PRIOR TO RECALL NOTICE 12-95, RECALL WORK PREFORMED ON 7-31-97, HOWEVER FAILED RESULTING IN VEHICLE FIRE DUE TO LEAKAGE ONTO EXHAUST PIPE. *YC
TERRIBLE SMELL OF GAS AND NOW CAR RUNS VERY ROUGH WHEN ACCELERATING. MECHANIC SAID FUEL INJECTORS ARE BAD. *AK
I HAVE REPLACE NUMEROUS PARTS IN SHORTS PERIODS OF TIME
POWER DOOR LOCKS WILL NOT OPEN AUTOMATICALLY OR MANUALLY FROM INSIDE THE VEHICLE. OCCUPANTS WERE TRAPPED INSIDE AND HAD TO REQUEST ASSISTANCE FROM SOMEONE OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE TO OPEN THE DOOR IN ORDER TO EXIT THE VEHICLE. POWER WINDOWS COULD BE LOWERED TO PASS IGNITION KEY TO SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF THE VEHILE TO UNLOCK THE DOOR. …
Read full complaint
POWER DOOR LOCKS WILL NOT OPEN AUTOMATICALLY OR MANUALLY FROM INSIDE THE VEHICLE. OCCUPANTS WERE TRAPPED INSIDE AND HAD TO REQUEST ASSISTANCE FROM SOMEONE OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE TO OPEN THE DOOR IN ORDER TO EXIT THE VEHICLE. POWER WINDOWS COULD BE LOWERED TO PASS IGNITION KEY TO SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF THE VEHILE TO UNLOCK THE DOOR. THIS OCCURED ON 4 SEPERATE OCCASIONS. DEALER FIRST REPORTED THAT THE DRIVER'S DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR (PART # 80551-38E00) REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. HOWEVER, AFTER THIS WAS REPLACED, THE DOORS ONCE AGAIN FAILEDD TO OPEN FOR THE FOURTH TIME. DEALER THEN DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS BEING A DEFECTIVE LOCK CYLENDER AID CLIP ( PART # 80552-34A00 --HOLDER--AND PART # 80534-34A05--PLATE--L) NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THESE INCIDENTS WERE SIMILAR TO REPORT ODI ID 904944 REPORTED ON 20 MAR 91.
TRANSMISSION FAILED.
CONSUMER WAS RIDING IN THE PASSENGER'S SEAT WHEN ANOTHER VEHICLE CUT IN FRONT OF VEHICLE AND WAS HIT HEAD-ON, CAUSING THE METAL PART AND THE TRACK OF THE SAFETY BELT TO BREAK, NOT HOLDING THE SHOULDER PART IN PLACE. THE CONSUMER HIT HIS HEAD, AND THEIR WAS NO SUPPORT. *AK
AFTER DRIVING CAR FOR ABOUT HALF MILE AND PARKED, CONSUMER SAW SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER HOOD. POPPED HOOD AND THERE WERE FLAMES. *AK
THE RACK ALWAYS NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED AND HAS BEEN REPLACED ONCE.
RECALL 95I0006000, FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM. RECALL CAMPAIGN REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED ABOUT 20 MONTHS AGO, AND THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. DEALER CONTACTED, AND STATED THE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT. *AK
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
2EA94018 · Fuel Injector Assembly Leakage
Opened Jun 23, 1994 · Closed Nov 8, 1995
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Fuel System, Gasoline:fuel Injection System
AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS CLOSING REPORT IS INCLUDED IN THE PUBLIC FILE.SERVICE CAMPAIGN 95I-006.
DP92009 · Sudden Acceleration
Opened Apr 20, 1992 · Closed Aug 20, 1992
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Vehicle Speed Control:linkages
There is no summary currently available