TRANSMISSION FAILURE
2005 Nissan Maxima
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Maxima years
Owner complaints for the 2005 Nissan Maxima are substantially higher than 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
822 reports with mileage · 126 unknown
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.
- Power Train. Review the 777 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 61 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 40 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Engine And Engine Cooling complaints
40 reportsI PURCHASED A NEW 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA. SINCE THEN I HAVE REPLACED THE ENGINE MOUNTS 4 TIMES. NOW AT 88,000, I AM TOLD I NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. I AM 47 YEARS AND HAVE OWNED MANY CARS IN MY LIFETIME. I RESEARCHED THIS TOPIC AND FOUND MANY AMERICANS WITH SIMILAR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS WHO OWN 2004-2005 NISSAN MAXIMAS. THE CAR JERKS…
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I PURCHASED A NEW 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA. SINCE THEN I HAVE REPLACED THE ENGINE MOUNTS 4 TIMES. NOW AT 88,000, I AM TOLD I NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION. I AM 47 YEARS AND HAVE OWNED MANY CARS IN MY LIFETIME. I RESEARCHED THIS TOPIC AND FOUND MANY AMERICANS WITH SIMILAR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS WHO OWN 2004-2005 NISSAN MAXIMAS. THE CAR JERKS FORWARD WHEN GOING FROM 2-3 GEAR, NEUTRAL TO REVERSE AND NEUTRAL TO DRIVE. ENGINES REVS HIGH WHEN THIS IS HAPPENING AND JERKS FORWARD WHEN DRIVING. THIS IS A PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE THAT HAS LEAD TO ACCIDENTS AND ENGINE FIRES. SIMILAR EXPERIENCES AND COMPLAINTS CAN BE FOUND AT-HTTP://WWW.CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM/AUTOMOTIVE/NISSAN_MAXIMA.HTML UPDATED IVOQ 05/10/11 *TR
CAR HAS STALLED ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS. FROM A STOP, THE CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE NOR GO INTO GEAR, THEN AFTER A FEW MINUTES THE CAR WILL SLAM INTO GEAR AND SEND THE CAR LURCHING FORWARD. IT ACTUALLY FEELS AS THOUGH SOMEONE HAS HIT YOU FROM BEHIND. LUCKILY I WAS ALWAYS A DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AND/OR NOT CL…
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CAR HAS STALLED ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS. FROM A STOP, THE CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE NOR GO INTO GEAR, THEN AFTER A FEW MINUTES THE CAR WILL SLAM INTO GEAR AND SEND THE CAR LURCHING FORWARD. IT ACTUALLY FEELS AS THOUGH SOMEONE HAS HIT YOU FROM BEHIND. LUCKILY I WAS ALWAYS A DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AND/OR NOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO OTHER VEHICLES. SOMEONE IS GOING TO BE KILLED FROM A SITUATION SUCH AS THIS. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT I NEED A WHOLE NEW TRANSMISSION. THERE ARE MANY, MANY SIMILAR DEFECTS NOTED ON-LINE WITH 04', 05', 06' AND 07' NISSANS. I HAVE ALSO BEEN TOLD BY NISSAN DEALERS THAT NISSAN IS REPLACING TRANSMISSIONS ON 07' MODELS BUT NOT ON THE EARLIER VEHICLES & THAT THERE IS A KNOWN DEFECT IN THEIR VALVE BODY WHICH RESULTS IN FAILED TRANSMISSIONS.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD JERK ABNORMALLY WHEN DRIVING 35 MPH AND ABOVE. WHEN SHIFTING GEARS, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESPOND FOR APPROXIMATELY FIVE TO TEN SECONDS BEFORE ENGAGING AND THE ENGINE WOULD EXHIBIT AN EXCESSIVE INCREASE IN RPMS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEAL…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD JERK ABNORMALLY WHEN DRIVING 35 MPH AND ABOVE. WHEN SHIFTING GEARS, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESPOND FOR APPROXIMATELY FIVE TO TEN SECONDS BEFORE ENGAGING AND THE ENGINE WOULD EXHIBIT AN EXCESSIVE INCREASE IN RPMS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO RECOMMENDED HAVING THE VALVE BODY ASSEMBLY REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED IN REGARDS TO THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 92,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 97,000.
I BOUGHT MY USED CAR FROM A LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP WITH APRX. 74000 MILES ON IT IN FEB 2010. SHORTLY AFTER I STARTED FEELING THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTING ROUGHLY IN THE LOWER GEARS. I TOOK IT IN TO A REPUTABLE REPAIR SHOP IN JUNE 2010 AND THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY KIND OF DIAGNOSTIC CODES IN THE COMPUTER FOR THE TRANSMISSION, BUT TO…
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I BOUGHT MY USED CAR FROM A LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP WITH APRX. 74000 MILES ON IT IN FEB 2010. SHORTLY AFTER I STARTED FEELING THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTING ROUGHLY IN THE LOWER GEARS. I TOOK IT IN TO A REPUTABLE REPAIR SHOP IN JUNE 2010 AND THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY KIND OF DIAGNOSTIC CODES IN THE COMPUTER FOR THE TRANSMISSION, BUT TOLD ME THE ENGINE MOUNTS WERE BROKEN AND NEEDED REPLACING. I REPLACED THE ENGINE MOUNT AND ALSO HAD THEM FLUSH AND PUT IN FRESH TRANSMISSION FLUID AT THAT TIME AS WELL. AGAIN VERY SHORTLY AFTER I STARTED FEELING THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTING ROUGHLY AND IT PROGRESSIVELY GOT WORSE AND EVEN STARTED SLIPPING INTERMITTENTLY!! I TOOK MY CAR BACK TO THE REPAIR SHOP AND THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY CODES AGAIN. I DID SOME RESEARCH ONLINE AND FOUND THAT HUNDREDS OF 2004 AND 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA OWNERS WERE HAVING THE SAME EXACT PROBLEMS!!! I HAVE SEARCHED FOR ANY RECALLS, BUT THERE ARE NONE!! I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP WERE I BOUGHT IT FROM AND SPOKE WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER AND HE STATED THAT HE HAS DEALT WITH THIS ISSUE WITH OWNERS OF THIS MAKE, MODEL ,AND YEAR!! I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH NISSAN AND SPOKE WITH THEIR CONSUMER AFFAIRS DEPT, BUT THE ARE NOT WILLING TO HELP IN ANY WAY. I BELIEVE, AS WELL AS HUNDREDS OF OTHER OWNERS, THAT NISSAN KNOWS ABOUT THIS DEFECT, BUT IS UNWILLING TO ISSUE A RECALL TO THE PUBLIC!!! I THINK THIS IS COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE AND NEGLIGENT ON NISSAN'S BEHALF AND HAS SHATTERED MY FAITH IN THEIR COMPANY.
BOUGHT A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA, THE CAR QUIT WORKING IN AUGUST 2009, I'VE TAKEN IT TO 6 MECHANICS AND IT'S STILL DOING THE SAME THING. THE NISSAN DEALERSHIPS DON'T SEEM TO HAVE A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM JUST KEPT CHARGING ME MORE AND MORE. THE CAR JERKS IN 1ST, 2ND AND 3RD GEAR, I'VE HAD THE TRANSMISSION REPLACED, MOTOR MOUNTS, CAT…
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BOUGHT A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA, THE CAR QUIT WORKING IN AUGUST 2009, I'VE TAKEN IT TO 6 MECHANICS AND IT'S STILL DOING THE SAME THING. THE NISSAN DEALERSHIPS DON'T SEEM TO HAVE A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM JUST KEPT CHARGING ME MORE AND MORE. THE CAR JERKS IN 1ST, 2ND AND 3RD GEAR, I'VE HAD THE TRANSMISSION REPLACED, MOTOR MOUNTS, CATALYTIC CONVERTOR REPLACED AND THE CAR IS STILL DOING THE SAME THING. *TR
2005 NISSAN MAXIMA WITH LESS THAN 100K MILES WAS TAKEN TO NISSAN SERVICE SHOP AND WAS SAID TO NEED A PART REPLACED IN TRANS. AND TIMING CHAIN NEEDS REPLACING ALONG WITH MOTOR MOUNTS. AFTER REVIEWING MANY WEBSITES THIS YEAR MAKE AND MODEL VEHICLE HAS 1000 WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. TRIED TAKING TO 2 DIFFERENT NISSAN REPS AND WAS TOLD…
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2005 NISSAN MAXIMA WITH LESS THAN 100K MILES WAS TAKEN TO NISSAN SERVICE SHOP AND WAS SAID TO NEED A PART REPLACED IN TRANS. AND TIMING CHAIN NEEDS REPLACING ALONG WITH MOTOR MOUNTS. AFTER REVIEWING MANY WEBSITES THIS YEAR MAKE AND MODEL VEHICLE HAS 1000 WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. TRIED TAKING TO 2 DIFFERENT NISSAN REPS AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD OR WOULD DO ABOUT THEIR FAULTY PRODUCT.. WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT ELSE OR WHO ELSE I COULD SPEAK WITH ABOUT THIS MATTER. I HAVE OWNED 4 PRIOR NISSANS AND HAVE NEVER HAD PROBLEMS AND SEEING THAT THIS ISSUE SEEMS TO BE IN THIS VEHICLE I DO FEEL THAT THEY ARE SOMEWHAT RESPONSIBLE. *TR
NISSAN MAXIMA, AUTOMATIC, SE, 6 CYL. 3.5L MILEAGE 75,000. PROBLEM: NISSAN DEALER. CONVERTER HEAT SHIELD RATTLE AND CRACK IN THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. TO REPLACE CONVERTER NISSAN DEALER WANTED $1200.00 TO REPLACE. NISSAN WOULDN'T CONSIDER THE PROBLEM A DEFECT/ UNDER WARRANTY. MY SON'S CAR. *TR
I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER FOR MY 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA, AT APPROXIMATELY 80K MI MY CAR BEGAN HESITATING SLIGHTLY. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE NISSAN DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT DETECTABLE WITH A DIAGNOSTIC MACHINE, BUT THE TECHNICIAN INDICATED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS POSSIBLY A MISSING ENGINE MOUNT. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT A TRAN…
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I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER FOR MY 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA, AT APPROXIMATELY 80K MI MY CAR BEGAN HESITATING SLIGHTLY. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE NISSAN DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT DETECTABLE WITH A DIAGNOSTIC MACHINE, BUT THE TECHNICIAN INDICATED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS POSSIBLY A MISSING ENGINE MOUNT. I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT A TRANSMISSION FLUSH MAY ALSO HELP THE PROBLEM. THE FLUSH FOUND NO PARTICLES AND DID NOT STOP THE HESITATION. MY LEASE ENDED AND I DECIDED TO KEEP THE CAR. THIS HESITATION HAS GOTTEN PROGRESSIVELY WORST OVER TIME AND CULMINATED WITH ALMOST LOST OF POWER WHILE TRAVELING FROM MY HOME TO THE MALL TONIGHT. THE CAR HAD VERY LITTLE POWER AND MADE A LOW HUMMING SOUND. I PUT MY HAZARDS ON AS OTHER CARS WHIZZED BY. BY THE TIME I PULLED INTO THE RESTAURANT AND TRIED TO BACK INTO A PARKING SPACE THE CAR WOULD NOT DRIVE. I TURNED IT OFF THEN ON AGAIN THAT HELPED AND I WAS ABLE TO REVERSE. GOING HOME THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE AND THE RPM NEEDLE KEPT GOING UP TO 4-5 THEN HESISTATED BEFORE COMING DOWN. I AM SCHEDULED TO WORK TOMORROW AND I MUST NOW SEE ABOUT HAVING THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR EVALUATION. I AM AT A LOST I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. I SEEN MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE 2005 NISSAN BUT NO RECALL. I CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY A NEW CAR AS I STILL OWE 12000 AND I AM AFRAID MY DAUGHTER AND I ARE NOT SAFE IN THIS CAR. PLEASE HELP. *TR
WOW! THIS IS CRAZY! I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM> I HAVE A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA AND LATELY ABOUT A MONTH AGO WHEN I PUT MY CAR IN DRIVE IT JERKS BIG TIME. THIS IS ON AND OFF. I TOOK IT TO THE NISSAN DEALER FOR THEM TO SAY IT WAS MY MOTOR MOUNTS AND THEY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. WELL AFTER HEARING ALL THESE COMPLAINTS IT LOOKS LIKE I WILL…
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WOW! THIS IS CRAZY! I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM> I HAVE A 2005 NISSAN MAXIMA AND LATELY ABOUT A MONTH AGO WHEN I PUT MY CAR IN DRIVE IT JERKS BIG TIME. THIS IS ON AND OFF. I TOOK IT TO THE NISSAN DEALER FOR THEM TO SAY IT WAS MY MOTOR MOUNTS AND THEY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. WELL AFTER HEARING ALL THESE COMPLAINTS IT LOOKS LIKE I WILL JUST WASTE MONEY TO GET THESE MOUNTS REPLACED. MY CAR HAS 81,000 MILES ON IT AND ITS BEEN DRIVEN LIGHTLY AND BABIED> I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WILL NOT HAVE A RECALL ON THIS. NOONE SHOULD HAVE TO PAY MONEY FOR AN ISSUE THAT'S OBVIOUSLY MESSING PEOPLE OVER! *TR
Official recalls
205V512000 · Seats:front Assembly:power Adjust
Nov 7, 2005
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE DRIVER PREFERRED PACKAGE, THE WIRE HARNESS FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT POWER LUMBAR SUPPORT SWITCH MAY BE ROUTED INCORRECTLY AND COULD BE PINCHED UNDER THE DRIVER SEAT.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A PINCHED HARNESS, IN COMBINATION WITH DRIVING VIBRATION, MAY RESULT IN A SHORT CIRCUIT IN THE HARNESS THAT COULD LEAD TO A FIRE IN THE SEAT.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE WIRE HARNESS AND ROUTE IT CORRECTLY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 16, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
05V338000 · Child Seat:latch Strap
Jul 26, 2005
CERTAIN VEHICLES FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 225, "CHILD RESTRAINT ANCHORAGE SYSTEMS." THE LOWER ANCHORAGE BRACKETS IN THE REAR SEATS DO NOT MEET THE LOCATION REQUIREMENT IN THIS STANDARD. THIS MAY CAUSE DIFFICULTY IN ATTACHING SOME CHILD SEATS TO THESE BRACKETS.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: IF A CHILD SEAT IS NOT PROPERLY SECURED, THERE IS AN INCREASED RISK OF INJURY TO THE SEAT OCCUPANT IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE LOWER ANCHORAGE BRACKETS WITH MODIFIED BRACKETS TO ENSURE THAT THE STANDARD IS MET. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 28, 2006. THE INFINITI Q45 MODEL VEHICLES ARE BEING CAMPAIGNED UNDER A SEPARATE RECALL (PLEASE SEE 05V374000). OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261 OR INFINITI AT 1-800-662-6200.
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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
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