1989 NISSAN MAXIMA — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 62 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: FUEL SYSTEM (18 complaints · 29.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 7
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 9
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 1988 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution FUEL SYSTEM appears in 18 of 62 owner complaints (29.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. FUEL SYSTEM: 18 complaints, 29.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 18 · 29.0% · 1 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 8 complaints, 12.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 · 12.9% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 8 complaints, 12.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 8 · 12.9% · 1 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 7 complaints, 11.3% of reports SEAT BELTS 7 · 11.3% · 3 crash reports VISIBILITY: 6 complaints, 9.7% of reports VISIBILITY 6 · 9.7% STRUCTURE: 3 complaints, 4.8% of reports STRUCTURE 3 · 4.8% STEERING: 2 complaints, 3.2% of reports STEERING 2 · 3.2% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 3.2% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 3.2% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 1 complaints, 1.6% of reports ENGINE 1 · 1.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 53 complaints, 85.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 53 · 85.5% · 6 crash reports 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
FUEL SYSTEM 18 29.0% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 12.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 8 12.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 7 11.3% 3 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 6 9.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 3 4.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 2 3.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 3.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 1 1.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 53 85.5% 6 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 1995. 1995-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 1995 Jul 2011 Recall campaign 95V244000 ◆ Recall campaign 95V244000 Recall campaign 06E026000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E026000 Recall campaign 09E012000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E012000 Recall campaign 09E025000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E025000
  • Campaign 95V244000 was reported 273 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 09E025000 was reported 3,743 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 3
1995-Q2 Owner reports 6
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1995-Q4 Owner reports 1
1996-Q1 Owner reports 4
1996-Q2 Owner reports 2
1996-Q3 Owner reports 2
1996-Q4 Owner reports 1
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1997-Q3 Owner reports 1
1997-Q4 Owner reports 4
1998-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 3
1999-Q1 Owner reports 3
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q4 Owner reports 1
2000-Q1 Owner reports 3
2000-Q2 Owner reports 2
2000-Q4 Owner reports 1
2001-Q1 Owner reports 1
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 3
2002-Q4 Owner reports 3
2003-Q1 Owner reports 2
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 3
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 95V244000
Recall campaign 1 06E026000
Recall campaign 1 09E012000
Recall campaign 1 09E025000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E026000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    WITHOUT THE AMBER REFLECTORS, THE VEHICLE WILL BE POORLY ILLUMINATED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
    Remedy:
    PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E012000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E025000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 95V244000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    SIGNIFICANT CORROSION OF THE FUEL FILLER TUBE MAY RESULT IN FUEL LEAKS WHICH IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE. IN ADDITION, THE LEFT REAR SEAT BELT RETRACTOR IS MOUNTED TO THE WHEEL HOUSING AND IN THE EVENT OF SIGNIFICANT CORROSION, AND THE MOUNTING COULD FAIL IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THESE VEHICLES AND CORRECTIVE ACTION WILL BE TAKEN DEPENDING UPON THE EXTENT OF THE CORROSION.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 62 complaints · page 1 of 3

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources